Here's an interesting editorial from Investor's Business Daily about the source of our country's financial crisis. A lot of words have been exchanged this week in the political realm about who's responsible.
The Real Culprits In This Meltdown
By INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Monday, September 15, 2008 4:20 PM PT
Big Government: Barack Obama and Democrats blame the historic financial turmoil on the market. But if it's dysfunctional, Democrats during the Clinton years are a prime reason for it.
Obama in a statement yesterday blamed the shocking new round of subprime-related bankruptcies on the free-market system, and specifically the "trickle-down" economics of the Bush administration, which he tried to gig opponent John McCain for wanting to extend.
But it was the Clinton administration, obsessed with multiculturalism, that dictated where mortgage lenders could lend, and originally helped create the market for the high-risk subprime loans now infecting like a retrovirus the balance sheets of many of Wall Street's most revered institutions.
Tough new regulations forced lenders into high-risk areas where they had no choice but to lower lending standards to make the loans that sound business practices had previously guarded against making. It was either that or face stiff government penalties.
The untold story in this whole national crisis is that President Clinton put on steroids the Community Redevelopment Act, a well-intended Carter-era law designed to encourage minority homeownership. And in so doing, he helped create the market for the risky subprime loans that he and Democrats now decry as not only greedy but "predatory."
Yes, the market was fueled by greed and overleveraging in the secondary market for subprimes, vis-a-vis mortgaged-backed securities traded on Wall Street. But the seed was planted in the '90s by Clinton and his social engineers. They were the political catalyst behind this slow-motion financial train wreck.
And it was the Clinton administration that mismanaged the quasi-governmental agencies that over the decades have come to manage the real estate market in America.
As soon as Clinton crony Franklin Delano Raines took the helm in 1999 at Fannie Mae, for example, he used it as his personal piggy bank, looting it for a total of almost $100 million in compensation by the time he left in early 2005 under an ethical cloud.
Other Clinton cronies, including Janet Reno aide Jamie Gorelick, padded their pockets to the tune of another $75 million.
Raines was accused of overstating earnings and shifting losses so he and other senior executives could earn big bonuses.
In the end, Fannie had to pay a record $400 million civil fine for SEC and other violations, while also agreeing as part of a settlement to make changes in its accounting procedures and ways of managing risk.
But it was too little, too late. Raines had reportedly steered Fannie Mae business to subprime giant Countrywide Financial, which was saved from bankruptcy by Bank of America.
At the same time, the Clinton administration was pushing Fannie and her brother Freddie Mac to buy more mortgages from low-income households.
The Clinton-era corruption, combined with unprecedented catering to affordable-housing lobbyists, resulted in today's nationalization of both Fannie and Freddie, a move that is expected to cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars.
And the worst is far from over. By the time it is, we'll all be paying for Clinton's social experiment, one that Obama hopes to trump with a whole new round of meddling in the housing and jobs markets. In fact, the social experiment Obama has planned could dwarf both the Great Society and New Deal in size and scope.
There's a political root cause to this mess that we ignore at our peril. If we blame the wrong culprits, we'll learn the wrong lessons. And taxpayers will be on the hook for even larger bailouts down the road.
But the government-can-do-no-wrong crowd just doesn't get it. They won't acknowledge the law of unintended consequences from well-meaning, if misguided, acts.
Obama and Democrats on the Hill think even more regulation and more interference in the market will solve the problem their policies helped cause. For now, unarmed by the historic record, conventional wisdom is buying into their blame-business-first rhetoric and bigger-government solutions.
While government arguably has a role in helping low-income folks buy a home, Clinton went overboard by strong-arming lenders with tougher and tougher regulations, which only led to lenders taking on hundreds of billions in subprime bilge.
Market failure? Hardly. Once again, this crisis has government's fingerprints all over it.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
How much do you know about your country?
A friend recently sent me the following from msnbc.com:
Could you pass the latest citizenship test?
In October 2008 a new version of the U.S. citizenship test will be taken by all applicants. Could you pass it? The questions are usually selected from a list of 100 samples that prospective citizens can look at ahead of the interview. Some are easy, some are not. We have picked some of the more difficult ones.
NOTES: Candidates are not given multiple choices in the naturalization interview. The following questions have been adapted from the immigration service’s sample questions.
1. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
John Hancock
2. When was the Constitution written?
1774
1776
1787
1865
3. What are the first words of the Constitution?
When, in the course of human events
In order to form a more perfect Union
To whom it may concern
We the People
4. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
The Preamble
The Bill of Rights
The Statute of Liberty
Declaration of Independence
5. Which of the following is NOT a right outlined in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence?
Life
Liberty
Right to bear arms
Pursuit of Happiness
6. Which one of these is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment? Freedom of the press
Right to trial by jury
Right to bear arms
Right to happiness
7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
10
17
23
27
8. Why does the United States flag have 13 stripes?
One for each state in the Union
The number of seats in the Cabinet
They represent the 13 original colonies
One for each article of the Constitution
9. Which of these was NOT among the original states?
New Hampshire
New York
Delaware
Maine
10. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
Louisiana
Vermont
Alaska
Maine
11. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. Which of the following is NOT a federal power?
To declare war
To print money
To declare treaties
To provide education
12. Which of the following is NOT one of the three branches of the government?
Federal
Judicial
Executive
Legislative
13. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
100
365
435
646
14. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
2
4
6
8
15. In what month do we vote for President?
January
February
September
November
16. If both the President and Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
Secretary of State
Secretary of Defense
The Speaker of the House
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
17. Who was president during World War I?
Theodore Roosevelt
Warren G. Harding
Franklin Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
18. How many justices are there on the U.S. Supreme Court?
3
5
7
9
19. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States?
John Paul Stevens
John G. Roberts, Jr
Antonin Scalia
Samuel Alito
20. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
Hid John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln
Designed and made the original U.S. flag
Designed the original U.S. currency
Fought for women’s rights
Click here to actually take the quiz and see how you score. (By the way, I took it and got one wrong.)
Could you pass the latest citizenship test?
In October 2008 a new version of the U.S. citizenship test will be taken by all applicants. Could you pass it? The questions are usually selected from a list of 100 samples that prospective citizens can look at ahead of the interview. Some are easy, some are not. We have picked some of the more difficult ones.
NOTES: Candidates are not given multiple choices in the naturalization interview. The following questions have been adapted from the immigration service’s sample questions.
1. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
John Hancock
2. When was the Constitution written?
1774
1776
1787
1865
3. What are the first words of the Constitution?
When, in the course of human events
In order to form a more perfect Union
To whom it may concern
We the People
4. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
The Preamble
The Bill of Rights
The Statute of Liberty
Declaration of Independence
5. Which of the following is NOT a right outlined in the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence?
Life
Liberty
Right to bear arms
Pursuit of Happiness
6. Which one of these is a right guaranteed by the First Amendment? Freedom of the press
Right to trial by jury
Right to bear arms
Right to happiness
7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
10
17
23
27
8. Why does the United States flag have 13 stripes?
One for each state in the Union
The number of seats in the Cabinet
They represent the 13 original colonies
One for each article of the Constitution
9. Which of these was NOT among the original states?
New Hampshire
New York
Delaware
Maine
10. What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
Louisiana
Vermont
Alaska
Maine
11. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. Which of the following is NOT a federal power?
To declare war
To print money
To declare treaties
To provide education
12. Which of the following is NOT one of the three branches of the government?
Federal
Judicial
Executive
Legislative
13. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
100
365
435
646
14. We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
2
4
6
8
15. In what month do we vote for President?
January
February
September
November
16. If both the President and Vice President can no longer serve, who becomes President?
Secretary of State
Secretary of Defense
The Speaker of the House
President Pro Tempore of the Senate
17. Who was president during World War I?
Theodore Roosevelt
Warren G. Harding
Franklin Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
18. How many justices are there on the U.S. Supreme Court?
3
5
7
9
19. Who is the Chief Justice of the United States?
John Paul Stevens
John G. Roberts, Jr
Antonin Scalia
Samuel Alito
20. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
Hid John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln
Designed and made the original U.S. flag
Designed the original U.S. currency
Fought for women’s rights
Click here to actually take the quiz and see how you score. (By the way, I took it and got one wrong.)
Monday, September 08, 2008
Whose You Are
Just wanted to share a little portion of a Bible study on King David that Mike and I just started last week. It's called Annointed, Transformed, Redeemed, and it's based on an event called "Deeper Still" that Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore and Kay Arthur hosted in Nashville.
Technically it's a women's study -- kudos to my husband for his willingness to do a study written for women -- but it's appropriate for anyone. We wanted to do a study on David, and this is only of the only ones we found out there. Besides, I figure anything involving these three dynamic women is worth doing. If you've ever done any of their studies, you know what I'm talking about.
We really enjoyed the following part from the first session, taught by Priscilla Shirer. We have the audio version of it, but I can't upload it to this blog. So the written version will have to do.
May it be thought-provoking and encouraging to you today.
WHOSE YOU ARE
By Priscilla Shirer
I will say this until the day that I die:
He is the First and the Last,
The Beginning and the End,
He’s the Keeper of creation and
The Creator of all.
He’s the Architect of the universe and
The Manager of all time.
He always was, always is, always will be
Unmoved, unchanged, undefeated and never undone.
He was bruised but brought healing.
He was pierced but eased pain.
He was persecuted but brought freedom.
He was dead and brings life.
He is risen to bring power and
He reigns to bring peace.
The world can’t understand Him,
Armies can’t defeat Him,
Schools can’t explain Him and
Leaders, they can’t ignore Him.
Herod couldn’t kill Him,
Nero couldn’t crush Him,
The new age cannot replace Him and
Oprah cannot explain Him away.
You remind yourself that
He is light,
He is love,
He is longevity and
He is the Lord.
He is goodness and kindness and faithfulness and He is God.
He is holy and righteous and powerful and pure.
His Ways are right,
His Word eternal,
His Will unchanging and
His Mind is on us.
He’s our Savior,
Our Guide,
Our Peace,
Our Joy,
Our Comfort,
Our Lord and
He rules our lives.
I serve Him because
His bond is love,
His yoke is easy,
His burden is light and
His goal for us is abundant life.
I follow Him because
He’s the Wisdom of the wise,
The Power of the powerful,
The Ancient of Days,
The Ruler of rulers,
The Leader of all leaders.
His goal is a relationship with me.
He’ll never leave you,
Never forsake you,
Never mislead you,
Never forget you,
Never overlook you and
Never cancel your appointment in His appointment book.
Never.
When you fall, He’ll lift you up.
When you fail, He’ll forgive you.
When you’re weak, He’s strong.
When you’re lost, He’s your way.
When you’re afraid, He’s your courage.
When you stumble, He will steady you.
When you’re hurt, He’s going to heal you.
When you’re broken, He will mend you.
When you’re blind, He will lead you.
When you’re hungry, He will feed you.
When you face trials, He’s with you.
When I face persecution, He shields me.
When I face problems, He will comfort me.
When I face loss, He will provide for me and
When we face death, He will carry us all home to meet Him.
He is everything
For everybody,
Everywhere,
Every time
And in every way.
He is your God and that is who you belong to.
Technically it's a women's study -- kudos to my husband for his willingness to do a study written for women -- but it's appropriate for anyone. We wanted to do a study on David, and this is only of the only ones we found out there. Besides, I figure anything involving these three dynamic women is worth doing. If you've ever done any of their studies, you know what I'm talking about.
We really enjoyed the following part from the first session, taught by Priscilla Shirer. We have the audio version of it, but I can't upload it to this blog. So the written version will have to do.
May it be thought-provoking and encouraging to you today.
WHOSE YOU ARE
By Priscilla Shirer
I will say this until the day that I die:
He is the First and the Last,
The Beginning and the End,
He’s the Keeper of creation and
The Creator of all.
He’s the Architect of the universe and
The Manager of all time.
He always was, always is, always will be
Unmoved, unchanged, undefeated and never undone.
He was bruised but brought healing.
He was pierced but eased pain.
He was persecuted but brought freedom.
He was dead and brings life.
He is risen to bring power and
He reigns to bring peace.
The world can’t understand Him,
Armies can’t defeat Him,
Schools can’t explain Him and
Leaders, they can’t ignore Him.
Herod couldn’t kill Him,
Nero couldn’t crush Him,
The new age cannot replace Him and
Oprah cannot explain Him away.
You remind yourself that
He is light,
He is love,
He is longevity and
He is the Lord.
He is goodness and kindness and faithfulness and He is God.
He is holy and righteous and powerful and pure.
His Ways are right,
His Word eternal,
His Will unchanging and
His Mind is on us.
He’s our Savior,
Our Guide,
Our Peace,
Our Joy,
Our Comfort,
Our Lord and
He rules our lives.
I serve Him because
His bond is love,
His yoke is easy,
His burden is light and
His goal for us is abundant life.
I follow Him because
He’s the Wisdom of the wise,
The Power of the powerful,
The Ancient of Days,
The Ruler of rulers,
The Leader of all leaders.
His goal is a relationship with me.
He’ll never leave you,
Never forsake you,
Never mislead you,
Never forget you,
Never overlook you and
Never cancel your appointment in His appointment book.
Never.
When you fall, He’ll lift you up.
When you fail, He’ll forgive you.
When you’re weak, He’s strong.
When you’re lost, He’s your way.
When you’re afraid, He’s your courage.
When you stumble, He will steady you.
When you’re hurt, He’s going to heal you.
When you’re broken, He will mend you.
When you’re blind, He will lead you.
When you’re hungry, He will feed you.
When you face trials, He’s with you.
When I face persecution, He shields me.
When I face problems, He will comfort me.
When I face loss, He will provide for me and
When we face death, He will carry us all home to meet Him.
He is everything
For everybody,
Everywhere,
Every time
And in every way.
He is your God and that is who you belong to.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)