Reagan's Top Economist Says GOP Misled the U.S. and Tanked

[Bleyseng]

"Lost in the 24/7 news cycle has been a July 31, 2010 opinion-editorial by David Stockman, former director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Ronald Reagan. Stockman was closely tied to the development of the Reaganomics ideology, but now he points to massive failures by Republicans, while they were in power, to assure that financial accounts were balanced in government, international trade, on the ledgers of central banks and in the affairs of private businesses and households. Stockman excoriates modern Republicans, and particularly Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, for claiming the party's current economic doctrines are rooted in traditional GOP financial philosophy. He points to a list of misguided Republican actions that have led the country to economic disaster: the runaway growth of public debt resulting "not from big spending by the Democrats, but instead the Republican Party's embrace ... of the insidious doctrine that deficits don't matter if they result from tax cuts," the neocon's sky-high inflation of the military budget, the "warfare state," the removal of traditional restrictions on leverage and speculation by the financial sector which led to a "vast, unproductive expansion of our financial sector," and the steady sending of jobs and production offshore. Stockman charges that Republicans have strayed so far from their ideological roots that they have "made a mockery of party ideals" and led the country into adopting policies that crippled the economy."
http://www.prwatch.org/spin/2010/08/936 ... ed-economy

Finally, a GOP guy who states the truth!

[vdubyah73]

if you read the history of the glass steagle act, which was enacted in1933 to prevent speculation or gambling with depositors money, among several other things. anyway democrat administration regulators began loosening or reinterpreting the act, read kennedy and johnson. president clinton repealed it in 1999. you also have the community redevelopment act signed by carter, it forced banks to make shaky loans in depressed communities or risk loosing fdic insurance. the act does state these operations must be safe investments, but there were no guidelines. banks were constantly audited to make sure they were loaning money in these communities by gov't men, each able to reach their own conclusions, no guidlines just politicaly correct b/s.

with all that said, it's all of them, it's us, republicans, democrats, greedy baby boomers. whatever happened to do the right thing.

[Hippie]

...with all that said, it's all of them, it's us, republicans, democrats, greedy baby boomers. whatever happened to do the right thing.

=D>

[Amskeptic]

with all that said, it's all of them, it's us, republicans, democrats, greedy baby boomers. whatever happened to do the right thing.

It is very important, however, to call it out clearly.

The media, in its efforts to appear "fair and balanced", has allowed the facts to be usurped by "opposing viewpoints" so that we read of billion dollar boondoggles by military contractors that are "balanced" by some silly review of a wasted study of desert lizards.

The Fair Housing Act and the efforts to provide home ownership to a larger pool of Americans, was not a dem/gov boondoggle until the banks turned it into a heads-we win/tails-you lose game. Jimmy Carter was absolutely unimpeachable in his ethics and his efforts, the money-changer slime that surrounded him, well hell, whatever happened to people who give a damn about others?
ColinI'dSellMyMotherForACigaretteRightAboutNow

[Bleyseng]

if you read the history of the glass steagle act, which was enacted in1933 to prevent speculation or gambling with depositors money, among several other things. anyway democrat administration regulators began loosening or reinterpreting the act, read kennedy and johnson. president clinton repealed it in 1999. you also have the community redevelopment act signed by carter, it forced banks to make shaky loans in depressed communities or risk loosing fdic insurance. the act does state these operations must be safe investments, but there were no guidelines. banks were constantly audited to make sure they were loaning money in these communities by gov't men, each able to reach their own conclusions, no guidlines just politicaly correct b/s.

with all that said, it's all of them, it's us, republicans, democrats, greedy baby boomers. whatever happened to do the right thing.

Hmm, I thought it was Greenspan who ok'd the derivatives investment idea and let the "Free Market" go crazy with this idea. I am sure some shaky loans were made by the banks but I bought two houses in the build up of the bubble and the banks really tried to force me to go with these weird 0% ARM-100% financed with a huge 5 year balloon payment and they were stated loans too, no qualifying. It always seemed to me that the Banks became "Salesmen" just trying to the get commission and fees and so that's what it turned out to be.
In 1999 I don't think Clinton forced the repeal of Glass/Stengal as the GOP control the Congress and I think the Senate too. I think he just signed it into law that I recall...

[vdubyah73]

like i said it's us, all of us. there's plenty of blame to go around.