Mortgage Meltdown: Can't Fix The Problem Correctly Without Understanding It's REAL Causes

Isn't it logical that any fix we arrive at for a given problem will be more effective if we understand what caused the problem? Asked another way, how can we expect a fix to work if we don't even know whether it addresses the actual cause? Isn't it logical, if we don't understand a problem's cause, that our 'fix' even has a good chance of making the problem worse?

If your car won't start would you just get out your tool kit and replace the electronic ignition system? How much would that help if the gas tank were empty and you just forgot to look at the gas guage or the fuel filter was clogged shut?

Two key actions are actually what led to this meltdown. First president Clinton issued an executive order forcing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make half their holdings be highly risky sub-prime loans (loans that were mostly given to people who actually couldn't afford them and wouldn't qualify for them under sensible criteria of the past). Low interest, no down payment and no real credit check. A disaster in the making. But that alone wouldn't have caused this disaster because the type of insurance needed to protect companies from defaults on this type of loan was regulated and it held this type of investment in check.

Then on December 21, 2000 lame-duck president Clinton signed into law a bill that significantly deregulated the credit default swap insurance industry and literally overnight these highly risky sub-prime mortgages started flooding the market. It was just a matter of when, not if, these would cause a collapse in the market.

Democrats love to say that 'eight years of Bush' and 'Republican deregulation' caused this economic meltdown when, in fact, eight years of Clinton and Clinton deregulation(!) caused it by his two actions described above. And several Democrats were prominent in the push for so-called 'affordable housing' as well as resistance to Bush's attempted corrections. In FACT, President Bush proposed legislation to re-regulate this industry and it was defeated by Democrats, led by Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who (irrationally and foolishly) insisted that Fannie and Freddie were healthy. Bush and other Republicans understood the risk to our economy and tried to INCREASE regulation of the credit default swap insurance industry. Ironically the party (Republicans) that didn't cause it but tried to fix it is the party being blamed for it.

Back to my original point. So, if we allow ourselves to believe the outright lie(!) that Republicans, especially Bush, caused this when, in fact, it was Democrats, what are the chances we'll arrive at the most effective fix (courtesy of the party that caused it)? The answer is a resounding NONE! That should make every American screaming mad! The Democrats' dishonesty and deceit should give us pause regarding pretty much all the legislation they're pushing through the legislature that is devoid of participation by Republicans.