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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (76429)	12/16/2009 2:03:49 PM
From: JakeStraw	3 Recommendations Respond to of 224745

But the real hypocrisy of Obama’s criticism of the financial industry is in the basic fact that it is untrue. For decade after decade, financial institutions were very responsible and quite conservative in the way they conducted their business dealings. There was the old saying that “Banks only lend money to those who don’t need it.” That is how they were able to maintain profits while also keeping their risk-exposure at a minimum. Of course, that all changed in 1995. That was the year in which the Clinton Treasury Department radically changed the provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act and essentially began forcing banks to make risky loans to consumers who may not be able to repay them. They heavily increased the amount of regulation on banks, but rather than being the kinds of regulations designed to protect consumers and/or banks from themselves these new regulations did the exact opposite. They also allowed community organizations like NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America) and the now infamous ACORN to get involved in the banking industry – mainly by further forcing banks to make loans to low-income earners. Obama though, while either ignoring that history to protect his party and his supporters or simply lacking knowledge of it, tries over and over to place the blame for the financial crisis on the previous administration and/or on Republicans. In his weekly address, he even referred to Republicans as ‘agents’ for the financial industry’s special interests. However, clearly those in the financial industry gained far more by Clinton’s actions than they ever did under Republican leadership. examiner.com