I must admit, I've been largely confused over the current financial crisis .. never have been one to follow economics .. relying, instead, on others more versed to explain the complicated mechanics of money to me whenever I needed to follow something. The current blur of terms is enough to puzzle a lot of us .. hedge funds, securities, Fannie Mae .. the list goes on and on.
I think most of us just pretend to understand the complex machine that Wall Street and the financial market has become. The machine has grown bloated in complex schemes that appear designed simply to wring money out of money for people who prefer this scheming over working to earn an honest dollar. That's always been my opinion of bankers, brokers and the like.
I'm not going to get into the complex structure behind Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (where did they get those stupid names, anyhow?), but I really don't need to. I also frankly don't know if we should rescue the situation, either. All I need to know on this account is that the government tried to limit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their power 3 years ago and was defeated roundly by the democratic-controlled congress .. unanimously .. every time. The dems fought to keep these two financial institutions running strongly and without oversights or limits .. to facilitate those who are less affluent (minorities and the poor) to buy large and previously unaffordable upscale homes and Barnie Frank has his name all over that one. It was a shortcut in a mad dash to bring the poor into the middle class without it having to actually earn that place. That's what I call putting lipstick on a pig.
And that's really as much as I need to understand. Whatever spin comes out of it, that's the naked truth to the matter. Well, it's certainly backfired over the years. The republicans tried to reign it all in and got defeated and, now that the project has failed, the dems want them to take the blame for it.
Stand by for more spin. Nancy Pelosi, chief spinmaster for the largely democratic congress, is trying feverishly to lay the blame for all this on the Bush administration. Anything that she can successfully stick to Bush will vicariously stick to McCain because that's the relationship hollywood and the liberal press have been working hard to establish.
See how it works? If they thought they could blame the Pearl Harbor attack on Bush, they'd give it a try .. and it'd be about as true, too.
Ask yourself: who would be behind easy low interest mortgage loans for the poor? Let's see .. which party fits that one? Hmmmm .. see how easy it is when you simplify things and think for yourself?
