Get the barney

I guess Barney Frank is at it again. I read an article in the Herald that Barney is pushing for banks to lend more money. If they don't, he is threatening to give more lending power to credit unions. I have no problem with easing the restrictions on credit union lending. In fact, I think it's a good idea. The problem, as I see it, is Barney Frank having any say at all in who lends money to whom.
Let me explain the latest economic crisis in a nutshell. This is a simplistic version, but I am a simple man. Basically, the housing market was booming. Barney and his pals decided that everyone should own a home, whether they could afford it or not. He started pushing banks to lend money to people that had no way of repaying the loans. He used his power as congressman to rewrite the laws so that it would be easier for people to obtain credit. Banks were forced to write loans to people who , again, COULD NOT REPAY THEM. Mortgage companies and wall street investment firms caught on and a new market was created. Mortgage-backed securities were all the rage. I'm not too clear on what this means, but basically, people bought mortgages in bundles from banks and tried to dump them before they went bad. It was a race against time. Everyone knew these were bad investments, but it was a game of high-stakes hot potato. Whoever was left holding the bag at the end of the game, lost. When the adjustable rates started adjusting, people simply walked away. Meanwhile, instead of a seller's market, real estate became a buyer's market. Housing prices had been artificially inflated by the infusion of buyers (created by Mrs. Frank) and when the pool of buyers shrank, so did the value of the houses. Simple economics. Supply and demand. But in this case, the government, or Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac, were waiting at the end of the rainbow to catch all the falling debris. When Freddy and Fanny were the ones at the end, we all lost. In spite of Barney's protestations, he told the world that Fanny and Freddy were in great shape while in fact, they were on the brink of collapse. Of course, he denies this. How can he be the smartest man in the world if he admits to a mistake?
The truth is, he didn't make a mistake. He still believes that everyone should own a home, whether they can afford it or not. And this is the problem. According to Barney, we as a nation are responsible for everyone's miscalculations. The rich should pay for the poor's overreaching. Big Daddy government should ensure this, even if Big Daddy government, in the person of Barney Frank, is the cause. Barney Frank is a gay politician in a state and district that believes it is their civic duty to elect and re-elect, and re-elect again a gay politician, no matter the consequences for the rest of the nation. Make no mistake, I have no problem with gay politicians, as long as they are elected on their accomplishments, not their sexual preferences. Barney Frank has been a disaster on the same level as the Titanic. He has done more harm to the nation's economy than the attacks of 9/11. And yet he will be re-elected without a challenge in his district of gray-haired, ponytailed, trustfund hippies. Something is wrong with this. Something is wrong when even an idiot like Bill O'Reilly can see that the real cause of the economic collapse is the kind of leadership given to us by Barney Frank and his ilk. And the supposed liberal elitists can't see it. It is in your hands, citizens of Newton. You can vote for Frank, or get the Barney. remember, the whole world is watching.

TFD