rssMore Than Half of Republicans Don’t Believe Banks Are to Blame for the Financial Crisis
Monday, March 22, 2010 at 5:36 pm
- 15 Comments
A new ABC News poll asks what Americans have to say about the newest economic villains — banks — as they return to profitability well ahead of America’s burgeoning unemployed population. There are few surprises there: The vast majority of people don’t believe the banks have done enough to “make up” for their role in the economic meltdown — and Americans think the best way for them to help is to lower credit card interest rates, simplify their paperwork requirements and, to a lesser extent, hold off on foreclosures until the economy improves. Notably, only the last bit has been part of a government program to aid Americans during the crisis, and only to a very limited (and often paperwork-choked) degree.
More interesting than the fact that nearly 80 percent of Americans polled are angry about bonuses at banks that got bailed out is the political breakdown, at least insofar as the economic crisis is the stated reason to undertake the financial reforms that Republicans are opposing. Participants were asked whether it was “fair” that the bailed-out companies have started making money again even as non-bailed-out Americans are struggling. About 47 percent called it unfair and 48 percent called it fair — but Republicans and Democrats hardly agreed.
Republicans call the outcome fair by 55-39 percent; Democrats call it unfair by a narrower 54-44 percent. (Independents split down the middle.)
The differences appear throughout the questions asked in the survey: Republicans, as a rule, don’t assign as much blame or have as much anger at the banks as Democrats and independent voters, despite all the evidence that the meltdown was triggered by shady derivative trading, off-balance sheet transactions and, in the case of the housing collapse, outright fraud.
There also are partisan gaps in criticism of the banks more broadly – nearly two-thirds of Democrats and independents alike assign them significant blame for the recession, but just under half of Republicans agree. And there’s a similar gap in views of whether banks and related institutions have a responsibility to help Americans who are still struggling with the economy. Seventy-nine percent of Democrats say they do, and again nearly as many independents, 72 percent, agree. It’s also a majority among Republicans, but a much smaller one, 54 percent.
There is no indication from the poll on whom more than half of Republicans blame the recession, but any one of a number of pictures of Tea Party protesters from last weekend indicates there’s a chance that at least some of them just believe it’s President Obama personally.
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15 Comments
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Comment posted March 22, 2010 @ 10:16 pm
I'll tell you who they think is to blame: The poor dark-skinned people who bought homes they couldn't afford. That's who they want to blame it on. The fact that the banks approved the loans won't cross their minds, of course.
Comment posted March 22, 2010 @ 10:39 pm
Outrageous. Of course the banks are to blame. Prices of houses had gone up so high no one could afford them. Instead of being sensible and declining mortgage applications, the lenders approved anyone who could fog a mirror. This is exactly why the majority of these lenders are out business now. That and lack of regulation of the banking industry. Seriously, around 10% of all mortgages are facing default meaning 90% are performing. if the banks had the required capital to buy back bad mortgages according to the contracts with investors, there wouldn't be this problem and you can thank republicans for deregulation of the banking industry. I don't know who is worse republicans or “the terrorists”.
Comment posted March 22, 2010 @ 10:44 pm
More juggling of numbers to “prove” their case. It's getting old. It's also getting to the point where the GOP can't be trusted with ANYTHING.
In their case, the numbers DO lie. Consistently and repeatedly. Only those who get their “news” from one or two sources are susceptible to this kind of dishonesty.
Comment posted March 23, 2010 @ 2:19 am
It's not the fault of those poor, hard-working investment bankers—-it's gotta be Obama's fault: isn't everything?
Pingback posted March 23, 2010 @ 4:16 am
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Comment posted March 23, 2010 @ 5:34 am
Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act, empowering regulators to punish banks that failed to “meet the credit needs” of “low-income, minority, and distressed neighborhoods.” Lenders responded by loosening their underwriting standards and making increasingly shoddy loans. The two government-chartered mortgage finance firms, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, encouraged this “subprime” lending by authorizing ever more “flexible” criteria by which high-risk borrowers could be qualified for home loans, and then buying up the questionable mortgages that ensued.
This crisis was triggered by wreckless lending policies and BAD regulation: Fannie and Freddie fell first, and then it was dominos from there. Banks are guilty, put policy makers, mainly democrat i.e. Barney Frank, fueled the fire.
Not all regulation is good regulation. This crisis was the perfect example. If banks couldn't sell their subprime loans to Government back firms such as Fannie or Freddie, this crisis would probably never have happened. Fannie and Freddie created a false demand for these loans and you can't blame banks, RE agents, your neighbor, speculators, and maybe even yourself for taking advantage of it.
Comment posted March 23, 2010 @ 9:17 am
A lot of people that took out mortgages were able to afford the payments at that time. The problem was the type of loans they were talked into taking out. The ARMs that suddenly tripled the loan payments, the interest only loans people were sold. A large majority of people who take out mortgages do not completely understand the ins and outs of the industry. They rely on their loan officer and their realtor to advise them about what they should do. When they are offered loans that gives them their slice of the American dream, maybe even a bit more of the dream then they originally thought they could get, particularly when they were assured by their loan officer they would be able to afford it, I find it hard to blame them. The ones in the know should have explained better the possible pitfalls- and that it could happen.
I worked closely with several CRA officers from our local banks, working on programs to help people be able to be home owners in their neighborhoods. We created gap financing to help with with down payments. We held home-ownership classes to teach people what they needed to do to be able to get a mortgage, how needed to develop a budget and build their credit and save money. These types of programs went on all over the country to help people become homeowners. The facts are there- owner occupied neighborhoods are more stable, less crime ridden and better parts of a community. In communities where absentee landlords, drug dealers and other criminals are rampant, low income families are caught in the crossfire. They couldn't own homes they could afford because banks wouldn't loan money in those neighborhoods. That was why the CRA was passed- to stop the practice of red-lining and entire neighborhoods being off-limits for purchasers that wanted to live and own there.
For you to blame low income and minority people for the bad practices of those who make the loans is unfair and undeserved. Most of the people who were able to buy in a traditional mortgage were able to continue making their payments unless job loss was the factor. Job loss caused all kinds of people to go into foreclosure, not just the poor or minorities. They can't be blamed for that. The lack of regulation and oversight is a definite factor in the forclosure crisis.
Pingback posted March 23, 2010 @ 12:51 pm
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Comment posted March 23, 2010 @ 1:26 pm
The CRA was part of the problem and helped fuel the fire for lowering standards across the board for lending money. It definately wasn't entirely to blame. Who was the main culprit in the financial fallout of 2008? THE FEDERAL RESERVE. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates artificially low for over 7 years which created artificial demand for housing. THe banks and the homebuyers merely took advantage of the Fed's loose lending policies. It the US backed failed institutions of Fannie and Freddie were not allowed to carry so much debt, this crisis would not have happened. Predatory lending and house flipping was the result. The Federal Reserve did not recognize what was going on and continued to grow the bubble by lowering rates further. Government regulation is not the answer, it is what caused this crisis. If normal market forces were in play, then higher interest rates would have prevented such a bubble from occuring.
Pingback posted March 23, 2010 @ 5:21 pm
[...] [Washington Independent] Tagged with: banks • Democrats • financial crisis • Independents • Republicans • Wall St. 0 Comments SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "New poll shows those responsible for the financial crisis aren’t actually responsible for the financial crisis", url: "http://www.theuglyswallow.com/2010/03/23/new-poll-shows-those-responsible-for-the-financial-crisis-arent-actually-responsible-for-the-financial-crisis/" }); [...]
Comment posted March 24, 2010 @ 3:26 pm
The community reinvestment Act was to prevent “red lining”; which was the practice of not loaning money because of location not credit worthiness of the borrower. That process caused and outbreak of urban decay by not allowing reinvestment into certain neighborhoods. Those loans were written with proper credit standards and have a default rate equal to their twin, “prime loans”. Sub prime is a type of loan product…… not a person. Many prime borrowers took out sub prime loans.
Look at what your exact word were, “meet the credit needs” of “low-income, minority, and distressed neighborhoods.” Neighborhoods….not people. The Government was interviening to stop urban blight….great idea. Giving people with good credit a loan is not social engineering. Where do you think the banks get their money?…… does the Federal Reserve ring a bell.
The Act has been revised and amended since its inception which allows banks to buy bundles of loans from other banks and that counts as their “compliance” with the community Reinvestment Act……..such harsh enforcment.
I find it funny that people can believe that the poorest of society outsmarted the wealthiest and orchestrated a world wide financial crisis from the ghetto. If you believe that, I have a 1/2 term Govenor from Alaska to sell you.
Comment posted March 24, 2010 @ 11:30 pm
Th CRA didn't lower loan standards- it prevented banks from redlining entire neighborhoods. They were happy to take money from people in those neighborhoods- you could have an account and pay their fees while living in those neighborhoods, but try getting a loan to purchase a property, even with good credit, and forget it. CRA didn't make banks lower standards. Banks and mortgage companies that got greedy lowered standards. Property values increased an inflated rate- no one could really afford the price of a home- and yet they kept finding ways to get people into loans because they were making money. I know people who were SOLICTED to buy up- that weren't really looking but someone approached them to sell what they had a get more. The industry got greedy and people got caught up in the madness. Overwhelmingly, the cause is greed.
Pingback posted August 12, 2010 @ 10:37 am
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