Clinton: Bush Could Have Prevented 90% of Financial Mess

[WA_Vol]

"I personally believe, based on my experience over the years with the economy, that if we moved aggressively on this home problem a year and a half ago, even a year ago, as much as 90 percent of the current crisis could have been avoided," he said.

Though Clinton largely defended his own economic record, he admitted fault for lack of regulation on derivatives during his eight years as president, a problem some economists believe helped contribute to the nation's economic woes.

"I think we should have moved a little more aggressively on these derivatives," he said. "Alan Greenspan and others thought we shouldn't regulate, didn't need to regulate derivatives, 'cause they would only be bought by very large, very wealthy, very sophisticated institutional buyers.
Donaldson Analyzes Morality

But the former president defended his record on another front: He disputed the idea that his administration, by placing a special emphasis on the Community Reinvestment Act, pressured lenders too hard to make loans to low-income Americans trying to secure mortgages.

"What I have disputed is that the conservatives are saying that I pressured the banks too hard to make loans in the community," Clinton said. "The banks that took money from their depositors and turned around and loaned money to their depositors -- genuine community banks -- came through this financial crisis much better than those that were branches of big national banks [that] took money from their depositors and put 'em in these shaky securities investments."

He suggested the worst damage was done during the Bush years.
"The sub-prime mortgages that caused all these problems were basically those that were gathered up in 2004 to 2007," Clinton said.

ABC News: Bill Clinton: Obama Should Sound More Hopeful

:bash: Bash away...........

 

[BigPapaVol]

Anyone who could have foreseen the credit derivative swap disaster could have avoided the mess. Unfortunately, none of the right people saw the problem.
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[GAVol]

There's not much of a point in trying to figure out whose fault it is at this point. If you've held a federal elected office in the past 10-15 years, you've played a role whether you meant to or not.

 

[Headed For Home]

I remember another Clinton quote that didn't exactly turn out ot be true either.

 

[BigPapaVol]

There's not much of a point in trying to figure out whose fault it is at this point. If you've held a federal elected office in the past 10-15 years, you've played a role whether you meant to or not.

Eh. Clinton will spend the rest of his life touting his admin and defending his legacy. I dont think he's afraid to lie about it either.
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[truefan]

Eh. Clinton will spend the rest of his life touting his admin and defending his legacy. I dont think he's afraid to lie about it either.
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You don't think?? I "think" you meant to say " I know he's not afraid to lie"


In all seriousness, Clinton's understanding of economic matters is better than Bush's and Obama's combined

 

[BigPapaVol]

In all seriousness, Clinton's understanding of economic matters is better than Bush's and Obama's combined

I simply don't know how to assess that. His huge drive for federalized healthcare early in his presidency certainly says he doesn't understand that the government is the absolute worst solution for healthcare.

 

[dcgf05]

Old link, but for those who haven't seen it Clinton could have prevented a good bit of it also -

Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending - New York Times

FTA published in september of 1999 -

"Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits.

In addition, banks, thrift institutions and mortgage companies have been pressing Fannie Mae to help them make more loans to so-called subprime borrowers. These borrowers whose incomes, credit ratings and savings are not good enough to qualify for conventional loans, can only get loans from finance companies that charge much higher interest rates -- anywhere from three to four percentage points higher than conventional loans."

"In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

''From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,'' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. ''If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.'' "

 

[OrangeYankee]

Ya Bush ran up deficits from the war, but the "crisis?" That is in the hands of the a-holes who started the policy to loan out money to everyone who could scribble on a dotted line (Clinton and Co.), the a-holes who hopped in bed with the perpetrators (Frank and Dodd), and the a-holes who only put up a timid attempt to curb it in (Bush, McCain, and the Spineless Republicans). So ya pretty much anyone who went to work in Washington DC.

 

[truefan]

Ya Bush ran up deficits from the war, but the "crisis?" That is in the hands of the a-holes who started the policy to loan out money to everyone who could scribble on a dotted line (Clinton and Co.), the a-holes who hopped in bed with the perpetrators (Frank and Dodd), and the a-holes who only put up a timid attempt to curb it in (Bush, McCain, and the Spineless Republicans). So ya pretty much anyone who went to work in Washington DC.

The deficit was increased by 27% without including war spending.

 

[droski]

clinton is just as responsible for the housing bubble as any other person in this country

 

[OrangeYankee]

Ya sorry, I meant deficits in general. The dude was not fiscally responsible in the slightest. For the sake of this discussion though, I'm saying Bush's horrid fiscal policy was not the cause of this, it was the way home loans were given out like candy after Clinton's laxing of the system and the subsequent failure of Washington to do a thing about it afterwords.

 

[BigPapaVol]

The deficit was increased by 27% without including war spending.

what was the deficit before and after? How did spending compare to that of the Clinton crowd, in gross dollars, inflation adjusted, because the precipitous drop in tax receipts is certainly a part of the percentage in a vacuum you supplied.

I'm not defending Bush because I believe his prescription drug program to be a Dem style vote buying play and I despise him for it, but that number is meaningless without context.

Clinton gets a pass because receipts were through the roof, but he was hardly a government limiter. Gingrich & Co helped his legacy in a big way.

 

[volinbham]

Let's use Clinton's logic - he should have foreseen the tech bubble and moved more aggressivley to avert the 50%+ drop in the NASDAQ and the associated recession.

Oops!