The Economy

The United States' economy, and the world's for that matter, is in shambles right now. Both Republicans and Democrats are pointing the finger at each other and there is plenty of blame to go around. The root of this problem is the housing crisis. Homeowners are defaulting on mortgages, that they couldn't afford in the first place, leaving banks left without the cashflow that they so desperately depend on. A couple of decades ago, anyone who wished to purchase a home could do so. All they needed was to have about 15-20% to put down in order to get the bank to lend them money. In 1977 the Community Reinvestment Act was passed by the Democratic controlled Congress. This act required banks to expand their mortgages into areas where the economic fundamentals indicated borrowers would not be likely to make mortgage payments. The the Democratic Party started to complain that lower income families weren't able to purchase homes and that this was unfair and began to relax the rules required for individuals to get a mortgage. Shortly afterward, the banks decided that they weren't going to be left out in the cold and they wanted a piece of this trillion dollar pie; finally resulting in the mess we are in today. HELLO!! Don't loan money to people who can't pay it back. This isn't rocket science people. This is the liberal elite attempting to right all the wrongs in the world and it just might lead to one of the largest economic crisis' in US history. Above is a letter signed by John McCain in 2006 pleading for regulatory reform legislation for Fannie and Freddie so the American taxpayer wouldn't bare the brunt of the impending economic collapse. This is right around the same time that Barney Frank stated that Fannie and Freddie were doing "just fine". Barack Obama and the Democrats have been trying to tie John McCain to the economic policies of George Bush for the last month or so and according to the polls it is an effective strategy. It is a lie, but it is effective. In fact, not a single Democrat signed the above letter. John McCain again broke party lines in order to save the American taxpayer from economic collapse but of course this would never be reported by the mainstream media. Furthermore, in 2004 Democrats in Congress tried again to increase home ownership through further easing of mortgage requirements. Anytime the government interferes with the free market, it is almost always a very bad idea. Free markets are the basis of our economy. Changing lending rules got us into this mess and unfortunately it will be you and I who will have to dig ourselves out.