For those who have read my page of links to articles on the Subprime Meltdown, I’ve added one more – “The Government-Created Subprime Mortgage Meltdown” by Thomas J. DiLorenzo.
As the title implies, he holds the Government (not the treasury, nor the federal reserve, but the government itself) responsible and he cites the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) as the genesis of our current mess. As always, any other suggestion, please add a comment.
Joe
I recently read that Leona Helmsley bequeathed $8 billion to a charitable trust dedicated to “the care and welfare of dogs.” I have nothing against dogs, or other pets, for that matter. When I read stories of people spending large sums of money on their pets, I think it’s their money, to spend as they wish. But enough is enough. $8 billion dollars? Some time ago, I posted about the Global Rich List, a web site that will tell you how well you’re doing compared to the rest of the world. This web site informs me that 1.3 billion people live on less than $1 per day. That $8 billion dollars could have been directed to a trust that could help to double the well being of one million people ($365M/yr is less than 5% of $8B) who are otherwise starving, not just for a year, but indefinitely. Queen of Mean, indeed.
Joe
While the second quarter came in at 1.9%, likely due to those $600 checks, Q4 of last year was revised down to -.2%.
So, for now, there is certainly a slowdown, but we may very well avoid a recession by the classic definition, two quarters of contraction.
Joe
Time sure does fly. My web site where I publish one feature article each month just wasn’t enough to keep me busy. I felt I had a bit more to share. And one year ago today, August 4, 2007, I decided to flip the switch and start a more frequent blog.
Above image is from the movie poster theaters used when Star Wars was still in a number of theaters after 12 months. Not a re-release, this movie was out for over one full year. I still find that remarkable.
I welcome regular readers as well as those who have recently signed up for my RSS feed. I’ve been busy writing and look forward to offering some good content these next few weeks.
Joe
