Home Inmate Central

Inmate Central, where civil and family-friendly discourse about off-audio topics (other than religion and politics) is welcome.

RE: Housing is public policy; that is set by politicians. The central tenet of the Republican Party

"has been "laissez-faire," keep government out of business.
You are saying we NEED government to interfere. That is contra-conservative ideology. I am not arguing, not saying whether that's right or wrong. I am pointing out the defining economic mantra of the Republican Party, that's all."

Conflating traditional conservatives with Republicans is a common mistake. That said, I'm unaware of **any** conservative or Republican advocating zero banking regulations. Perhaps you would be good enough to point out a few.

Libertarians are another matter. A libertarian friend I have coffee with insists the financial meltdown we suffered in 2008 was made possible by the presence of government meddling and interference. He blames the housing/debt bubble on central banks and dubious U.S. programs to encourage home purchase. Moreover, he faults the existence of consumer protection acts such as the FDIC for making people less careful with their money and hence banking CEO's less careful about taking the proper risks where their customers are concerned.

Lastly, he faults the government for forcing taxpayers to bail out the Wall Street bankers, insisting that if there were no government backstop bankers would be more cautious with their investments. Therefore, he argues, it was gov't intervention that caused the crisis. This isn't the same thing as "regulation" per se but you get the point: Libertarians loath all forms of gov't intervention.

I can’t say I agree with him 100% but he offers some interesting observations. Moreover, a panel of economists on Maria Bartiromo’s show the other evening acknowledged that free money from the Fed has caused the past two market meltdowns. But what really got my attention was the unchallenged comment of one economist who said the leveraging we see today is as deplorable as the leveraging that existed in 2008. That's troubling.


This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
  Signature Sound   [ Signature Sound Lounge ]


Follow Ups Full Thread
Follow Ups

FAQ

Post a Message!

Forgot Password?
Moniker (Username):
Password (Optional):
  Remember my Moniker & Password  (What's this?)    Eat Me
E-Mail (Optional):
Subject:
Message:   (Posts are subject to Content Rules)
Optional Link URL:
Optional Link Title:
Optional Image URL:
Upload Image:
E-mail Replies:  Automagically notify you when someone responds.