Lets quit trashing President Obama & start to recognize what he has been able to accomplish!

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again

Change it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fall that's all
But the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya?


There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who

Obamas efforts to improve and protect this nation and all its people.
Short list: there is much more but start with banking and finacial reform...


Banking and Financial Reform
1.BROAD POLICY:
2.Established the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. ref
3.Established President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist in financial education for all Americans. ref, ref , ref
4.Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010. ref, ref
5.Dodd-Frank (DF) Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the biggest financial reform law since the Great Depression. ref
6.Managed the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) ref
7.Assigned a Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Act of 2009. ref
8.Pension relief Act of 2010. ref
9.Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act. ref, ref
10.Played a lead role in G-20 Summit re: financial crisis. ref
11.Reformed deferral rules to curb tax advantages for investing overseas. ref
12.Established new offshore investment policy that promotes in-sourcing. ref, ref
13.FUNDING:
14. Cut salaries for 65 bailout executives (Pay Czar). ref
15.Banks have repaid 75% of TARP funds, bringing the cost down to $89B as of June 2010. ref
16.Closed offshore tax safe havens, tax credit loopholes. ref , ref , ref
17.TARGETED ACTIONS:
18. Created the Financial Stability Oversight Council to monitor stability of the financial system and individual firms (DF). ref
19.New requirements for reporting financial data (DF). ref
20.Created self-funded Office of Financial Research (OFR) to collect information from financial firms (DF). ref
21.OFR employees must wait a year before working for certain financial firms. ref
22.Provided for orderly liquidation of financial companies (DF). ref
23.Limited trading activities of banks (Volcker Rule) beginning 2 yrs after passage (DF). ref
24.Swaps Pushout Rule prevented federal assistance to swaps (including derivatives) traders (DF). ref









25.Derivatives must be traded transparently through a clearing house (DF). ref
26.Defined the amount and nature of assets required to meet capital requirements (DF). ref
27.Originators of asset-backed securities must retain 5% ownership/risk (DF). ref
28.Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (DF). ref
29.Stronger client fiduciary duty for broker-dealers (DF). ref
30.Higher standards for securities advertising and disclosures (DF). ref
31.Expanded “insider loans” (DF). ref
32.Higher standards for sytemically important ($50 billion assets+) institutions, including annual stress tests and restrictions on bank acquisitions (DF). ref
33.Executive compensation must be determined by an independent committee (DF). ref
34.Issued compensation guidelines for bank executive salary and bonuses. ref , ref
35.Financial agencies must establish Offices of Women and Minorities to promote more diverse hiring (DF). ref
36.Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act. ref, ref
37.Credit CARD Technical Corrections Act of 2009. ref
38.Established a credit card bill of rights. ref
39.Reformed credit card swipe fees. ref
40.Created new criminal penalties for mortgage fraud. ref
41.Congress pursued Goldman Sachs for securities violations. ref
42.Permanently extended Research and Experimentation Tax Credit for domestic investments. ref
43.RESULTS:
44.(Treasury) Sold 1.5 billion shares of Citigroup at a profit. ref
45.G-20 summit produced a $1.1 trillion deal to combat the global financial crisis. ref
46.Negotiated deal with Swiss banks to permit US government to gain access to records of tax evaders and criminals. ref
47.Financial reform has ‘strongest consumer financial protections in history.’ ref
48.Section curator:

Conservative Voodoo economics caused the problems we have but we can agree to disagree.... don't tell me what type of government I like ask me.... that way you wouldn't have to assume .... But check out some more of our President accomplishments:
1. BROAD POLICY:
2. Promoted internet freedom as part of U.S. foreign policy. ref, ref , ref
3. Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009. ref
4. Satellite Television Extension Act of 2010. ref
5. FUNDING:






6. Expanded loan programs for small businesses. ref
7. TARGETED ACTION:
8. Small Business Act. ref
9. Small Business Investment Act. ref
10. Proposed tougher meat industry antitrust rules. ref , ref
11. Denied federal contracts to tax delinquents. ref
12. Appointed the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer. ref
13. Established Federal IT Dashboard. ref
14. Modernized the USA.gov portal to connect people to the services they require. ref
15. Launched the National Export Initiative, with the goal of doubling US exports by 2015. ref , ref
16. Provided National Export Initiative/Progress report and named President’s Export Council. ref, ref
17. Launched piracy crackdown. ref
18. Section curators: ^dell alee

Oh yeah what about this .....

1.BROAD POLICY:
2.Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Amendments Act of 2009. ref
3.Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. ref
4.North American Wetlands Conservation Act. ref
5.Stewardship of the Ocean (established National Ocean Council ), our Coasts and the Great Lakes (Executive Order). ref
6.Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy and Economic Performance (Executive Order). ref, ref
7.Established partnerships to share environmental technology with other countries. ref
8.FUNDING:
9.Increased funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund. ref
10.Increased funding for national parks and forests. ref
11.$175 million of ARRA allocated for water conservation, $135 million of that in the West. ref
12.TARGETED AREAS:
13.Reengaged in the treaties/agreements to protect the Antarctic. ref, ref
14.Expanded access to places to hunt and fish. ref
15.Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration (Executive Order). ref, ref
16.Led effort to phase out whaling. ref
17.Pursued a wildfire management plan. ref
18.Encouraged more controlled burns to reduce wildfires. ref
19.Ordered removal of more brush, small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires. ref
20.Section curator: ^pash

Hi Soundstorm.
I’m a little troubled by your comment “low income minorities” the programs were centered around qualifying low to moderate income families, minorities was not in the loop. Ironically, it was not easy to actually qualify for many. It may be that minorities have a corner on low income but, that was not the focus. The programs were developed for home ownership working toward the American dream. Leading up to this home prices were climbing at a rate which excluded many, even a large segment of the middle class/family members of property ownership.
FYI, I have been in the Real Estate business for over 30 years in many capacities, developer, builder, sales, management, appraisal etc. I only mention that so that you might have some confidence in my comments and opinion which are intended to be informative.
My observation was; the banks jumped on the loans primarily because of the fees and charges that made it possible for them to profitable to process and write. They were also interested in selling the debt in large portfolios for a profit and mostly maintain the account for a fee. (Reagan made this possible) And it not only included banks but finance cos and brokers etc., there was a feeding frenzy. In addition to this the banks were allowed (not by design), to stagger their loans in many creative ways, step increases, cpi indexes, 3 year to 5 year conversions or re-writes. The problem was this, people that met the qualifications when the economy was moving along did not meet the qualifications later because of these increases. Prop taxes increase by 5% year, re-write fees and add’l interest charges and fees including insurances that were in the loop and sold thru the banks. Had the loans been locked and conventional, many people’s mortgages would have been sustainable by the borrowers. At some point the banks realized the exposure and risk and packaged the loans and rolled them into derivatives which were sold worldwide. Derivatives are fractional interests in these mortgage debt portfolios where the investors felt secure by the equity and asset as security. When the market stopped increasing, as a result of employment and lack of consumption the market took a nose dive. Asset values ultimately became negative along with public confidence. Now this was part of the problem and it didn’t apply to affordable housing but all housing and commercial investment. Guess what now businesses are failing because there is no reason or desire to buy furniture, curtains, paint etc not to mention the daily retail activity in all other sectors. I know this info assumes you can comprehend the economic dynamic of the economic principals of supply and demand. What happened was because of deregs, or loopholes for profit, or overlooking the signs that were obvious as early as 2005 and it was greed that ruled.

Don't know if this brief explanation will help u understand a little better. I'm really busy right now this was not edited.
I’m not dodging anything but your comments indicate that u don’t grasp the dynamics of what happened in the banking and lending industry in this case, including wall street as a brokerage outlet, thus, the over-inflated bond ratings of the mortgage portfolios which led to the derivatives so called.
The affordable housing program as a whole was not a failure and cannot be singled out as the cause of the collapse, on its own; the default loans you speak of is dwarfed in comparison to the sum of all the issues/investments/loans/events that collectively burst the bubble.
You asked; “was there ever a time that providing subprime mortgages to persons of inconsistent income considered a profitable opportunity worth jumping on if it weren't for the directives imposed by HUD through President Clinton's National Home Ownership Strategy of 1994? It initiated a more proactive enforcement of the Carter era Consumer Reinvestment Act (CRA).”
The loans, lending criteria, directives and guarantees were not premised on “risky loan”. The mortgagor had to demonstrate 3 to 5 years of employment records and tax returns along with net worth and credit report statements. In fact it was frequently argued that the programs excluded the poorest because they had to meet minimum income streams and standards to qualify. The fact was the intent was to incentivize home ownership that might not otherwise be able to enter the market given the soaring prices of real estate. Incidentally, it was Reagan that removed real estate from the inflation index before he boasted he was keeping inflation down. I would ask myself if there is 2-3% inflation how could property values be increasing and sustain in some cases by 15% a year or 3%/month? People were entering the market just to flip for a good return in a short period of time.
“why there were risky loans in the first place.”
They were not as conventional mortgages what happened was creative and no doc financing was made available to buyers as well as supplemental equity loans and credit cards were utilized to purchase and front end passing costs skyrocketed for profit. In essence the future anticipated value of the asset was then being sold by the banks to various funds all over the country and world. This included all loans including commercial and industrial etc not just one segment. Basically, the banks got out of the consumer oriented lenders and moved into the fund dispensing operation. Little if any was kept in house and it was their shareholders and depositors that provided the resources to fuel the practice.

“how lending institutions handled the bad loans they were burdened with” as stated earlir, they were not, they didn’t care about the loans because they were selling the risk.