Just a reminder… When did the Financial mess start?

By Warner Todd Huston @ StopTheACLU.com

Bush tried to regulate and supervise Fannie and Freddie… but the Democrats scoffed at it all and blocked Bush from trying to fix the financial mess. So, whose fault is the economic mess? Here is what Representative Barney Frank said in 2003 about Fannie and Freddie:

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not in a crisis.”

“The more people, in my judgment, exaggerate a threat of safety and soundness, the more people conjure up the possibility of serious financial losses to the treasury, which I do not see — I think we see entities that are fundamentally sound financially and will withstand some of the disaster scenarios. And even if there were a problem the federal government doesn’t bail them out. But the more pressure there is there, then the less I think we see in terms of affordable housing.”

Here is a video that YouTube initially pulled because it proved that the Democrats are at fault

On a Side note you have to read this great examaple to truly understand how lending institutions got themselves in the mess they are in :

The story of the two-bedroom, one-bath shack on West Hopi Street in Avondale, Ariz. with a total of 576 square feet never valued at more than $63K, is the story of this year's financial panic, told in 576 square feet. It helps explain how a series of bad decisions can add up to the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Less than two years ago, Integrity Funding LLC, a local lender, gave a $103,000 mortgage to the owner, Marvene Halterman, an unemployed woman with a long list of creditors and, by her own account, a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. By the time the house went into foreclosure in August, Integrity had sold that loan to Wells Fargo & Co., which had sold it to a U.S. unit of HSBC Holdings PLC, which had packaged it with thousands of other risky mortgages and sold it in pieces to scores of investors.

In early 2007, she asked Integrity for help, Mr. Rybicki's records show. This time, Integrity itself provided a $103,000, 30-year mortgage. It had an adjustable rate that started at 9.25% and was capped at 15.25%, according to loan documents.

It was one of 197 loans Integrity originated last year, totaling almost $47 million.