Sensible People Are Obliged to Think

{link » Clinton Democrats Are To Blame For The Credit Crunch}

“Consequently, this hardly seems the most appropriate moment to mount a defence of capitalism in general, and American bankers in particular, against the threats posed by meddlesome politicians and excessive regulation. But, what the heck. Unless we take advantage of this hiatus between the crashing of financial institutions to take an honest look at the origins of our current predicament, then today’s spin and myth-making will quickly harden into tomorrow’s firm conviction. Let us be clear: this crisis was not caused on Wall Street — it was caused in the White House. The root problem was not financial — it was political, and those truly responsible for this fiasco were not bankers, nor even Bush Republicans; they were Clinton Democrats.

For generations, America’s bankers have been firmly refusing credit to those they judged unworthy of it. Yet the mountain of toxic subprime debt that has threatened to overwhelm the entire financial system, and the astonishing number of mortgage foreclosures across the United States, is proof that, at some point in the relatively recent past, bankers radically altered their behaviour and began to shower mortgages on borrowers who had no realistic prospect of keeping up their repayments. What could possibly have induced them to act so recklessly, and so out of character? The facile answer to that question is greed, the lure of a fast and easy buck. The correct answer is that banks were bullied, cajoled and coerced into lowering their lending standards by politicians in pursuit of an ideological agenda.” [Read entire article here.]

Anyone with a shred of common sense and a modicum of willingness to question political (m)ass coverage, is obliged to consider a clear-headed exposition of what is arguably the most pressing economic crisis in four score years.

But do not miss the trailing commentary. You will see the usual adherents to both fringes of the of the socio-political spectrum at their finest venom-ocity. Do take into consideration your estimate for their individual levels of absurdity in determining what makes sense to you.