Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Banks made their money packaging these many worthless mortgage loans, giving them the false label of mortgage securities.  Wall Street often packaged these loans, selling them as mortgage securities to foreign banks.

How did Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages fare in this mortgage meltdown?  The top men in charge of administering this government-funded policy fared very well by providing themselves with big bonuses.

The 40-year low interest loans triggered this economic calamity.  Wall Street wonders jumped up and down with delight every time the interest rate was lowered.  With this U.S. currency devaluation some businesses prospered.

Export businesses roared into high gear.  Alan Greenspan's lowest interest rate in 40 years was in effect subsidizing U.S. exporters.

U.S. hotels prospered.  The British pound had jumped to twice the value of the U.S. dollar.  U.S. citizens wanting to travel to England were hurt a lot as the U.S. dollar's value kept dropping.  A Brit coming to the U.S. was in effect paying $150 for a $300 U.S. currency price room.  

Disney World in Florida and Disney Land in California boomed.  It was economic heaven for developers and home builders.  They were capitalizing on the ease with which banks loaned them money to build endless condos in Florida, California and resort areas.

The dollar's value in certificates of deposit began dropping to an all-time low of 2%.  When should anyone save money?  The interest return was lower than inflation.

This constituted quite frankly legalized theft.  When Germany was collapsing the German mark was gradually destroyed until it took a wheelbarrow of marks to buy a loaf of bread.  

U.S. citizens who saved the U.S. currency were betrayed by their own government as their cash value crashed.  

Many home builders gladly used illegal aliens and non-union builders.  They could skim big buck profits off their building loans.  When their project began, they were guaranteed a tidy bundle if none sold.

Soon the massive over building was nothing short of scandalous.  In Seattle the mayor said downtown Seattle could accommodate 100,000 more people.  The condos and hotels with the big cranes quickly went up all over Seattle.

In nearby Bellevue, which I visited, 2 49-story condos were being completed, with more condos rising all over the city.

When Bill Clinton signed the world trade agreement while Ross Perot  warned that the U.S. labor market could never compete with the cost of labor in Bangladesh, Perot was ignored.  Entire factories hastily moved out of the U.S.A.  Some corporations even got tax breaks when they established businesses in foreign countries.  How patriotic!

The auto industry used to be the number one economic giant in the U.S.A.  Following the bank and business $700 bailout, Ford, GM and Chrysler are now in Washington begging for loans.  30 million are relying on food banks to keep them alive.  

Seattle has 2 tent cities for the homeless.  Now Obama has declared he will ask for an $800 billion bailout for credit to stimulate the economy.  

During the Great Depression the request was "Brother can you spare a dime?"  

Now the request has changed to "Washington can you spare $1.5 trillion?"