Bush On The Record, Was Warned [Again]

Like 9/11 and Katrina, Bush had the facts, he just choose to ignore them over ideology.

Today, the Associated Press offered more evidence of Bush’s failure, reporting that his administration “ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown,” and “backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed.”

This was 2005!

In 2005, banking regulators proposed a series of regulations that “reads like a list of what-ifs“:

- Regulators told bankers exotic mortgages were often inappropriate for buyers with bad credit.

- Banks would have been required to increase efforts to verify that buyers actually had jobs and could afford houses.

- Regulators proposed a cap on risky mortgages so a string of defaults wouldn’t be crippling.

- Banks that bundled and sold mortgages were told to be sure investors knew exactly what they were buying.

- Regulators urged banks to help buyers make responsible decisions and clearly advise them that interest rates might skyrocket and huge payments might be due sooner than expected.

Thanks to Bush's indifference, incompetence, or perhaps malice, millions of people will wind up losing their jobs and suffering dire consequences.

Source: The Wonk Room