Personal Responsibility a Virtue Lost on ACORN’s Wade Rathke
by Kyle OlsonLike a phoenix released to spread it wings, ACORN founder and former chief organizer Wade Rathke has been letting it all hang out on his lively, but troubling blog.
He recently attacked no-nonsense Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, lamented the continuing questions regarding ACORN/SEIU involvement in the 2010 census, and even went after me on one occasion.
Now he’s attacking the concept of personal responsibility, something our society is sorely lacking. He’s encouraging homeowners who are falling behind on their mortgage payments to simply walk away from their homes, as if the money still owed is neither their problem nor their concern.
At least his message is consistent, because Rathke has always been the Johnny Appleseed of bad advice when it comes to housing.
ACORN, under his command, played a huge role in creating the mortgage crisis by pressuring the federal government and financial institutions to grant mortgages to people who clearly couldn’t afford them.
Then he pressed the Obama administration to bail out homeowners who, for too long, were living dangerously beyond their means. He wanted us to believe that mortgage companies somehow duped lower-income people into mortgages that were unaffordable. Why in the world would a company want to sell something it knew it would never be paid for?
In any case, Rathke has obviously arrived at the realization that the taxpayers are not coming to the rescue, so he’s offered a new solution – “Abandon ship!”
I’m now convinced the only way to protect citizen wealth for working families and force the issue to a real resolution, is for underwater homeowners to acknowledge the reality that they are only paying high rent with huge anxiety, and to walk away from these mortgages. This is good for their family, and as bad as it is for the community, and this has been the hangup for me, it may finally force the government and banks to do the right thing. (emphasis added)
…
Walk away, brothers and sisters – it’s time to abandon this ship! If a family is worried about damage to credit, just rent for what you can afford and SAVE some money.
Where was your organization a few years ago, Wade, when so many people were foolishly buying homes they couldn’t afford? Instead of spending your time shaking down the big, bad banks for ACORN contributions, perhaps you should have been offering sound, honest advice to families that were about to make really bad financial decisions.
Instead his 11th hour solution is for the homeowners to walk away, avoid their financial responsibilities, and leave the taxpayers holding the bag. We can be sure the government will hold us financially responsible for those who refuse to be responsible for themselves.
Thanks, Wade. Take a vacation from the blog, will you?
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106 Comments
take a permanent vacation like to some other planet!!
Let me get this right. I am kind of dense so give me some leeway.
First, we force financial institutions to lend money to people that shouldn't get loans. And we sue them if they have a problem with that.
Then, just so everyone can own a home we force financial institutions to lend 125% of the home purchase price so people that can't save money can actually put some cash in their pocket.
Then, just so financial institutions can go belly up we should occupy the houses that have been foreclosed and claim them for the community.
Then, last but certainly not least, we should just walk away from our homes after we ran the prices up, borrowed more than the purchase price from the bank, stopped making payments because we were underwater. Then we can again do the step above.
Have I got that right? Hmmmm. What a great country. Free houses for ACORN.
That wouldn't be a vacation. It would simply be going home.
The best part of this story is the link to his blog. Which when you go there on the whole right side of the page is advertising for houses and mortgages. lmao What a loon.
…it may finally force the government and banks to do the right thing
Like shut down ACORN? Or a criminal investigation of Rathke (Rathke's actions are not very different in principle from Bernie Madoff's)?
Avoidance of personal responsibility has become big business in and of itself. While I will lay the lion's share of "credit" for this at the feet of liberals who abandoned basic Judeo-Christian values, all of us bare some of the blame. We have convinced our kids that they have a right to have all the stuff they want, and with easy credit, they could get it. We have aligned the concept of success with materialism very effectively. By the way, have you noticed how often the major advertizers on CONSERVATIVE talk radio and television are "credit couselors" and "debt eliminators?" The spokespersons brag about how they owed the IRS a million dollars and only paid $100K. This is not reflective of conservative ideals. It is just another shortcut, and is not part of (what ought to be) our value system.
This is another piece of crap that promotes citizen entitlement. When are these knuckleheads going to realize that the more people lean on the goverment to provide EVERYTHING, the worse we all become. Personal Responsibility is NOT NEGOTIABLE. If you buy something you cannot afford then you're an idiot! I have pounded into my kids heads, you can't buy more than you can afford.
One out of six is not bad work on this blog
Good Op piece, but what's the picture of Cindy Sheehan got to do with….oh….wait……
He's a dim wit.
He looks vile.
Kyle you should probably step away from the keyboard for awhile yourself; at least until you regain some perspective. You're hatred of all things ACORN has you assigning them superpowers far beyond their actual accomplishments. Surely they would have not seen their federal funding cut by a Democratic congress if they wielded anything close to the influence assigned by you.
But still, mission complete. You have made the sun disappear and the natives are terrified and getting more hostile. Never let facts get in your way.
You are right. That puts me one ahead of you. Of that, I am proud.
LOL! The resemblance is uncanny!
I'd like to shake hands with his face. The boy needs a haircut and some botox (like Harry Reid got).
you sound like a very sound rational "voice of reason"….might you be a banker? If so, I could use a loan to buy some distressed properties that I can rent to those that will be walking away from their contractual obligations. Yeah, could you spare a few bucks, say $500,000??? You must have that , right??? ….cause you speak so eloquently…and I know you won't require me to sign anything contractual, right?? just a handshake?? and then if it doesn't work out, you won't mind if I stiff you for that excess $500,000 you have lying around…..Thanks, I truly do look forward to your generosity.
Holy Crap, is that Cindy Sheehan in that photo?
So that's where she went…
What is it these left-wing nuts? Wade is advising people to walk away from their obligations after it was the organization he founded, ACON, and the organizations corupt practices that was largely to blame. Why would Wade care about Working Familes ……. [LMAO] ….. People join his corupt organization, pay membership fees, and receive loans they can't afford from banks that Wade and his Posse of Piss Ants have strong armed!
Unfortunately the Hussein Administration still supports ACON and it's CON-man organizer Wade.
Remember to Vote in 2010 and 2012 we have much work to do!
If you are going to critique the author, perhaps you could do it by referencing some specific example of his errors? A few clear statements would aid your case better than the angry prose here.
This guy is a Moron of Biblical proportions!
The greatest crime in the Obama Death bill is legitimizing the abrogation of responsibility.
I particularly agree about ads run during Conservative TV and Radio shows that offer to "bail out" people who have tax debt. Watching all those people in the ads gleefully attest to how they only paid pennies on the dollar for their tax debts makes me ill. The basic message is that it's O.K. to shuck personal responsibility because if you hire someone slick enough, you can get over. The same netowork (Fox) that promotes Dave Ramsey and his message of living within your means airs those commercials. I get it that radio and tv needs to sell air space to stay in business, but can we please have SOME semblance of decency? IMHO, Ambulance chasing attorneys and tax dodging specialists have some commonality with ACORN when it comes to ethics.
Community organizer = Blackmailer
Campaign contributor = Blackmailer
Community organizer or blackmailer? What's the difference?
Wish I could help you with that jim. My money's tied up right now in food distribution (groceries) and electrical utilities (the bills, not the companies). Maybe next month..
Not sure how you got there from here.. the reference was to limited sophistication, not skin color. That is what should have offended you.
Can't a brother have an opinion on this list?
Rathke is a thief at several levels. The worst is his theft and inservitude using blacks. He is a personal fundraiser using and exploiting blacks and they fall for it.
Not only did the Liberal policies create the bubble they also popped it.. Some may forget about Indymac and Chuck Schumers letter..
" IndyMac, which has suffered huge losses on defaulted mortgage loans, "could face a failure if prescriptive measures are not taken quickly," Schumer wrote
This letter started the ball rolling and makes one wonder how and why a Sen from NY would know this let alone make a public statement while regulators were working to correct it.. Within a day of this letter Indymac went from 13Bil+ in asset's to near bankrupt..
Sen Schumer leaked his letter to the MSM and caused 1000's of depositors to lose their money, if this letter wasn't leaked Indymac may have been saved or atleast they would have been taken over before the RUN on the back occured saving the depositors money..
Statements from regulators about Schumer and his leaking of this information..
John M. Reich, director of the Office of Thrift Supervision.
"As a regulator of insured depository institutions, we do not publicly comment on the financial condition or supervisory activities related to open and operating institutions," Reich wrote. "We believe it is critically important to maintain the confidentiality of examination and supervision information."
John D. Hawke, the U.S. comptroller of the currency (regulator of national banks) from 1998 to 2004, had more pointed words for Schumer in a story in the American Banker newspaper today.
"If Schumer continues to go public with letters raising questions about the condition of individual institutions, he will cause havoc in the banking system," Hawke said.
Again they started the bubble then popped it, they were also rewarded with full control of house, senate and the Presedency..
ACORN and all its other incarnations are simply out to help the little guy! I can't believe that you people (Conservatives) don't get it. ACORN shook down all those big bad banks then got some people out of their pockets (BARNEY and not the purple dinosour) to get FANNIE and FREDDIE to buy up all the bad paper that their exploitation caused the bad old banks to issue. Now all the little people who got the loans are realizing that they can't afford them. The answer "WALK AWAY" duh!!!!!!!!!!!! let those working (RICH) taxpayers foot the bill. Fannie and Freddie hold better than half the loans in the US so when the GOVT has to take them over then the GOVT can own all that land and the little guys can stay free. PROBLEM SOLVED
Absolutely. I just like to understand what a person's perspective is, whether I agree with him or not (more often than not I find some common ground). But if you think the original author was wrong, I want to understand what you believe was wrong. Even if I end up not agreeing with you, it makes us both better when we increase understanding. By the way, if you read my first post toward the top, you will see that I believe the credit for irresponsibility can be spread around to nearly all of us! I think you will agree.
What about the families living in the neighborhoods where the freeloaders leave their houses/mortgages? What about the very real damage to their property values and financial health? These responsible families did nothing wrong and Acorn would have them bear the brunt of the economic loss? I guess this is part of the big 'redistribution' plan.
What loathesome creaters these Acorn people are.
So natives are not sophisticated, in your PC world? And I mentioned nothing about skin color.
I think you're on the wrong blog.. media matters is calling you. They want you to rub some lotion on Soros's back.
Acorn represents a "Plantation mentality" which keeps people in their place not frees them.
As to property ownership, no one in this country owns property anyway. If you don't believe me tell your local county assesor that you refuse to pay your property taxes on your house! I'm sure you find out your'e only paying a gloiried rent. Now, I have no use for Wade Rathke. But, the reality is that the stupidity of the last 20 years is what gives vermin like him his opening. The abuses of the early industrial revolution led to the rise of Carl Marx's popularity first in Europe. It later led to the rise of the progressive movement in the US. My point is that when any, and I mean any group in the US abuses the people especially the business community, the people demand something be done and that always results in everyone losing some of their rights. So now we have a group in DC that is a result of the 2008 crash. Much like the 1929 crash, we are getting our dose of socialist entrapment and dictatorship.
Is it just me or does that sleaze-ball Wade Rathke look like The Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. I can picture his dumbass with a funny hat, worn cloths, with straw sticking out from every extremity singing that ever familiar, “if I only had a brain.”
Apologies to Ray Bolger, I’m sure he’s rolling in his grave at the thought.
Sad MadDog, but you’re probably not far from reality.
OK really interesting post – but why the picture of Cindy Sheehan? Isn't the piece about Rathke?
The scary thing about this is that their disciples are now in the White House.
Note to Jellybean,
I think MadDog was being sarcastic (although I have been wrong before).
We need a new punctuation mark in English, the "sarcasm" mark. Maybe ~ should be redefined.
Nothing will change until people like Rathke walk in fear.
OZZING with sacrasm might better explain!
Mikah My Brother!!!!
Let's assume for the moment that Carter had it right with the Community Reinvestment Act….helping those less fortunate in attaining property. We'll also assume that CRA II under Clinton, who threatened to bring the Fed Hammer down on those banks who dragged their feet on providing loans, was marginally the correct thing to do. To think that the ACORN lobby had no input in this legislation or its' enforcement is like denying there were terroists in Iraq. Let's admit that this social engineering backfired in the faces of progressives or a clever design to create the crisis that they all live for. I for one am not a selfish or uncaring person, however, I'm getting damn tired of bailing out the ignorant and/or greedy. I don't get the impression that you oppose giving a person a hand up as opposed to a hand-out.
Yes, yes he does.
Radke is just a dried-up Hippie. I'm surprised he's not sporting a poney tail and tiny glasses.
I hate to say this but these fools are the new reality! Social justice, Ecological justice, Economic Justice ect… are the key words to look for. The Obamaton himself said it in defense of Harry Reid the other day. They are out and open with it. The Progressive movement isn't a movement (Except possibly a bowel movement) it's more like an Octopus that doesn't really control all it's arms. They have all read the play book and are taking their little part and running with it. When the system crashes they will all be ready to take over their little piece of the pie.
This guy is the model Liberal Democrat. He and Obama fit together like 2 pieces of a Jigsaw puzzle.
Now you're toying with me dano. I'm not use to rational responses on this list, so stop it!
I love ya, man!
I hate to say this but these fools are the new reality! Social justice, Ecological justice, Economic Justice ect… are the key words to look for. The Obamaton himself said it in defense of Harry Reid the other day. They are out and open with it. The Progressive movement isn't a movement (Except possibly a bowel movement) it's more like an Octopus that doesn't really control all it's arms. They have all read the play book and are taking their little part and running with it. When the system crashes they will all be ready to take over their little piece of the pie. You have to step back and look. The Obamatons are setting us up for or hoping for disaster, Financial, Social, Military, Terror or natural. "NEVER LET A GOOD EMERGENCY GO TO WASTE" They tried it in the 60's from the outside and partialy failed now they are inside and hold all the cards until Nov 2010.
I'm a subconscious racist and didn't even know it. Thanks for the tip.
By the way Dan, you still working on exposing their liberal agenda over there at the googles?
Your missing the point! Radke is a dried up old hippie, he's just playing the system from the inside now.
I don't need to any longer, if you check around the media has picked it up, but thanks for asking.
Is that the secret sharp dressed Indian man behind him?
Poverty is a tough nut to crack and the right has no interest in trying. I can't speak to the success of every program that has every been tried, but I can still appreciate the effort.
I see ACORN more as a bunch of knuckleheads than the criminal enterprise they are portrayed to be by the right. Poor management allowed some very unsophisticated people to turn in voter registration forms for money. What kind of criminal mastermind registers Mickey Mouse? And even if the form found it's way on to the voter roll, who shows up to sign for it?
I'm all for a hand up. All we got from the right was the back of their hand. Tax policy that moved wealth up the chain. An economic recovery that lacked jobs. A health care system that denies insurance to millions, and under insures millions more. I'm not waiting for anymore "trickledown".
First Financial institutions are insured against ever loosing a dime on the mortgages they sell, and get this, they make you pay for the insurance in your mortgage.
Secondly nobody ever forced banks to lend money, they decided they could make a lot of money by packaging up mortgages and selling them to brokerage houses, the idea was, housing prices will always increase, and insure a safe investment.
Thirdly, it was the banks who decided that the more mortgages they sold the more money they would make, it did not matter if the mortgage was good or bad.
Lastly, this all began as a result of the elimination of the Glass Steagle Act, an act that kept investment banks separated from traditional mortgage banks, the reason for the elimination of Glass Steagle, or the deregulation of banking, as I would call it, was so the economy would appear stable, when indeed it was not even close to stable, the US economy was being built on a phony housing market that was artificially inflated!! This housing market was taking the place of the manufacturing, that has been shipped off to China!!
So tell me again, who is to blame?
No, I got the point. These vermin have infested every facet of society.
I must say that my brethren here on biggov.com have a wicked sense of humor. I too was drawn to this guys looks.
I think all Libs come out of the womb with a frown on their face. Right on Wade……Stick it to the Man!
I see what you mean… I just googled "google liberal bias and got lots of hits. And by media, if you mean Newshounds, Fox News and The American Thinker then you are right and the word is out.
The googles are a liberal plot.
That's actually a pretty good one… I didn't see it at first glance.
As soon as you mentioned Arpaio you lost me, He is a criminal and a mobster.
Politicians… for forcing banks to make crap loans
People… for asking for loans with no plan to pay them back. "We'll make it work" is not a plan.
Activists… for making it politically impossible to practice sound lending
And, lastly, and most minimally, the banks. Government intervention into an area it knows nothing about (home ownership) to an extent, forced their hand.
Seriously my friend, if you believe the market crash in 1929 was caused by socialism you need to revisit the history books. In fact, just go out and look it up on Wiki. Also if you like history, check out Jonathan Alter's "The Defining Moment". You will find that the social programs were in response to the crash and the Great Depression that followed, not the cause.
My God.
Nobody forced banks to make subprime loans? Really? You might want to look at the numerous lawsuits filed by ACORN to do precisely that- a couple of which by ACORN lawyer B. H. Obama. In most cases, however, responsible banks could be bent to ACORN's will by mob intimidation- they called it "muscling for the money." In the most successful cases, banks were forced to assign a large fum in mortgage funds for ACORN itself to lend. Nice racket, hm?
And then we get to the issue of the secondary mortgage market. Who was the market? Fannie and Freddie, that's who: 90% of the market, and therfore de facto arbiters of mortgage lending standards. It was F&F, protected by Frank and Dodd, and run by Johnson and Raines, which dropped lending rules to zero in the name of "fairness" and thus enabled the bottomfeeders like Countrywide and Golden West to write and then unload billions in junk paper.
Ah- mortgage insurance. And the leading mortgage insurance underwriter was….AIG. See a problem here?
"nobody ever forced banks to lend money"
The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 vigorously disagrees with you
I do not know if what you are saying is correct or not, although at least some of it makes sense. This does point out the folly, however, of basing an economy on debt. Too many homes, for example, appreciated in value arbitrarily based on the "greater fool" principle, that is, the idea that no matter how rediculous a price I pay today, when I am ready to sell, there will be a greater fool ready to buy. It is essentially a house of cards as an investment concept.
That's the thanks a lawman gets for actually enforcing, you know, the law. Sad.
Just the same talking points the left always makes. All the "Right" wants to do is get guvmint out of the way so that individuals can determine their own wealth. You can't seriously be suggesting that the liberal doctrine will provide unmeasurable wealth by taking from achievers and 'redistributing' it to the layabouts. Individualism and exceptionalism is the best way to determine life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. C'mon, Mikah, surely you believe acheivement for oneself is vastly more gratifying than the redistribution of MY WEALTH!!
A mortgage is a contract. Mortgages very clearly specify what will happen when you make payments and when you don't make payments. When you sign a mortgage you agree to both conditions. You agree that if you make payments according to terms you will get deed to the property. You also agree that should you fail to make payments according to the terms the bank will get the deed to the house. So what everyone in this comment stream is suggesting is that we don't exercise the contractual option provided in the mortgage contract.
Personal irresponsibility is not availing ourselves of ALL our contractual options within the mortgage contract as the situation merits.
Democrat blacks should not have to make mortgage payments because that would be racist. In addition, banks MUST lend to Democrat minorites without jobs because this is The Age Of Obamie [Glad to help].
Put him in prison, right along with Madoff…If for no other justified reason…Just because he is so darn UGLY!!!
Geez! You are right….Makes you wonder, like you say the resemblance is uncanny!!!!
Oh Lord, why, why do the Uberleftys always have to look like thie guy? I mean, look at Reid, Pelosi…even Schumer when he smirks and the epitome of ugly, James Carville, Begala and Podesta. Please, is it in the genes?
We have different opinions on the legitimate roll that government plays in our society.
The "liberal doctrine" is a right wing talking point. It exists only in your mind. We are capitalists just like you… only we see the destruction that poorly regulated markets can have on the society they serve.
If we want the goose which lays the golden eggs to survive, we cannot prey on our middle class… which is the true source of our wealth and the thing that makes a wealthy country great.
I don't think I'd like to live in a tent after taking the advice of a millionaire, or a least someone with a job and a house. These people are just too pathetic. But look at what has been elected. Stands to reason doesn't it.
I don't agree. Morals do not enter into the bank's decision to work out the loan with the borrower or foreclose on the property. It is a purely economic decision. The homeowner's decison should be an economic one as well. If it is in your financial best interest to walk away, considering credit impact and all other factors, that is what you should do. The bank knew the rules and risks when it made the loan.
As an aside, Joe Arpaio is the sheriff of my county and he is better described as all-nonsense. He is a press hog and tolerates no dissent from other public figures. He has indicted several of his political enemies on trumped up charges, including a sitting criminal court judge. These charges always get thrown out – they are merely threats meant to silence his critics.
This is just a derivation of the Cloward-Piven Strategy. Raise the number of people in a government controlled system (FDIC secured banks) and cause the system to break. A flood of unoccupied foreclosed homes will drive the value of the properties down, forcing sales at prices lower than the owed value. The banks will not be able to get the difference from the home owner, will not have the deposits to cover the losses, and will have to rely on the government to recover.
"just rent for what you can afford and SAVE some money" – where was this advice when Acorn was force fitting them into loans they couldn't afford? Oh, I forgot, Acorn was making $$ of the deal then….and they didn't care what happened to the banks that they went after to give these people loans, nor the people they talked into taking the loans.
I would suggest you read "The Forgotten Man" by Amity Shlaes and you will understand how he could make that claim…Social Programs whether before or after the crash are based on socialism …it's in the name…and I cannot see how taking from one to give to another is not theft…Theft is against the law and this country is based on the rule of law…
I agree…and never trust them when they smile either!
He can claim whatever he wants… he just doesn't get to rewrite history. And you can call taxes anything you want, but you don't get to redefine theft, or law.
If you don't like the law then change it. Failing that, you can keep working hard and paying your taxes and someday you can retire and bitch about the government full-time.
Deport Wade,his brother,big Sexy Bertha and the rest of these wastes of natural resources to somewhere else…I hear North Korea is beautiful this time of year.
"You have made the sun disappear and the natives are terrified and getting more hostile"
Bit of a Racist statement, is it not?
Great post. Too bad the guy it is directed to is impervious to facts, logic and reason.
Tucked away in nearly every piece of legislation is a little known clause that often leads to disaster and then more legislation and another disaster and then more…. well, you get the picture. The clause doesn't actually say anything, but is known as The Law of Unintended Consequences. Every time a leftist or RINO seeks to solve some problem or further "social justice" they f#@% something up somewhere in the economy or society at large and then need to "do something" to fix it. It is a vicious cycle that will remain unbroken until we get rid of the vast majority of the idiots in government and replace them with people who will remind the populace that Americans are supposed to take responsibility for themselves. In my fantasy these people actually lead by example.
Another glorious Carter era policy!
That man did SO MUCH for this country!
Or is it "to" this country?
I'm confused. I think I'll get some more of that cool-aid now…..
WR is a WR-White Racist. He believes he's better than Americans…all of them. He's going to fall hard…and the tar and feathers won't cushion his boney ass.
Your right …He can claim whatever he wants…But it is only your opinion that he is rewriting history which you are entitled to …Taxes at the point of a gun are what the framers of this country wished to avoid…it was the progressives that instituted the income tax….I did not change the definition of theft…I only pointed out that your philosophy is based on theft….which is against the law….unless where you live you can steal without repercussions…
If he and his brother don't end up in jail, I see a brilliant future for them in Democrat politics.
The repeal of the Glass Steagall Act led by Robert Rubin and others of the CFR, has produced our current investment dilemma of the breakdown of the residential mortgage investment sector and created financialization — a relatively new term used to discuss the emergence of a new form of capitalism in which financial markets dominate over the traditional industrial economy.
Greta Krippner of the University of California – Los Angeles has written that “financialization” refers to a “pattern of accumulation in which profit making occurs increasingly through financial channels rather than through trade and commodity production.”
People on this site want to blame the poor!!
What he said was that socialist government policy caused the markets to crash in 1929 and 2008. If you can show me some non partisan source that agrees with that I will be surprised . I won't take it seriously, but I will be surprised.
Any law that is worth enforcing is done "at the point of a gun". Speed limits, homicide, violate someones civil rights… all will get you on the wrong end of a pointed gun, taken to the extreme.
Your opinion of my philosophy is just that.
Wiki is quick and usually accurate. I referred our friend here to Wiki because I don't really expect that he will read a book on the Great Depression. In the case of the stock market crash, there are some nuances you may disagree with, but factually Wiki is correct.
Wiki doesn't replace source material, but it is a good tool. And it's like TV. Everybody uses it and no one admits it. By the way, if you find a factual error you can correct it. And if your correction makes the information better it will probably stand. It's like a free market of ideas. If you are throwing political bombs it will be gone in 5 minutes.
The reason right wingers don't like it is because climate change deniers are angry they can't redefine anthropogenic global warming. Every time they try and say something like, "climate change is just a theory" it is removed for intellectual dishonesty. Not all ideas are of equal value in the scientific world.
The only thing that gives me confidence at all in Wiki is that I hear liberals complaining about its inaccuracies also. I will say it is useful for occasionally pointing you to more credible documentation. Overall, I use is for quick information on unimportant matters, but not for serious issues. Consider that most college professors (more often liberal) do not allow students to cite Wiki both for its inaccuracy and because it is just too easy. By the way, I do not disagree much with your analysis above. It is not comprehensive, but what can you do in a couple paragraphs? Good day.
Nor should they because Wiki is a tool, not a source document. Just like you need to learn to do arithmetic before you are given a calculator. But once you have mastered the math, calculators are pretty handy tools… just like Wiki.
The Glass-Steagall Act was enacted after the Great Depression. It separated commercial banks and investment banks, in part to avoid potential conflicts of interest between the lending activities of the former and rating activities of the latter. Economist Joseph Stiglitz criticized the repeal of the Act. He called its repeal the "culmination of a $300 million lobbying effort by the banking and financial services industries…spearheaded in Congress by Senator Phil Gramm." He believes it contributed to this crisis because the risk-taking culture of investment banking dominated the more conservative commercial banking culture, leading to increased levels of risk-taking and leverage during the boom period.
I think you have it backwards, the government is responsible for excepting the 300 million dollar bribe from the banking and financial industries!!
Makes you wonder what????
I can buy your analogy. However, my calculator is only as accurate as the data I feed it. Wiki is just too famous for bias and error. But we can agree to disagree. For what it is worth, I try to approach all source material with a healthy degree of skepticism. It is not possible to be totally objective, nor need we be. But we should be aware, alert and teachable.
It was a joke…Like who's your Daddy!!
Mik, as side note please: I suggest that looking to Wikipedia for history is like looking to the National Enquirer for current news. Ocassionally they get it right, whether they want to or not, but it lacks seriously in the credibility department. Many seemingly powerful arguements get shot down when the source for the evidence is so shaky. Wiki has an agenda, although they deny it, and that agenda carries a strong liberal bias. I would not trust them with a strong conservative bias either. Look to primary sources, if there are any left!
Thanks for letting me rant.
PLEASE RE-READ my post!!!!! I was outlining the radicals adage "never let a crisis go to waste!" FDR took advantage of the 1929 crash to impose a number of socialist ideas on the country just as the progressives are today.
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