The 25 Culprits In The Financial Meltdown

Here's an article from American Thinker about Time Magazine's list of the 25 culprits that caused the financial meltdown.

Time Magazine's list of 25 culprits in the financial meltdown
By Ed Lasky
Time Magazine has come up with a list of players who they believe are responsible for the mess we're in.

I don’t necessarily agree with this list.

I would add a few Democratic politicians-such as Christopher Dodd (who protected the finance and hedge fund industry from regulation from his perch as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee) and Barney Frank (chairman of the Financial Services Committee who pressured financial committees and promoted legislation to expand homeownership to people who were incapable of meeting their debt obligations).

I know why the magazine put the HGTV founder on-supposedly the channel stoked the desire for home ownership -ridiculous.

I would indict Hollywood and the advertising industry for fostering materialism and greed.

Also, many other politicians for overpromising and creating the problem of moral hazard.

I would accuse accounting firms for turning a blind eye to manipulations-of fostering the financial statement creativity that occurred; Also, the CEO’s of credit card companies for blitzing our mailboxes with offers and teaser rates (similar to the teaser rates offered on adjustable rate mortgages).

How about credit scoring companies for using outmoded models for judging creditor’s creditworthiness?

And the head of Moody’s (if Standard and Poors is in the Hall of Shame so should Moody’s-and Fitches for that matter).

Don't forget mortgage insurance companies that stamped their insurance on various financial securities making them easier to peddle-despite this insurance being backed by paltry and inadequate reserves.

Or annuity sellers for, again, not backing up their promised and “assured” returns with enough reserves.

We could go on and on; the heads of AIG over the years; the nation’s leading business school for lifting up finance as the preferred MBA specialization; mortgage deductibility –which lead to the American economy being overly reliant on homebuilding (as opposed to, for example, export-focused industries; pressure groups-such as ACORN which led to the promotion of loans to people unable to afford them; the auto industry heads and the UAW for destroying an industry that America “owned” for generations - and that is only a partial list off the top of my head.

THE LIST:
1. Angelo Mozilo – Co-founder and former head of Countrywide ...
2. Phil Gramm – Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee from 1995 through 2000 ...
3. Alan Greenspan – Former chairman, Federal Reserve ...
4. Chris Cox – Former chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission ...
5. American Consumers ...
6. Hank Paulson – Former Secretary of the Treasury ...
7. Joe Cassano – Founding member, AIG's financial-products unit ...
8. Ian McCarthy – CEO, Beazer Homes ...
9. Frank Raines - Former chairman and CEO, Fannie Mae ...
10. Kathleen Corbet – Former CEO, Standard & Poor's ...
11. Dick Fuld – Former CEO, Lehman Brothers ...
12. Marion and Herb Sandler – Former heads, World Savings Bank ...
13. Bill Clinton – Former U.S. President ...
14. George W. Bush – Former U.S. President ...
15. Stan O'Neal – Former CEO, Merrill Lynch ...
16. Wen Jiabao – Premier, China ...
17. David Lereah – Former chief economist, National Association of Realtors ...
18. John Devaney – Hedge fund manager ...
19. Bernie Madoff – Ponzi scheme orchestrator ...
20. Lew Ranieri – Father of mortgage-backed securities ...
21. Burton Jablin – Programmer at Scripps Networks, which owns HGTV ...
22. Fred Goodwin – Former chairman and CEO, Royal Bank of Scotland ...
23. Sandy Weill – Former chairman and CEO, Citigroup ...
24. David Oddsson – Former Prime Minister, Iceland ...
25. Jimmy Cayne – Former chairman and CEO, Bear Stearns.

Blaming REALTORS is just lame and ill-informed. We assist buyers and sellers... we don't twist arms and insist the buying process happens! That's just stupid.

But, I think Time and Mr Lasky missed one very important 'culprit'...
The Mainstream Media!

I have never in my life heard so much vile and hatred toward ANY sitting President in my lifetime!

The MainStream Media filled the airways and their rags with venom and castigation of everything The President tried to accomplish.
They began with calling him a cheat, that he stole the 2000 election.

The media then turned their attention to housing and began building the fear that the realestate boom was a 'bubble' and would burst at any moment.

Then when everybody was for the war they were suddenly against the war! And against the President and everything he stood for.

Mr. Bush tried to warn Congress about the coming crisis -



But the media refused to report any wrong doing by the Democrats and just continued to blame Mr. Bush.

So the Media must claim their share of this mess.

Big Media is corrupt and controlled by left wing financial giants like George Soros. They are anti-American and anti-Capitalist.

The only 'media giant' that has any semblance of conservatism is the Australian Rupert Murdoch who owns Sky Sports and FOX News.

The lesson learned here?
Never trust anything you read in the newspaper again.
Never trust anything you see on the TV again.
Do the research for yourself!