Finger pointing is something we learned when we were children. "He did it," is one of the first phrases we learned as small children. None of us want to take the blame for anything. The financial crisis that we are in is not a simple finger pointing exercise. It happened under everyone's watch. It is not just a political issue, a banking issue, or Wall Street, It is also the common person's issue..
It took time to wind up the present woes we are in, and it will take time to unwind it. I love the way we spend time and money investigating who got us where. Yes,we might learn from these mistakes. We might find someone to punish. I think most of all it is therapy to get rid of guilt.
Mike Larson who writes for Money and Market magazine helps us walk through this mess. He first states that Greenspan during his tenure was too generous with lowering interest rates. It did help stimulate the economy, but at the same time it gave artificial growth to business and allowed people to buy houses too easily.
Banks loved making money during this time. There were smart people working in those banks knowing the bubble would burst and the result would not be good. Those bankers were charged with making money and not looking out for the welfare of the people.
Wall Street is all about profits. They push corporations to increase their profits. Wall Street is based on Bear and Bull markets ,and they ride the cycles.Again, they are not concerned about the common person. We now call that common person, Main Street.
Republicans don't want government regulations. Without some control, the greed comes out in people. The Democrats want the American dream to be realized by all and in helping so many reach that dream, a nightmare is created. Common and reasonable ground needs to be reached by both political parties.
Lastly,the people of the streets need to take the blame for going into the "candy store" and eating their fill of sweets and now are suffering a stomach ache. Did many of us know it was too good to be true? Yes. Did we push away from the banker's desk and say,"I know that mortgage is not right and in the end I will be in foreclosure.Thanks, but no thanks." No. Main Street dreamed too big, and they are now feeling the pain of those dreams.
Mike Larson feels giving stimulus packages to citizens will be short lived. It had a small effect last time it was used. Will giving money to financial institutions and Wall Street help? It can easily be mismanaged. He says the clock has been wound too tight and the only way to fix it is to let it unwind by itself. That is not the answer we want to hear, but it sounds the most logical. Patience,we need a large dose of that.
Comments