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Forum Post: Last Night I Spake With Conswervatives Of The Boomer Generation

Posted 10 years ago on Oct. 24, 2013, 7:11 p.m. EST by nazihunter (215)
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Well, maybe conservatives, but I was thrown for a loop. The talk was of the economy. Then one of them says, it would've picked up a lot sooner if not for Dodd-Frank. I says, "really??, what's that?" He says "Dodd-Frank enabled all these people with low incomes to get large loans." There was at least 3 nods of agreement to this. "That's what caused the whole financial crisis." I said, "really??????" ,(more nods of agreement). I couldn't remember what Dodd-Frank was about, but my recollection was not that at all." So, I decided I had to re-read this Dodd-Frank. It happened that Dodd-Frank happened in lieu of the crises and was really a measure to stop the the crises from happening again. Now, get this, one of the guys told me, "Banks were FORCED, Yes!, he did, he said FORCED to give low income people loans they could not afford." I swear this was the comment that made me say, "I have to recall what it was all about. " Now, it turns out that the bill was highly criticized for "not going far enough." Meanwhile, several states filed a lawsuit against it saying it was "unconstitutional." You know, "state's rights" and all that sheet. Can you guess which states? I'm not talking. It would only encourage me to rant on about the South again. These were people 60+. You can't say they haven't been around the block. By God! Is it any wonder we're in this "state?", (no pun intended).

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21 Comments


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[-] -1 points by nazihunter (215) 10 years ago

Oh, I don't know. I'm not in any rush anyway. I had indigestion all night, (stale Heineken). That's a pretty good idea, though, on Clinton. Hah! Yes, I'll say damn that Clinton! You mean nice and innocent-like, right? Sort of a challenge of my ignorance v. your ignorance...yes I like it!

[-] -1 points by HCHC4 (-28) 10 years ago

Excellent example of people taking talking points and just repeating them like useful idiots.

The amount of conservatives I have heard that blamed the collapse on Carter and Clinton housing initiatives is staggering.

Next time someone says its Clinton did it, tell them he did, and Glass Steagall will go down as the worst repeal in history.

Then see if they even know what GS is. Chances are they will reply with a minority housing statement.

At that point do whatever comes natural :)

[-] 1 points by Devonshire (81) from Norwich, VT 10 years ago

Many conservatives blame our 2008 near financial collapse on the CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) which is a crock of shit.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/08/15/2475531/no-lending-to-poor-people-did-not-cause-the-financial-crisis/

The Dodd-Frank bill which has still not been enacted into law yet has become so watered down by the banksters' lobbyists... in complicity with a bi-partisan effort by our politicians.... that it has become just about useless in preventing another melt-down.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/05/24/1211507/-Banksters-lobbyists-writing-financial-bills-to-water-down-nbsp-Dodd-Frank#

Just as Fulishima is the environmental elephant in the room... so too is the still unregualted derivatives market.

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-coming-derivatives-panic-that-will-destroy-global-financial-markets.

Unfortunately...I think Buffet was right when he called derivatives WMDs.

[-] -1 points by nazihunter (215) 10 years ago

It's rather troubling no one in mainstream media calls derivatives out for being the scam they are.

[-] 2 points by Devonshire (81) from Norwich, VT 10 years ago

Brooksley Born, the Chairperson of the CFTC (Commodities Futures Trading Commission, 1996-1999) knew that an unregulated derivatives market was, and still is a ticking time-bomb....and she stood up to Greenspan, Summers, Rubin, Levitt & their cohorts in Congress in trying to get them regulated. They were able to quiet her by unceromoniously defanging her agency. Only Arthur Levitt, (Chairman of the SEC from 1993-2001) had the cajonnes to later admit that we should have listened to her. He went on to say, "I've come to know her as one of the most capable, dedicated, intelligent and committed public servants that I have ever come to know."...

http://video.pbs.org/video/1302794657/

The corrupt MSM obviously wasn't doing their job

Edit; I'm no economist, but it is my understanding probably from watching this doc, that derivatives do serve a purpose in keeping commodity prices from fluctuating wildly. It's the casino-type way that they were (and still are) being used and having them unregulated is where the problem lies.

[-] -1 points by nazihunter (215) 10 years ago

I remember that video! Yes, I must say it made me so pissed. Another case of the buddy boy system plundering and stomping those who know better asunder. Then when Greenspan was asked to account later, it was just one of those things nobody could have anticipated..bastard! Yes, he did that woman such an injustice. Karma will pay Mr. Greenspan. I know it!

[-] 2 points by Devonshire (81) from Norwich, VT 10 years ago

I have so much respect for Ms Born and the courage that she showed in going up against Geenspan and co. I also have high praise for Arthur Levitt who admitted that he made a mistake in his support for Greenspan in saying, "...I could have done much better. I could have made a difference."

[-] -1 points by nazihunter (215) 10 years ago

Me, too. And you have to. The collective will to stand up to the machine is not there. The collective will to stand by and defend it no matter what does not appear to shrinking. To that extent, I wish Occupy would adopt her. Also, anything Occupy does in DC seems to be short-term notice with no local organizing and fundraising. If the collective will of Occupy becomes more apparent, the opposition will feel less content. They'll be less ready to dismiss people like Ms. Born again. And. More people will get behind her.

[-] 2 points by Devonshire (81) from Norwich, VT 10 years ago

Occupy has awakened people; continues to educate people in the knowledge that we have a common oppressor; and they have emboldened different groups to take a firmer stance, through direct actions in their opposition to the corrupt status quo. From what I can see, it has morphed into an umbrella group.... and more.

[-] -1 points by nazihunter (215) 10 years ago

That sounds good. And more power to 'em! Thanks.

[-] -2 points by HCHC4 (-28) 10 years ago

Personally, I don't think the Frank-Dodd bill was ever meant to do anything meaningful, since one of the guys introducing it was instrumental in repealing GlassSteagal.

""I welcome this day as a day of success and triumph," said Sen. Christopher Dodd, (D-Conn.)."

One thing that DF did accomplish though was a massive fascist takeover of the banking system, in that the big six controlled 25% of the banking sector before, and now control over 50% of it.

Corporatism- deregulate the big guys, regulate the shit out of everyone else.

Man do I hate this fuckin system.

Those derivatives markets were a horrible idea as well, what an absolute tangled mess.

[-] 1 points by Devonshire (81) from Norwich, VT 10 years ago

The Dodd-Frank bill did have some teeth, but they are being removed one by one by high-paid lobbyists. You're right though, even the original bill won't be good enough to stave off another even more disatrous melt-down. Chief on the provisions of that bill should have been the break-up of the TBTF banks in my humble opinion. Here's a NY Times article from June 2010, before many of the teeth had been removed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/27/business/27gret.html?_r=0

In some aspects the original Dodd-Frank bill was more comprehensive than the Glass-Steagall Act in the fact that it encompassed the regulating of investment products that weren't around in 1933 when the GS bill was enacted into law....but overall it sucks especially since it gets more and more diluted.

[-] 0 points by HCHC4 (-28) 10 years ago

The best quote out of that article at the end:

"Even so, last Friday, investors seemed to view the bill as positive for banks; an index of their stocks rose 2.7 percent on the day. That reaction is a bit of a mystery, given that higher costs, lower returns and capital raises lie ahead for financial institutions under Dodd-Frank."

Ha, ya right!

[-] 0 points by Devonshire (81) from Norwich, VT 10 years ago

And the DF bill becomes more "positive" for banks as they whittle away more of the regs that were meant to safe-guard the 99%.

[-] -1 points by nazihunter (215) 10 years ago

The troubling thing about derivatives is no one stuck their neck out to loudly say "scamming" in the first place.

[-] 0 points by HCHC4 (-28) 10 years ago

Tell the truth and you are out of the club.

They must get incredible perks in DC. Either that, or they are the most gutless and gullible people in the land.

Honestly, I'm not sure. Sometimes I think they are actually really smart and just playing the game. Other times I think they are just so naive and gobble it all up, all the party nonsense.

[-] -2 points by Narley (272) 10 years ago

Sounds like to me you just don't like old people. Technically I'm too old to be a baby boomer since I was born before 1946. But that probably doesn't matter to you. Your logic seems to be blame everything on the old people. I guess the bright side, from your point of view, is old people will die soon and we won't to deal with the geezers anymore.

[-] -1 points by nazihunter (215) 10 years ago

You're right, I hate old people. Just kidding. Being around the block more than a few times, as they are, I would expect more. On a personal level, I feel the elderly should be respected, as they are in other parts of world. But, it is kind of hard to respect ignorance and misinformation being perpetuated on younger folks. It kind of insures that a future of stupidity will be perpetuated. But, you just like to pick fights with occupiers. That's fair. I was expecting there may be resentment from my statements. Maybe even a provocateur. But don't take it too personal. Keep me straight, that's fine. But you need absolute, verifiable facts. The truth is essential. You owe that to younger generations, don't you?

[-] 0 points by Narley (272) 10 years ago

My apology. I too often am reactionary when people blame the state of the world on the previous generation. It’s probably always been that way. I think it misses the target to blame the baby boomers for the ills of the world. More accurate to say baby boomers grew up during the boom times. Life was good and most baby boomers didn’t have the hardship and sacrifices their parents encountered. Frankly, as of yet, I don’t see the current generation resolving many of the worlds ills. I hope I’m wrong, but I just don’t see it tet.

[-] -1 points by nazihunter (215) 10 years ago

No need to apologize, but thanks. You may be right. You would probably have more insight into the boomer generation than I. I was just thinking about posterity. Last generation, this generation and the next. Politics blinds people into believing things that aren't even close to true. And if they're picking sides, they won't bother keeping checks on the truth, namely their own. I'm guilty, I've repeated things that I thought to be true. But, I'm more aware. It's like the Rifleman says in episode 17 when his son confesses to being wrong about someone, "One of the sure signs of becoming a man is learning when to admit your wrong." (something like that.) In this day and age, I sometimes think I'm the only one who saw that episode.

[-] -1 points by shoozTroll (17632) 10 years ago

I know plenty in my generation who actually are at least partially at fault.

Then there's those who ignore whats all around them and although that's not necessarily generational, it IS what the older generation has ignored all along.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/10/25/2840531/texas-carbon-emissions-power-plants/

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