December 18, 2007

HousingPANIC calls for a Congressional investigation of Alan Greenspan and the US Federal Reserve Bank and their role in the subprime mess


Nice to see the MSM doing their job, evidenced by this amazing expose in the New York Times. Now I wonder if Congress will start doing theirs.

This is serious stuff HP'ers. Banks and lenders will fail, the US economy will be decimated, millions will lose their homes and our entire financial system will fall into disrepute. All because Alan Greenspan was either too incompetent or too corrupt to do anything about the out-of-control REIC that he was supposed to be regulating, while at the same time keeping interest rates too low for too long.

HousingPANIC again calls on our corrupt Congress to open an investigation into the housing bubble and crash, with a particular focus on Alan Greenspan and the US Federal Reserve Bank. I don't know what the f*ck Schumer, Frank and Dodd are waiting for - more money or direction from Goldman Sachs perhaps? Let's get it on boys - I want subpoenas flying NOW! And the first one should be to Greenspan - the #1 cause of the Great Housing Bubble & Crash.

Fed Shrugged as Subprime Crisis Spread

WASHINGTON — Until the boom in subprime mortgages turned into a national nightmare this summer, the few people who tried to warn federal banking officials might as well have been talking to themselves.

Edward M. Gramlich, a Federal Reserve governor who died in September, warned nearly seven years ago that a fast-growing new breed of lenders was luring many people into risky mortgages they could not afford.

But when Mr. Gramlich privately urged Fed examiners to investigate mortgage lenders affiliated with national banks, he was rebuffed by Alan Greenspan, the Fed chairman.

Today, as the mortgage crisis of 2007 worsens and threatens to tip the economy into a recession, many are asking: where was Washington?

An examination of regulatory decisions shows that the Federal Reserve and other agencies waited until it was too late before trying to tame the industry’s excesses. Both the Fed and the Bush administration placed a higher priority on promoting “financial innovation” and what President Bush has called the “ownership society.”

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keith,

The Fed Bank has no oversight,so, they can do what they want.

Congress does not understand finance, just weaseling for themselves.

This is like asking the prisoners to investigate the inmates, imo.

Anonymous said...

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FARK! Damn it Keith, I swear to friggin Jebus that if you don't quit posting close-up pictures of those maggots I'm gonna take my business elsewhere.

Anonymous said...

Keith,

This is all the product of an ideologically bent administration. Oversight is for sissies should have been their motto. Now we see the results of the Grover Norquist, ownership society mindset.

The commander in chimp will go down as the worst leader we have ever had.

Anonymous said...

I'd be happy with just an audit of the Fed. As I understand it, the Fed has NEVER been audited.

Anonymous said...

The Fed reserve is owned and con-troled by foreign interests.
Their interests have always been to steal from the American people through inflation.
The dollar is now worth 98% of what it was when the fed took con-trol of our currency. Before the fed, there was near zero inflation.

Not coincidentally, these same foreign interests did the same thing to Weimar Germany, for exactly the same reason.
Today in America they are accelerating the rate of inflation at a pace nearing that of Germanys just before hitler took power, and soon, our currency will be so worthless, that it will take more weight in UD $'s to buy a loaf of bread, than what the loaf of bread weighs, just like in Weimar Germany.

Anonymous said...

Savings glut? More like a credit glut! If house prices had stayed in the CPI, interest rates would have gone up, and the housing bubble would have naturally deflated much more gently.
Can't investigate because that would give a seal of approval?
I call Bullshit!

Paige Turner said...

RE: Alan Greenspan's crooked dealings...

Greenspan is looking more and more like Woody Allen every day.

What is he up to?

V.L.

Anonymous said...

Greenspan should be nominated for "Sexiest Man Alive" I think he has a shot...

I can see what Andrea see in him...

What a HUNK

Anonymous said...

I'm all for investigating Alan and his Fed biz, but we'd best look up the puppet strings a ways and find out who was tuggin'.

Anonymous said...

Greenspan is such an old fart that he wouldn't live through a Congressional investigation. By the time they set it up and got started he'd be about 100 years old.

Ed said...

Yikes that is one ugly mug.

Anonymous said...

Tedy Jewski:
Good point, I was very bothered by Abu Dhabi buying $40 billion into Citibank on top of it practically being owned by a Saudi prince.
It does seem like the Arabs are buying up all our banks and resources.

Anonymous said...

I just have one question--HOW does Andrea Mitchell SLEEP with this toad???!!

IS GREENSPAN PACKING SOME "HEAT", if ya' know what I mean??!!

Groupies, Golddiggers?? Let's hear from his past honey's and get the real scoop!

Anonymous said...

Keith, I agree with you that a congressional investigation is in order about the role of the Fed in this mess. They should include the rating agencies and their federally guaranteed monopoly, because without the lazy agencies the mortgage junk wouldn't have been spread into nearly every portfolio.

JSD said...

This post by blogger Glenn Greenwald shows the process by which bloggers and their readers were able to get a single senator (later joined by a few more) to stand for the rule of law against corrupt corporate interests.

Click here to read post.

A similar process might be used to accomplish the investigation into the subprime debacle and Greenspan and the Fed's role in it. Basically, the steps are:
1. Identify a process
2. Identify a willing congressperson to implement that process
3. Coordinate among like minded bloggers and sympathetic groups
4. Have bloggers and groups coordinate their readers to take action to encourage/pressure the congressperson to take action.
5. Congressperson, hearing from actual constituents (as opposed to corrupt corporate interests) responds with action.
6. Other congresspeople seeing a rare and genuine example of leadership, follow and support that leader's positions and actions.
7. Publicity and success result.

As with this case, Dodd was going against incredible rich entrenched corrupt interests, but interests whose actions had no constituency (rich telecom companies). It was then a simple matter of standing up to the bully, and forcing those in charge of his fate to delay (in this case) the action that benefits the bully.

Anonymous said...

Keith,

If you are serious about getting this done, you know where to take it to make it happen...the Ron Paul Nation.

Petition to congress anyone?

Look for the thread on ronpaulforums

Anonymous said...

Here ya go:

http://tinyurl.com/2c6jv7

Let em have it

Please digg when there

Anonymous said...

I thought you'd like to know something. I'm a licensed broker and also an HPer. I'm watching house prices fall. Just today, I was called by another broker (agent?) who told me that a house I was interested in will take another reduced reprice. It's had several already. Of course I replied that if it did, I'd be interested. I'm not surprised by any of this. I told her that I think house prices must fall so that people who buy them can actually afford them. And I really believe this.

Anonymous said...

"Today, as the mortgage crisis of 2007 worsens and threatens to tip the economy into a recession, many are asking: where was Washington?"

Sure, that's a fair question, but uhh...where was the NY Times? If the MSM had been on the case, this blog might never have been needed, right? No shortage of blame nor hypocrisy to go round...

Chris said...

I hope that Gramlich's tombstone reads "I told you so Greenspan!" or "Hey Greenspan..." with a picture of an extended middle finger.

Hey, maybe I should get into the tombstone-making business.

Anonymous said...

Keith, I am submitting an invoice to you for the repair of my beloved Rolex Datejust watch.

Greenspans picture you posted stopped it cold. My watchmaker of forty years says he has never seen anything like it until now...

Sex change gone wrong or afterbirth not disconnected properly?