2009-03-13ml-implode.com

" This week, with his pronouncement that “credit is the lifeblood of a healthy economy,” President Obama reiterated what has been one of his most common themes in diagnosing our economic problem. The president has relied on this bedrock belief to propose policies that place the restoration of credit as the highest priority. However, despite his seemingly earnest intentions, the president and his economic advisors have misdiagnosed the ailment. Savings, not credit, is the lifeblood of a healthy economy. When not used properly credit can be like a cancer that sickens an otherwise healthy economy."



Comments:

Circling the Drain at 06:55 2009-03-14 said:
Link to original Schiff article is bad

cd Permalink

tvsterling at 21:46 2009-03-14 said:
One overlooked feature of the current credit bubble is the arbitrary & unrealistic nature of the credit ratings system. The bottom line is you have to play a credit game to reach the goal of official creditworthiness. The only markers in the game are consumer credit cards at exorbitant interest rates. The bankers lobbied through a bill to modify bankruptcy way in favor of credit card issuers. That freed them to be extremely sloppy about who they extended credit to. The new laws made collection a certainty even in bankruptcy. This is patently unfair. Personal loans (unsecured) are traditionaly uncollectable. The goal was to legalize debt slavery & place the credit card companies in a perfect legal position to enforce it. They took full advantage. Why not; their risks became almost zero & their interest rates remained at 18 percent. What ever happened to traditional measures of creditworthiness such as utility bills & renter history. Could it be that the bank has no 'interest'(pun intended) in those measures of responsibility? Permalink

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