Santorum: Gas Prices Led To Financial Collapse!

[Lakhota]

By Pema Levy

At an event in Lansing, Michigan Monday, Rick Santorum put forward an alternate theory for the cause of the financial crisis in 2008: that rising gas prices caused Americans to default on their mortgages, leading to the wave of foreclosures that sparked Wall Street’s near collapse.

“We went into a recession in 2008 because of gasoline prices,” Santorum said to a hotel ballroom of supporters. “The bubble burst in housing because people couldn’t pay their mortgages because of $4 a gallon gasoline.”

This isn’t the first time Rick Santorum has offered up his gas price theory. Earlier this month, he made the same claim in Colorado (via the Colorado Independent):

“We went into a recession in 2008. People forget why. They thought it was a housing bubble. The housing bubble was caused because of a dramatic spike in energy prices that caused the housing bubble to burst,” Santorum told the audience. “People had to pay so much money to air condition and heat their homes or pay for gasoline that they couldn’t pay their mortgage.”​

More: Santorum’s New Theory On Financial Collapse: Gas Prices Did It! | TPM2012

 

[Lakhota]

It's hard to believe that Santorum isn't wearing a straight jacket in a padded room.

The Absurd Zombie Lie About the Economy Right-Wingers Desperately Cling To -- And Why It's Totally Wrong | Tea Party and the Right | AlterNet

 

[Mr. H.]

That's silly.

From July of 2008 to January of 2009, oil went from $140/barrel to $30/barrel.
If high prices caused the recession, this should have fixed it.
Santo's talking nonsense.