Letter: Liberals deflect blame for economic collapse

When I was young and unsure of my political leanings my dad gave me a tip that has proven true countless times. If you want to know what liberals are guilty of, watch what they accuse others of.

In yet another guest column by Roger Owens, he attempts to deflect blame for the current recession from those who caused it by claiming it was those greedy bankers and Wall Street fat cats. He even says the delay in implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act is why we haven’t recovered yet.

Most who understand how our economy works know the main cause of the recession was Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank, along with President Bill Clinton, when they “reformed” the sub-prime mortgage laws. Even George W. Bush knew this was a disaster in the making, saying if we didn’t change it we’d risk a huge recession. But his 11 attempts to correct it were shot down every time by congressional Democrats.

Mr. Owens says we “right-wingers … have scapegoated the Community Reinvestment Act” since it was simply a way to help minorities afford homes. He says the program would have worked if the evil bankers hadn’t cheated and lied. The reality was that the laws were changed to make it easier for those who couldn’t afford homes to buy them anyway. This led to a surge in home sales, followed by the inevitable tsunami of defaults. But thanks to Dodd, Frank, and Clinton, the banks could pass the losses along to the federal government, which they did by the billions.

The banks followed the new rules, but now that the results are historically bad those such as Mr. Owens must find their own scapegoats. As usual it’s conservative talk radio and others operating in the free market under the laws made by liberals, who live by the mantra, “Don’t judge us by our results, only by our intentions.”

Frank Lennon

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