Hi portage,
Bush didn't cause the problems and neither did Clinton. Though they both had some input.
The culture of greed and easy money did.
I agree to a large extent with this statement. Greed was (and still is) highly visible, from the corporate boardroom to Washington, DC and all the way down to Joe Six-Pack's living room.
That is a bipartisan sport, but the repubs are more inclined to push it to the limit, and they also control more of the levers that enable it.
I agree that greed is bipartisan, but disagree that the Republicans are more inclined to push the envelope on the subject. It may be that some people are better at it than others, but all sides (including so-called independents) push greed to the extent of their respective abilities to do so. Remember, the bubble years came to pass under the Clinton administration (Democrats), but the Republicans controlled Congress. Neither the Legislative nor the Administrative branches of government did much of anything to contain the bubble, and both branches (to some extent) actually encouraged the bubble to continue. Early on, only the Fed (via Greenspan's "irrational exuberance" speech) voiced concern regarding the bubble that was forming. Even in the later years of the bubble, the Fed did little to contain it, and when they finally took action, it was already too late and now many fingers point in their direction as being a part of the cause rather than the beginning of the solution.
KJC |
