How the Democrats Created the Financial Crisis: Kevin Hassett

At least there would have been a debate...

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ABC'S CHARLIE GIBSON: In each instance, when the Capital Gains rate was dropped, revenues from the tax increased; the government took in more money. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28 percent, the revenues went down. So why raise it at all, especially given the fact that 100 million people in this country own stock and would be affected?

OBAMA: Well, Charlie, what I've said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness.

Its not in Congress's nature to act on something before its a problem. We didnt act on terrorism until they hit us on 9-11 and they didnt act on the mortgage crisis because they prayed like hell that things would get better so they wouldn't have to deal with the economic mess with what we have been seeing now with the banks and they felt it was better to wait because either way we were screwed, they were playing vegas craps at that point. This is just my opinion and I cannot back it up with facts.

Come on man, you really want to talk about dirty campaign money? Let's talk about McCain and his oil money. Don't try to act like lobbyists don't play a big role in both of the candidates campaign and there decisions. Amazing reversal by McCain on off shore drilling an crazy how oil companies rewarded it with a dramatic increase in money. That is a terrible point to make coming from a Republican supporter.

Industry Gushed Money After Reversal on Drilling - washingtonpost.com

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You are in a better position to know the full extent to the problem then I am. My interest was peaked when I saw 380B in questionable debt vs 4.7T in assets. I have been in business long enough to know that even if the full 380B was written off it wouldn't be enough to make the entire house of cards fall. Even in Fannie and Freddie the problem lies much deeper.

What I worry about is whether all the fallacies being spun will only make the problem worse by spurring still worse legislation. I cringe at the thought that we are about to do nearly 1T in more bailouts with each side more concerned in covering their respective asses than accepting responsibility and passing the legislation that prevents it from happening again.

The irony of the whole thing is this is a crisis involving SECURED paper! This isn't a credit card crisis. The assets underlieing all this bad paper still have value, it's just that the collateral is no longer worth anywhere near the paper value.

At some point the Federal government is going to own an ENORMOUS inventory of REAL assets....houses. And on those notes not foreclosed on, COLLATERALIZED paper. So while yes, we are talking a Trillion or more of "bailouts", there is a reasonable chance that in five-seven years most, if not all the money is going to be recoverable, and maybe the government will do something that has never happened before in its history....turn a profit??

Thats an optimistic outlook, I hope your right, the foreclosures keep going up and they will continue as long as jobs are lost so we havent bottomed out yet. I'm scared it could be another year or 2 before we bottom out and then another 5 years before that paper is worth anything. The only way to raise home values is to take away the supply. How can the government do that unless they have a free for all sale which is what we have had for the past 8 years and look where we are.

Prediction: McCain comes out against the bailout and proposes a different plan. This would leave Obama siding with Bush.

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ABC'S CHARLIE GIBSON: In each instance, when the Capital Gains rate was dropped, revenues from the tax increased; the government took in more money. And in the 1980s, when the tax was increased to 28 percent, the revenues went down. So why raise it at all, especially given the fact that 100 million people in this country own stock and would be affected?

OBAMA: Well, Charlie, what I've said is that I would look at raising the capital gains tax for purposes of fairness.

So McCain's interest is in political maneuvering and not solving the problem?

You expect something different from a politician ?

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"Some men eventually stumble over the truth but they usually pick themselves up and walk on as if nothing ever happened."
-Winston Churchill

"In religion and politics, people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue, but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing." -Mark Twain

This is not Mccains ball of wax, I believe he said he didnt know much about the economy so I dont think he has a clue what to do because the economists dont have a clue.

I haven't read the article. I'll get to it later. But tightening regulation on the GSEs would not have averted the problem. Most of the subprime mortgages were not guaranteed by the GSE. The prices of homes with qualifying mortgages never went as high as the places with all the problems.

More capital would have averted the collapse of the GSEs, there is little doubt about that. However, most of the problems in the mortgage market - and thus in the housing market - originated in the private market. There would have been a bubble and a collapse even with more capital at the GSEs, though the systemic problems today would be less.

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Gunny............one doesn't spew crap out of one's arse.

I mean, seriously.



Okay, as you were.

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This computer has been drinking...not me.




The best foot goes forward.

Kevin's an idiot.

Anyone who thinks about this issue in partisan terms is so last week.

Political parties are over, dude.

Wake up, partisans the class war is ON.

The GOP has been running the show, with the WH and Congress both for six years. Voters know where the mess came from. 1 in 2 voters beleive it was the GOP's fault. Bush and Graham cooked it up.

In November the GOP will pay...stay tuned!

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A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.
Thomas Jefferson

Maybe the tundra chick will have a clue....naw,I guess not.

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A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.
Thomas Jefferson