We took a lot at some of President Bush’s comments on the economy here on Doom yesterday, so I thought today would be a good day to be an equal opportunity grumbler and take a look at some of Senator Clinton’s comments. She spoke last week at Yale and discussed foreclosure moratoriums: [Sorry about the audio- it gets a little better.]
She didn’t stop with the moratoriums however:
The New York senator planned to call Thursday for immediate steps to address the U.S. housing crisis.
Clinton said the rapid rise of home foreclosures stemming from subprime mortgages had rocked global markets like no other factor. Proposed tax rebates to stimulate the U.S. economy – including those championed by Obama – were necessary but not sufficient, Clinton said.
"It’s OK, I’m for tax rebates – put some money in people’s pockets, though it has to be structured in right way," Clinton said. "But all the talk of stimulus and all the planning going on with Congress and the White House is going to miss the boat if we don’t stem the tide of foreclosure."
Clinton, who came late to the notion of such tax rebates as economic stimulus, said she had been initially been reluctant to reopen the tax code.
"But the situation deteriorated quickly," she said, which meant any agreement would have to include tax rebates.
"I want to emphasize the urgency of the situation we find ourselves in," Clinton said, saying South Carolina has a particularly complex set of economic challenges including home foreclosures, payday lending problems and higher than average level of student debt.
"When I started warning about this housing crisis and what it would do to the economy, I was blown off. I couldn’t get any attention," Clinton said. "Republicans and others said, ‘You’re an alarmist, it’s not a big deal."’
Clinton’s plan to freeze home foreclosures for 90 days has been criticized by some economists who have said it would raise home interest rates across the board while unfairly favoring consumers who had gotten into risky mortgages. Clinton rejected that argument. "People will say, ‘Why should we bail out somebody who made a bad loan?"’ she said. "Because you don’t want a vacant house next to you. You don’t want a deteriorating neighborhood. You don’t want a tax base dropping so police service to your home gets cuts. We’re all in this."
I hate to break this to you Senator, but a lot of those homes going into foreclosure are VACANT ALREADY. There are too many of the darn things. You won’t "stabillize the patient"- he’s too far gone.
I also didn’t remember Clinton being an early voice of reason in the housing crisis, and started looking for just how long she’s been a "lone voice crying in the wilderness." According to Clinton herself:
I’ve been out there since March talking about this mortgage crisis and urging much more aggressive action to stem the foreclosures that are beginning to cascade around the country.
And her solution:
I called for a moratorium of 90 days to try to stop foreclosures and help people work out being able to stay in their homes, and freezing interest rates for five years, looking for ways to try to get the housing market stabilized, because I think that we’ve — you know, we have had the monetary side. The Fed has reduced interest. They may do some more. We don’t know.
But at some point you’ve got to have government action to really tackle these problems. And the stimulus package is a start, but it’s not nearly enough. What we have to do is have an economic policy that once again creates jobs with rising incomes.
We need to look at clean green energy. We need to have a much greater balance in our federal government spending.
I’m sorry Senator, but "government action" was the catalyst for "these problems" in the first place. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little skeptical of the "Keystone Cops" getting it right this time.
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We need a recession quite badly. People won’t redeploy capital or start actually saving until they absolutely have to.
Yes, I agree. Clinton’s plan will do nothing, she wasn’t honest about ‘sounding the warning’.
The economy will turn out to be THE issue when the next President takes office.
Pinning an economy on ‘unregulated housing starts’, coffee shop ‘services’, and financial smoke and mirrors, will turn out to be one of the stupider ideas of the late 20th century.
I support Obama. During the last debate he specifically talked about we need to address that the policy being proposed might end up making it hard for people who haven’t got a house yet.
Yossarian-
My favorite quote on the sidebar this morning is from Marketwatch:
Plans to fix the mortgage crisis are like belly buttons. Everybody’s got one, and they’re all pretty much useless.
I think that pretty much sums it up.
[Igor's word for me: Ahab, as in Captain]
Im sorry Senator, but “government action” was the catalyst for “these problems” in the first place. Youll have to forgive me if Im a little skeptical of the “Keystone Cops” getting it right this time.
—————————————-
Actually Twist it was “government inaction” that created all of this due to lack of proper oversight. It was all ideologically driven, and now after our Executive Branch has abdicated its responsibilities it will point back at government and say “See government doesn’t work.”.
That said, I hate all of these schemes to fix the housing market. Just let the market play out. Clinton’s plan is crazy because it is the opposite of Bushes, it is too interventionist and will prolong the pain.
I am not a fan of President Bush. I want change this election. I am scared of a Democratic president and democratic led house and senate. Our country is insolvent(see David Walker Comptroller of the GAO) and all Clinton and Obama talk about is spending more money for social welfare(universal healthcare, $5000 checks for college for all newborns etc., etc.) when we already can NOT meet the future obligations(baby boomers retiring) currently set to roll over our country like a tsunami. The republicans want to stay in Iraq and win this war….we can NOT afford this either(trillions of dollars). The only candidate who actually understands(and talks honestly about) the looming economic crisis is Ron Paul. He will get my vote and he will not win.
This reminds me of the 1970′s. An unpopular and very expensive war(Viet Nam/Iraq), looming financial crisis(stagflation coined in the 70′s with Jimmy Carter), lack of leadership in our government(always), rapidly increasing energy costs(oil embargo/$100 barrel oil today). It did not end well in the 70′s and it will not end well this time either.
Clinton/Obama/McCain/Romney….most important election in my lifetime and these are the choices we have….heaven help us, because our government is obviously not up to the task.
Here’s exactly what I was talking about… the services industry (coffee, dog walking, strip mall retail) will contract dramatically. It’s just starting. This morning, the story’s from bloomberg. The ISM services index fell ten points
in a month.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a8HCjIXeA018&refer=home
Copied from a rightwingnews.com interview with Thomas Sowell, because it’s relevant:
One of the things was that the Fed lowered the interest rate by a tremendous amount, down to about 1% and under those conditions, many people thought that they could afford to buy a house and in fact, they could afford to buy a house so long as the interest rates remained low and the housing prices kept rising. (However), markets go up and down and have for centuries, so those who got themselves out on a limb, got themselves in deep trouble in part because of that.
The government was also, at the same time, leaning on lenders to lend to people they would not lend to otherwise, particularly under the Community Reinvestment Act, that empowered politicians to tell lenders that they ought to put so much money here rather than there — as if politicians know better, which they don’t.
Entropy-
If we could figure out how to elect Hercules, he still wouldn’t be able to hold this mess together. I don’t know why anyone would want to be president at this point, their name will become synonymous with the greatest economic debacle of our time.
I can’t bring myself to endorse anyone. When the time comes, I’ll step in the booth, hold my nose, and try and pick the lesser of two evils.
Metro and dfenstrate-
In addition, President Bush was parroting nearly word for word David Lereah on the joys of homeownership. The government was actively pushing homeownership beyond practical levels. The housing industry has been a great source of employment and revenue. When other jobs moved overseas, homebuilding remained at home. [So far, they haven't come up with a practical way to outsource our housing to Asia.]
I think it was a combination of doing what it shouldn’t and not doing what it should.
[So far, they havent come up with a practical way to outsource our housing to Asia.]
How about Asia telling the US to buy a bunch of paper from them, print all the dollars they are holding for redemption, binding them into 3″ tall bundles, covering them with mud, drying them in the sun, and using them for the next round of spec home construction?
Anyone with a good punchline as to what effect covering the dollars with mud would do to the actual value of them… fire away!
Dogwalking, coffee shops, retail shoe stores, cell phone distributors, barber shops, restaurants, video arcades, burger stores, fashion stores, computer services, pest control, ditch diggers, roofers, poofers, etc.
Did I forget anyone?
Oh yeah….
And realtors.
Entropy said ~ “The only candidate who actually understands(and talks honestly about) the looming economic crisis is Ron Paul. He will get my vote and he will not win.”
Reminds me of a couple times I voted for another Texan who fit the same statement… Ross Perot.
Is either R.P. the perfect canditate? NO.
But at least someone who will tell the truth for a change would be a big step in the right direction.
My vote for Ross Perot might have helped Clinton get into office… I don’t know.
I sleep with a clear conscience on that one.
In retrospect, I think that after the Titanic hit the iceberg, did it matter who was steering it or calling for “more power” one hour ago?
Everyone has been screaming for more power while we’ve been heading the wrong direction in this country, and now I realize it probably would not have mattered who I had voted for. The goal of both parties is basically the same.
Two groups of prostitutes working for different facist pimps.
(Feel free to edit if necessary, Twist)
We’ll see as we get closer to November if I can vote for another R.P. and sleep well again.
(I have 2 GWB votes to repent of and recover from.)
I too support Ron Paul. He like Perot (both RP’s from Texas) are protest candidates with no chance of winning. I plan to protest this evening at my local caucus.
That said RP is really about “I told you so”. His prescription is doing away with income tax and government in general. I don’t believe this is realistic. And his social politics are abismal. I will say I believe he is the most honest of all the candidates, Obama included and the most direct on issues.
Would I vote for him in a general election? Well it would have to be as an independant as he has a ghost’s chance in hell of winning the republican nomination. If he does go independant I would suggest Ralph Nadar as a running mate. That way they might cancel out each others more disaggreable positions and appeal across a wide swath of America.
Ohhh, shame, shame, Twist, for invoking the name of David Lereah.
brucewho – “Ron Paul’s social politics are abysmal” Why? Because he thinks entitlements are a waste? They are a luxury the country cannot and should not afford.
RP is abysmal from the perspective of electability. His prescription is all about tough love. We have entitlements run amok no doubt but an absolutist approach will win few friends. It may be too late for incremental belt tightening anyway.
Besides our monetary policy pertaining to finance is much worse and will bring us down long before that, perhaps even this year. Reality is about to rear its ugly head and will force hard choices. I pity whomever becomes our next president.
Bruce-
My sentiments exactly. After years of overindulging in fatty foods and overeating, sometimes the doctor’s only option is a quadruple bypass- even if the patient prefers a doctor that says, “Have seconds, you’ll feel better.”
It’s quadruple bypass time, and there’s no way this patient is going to be grateful for it.