More Articles

[unforth]

I may not have time to finish my last post, unfortunately, but here are some other articles that I found interesting:
Why the Bailout was a Terrible Idea, according to the Nation.
Bailout Causing International Problems
Newsweek Gives an Overview of the Crisis - this was quite helpful, despite the fact that I was dubious of a few of the things that it said.
So What is a Credit Default Swap, Anyway? - another Newsweek article with some good overview type information.
Timeline of Events Since 2007 - the dow, aligned with a few news tidbits, but still vaguely interesting.
The Times Gives an Overview of Events Since Yesterday, but you might not be able to read without making an account - they're free, though, so I'd say it's worth it.
Yay, Bipartisan politics? "Mr. Boehner...said he could not remember a time when the muscle of both parties and the White House failed to produce a victory." (from the above article)

What's really starting to bug me is the way that everyone is blaming "Wall Street Recklessness." That is not what's caused this mess. The root of this mess is people who had poor credit being extended large lines of credit at high risk - credit they should NEVER have received because they couldn't afford to pay it back. The banks just did what they had to in order defer that risk - but they gave the people what they wanted. Blaming Wall Street over looks the part where there would not have BEEN subprime mortgages if the demand for them hadn't been astronomical.

Gotta go. Probably more later.

Comments

[drydem.livejournal.com]

the trick is, that the subprime mortgages were bundled into securities that were traded heavily on Wall Street in the manner of say, junk bonds. When they pretty much all failed, there was some serious fallout.
Listen to the This American Life Episode "The Giant Pool of Money"(I think that's the title) It gives a clear narrative of the subprime mortgage market.

The thing I would say is that subprime mortgages would not have been necessary if our society had a livable minimum wage and better job security because then, houses wouldn't be out of the reach of most people and thus cause them to take risks.

[unforth.livejournal.com]

I did a whole bunch of research on the subprime mortgage thing (see this LJ post (http://unforth.livejournal.com/183947.html)), and I think I've got a pretty good handle on it. I TOTALLY agree about the livable minimum wage and job security, and I do think it's a major component of this situation - better education and access to necessary services like health care are important and related to this too.

I'll see if I can find that episode - sounds interesting. I've been really working to learn as much about this as I can.

I know that the repackaging of the securities is what caused the immediate crisis, but that was a part of defraying the risk that these mortgages represented, and, while somewhat related to "Wall Street Recklessness," my point is more that I've been hearing a lot of news clips saying that's the entire cause, but I think the American people deserve a share of the blame.