THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 269, October 16, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
EXPLODING THE MYTHS OF "PREDATORY LENDING"
By Christopher G. Adamo
PARTISANSHIP, PROPAGANDA, & THE DEMOCRATS' POLITICAL EXPLOITATION OF THE NATION'S FINANCIAL CRISIS:
"WALL STREET GREED" & "PREDATORY LENDING" AS EASILY REFUTABLE PROPAGANDA -- THE REAL CAUSE OF THE
MORTGAGE & BANKING COLLAPSE -- WHO UNDERMINED OR PREVENTED EFFECTIVE OVERSIGHT OF THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM
-- THE VULNERABILITIES OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY LEADERS ON THE ISSUE -- THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FINANCIAL
MELTDOWN & GOVERNMENT ECONOMIC POLICIES INITIATED DURING THE CLINTON PRESIDENCY -- THE ROLE OF FREDDIE
MAC & FANNIE MAE IN PRECIPITATING THE CRISIS
FULL STORY:
In a blatant example of political grandstanding rooted in sheer audacity, leaders of the Democratic Party are seeking to gain
as much mileage as possible from the nation’s economic woes. Worst of all is that they are doing so by incessantly
blaming the situation on such easily refutable bogeymen as “greed on Wall Street” and “predatory lending.” Yet, by their
nearly hysterical repetitions of these straw dogs, they inadvertently reveal their inherent vulnerabilities on the issue. Sadly,
Republicans are still not rising to the challenge of exposing the whole debacle for what it is.
To begin with, the notion that “greed on Wall Street” somehow formulated the current financial fiasco is wholly without
any factual basis, but rather is an indication of the contempt held towards Middle America by those elitists who consider
themselves to be the “Ruling Class.” Wall Street has always been driven by the desire of its participants to accrue and
increase wealth.
If that is “greed,” then every American employee who ever works overtime or seeks a pay raise is every bit as guilty of
“greed” as well, but just not as successful as the competent investment broker. What causes similar motivations to
undermine America’s financial markets is not the mere desire for greater wealth, but the unchecked presence of corruption.
And that begs the question of just who undermined or prevented oversight of the financial system necessary to maintain
its integrity.
More significantly, however, under even casual scrutiny, the commonly blamed activity of “predatory lending” evaporates
into thin air. Consider this inane notion in contrast to those conditions necessary to devastate the nation’s entire banking
industry. It quickly becomes obvious that the phony scenario of a slick loan officer, seeking to extort the life-savings from
mom and pop, simply will not generate such calamity unless powerful people in high public office have an ulterior stake in
the operation and participate in the ruse.
Ultimately, it is those people who must be rooted out and held accountable. But it is also those people who are not only
escaping any culpability, but who are the most vehement in their condemnation of the industry that, without their
interference, would not have anything to gain by perpetrating such felonious action that, in the end, constitutes a crime
against every honest citizen of this nation.
Even the most unscrupulous used-car salesman would not purposely seek to liquidate his entire inventory of vehicles, if he
knew that payment would consist entirely of bad checks. Simply moving stock off of the lot, without any hope of reaping a
cash profit, would be the height of foolishness, and the surest way to destroy his business.
On the other hand, consider the typical operation of a government welfare office. Its supposed reason for existence is to
improve the lives of those unfortunate individuals who “need assistance.” Yet its real success is only determined by
establishing ever-larger roles of recipients. Thus, it seeks to ensnare, not bolster, the lives of those who stray into its midst.
In the end, the enormous sums of money it distributes to its “clients,” whether or not they qualify or actually need it, is
secondary to the benefits it reaps from its enlarged role as a self-serving bureaucracy.
The same rules apply to those in the banking industry. A “predatory lender” in the free market only stands to destroy his
livelihood, if he makes loans to people who cannot qualify for them and are thus likely to be unable to pay them off. The
only reason to make such an imprudent agreement is if one expects some alternative means of reaping a profit from the
transaction. And that is where the insidious connection between the financial markets of New York and the bureaucratic
monstrosity of Washington D.C. becomes profoundly relevant.
More importantly, that is why the current efforts of the Liberal media/Democratic Party axis to deflect attention, and
essentially cover up the enormous scandal which precipitated the mortgage and banking collapse and subsequent
“bailout” amounts to a criminal theft of the wealth of America.
Bad loans could only be worthwhile to bankers who knew they could reap credit for them, while offloading them to
governing entities which did not require any payoff. For the loaning institutions, it did not matter if the principals who
received the loan ever paid back a penny. In the end, the balance due would come from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,
the pseudo government organizations that have direct access to the public trough, and, thus, could collect tax dollars in
lieu of real payments.
In other words, with the backing of federal bureaucrats, and their unlimited stockpile of monies confiscated from
taxpayers, it was sufficiently profitable to simply make loans to anyone and everyone who walked through the door, with
the full expectation that Uncle Sam would pay for everything with your money. Such a financial “strategy” carried with it
the iron-fist of the “politically correct,” who not only enabled such perverse “lending” to ensue, but demanded it.
A May 31, 1999, article in the Los Angeles Times best highlights this abominable misuse of government power,
explaining that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae “are now required to devote 42% of their portfolios to loans for low and
moderate income borrowers; HUD, which has the authority to set the targets, is poised to propose an increase this
Summer.” Thus, was the stage set during the Clinton administration for today’s monetary meltdown.
In the end, the “predatory lenders” turned out to be those same people in government who forced this outrage on America,
who received kickbacks for the scam in the form of campaign contributions. Showing absolutely no shame, they now loudly
boast of having crafted a phony $700 billion “solution” which somehow leaves them totally devoid of any responsibility
and, instead, absurdly credits them with “fixing” the problem.
From the felonious former U.S. President to Assistant Attorney General Jamie Gorelick, Franklin Raines (now a key Obama
advisor), Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank, and Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd (Democrats all), the ranks of
those who established and enabled the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac federally sanctioned “money laundering” program reads
like a “Who’s Who” of Clinton Era cronyism.
They systematically prevented any effective oversight, and grew the monster to unfathomable proportions by feeding the
huddled masses of low-income loan applicants into its gaping jaws (among those defaulting are an estimated five million
illegal aliens). Accordingly, these Clinton Era cronies deserve condemnation in the loudest terms every time they open their
sanctimonious mouths.
Only in such a manner can true justice be done. And only by their public disgrace and accountability (Does anyone
remember how loudly these same people condemned Enron CEO Ken Lay?) can the nation hope to avoid an otherwise
inevitable repeat of the fiasco.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
American Politics, Political Competition, & the Control of
Public Policy: Elections, Political Parties, Political Factions,
Ideologies, & Special Interest Groups
American Government & the U.S. Presidency:
Presidential Politics & National Leadership
Ethnic & Racial Politics in the U.S.A.
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, Marxists, & Other Leftists:
The Democratic Party, Academia, & the Mainstream Media
Liberalism Versus Conservatism in American Politics
-------------------------
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY & POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES:
COMPETING SYSTEMS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Conservatism
Traditional Conservatism: Questions & Answers
Conservatism: Attitudes, Types, & Present Status
Constitutional Conservatism: American & British
Liberalism
Classical Liberalism: Intellectual Foundations
Classical Liberalism: Conservative Liberalism
Manchester Liberalism & Social Darwinism
Modern Social "Liberalism": Statist "Liberalism"
Radical & Totalitarian Ideologies
Radicalism, Utopianism, & Totalitarianism
Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer who lives in southeastern Wyoming and works in the field of industrial instrumentation.
He is actively involved in Wyoming's political process, serving as a delegate to successive Wyoming State Republican Conventions
and as a member of the Wyoming State Republican Central Committee. He has assisted Republican candidates for local and state
legislatures and for the United States Congress. His articles, which appear regularly in The Progressive Conservative, U.S.A.,
and on a number of other websites, reflect a major concern with the damage being done to Conservatism and Conservative causes by
the Liberal Leftist faction in the Republican Party as well as by the much larger and more powerful Liberal Leftist faction in the
Democratic Party. During the early and middle 1990s, Adamo was Editor of the Wyoming Christian Coalition's official news organ,
The Wyoming Christian.
Return to Top of Page
Go to the WEBSITE INDEX
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Public Issues & Political Controversies
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
Most Recent Articles
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Volume X, 2008
Return to Beginning of
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA,
Subject Matter Highlights
Return to POLITICAL EDUCATION Homepage
CONTACT & ACCESS INFORMATION
This is not a commercial website. The sole purpose of the website is to share with interested persons information regarding civics,
civic and social education, political science, government, politics, law, constitutional law and history, public policy, and political
philosophy and history, as well as current and recent political developments, public issues, and political controversies.
POLITICAL EDUCATION, CONSERVATIVE ANALYSIS
POLITICS, SOCIETY, & THE SOVEREIGN STATE
Website of Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr.
Government, Politics, Public Policy, Legal Issues, Constitutional Law, Government & the Economy, Cultural Values, Foreign Affairs,
International Relations, Military Defense & National Security, Geopolitics, Terrorism & Homeland Security, American National Interests,
Political Systems & Processes, Political Institutions, Political Ideologies, & Political Philosophy
INDEX FOR THE ENTIRE WEBSITE
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity