On America's Subprime Mortgage Catastrophe...Sep 30 '08 (Updated Oct 24 '08) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line The time to study America's past economic woes is NOW, and it would be sure folly to not apply some basic common sense to help solve this crisis.
Introduction I have NO expertise in economics, but I was taught a simple rule--"He or she who fails to study history will be doomed to repeat it." If we simply look back at past times of economic dire straits in this country, we will be able to at least make better predictions about what could happen. And knowing is half the battle, making for a lot less stress, and better preparation. These are some thoughts-an opinion piece- I've been mulling over that I thought could generate some useful chatter here... The Gist o' the Matter... With the bailout, it seems that Congress is seeking to reward bankers for taking on super-risky loans (and I do believe they were fully aware of what they were doing), at our expense. We've watched the effects of lobbyists for years, as we got those "notice of change in terms," as financial institutions were permitted to literally rape us blind--they were virtually given free reign to do as they pleased, and integrity was not a catchword for anyone involved. If the statistic is to be believed, most mortgage defaults are a result of medical bills, and a lack of basic health care for many Americans. Even those insured are getting stabbed in the back, as greedy pharmaceutical companies and unscrupulous nursing homes and other medical facilities literally pull the welcome mats from underneath most Americans' major asset--their homes. Some kind of guaranteed health care needs to be instituted if, for nothing else, for America to keep up with the rest of the modern Western nations. When a full-fledged American citizen in serious distress is turned away from emergency rooms due to a "paperwork" problem, and people are dying in the waiting rooms; while the relatively few admitted are being set up to lose their only assets--my GOD! What have we come to? A Look Back... What happened in the Great Depression? Many became homeless, hobos. The country eventually recovered, but there was a long, long period of widespread poverty. Up to 40% of people (richest) weren't affected. Other families fell apart--women took on breadwinner roles (especially in Black families), and most couldn't afford divorces. Family income fell drastically. 1.5 million men walked out on their wives. New Deal programs targeted White males. 400,000 Mexican-Americans were illegally deported to create jobs for others. Unemployment went up to 25% (1933), and didn't dip below 14% until 1941. A Republican (Hoover) was in office when it began, and a Democrat led us out of it (Roosevelt). Worldwide effects led to global strife and militarism that led to WWII. Ironically, it was war production that created jobs that helped lift us out of the depression, and the GI Bill that led to the higher education (and incomes) of many veterans. Parallels A Republican (Bush) oversaw this economic slump. Predictably, a Democrat will lead us out of it. Social programs-then, as now, will HAVE to be implemented to help the non-rich (as proven by history), government WILL get bigger, and regulation of all industries will tighten, and be scrutinized by the public. Hopefully, we will not enter WWIII to help lift us out, but continue to wage a "cool war," with technology. And THIS TIME, scaling back our military presence, world-wide, should contribute to our economic recovery--we need to speed up our exit from Iraq, and put our money to the creation of opportunities here at home. Also, we see the increased pressure on illegal aliens, as deportation is hitting a new high. What Else? In researching President Hoover, I found him to be an extraordinary man, but unfit for the presidency. His Quaker origins gave him great self-discipline, but did not grant him the flexibility to move away from the "I pulled myself up from my bootstraps, so why can't you?" mentality--he would have better served the country if he had remained the Commerce Secretary. His programs were much-expanded into the New Deal, but, of course, were seen as "too little, too late," and his expectation that the private sector would voluntarily step in and help solve the now-global problem was hugely unrealistic. Obviously, the people he was appealing to had little impetus to act, being largely unaffected--and they were not as altruistic as he. President Hoover comitted a major gaffe when he refused to reprimand General Douglas McArthur, for disobeying an order not to move on an encampment near the White House (economic protesters, and mostly WWI veterans), during which he injured hundreds, in what he believed was a communist revolution. This was in the midst of his campaign for reelection against FDR. In response, Roosevelt said of him, "There is nothing inside the man but jelly!" He won in a landslide. The impoverished Depression-era shantytowns that sprouted up were dubbed "Hoovervilles," and the former President spent much of his later years driving thousands of miles around the country with his wife-often unrecognized-fishing and visiting mine sites (he was a reknown mining engineer). * Eyewitnesstohistory.com was used for the statistics in this piece. I like to do THIS when I go on vacation. 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