A blimey long and ignorant paragraph you wrote there. Be wary of alliteration when used in politics and in rhetoric.
Quote from jwcapital:
I like the comment New Deal V.2. FDR broke it down into three actions: rescue, relief, and reform. Rescue efforts for the financial institutions are underway, but as the NYT article mentions, the effort is not working. What is the government doing to rescue the consumer/public? Well, the FED's efforts to lower short-term interest rates aren't working. The public is saving some money on their ARM's and home equity lines, but taht savings is being used to pay down other bills; hence, no new consumer spending. The stimulus package recently passed will not work either. People will use that money to pay down their bills; hence, no new consumer spending. Fortunately, the unemployment rate is still historically low; unfortuantely, unemployment is a lagging indicator. Dealings with primary homeowners are insufficient--delaying foreclosures and providing inadequate "new deals" to the borrowers. Freezes have never worked; they just delay the inevitable. Real rescue for primary homeowners with ARMS would be a "conversion" of these ARM's to 30-year fixed rate mortgages at the banks' expense. This type of rescue is cheaper than a foreclosure any day. Relief efforts are not working either. Unfortunately, the GOVT is so busy working on reform efforts that they needed to wait for rescue/relief efforts to work first. Reform is a effort to prevent crises in the future. Licensing of mortgage brokers is a must; crackdown on unfair and predatory lending practices is imperative. I remember when I went to the bank to refinance in 2004. Everyone pushed the option ARM here in Florida. they developed a chart showing the advantages of option ARMS in an exploding upward price environment. Of course, no one presented a chart showing what could happen if housing prices dropped and interest rates skyrocketed. Lastly, the FED foolishly handled the rise of rates in the late 90's, the reduction fo rates in the early 2000's, the maintenance of low rates for too long, and the silly small incremental increases since 2003. Even now, the FED seems to step in when the market is on the verge of crashing. The GOVT must remember that rescue and relief are first and foremost, then reform. Rescue and relief efforts must be fast and adequate. Then reform needs to follow and then interest rates can return to normal as the economy expands. We have these crises because very few economists can accurately forecast in today's global economy.
