Bush is becoming pretty freakin' liberal in his last days as president. I didn't vote for obama, but it can't hurt to give him a chance.
All I can say is that I think the future is pretty bad. I do expect Obama to be a socialist, we are in for some major changes. Expect the worst and maybe it won't be as bad as I think. I have to agree with most about George Bush although I think both sides of our government are so corrupt and entrenched with special interest. These people are elected and pay back the fat cats and forget where they come from, doesn't matter who, both parties. Let me just say that I no longer believe the politicians work for you or I. Doesn't matter which party, every man for himself as far as I can tell. I point to the bailout for instance, billions of dollars went to fat cats instead of the American citizens who own the money in the first place. See my point here in the thread about the big 3 for instance. We don't have smart, good leaders anymore, IMHO Reagan was the last so far. I think we are starting to see the beginning of the end for this country as far as our status in the world, leader as we've known. I think the 9/11 hijackers succeeded somewhat with us going into Iraq. I just have to question everything that has happened since 9/11 really. We are now spending money that we don't even have thanks to both parties. I do blame George Bush a great deal, he was no conservative, when it came to spending he was right up there with the best liberals of all time. I'm against socialism but what the hell, the way its going lets just socialize everything and see what happens. I hope I'm wrong!
It just amazes me when O'bama blames the economy on Government Deregulation and Bush, and most Americans drink that kool-aid. Oh well, we've slid from a Republic, to a Democracy, to an Idiocracy. A woman asked Franklin what kind of government they had formed. Franklin answered, "A Republic, if you can keep it."
What do you expect when people watch the big tv network news and don't see any bias. They actually believe reporters and anchors can be objective!:insane:
I don't see a turnaround for at least a year, and that is if the government doesn't try to manage and manipulate the economy. Usually that just makes things worse (i.e. the bailouts).
I agree that the current problem was, in part at least, government-induced. Under government encouragement, banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mack made home loans to people who, under standard banking practices, should not have been eligible. But standard banking practices were tossed in the trash bin. While the Democrats were the big proponents of this (Barney Frank and Chris Dodd), the Republicans sat back and let it happen. So there is plenty of blame to spread around.
The primary issue was the Democrat's tireless goal of "Affordable Housing". They've been beating that drum for years, at least since Carter in '77 increased government regulation of the GSE's to force more lower income & higher risk loans. Clinton in '95 went further with regulation of Fannie & Freddie, and the housing bubble began to inflate. In '05, about, Congress pushed the GSE's into even more subprime & Alt-A loans, and the percentage of their portfolio grew further. but the GSE's allowed congress to push them around and dictate policy. They were, after all, Government Sponsored Enterprises. Normal Business profit potential with no risk. The Taxpayers ultimately always had their back. Considering what they were, it was fairly rational behavior. In the end, all this Government meddling allowed two Government Sponsored Entities, released from normal free market profit loss considerations, to create our big bloated housing bubble. Throw in the Government sponsored Fed, ultra low interest rates at the start of '01, and the housing bubble with all the speculators, financial tool wizards, rocketed off into never-never land. It was Government Regulation/meddling that caused the problem. Same as with the Big 3's union monkeys that finally broke their backs. Not all Gov Reg is bad. But when Gov Reg. becomes a tool of social engineering, be careful.:usaflagwa
