Who Killed the Economy?

[Xipe Totec]

It's a classic Wall Street "whodunit," complete with a collection of greedy investment bankers, slow-witted policymakers and numbskull Florida home buyers. But with so many suspects, how will Americans ever figure out who killed the once-vibrant and cheery U.S. economy?

"There were a lot of people who contributed to the real estate bubble and the easing of lending standards that led to the subprime debacle," says Ethan Harris, chief U.S. economist at Lehman Brothers. So many, indeed, that he and other pundits find it difficult to point the finger at any single player.

You can, though. Play the Portfolio.com brackets and pick your own culprit.



This poll needs some DU lovin'

Right now, Greenspan is beating Bush as the culprit for killing the economy....




http://www.portfolio.com/interactive-features/2008/06/Who-Killed-The-Economy

[BOSSHOG]

1. Conservative Values

has had the most devastating effect on our economy in the past eight years. Those wacky fiscally conservative republican pukes and all their values have wacked our economy as they daily bitch and moan and belly ache about tax and spend liberals to their compliant lemming supporters.

[Submariner]

2. Krugman has a good take on the dive

Op-Ed Columnist
Behind the Bush Bust

By huge margins, Americans think the economy is in lousy shape — and they blame President Bush. This fact, more than anything else, makes it hard to see how the Democrats can lose this election.

But is the public right to be so disgusted with Mr. Bush’s economic leadership? Not exactly. We really do have a lousy economy, a fact of which Mr. Bush seems spectacularly unaware. But that’s not the same thing as saying that the bad economy is Mr. Bush’s fault.

On the other hand, there’s a certain rough justice in the public’s attitude. Other politicians besides Mr. Bush share the blame for the mess we’re in — but most of them are Republicans.

First things first: pay no attention to apologists who try to defend the Bush economic record. Since 2001, economic conditions have alternated between so-so and outright bad: a recession, followed by one of the weakest expansions since World War II, and then by a renewed job slump that isn’t officially a recession yet, but certainly feels like one.

snip >

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/opinion/07krugman.html?_r=1&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin

[MannyGoldstein]

3. In No Particular Order

Bush, Greenspan, Clinton, Rubin, Congress... and We The People for letting it happen.

[butterfly77]

8. The same thing goes for the Iraq occupation...

and all of the talking heads that talked it up...

[Canuckistanian]

4. The better question is - who kept it alive for so long?

It used to be that regulation kept greed and corruption in check. And for a while during the 50's to the 70's, the financial services sector was restrained, cautious and to a point, self-regulating.

Enter the Reagan doctrine of "unrestrained capitalism". And regulation gradually eroded, in favor of greater profits for the top executives, riskier investments and shadier business practices.

And with virtually no regulation, greed set in. It was inevitable.

Now, all that underground erosion is starting to show.

[DailyGrind51]

5. The people who believed that we should "think outside the box",

forgot why those boxes were put there in the first place.

[Canuckistanian]

11. That's very profound

Certain things should not be confined to boxes.

Others MUST be.

Wild animals and avaricious bankers come to mind immediately.

[DailyGrind51]

14. Thank you!

Just think what would occur if we "deregulated" traffic the same way we "deregulated" the lending industry. Would people be as inclined to observe reasonable speeds? stop at intersections or railroad crossings? yield when merging into traffic?, etc. Or, would we see wholesale slaughter as depicted in George Miller's "Road Warrior"? Mortgage brokers and investment bankers also drive!

[Canuckistanian]

16. That's a good analogy

Even as we speak, there are mass collisions (the mortgage fiasco), illegal turns (offshore corporate headquarters), unsafe vehicles (hedge funds) and obstruction of traffic (monopolies/cartels).

Until the perpetrators of these infractions are punished, the roads will indeed resemble those of "Road Warrior".

[pansypoo53219]

12. master card and visa.

spending money you don't have......priceless/bankruptcy.

[Oregone]

6. NAFTA killed the economy...

Or rather, "Free Trade" and everyone responsible for it (Republicans and Democrats alike).

Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the economy it was dead, so the greedy bankers thought, "what the hell?", and they tried to resurrect the economy's decomposing corpse via the housing industry (construction, lending, speculation), until everyone in the dead economy ran out of money (which is normally the sorry SOB's at the bottom of a standard pyramid scheme). The lenders made out like the goons they are, laughing and taking their billions all the way to the bank.

So, not only has the rotting economy been decomposing for a decade, instead of digging the standard 6 foot deep hole, we dug our way to China without paying attention. Go USA.

How depressing. Clearly, we need a new country to bomb.

[BigDaddy44]

7. Greenspan

Money was way too cheap for way too long. It created an orgy of borrowing, spending, and artificially propping up the economy. Now the party is over, and we're all going to suffer the hangover.

[pansypoo53219]

13. that's who i am blaming

also enabled georgee the retard and his tax cuts for the rich.

[lib2DaBone]

20. Agree.. Georgie and All of CONgress....

But more than Georgie, I blame all 535 members of CONgress. They gave Georgie everything he wanted and never questioned him. Funding bills passed at 11 p.m. on Friday night, 3000 page Patriot Acts, FISA Spying, Military Commissions Act,etc, etc. The traitors in CONgress should be arrested.

[guitar man]

9. We did

As a people, we collectively destroyed our economyToo many of us stood silent while our jobs were shipped overseas, then bought the crappy imports, borrowed the cheap money and tried to carry seconds and thirds on our homes, anything to live the "high life".

The last great depression followed a period of unbridled excess. So too shall the next one. :(

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

10. A trillion dollars of war, tax cuts that have forced more government borrowing

and a policy to devalue the dollar haven't helped. Trickle down nonsense and a perpetual war footing,

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

15. Massive debt, public and private killed the dollar and the rest took care of itself

[lonestarnot]

17. Those choices are bullshit!

Halliburton is nowhere on the map, neither are any of the other war contractors and what about the dick?

[Xipe Totec]

18. So, you noticed...

talk about a basket case of false choices...

[lonestarnot]

19. I still picked bushitler just for fucking wasting time.