lindabee10 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

The entire rotten structure of Wall Street is to blame. Heck, they're all in bed with each other financially, and this has been coming on since the 1980s. If you want to read all the gory details, here's the best article I've seen: Google:portfolio. com "the end of wall street's boom"

sherborninn (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Where is the obvious question...how did the Democrats block this in committee if Republicans held the majority in the Senate? (The stuff about a 60% majority requirement is bunk. If it were true, why not say so?) Why didn't he report that the Dems supported stronger regulation, but supported a different version of a bill that would have accomplished the same thing (and some would say, tougher oversight)? Because it's Fox and the truth isn't the goal; the goal is to make the Dems look bad.

icouce (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Free markets did not fail, government intervention did. The regulatory effect of taxes is overlooked. One mans incentive is another mans loophole et vise versa. Moreover, profligate credit, deficits, Keynesian monetary expansion and the 1992 Community Redevelopment Act mandating loans to borrowers of dubious financial merit were all actions of government not of capitalism. Markets are punishing exactly the kind of behavior one expects them to punish -- yes Mr. Friedman, you did warn us.

kraythe (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@dougandsuzy: You are a moron. you need 60% to take a bill from committee to the house floor. I told yo uto learn a bit of civics before you post again you idiot.

dougandsuzy (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

You are delusional! The REPUBLICANS had an 11-9 majority on the committee!

kraythe (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

@dougandsuzy: Sigh! Sick when they discussed civics in high school? Not all bills proposed get to the floor. Committees block a lot of them and usually for partisan reasons. A bill needs a certain amount of votes to get out of committee and RARELY is there a committee that has that majority. The banking committee was such that it needed at least one democrat to go with the bill to get the bill out. None joined it. Chriss Dodd was among those democrats. Please pay attention in class now.

dougandsuzy (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Dont forget McCain campaign staff:Aquiles Suarez oversaw their $47,510,000 lobbying campaign from 2003 to 2006. Rick Davis $15k per monthCharlie Black $820,000 Wayne Berman and John Green made $1.14 million working on behalf of Fannie Mae. Green made an additional $180,000 from Freddie Mac. Arther B. Culvahouse Jr.$80,000 from Fannie Mae. At least 20 McCain fundraisers have lobbied for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, pocketing at least $12.3 million over nine years.

bob4this (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Now that the collapse has occurred, the reform roadblock built by Senate Democrats in 2005 is unforgivable. We now know that many of the senators who protected Fannie and Freddie, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Christopher Dodd, have received mind-boggling levels of financial support from them over the years.

dougandsuzy (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Read Paul Muolos book on the subject. Republicans are dying in the polls and have nothing left. Its 4th and long and only weeks to the election. Time for the Hail Mary in the form of this wedge issue.

dougandsuzy (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

This is just biased Fox news trying to portray a bipartisan problem as a partisan campaign issue. They try to portray it as housing for minorities. These no-doc, stated income, NegAm loans went to borrowers across the spectrum, not just minorities. Plenty of white, middle class people trying to live beyond their means. This wasnt housing affirmative action; it was greed from home buyers, banks, real estate agents, and Wall Street.