By TVC Executive Director Andrea Lafferty
January 29, 2009 – As our nation faces a serious economic crisis in 2009, Americans need to understand the origins of this crisis.The subprime mortgage crisis fueled instability in other sectors of the economy and has led a crisis in the banking industry, housing industry, auto industry – and is resulting in the layoffs of millions of Americans. A subprime mortgage is one granted to individuals with a bad credit history or no credit history. They were given no-money-down, low interest, or interest-only loans. Democrats effectively blamed President Bush for the economic crisis and this propelled Obama into office as President of the United States for the next four years.
Is President Bush to blame? No. It was Democrat leadership going back to the Carter Administration that created this economic disaster.
The fact is that the roots of this economic crisis go back to the Clinton and Carter Administrations , the radical group ACORN, and Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT).
Here are the facts:
- Under President Jimmy Carter, the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) was passed. It required federal financial institutions to encourage banks to give home loans to persons with little credit and low income. Economist Russell Roberts said that the CRA played a major role in creating the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the U.S.
- Under Bill Clinton, the CRA was expanded and Clinton set targets for low-income home ownership at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Banks were forced by the federal government to provide bad loans to unqualified people.
- Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) is Chairman of the Financial Services Committee in the House of Representatives. In 2003, he said of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: "These two entities – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – are not facing any kind of financial crisis. The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing." In the late 1980s and early 90s, Frank was engaged in a sexual relationship with Herb Moses, who was Fannie Mae's assistant director of product initiatives! Bill O'Reilly exposed Frank's involvement in the mortgage crisis: YouTube - O 'Reilly - Barney Frank Had Affair with Fannie Mae Exec. Frank looked the other way, while our economy was being destroyed by federal policies created in Clinton and Carter Administrations. (Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae help fund the homosexual agenda.
- In 2008, Freddie gave $20,000 to a Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) event; Fannie Mae gave nearly $19,000 to the same event. Freddie has donated $125,000 and Fannie donated $80,000 to homosexual groups since 2005.)
- Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) is head of the powerful banking committee in the Senate. He and Barney Frank consistently resisted attempts by the Bush Administration to closely regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Dodd also got preferential treatment from Countrywide on two mortgages. Countrywide was one of the biggest subprime providers.
- Barney Frank and Christopher Dodd received thousands of dollars in contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the years. Dodd has received $133,900 since 1989; Frank received $40,100. (While in the Senate, Barack Obama received $105,849).
- As long ago as 2003, President Bush was trying to get the House and Senate to carefully monitor the actions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. His efforts were rejected by Democrats.
- Obama associates headed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the years that the crisis was getting out of control. Obama friend Franklin Raines ran Fannie Mae and collected $50 million from it. Obama friend Jamie Gorelick worked for Fannie Mae and earned $26 million; Jim Johnson, formerly Obama's vice president search committee chairman, hauled in millions from his work with Fannie Mae as CEO.
- ACORN, the socialist group that routinely engages in voter fraud, was involved in pushing for risky loans to people with bad credit histories or little money for down payments. ACORN intimidated banks in Chicago and elsewhere to give risky loans! Obama actually trained ACORN workers when he was a community organizer in Chicago! ACORN used provisions of the Community Reinvestment Act to delay or halt efforts of banks to merge or expand until they had lowered their credit standards!
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of his stimulus package says that his nearly trillion dollar spending bill will do little or nothing to create or maintain jobs for the American worker! It will, however, enrich groups like ACORN and serve as a piggy bank for state and local communities to use for whatever projects they want. The money isn't going for jobs creation but for government projects – including paying for sod for the Washington Mall.
