I was watching some recently and heard the oft used mantra “the President inherited this mess from his predecessor” and I wondered, what the hell does that even mean?
Now, just for the record, I am not asking what inherit
means. I know I should not even have to mention that, but lately I have come to
the realization that sometimes it’s better not to guess that your audience
knows what you mean. Sarcasm sometimes does not translate well.
Are they talking about the “recession” and if so, then why is it all Bush’s fault? It is generally accepted that the recession
was brought about by the collapse of the housing bubble. As we entered the
recession, a tremendous amount of all mortgages in the
That being said, should President Bush blame mortgage lenders
or homeowners who knew that they simply could not afford the cost of the home
but signed on the dotted line any way?
This is a really sore point with me to be honest. I
purchased my first home in 1992. Since that time I have purchased a number of
other homes and investment property. I know what I can afford to spend. If you
are pocketing $35k a year and someone is telling you to sign your name on the
dotted line for your half a million dollar dream home run away very fast………. If
you think it’s a great idea, because home ownership is a “right”, and you sign,
feel free to pick up your free “It’s all
Bush’s fault” poster and enjoy that glass of kool-aid.
Maybe Bush should start blaming President Lyndon Johnson (D)
who signed off on passage of the Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) Act by a Democrat-controlled House and Senate in 1965. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) had an official policy of
increasing home ownership by lowering mortgage underwriting standards. This had
a significant effect on the quality of mortgages in circulation prior to the
recession.
Or how about blaming FDR? After all, FDR (D) signed Fannie
Mae into law in 1938 and we know that they were involved in the whole housing
Fiasco. But why stop there? How about tossing some blame on President Richard
Nixon (R) who in 1970, and with a Democrat House and Senate, authorized Fannie
Mae to purchase mortgages, as well as brought Freddie Mac into existence.
Or better yet, how about let’s blame Daddy! In 1992, a
Democrat House and Senate established affordable housing goals along with the
signature of President George Bush (R). Or how about blaming President Bill
Clinton (D) who, in 1999, began pressuring Fannie Mae to increase its ratio of
loans to moderate and low income home buyers.
Consider for a moment that the 1977 Community Reinvestment
Act required banks to offer loans to borrowers in their service area that were
at or below 80% of the area’s median income. Or, in plain language, banks were
required to offer loans to people who were less able to afford a mortgage, and
they weren’t allowed to use their own lending standards. Why not blame President
Carter!!
But who did Bush blame? No one. He took the reigns of the
Presidency as the dot.com bubble had burst. Then, with a little less than seven
months in office, he was faced with the worst terrorist attack on United
States soil since Pearl Harbor .
I don’t recall him blaming any one else.
I did not agree with everything he did, but I am also not an
idiot and realize that one man cannot make everyone happy. You do the best you
can and live with the ramifications. You’re the President. It doesn’t matter
who did what when they sat in the seat, it’s what you do now that you’re
sitting there.
Maybe that’s what President Obama should have inherited. Class.
He ran on Hope and
Change. He said he understood the
problems and we were told he was the only person who could fix them.
The bottom line is that this country is in a mess and we
need real leadership. Not four more years of blaming Bush.
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