A Ship of Fools

On the day before Valentines a month ago, Time Magazine put forth an article noting the 25 people to blame for the current financial crisis. Among the guilty listed were Christopher Cox (R:CA), current SEC Charmian, Angelo Mozillo, former CEO of Countrywide Financial, the American consumer, Franklin Raines, a former Clinton budget director and team Obama financial advisor who left fraud infested and bankrupt Fannie Mae with a $90 million parting gift and former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

All the aforementioned are on my list. Mozillo and Raines should be jailed while Cox represents the ultimate example of being asleep at the wheel. Clinton, although he has a disengaged memory of this, started programs which in part led to this debacle while Bush, although he publicly asked Congress for derivatives reform, was Charles in Charge as the situation broke horribly loose.

For the record, GOP Presidential hopeful John McCain (R:AZ), put forth legislation to rein in Freddie and Fannie while President Barack Obama, who complains daily how he inherited this mess, voiced not a peep regarding the housing crisis or credit derivatives on the very few times he engaged the senate floor. He does, however, have a long term association with ACORN, which leads me to the question the Time list.

In the world of BAHL, four of the top culprits were astonishingly omitted on the list by Time. Consistent with the presentation Time put forth, here are my missing four:

Barney Frank (D:MA), Chair of the House Financial Services Committee

Chief among the fools on the hill we can blame for this mess is Barney Frank, who has arrogantly bungled issue after issue. When President Bush asked for the congressional leadership to shore up the derivatives market and the balance sheets at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Frank got twisted and angrily proclaimed that Fannie ( FNM:NYSE) and Freddie (FRC:NYSE) were fine and had no issues. Keep in mind the government runs Freddie and Fannie, and from his perch atop the House Financial Services Committee Frank missed the herd of pink elephants running around. In addition, under the leadership of Franklin Delano Raines, Fannie Mae was found guilty of fraud (accounting errors for those with friends in high places). Frank was a longtime champion of Freddie and Fannie, scolding members of congress who questioned the soundness of these GSE's and running interference to those who got in the way. Obviously, Frank was motivated to back Freddie and Fannie or he is an idiot.

ACORN

If you are looking for a quote unquote non-profit organization that operates with a mob style that imposes it's will on American commerce, it is the Obama friendly fraudulent organization of ACORN. You really need a history of the decades long role this organization has played in this crisis. Through civil disobedience, ACORN continues to interject their ideas in the marketplace even today.

ACORN pressured lending institutions to increase lending to those with less than stellar credit worthiness, essentially minorities, by threatening to march in front of their business or even haul them into court for discrimination. One of the young member of the ACRON legal team was Chicago's Barack Obama. Fearing the unknown of squaring off against this group, many lending institutions caved in and began stretching their lending guidelines.

Chuck Schumer (D:NY)



Chuck Schumer, (D:NY), finds the folks he represents as lower class chatterers who have not the knowledge to interject with the intellectually superior elite like himself. Schumer may have ignited this whole cascade of bank failures by making ill-advised and potentially illegal comments about Indymac bank, which resulted in a run on the bank. At a minimum Schumer had a fiduciary responsibility to keep his mouth shut on information about Indymac he had gained from his governmental position. Violation of the responsibility to the magnitude of Schumers actions are borderline criminal. After Indymac failed, the doors got kicked open and the scramble to struggle for solvency was initiated. Was this an idiotic move or a grand scheme to destabilize the banking system to make the Bush administration look bad? Either way, Schumer's actions are arrogant and destructive.

Chris Dodd (D:CT)

Christopher Dodd has his hands in the housing crisis more than anyone else on Capitol Hill, and he should be asked to resign immediately if not impeached. I have been calling for this for quite some time. Dodd got a favorable loan from Countrywide, a loan with terms not available to the common man, and claimed he was unaware of it. It would not be a stretch to think the Chairman of the House Banking Committee had little knowledge of mortgage loan terms given the level of competence we see in Washington.

Imagine the Chairman of the House Banking Committee getting a favorable loan and failing to notice any issues with Countrywide, Fannie or Freddie or issues with unqualified home buyers being granted mortgages. Somehow, Dodd managed to escape with his job after this debacle but now is embroiled in a scandal over the bonus compensation the executives at American international Group (AIG:NYSE)have received.

As the turmoil around AIG continues to evolve, it is interesting to note that a top recipient of campaign contributions from AIG, rivaling President Obama, is Dodd. Dodd has been caught skirting the truth at best in this scandal, as his incompetence continues to hurt this country.


Our Congressional representation thinks America is back lashing at these bonuses being paid to AIG workers, but they are mistaken. America is pissed at the Congress, and quickly becoming disappointed in President Obama, who I think is learning on the fly while he drastically aims to enact policy that places this country in economic, social and geopolitical peril.