Time for a Real Debate

[CWeb Creative]

Who caused the U.S. recession. Who is most at fault? Dont just say what they did wrong but also what they should have done to prevent it.

[phazzedout]

The banks.

I know, that one liners are not allowed but here let me explain what I have seen, heard, read, studied. The banks pre-gobal recession, would give loans to people who couldn't afford to take out loans of said amount. This of course causes trouble, if no one is paying back, then banks start to lose money. Then here come two presidents, that buy these banks and the people (CEO's VP's etc.) still get paid their regular salary. Modern Capitalism = fail. I am leaning more to a sort of socialism, not too extreme, not too much control.

[AngusThermopyle]

The US economy was built on paper.
Credit card debt fueled consumer spending.
Mortage debt fueled the housing bubble.
Government debt fueled foreign wars and wasteful domestic programs and tax cuts.
Corporate debt fueled ill advised takeovers and excessive CEO compensation and dividends
Financial debt fueled hedge funds and others hungry for new investment ideas, including packaged questionable mortages and credit default swaps.

To recall Mr Gekko, everybody felt that "Greed is good".

Suddenly someone realized there wasn't enough real money floating around. The Emperor had no clothes.

[phazzedout]

The US economy was built on paper.
Credit card debt fueled consumer spending.
Mortage debt fueled the housing bubble.
Government debt fueled foreign wars and wasteful domestic programs and tax cuts.
Corporate debt fueled ill advised takeovers and excessive CEO compensation and dividends
Financial debt fueled hedge funds and others hungry for new investment ideas, including packaged questionable mortages and credit default swaps.

Pretty much what he said. Today's capitalism is not the same as it was before, much more greed and corruption going on at the expense of us. We bailed those big companies from bankruptcy. I say we should of let them fall flat on their asses so we could start all over and create a newer type of economy.

[joejv4]

I think that the sub-prime lending practices at the banks were the "setup" for the global recession. The switch that actually started the decline, IMHO, was the speculators investing in the oil market. When gasoline prices were driven up into the $5/gallon range by actions of speculators, people were suddenly in a position where it cost more than twice as much to just drive to work every day. This caused problems paying debts that many were barely able to pay before the gas price jumped. From there it was a domino effect. The banks started to hurt as consumers paid later and later or not at all. The rest is history

[xav0989]

This whole thing started after september 11th, 2001. To prove that americans are not touched by the talibans, president Bush encouraged people to be more capitalistic, i.e. spend more, buy more, etc. This led to a situation were there was a housing bubble (houses worth more then they really do), banks were giving loans to everyone, at subprime rates or interest only loans, and were exchanging papers that essentially consisted on bets whether people were going to pay back there loan or not. The housing bubble burst and everything went downhill from there.

[wongers]

why can people not see that you cant blame stuff like this on the banks? its like yeah sure they offered out preapproved credit cards out to every other chump, and thats not just in america, thats most of europe as well.

but when you look at the way the economy rises and falls with interest rates, it has a similar pattern that means it goes through a routine over the spread of 10/11 years with a wave shaped graph of interest rates etc.

when it comes down to it, i dont think this is something you can blame on the government or greedy banks, this is YOUR fault, (your being the individual consumer). you cant blame anyone but yourself at this stage.

over spending, unnecessary spending, the amount of people that no longer save up for mid-range purposes and just throw it on a credit card these days is ridiculous.

how did people not see this coming when the amount of companies that do debt consolidation began to increase and there were adverts all over the tv for the them. that should of been some what of an eye opener for the majority of people.

but no, you idiots just kept on spending (you being people with 6 credit cards each). i even know people like that and they say, oh well , i might as well spend lots now cause i only get to live once, well thats fair enough in one respect but look where it gets us?

i just wish people would stop shifting the blame, accept that its our own faults and deal with it. find a way to move on instead of trying to place blame all the time >_<

[ownreflection]

All I know is that now because of the economy being so bad, it's extremely hard to find a job anywhere. It's not just people with families that need jobs, it's also people that want to get ahead in life, like go to college, etc. I'm a senior in high school, I'm turning 18 in a few weeks and I've been looking for a job since I turned 16 and I have no idea how I'm gonna pay for college besides using financial aid and scholarships. Have a good day everyone =]

[CWeb Creative]

In reality it was the republican attitude of "free markets" that ruined us all. All they wanted to do was deregulate. Well look where that got us. Its sad but true that you can't trust u.s. buisness to do the right thing anymore. If the goverment isn't looking over their shoulder they will do anything they can to make a quck buck. However it isnt all the republicans fault. The blame ultimetly falls to the big CEO's of the corporations for running their companys into the ground and geting out right before they hit the ground. Im not talking the average business im talking about the big banks and other financial companys. In no way should a bank ever get "too big to fail" thats just like beting it all on a one in a million chance at victory or you loose it all. An all or nothing bet is a fools bet.

[earthinc]

I would say the biggest money-problem causers would be Bernie Madoff and George W. But what goes up must come down. I suggest the documentary "Collapse"