Community Reinvestment Act - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia






I am sick and tired of hearing everyone blame the market. There is no way in hell market forces alone can cause a bubble the likes of this one. They'd require outside help (like, say, from interest rates being obscenely low or a law against redlining causing too many houses being bought).

I would like to see how an actual free market does for a change. Meaning, we get rid of the fed and tie our currency to a commodity like gold, silver, platinum, etc. Or hell, multiple commodities. I'd like to see how our markets do on their own, without the Fed setting interest rates at what they feel they should be etc.

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Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

And also, without the government getting involved and trying to tell banks and businesses what they can or can't do.

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Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

It actually did quite well up until 1890. The economy was more macroeconomically stable and it was growing faster during the gilded age than at any time since. And while worker's quality of life was crap, this was due to the US being a middle-income country at the time, and not to the free market.

Do you think the elimination of these factors (the Fed and government intervention) would help to move us away from a service economy and back to a manufacturing economy, or I guess even better a blend of the two?

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Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.

Not really. I would, however, say that with a strong, stable currency that actually allows consumer prices to fall we're gonna see the poor and middle class gain a lot more purchasing power. And with the elimination of barriers to investment growth, we're gonna see more jobs being created.

Only the latter factor was seen during the Reagan years. The labour market was expanding like crazy in the 80's, jobs were being created left and right. Unfortunately, there was also rampant inflation due to his irresponsible deficit spending and it was cutting into people's salaries.

lol, could we add also, the ridiculous things like COngress last week, when they brought the oil CEOs before themselves and asked,"WHy arent you investing an alternate energy?"

I mean come on. That is like asking Bausch and Lomb to go into the food business isnt it? Oil companies produce oil, why is Congress trying to tell them what to produce?

Anyways, I saw your comment here and just thought about that.

I find it strange that most people automatically blame the market outright for these things. The markets havent been allowed to perform their natural cycles in decades b/c the government keeps creating artificial prices, artificial floors, and artificial stimulus to them.

I wish people would open their eyes to the fact that governments cannot run an economy or plan an economy. All they do is meddle with it, causing people more money and wealth then anything else.

I was reading an articel just today about the healthcare costs and how eye procedures and cosmetics were actually stable if not dropping in prices, yet the basic coverages for going to the doctor keep rising. It all goes back to the government mandating laws, like the one you provided here, causing price increases as unintended consequences to the laws they pass. Problem is most people, dont look that deep into it to see that the problems are 99% caused by the government intervening on the "common good's" behalf.

Anyways, great piece here, alot of good information is here for all to see, problem is most people wont be able to comprhend it or understand the meaning behind it.

Oh, hey, you mentioned 1890 above. I have always found it funny how after the Civil War, our federal government has become more centralized then it was ever intended to be. Is this perhaps b/c the Civil War was the last great battle between states rights and keeping a check on the federal government??? (I am not talking slavery here, in fact that is not even close to what the civil war was intentionally fought on).

One of the important weakness of the current U.S. economy is the negative rate of personal savings. Americans have virtually no financial reserves that they can draw from in difficult times. Inflation exacerbates this situation, because it discourages savings. Any money people may place in a saving's account loses value with inflation. This encourages people to spend their money rather than save it. It also encourages people to go into debt, because the value of the debt goes down as inflation erodes the value of the money being paid back. Even as the Fed eases credit for member banks, it increases the reluctance of the banks to lend money to borrowers, because the money that is paid back is worth less then the money that was originally lent. The only way for a lender to make money is to charge high interest rates and lend just to those who will be able and willing to repay the loan. In the end inflation is far more dangerous to our economy than is a recession or declining credit market.

The housing "bubble" was inevitable once interest rates were raised.
The current economy now has an extra wrench thrown into it being the high cost of energy. High energy prices then trickle into almost every product and service and the prices rise.

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"We have met the enemy and he is us" Pogo