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Jul
24

Shorter Thomas “Kidney” Sowell




Posted at 22:03 by Sadly, No!

Bankrupt ‘exploiters’

Banks are only in this mess because the government forced them to lend money to destitute minorities.

59 Comments »

  1. Thunderbird said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:08

    Banks are only in this mess because they chose to lend money to anyone with a pulse, thanks to massive deregulation by those with the desire to drown the government in a bathtub.

    There we go.

  2. Rightwingsnarkle said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:10

    Yup, ‘cuz there’s nothing like the steel-tipped boot of teh government pressing on the neck of the Jews moneylenders.

  3. Dreamweasel said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:14

    This being a Sowell column, I’m sure there are numerous statistics to back up his claim that this was all caused by government pressure to lend to minorities…

    Oh.

  4. R. Porrofatto said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:19

    Predatory borrowers. The new Dolchstosslegende where Wall Street banks are stabbed in the back by the very people they were just trying to help — minorities and illegal immigrants, i.e., the usual deadbeats. The institutions going tits up will be spun as casualties of predatory borrowers who took advantage of them, with the help of Democrats in Congress.

    Even shorter version: Regardless of what anyone says, Phil Gramm had nothing to do with it.

  5. SowellFan said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:19

    Oh no you di’int.

  6. AJB said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:20

    Dreamweasel is on to something. Sowell’s economic columns very rarely ever actually cite something other than his own words. There’s certainly no lack of academic literature out there on economics; containing information on all kinds of studies, statistics, and indicators. So it’s really quite inexcuseable.

  7. The Guy Who Plays "SowellFan" said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:20

    I will also give you kudos for going oooooold school with the “kidney” nickname.

  8. justme said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:24

    Jeez. This guy has a bad attitude. You’d think somebody snuck up and gave him a flying penis tramp stamp when he wasn’t looking.

    Or something.

  9. Realist said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:25

    CRA was passed in 1977. Sure took a long time to start causing problems, didn’t it?

    More debunking of Sowell’s bullshit here.

  10. Bitter Scribe said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:29

    Oh, ooooh, that big scary black man made me lend him all that money when I knew he’d never pay me back! Woe is me! Why, yes, a government bailout would soothe my nerves, thank you very much.

  11. D.N. Nation said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:29

    It’s amazing how much Tom Sowell hates black people.

  12. Legalize said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:38

    Sowell is one of those fellas who gives wingnuts permission to shout “n***er,” and then whine about “free speech” when normal people call said winger an asshole.

  13. commie atheist said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:48

    OT, but this may interest the Sadly, Nosians:

    The President has nominated Clifford D. May, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, for the remainder of a three-year term expiring 08/13/09.

    Yes, it’s that Cliff May:

    May is an ardent Bush administration cheerleader and has a history of controversial remarks that make it unlikely he will be a diplomatic steward of U.S. broadcasting. Some examples:

    – Attacks On Liberals: I’m not a big fan of his [Obama], but I’m going to put the best spin on it, which is that he understands the situation fairly well, certainly better than the Daily Kos does and some of those on the left who would like to see America defeated in Iraq as a demonstration exercise that U.S. power never, never can be used for good.

    – Success of the Surge: Petraeus’ troops appear to be making progress against Iranian-backed militias as well. As a result, the threat of an Iraqi civil war has diminished and there is no “resistance” movement to speak of — not of Saddam Hussein loyalists and certainly not of patriotic Iraqi nationalists.

    – Defense of Rumsfeld: “I would say the criticism should focus on how the job [in Iraq] could get done better. It shouldn’t focus on Rumsfeld the man and calling for his scalp.”

    http://thinkprogress.org/2008/07/16/bbg-cliff-may/

  14. tigrismus said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:48

    So when people go bankrupt the people are to blame, but when companies go bankrupt the companies aren’t. Now, I know I don’t understand all economic laws, but that seems counterintuitive. Also, if one group(call them “taxpayers”) makes some sort financial arrangement(or “bail out”) with another group(”banks”), why wouldn’t capitalism lead members of the paying group to expect something in return for the payment besides a laurel and hearty handshake, like at least partial ownership? Man, economic laws are tricksy!

  15. Hoosier X said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:50

    … I’m sure there are numerous statistics to back up his claim …

    Surely he has a link to a credible research organization, one of the prestigious institutes that reported that smoking is good for you for so many years.

  16. owlbear1 said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:52

    Does it not seem that winger blogs are attempting to become SO foul they stain all blogging?

  17. kc said,

    July 24, 2008 at 22:57

    Yeah, it was all those minorities flipping condos like crazy that got us into this mess.

  18. Jennifer said,

    July 24, 2008 at 23:05

    Sowell must be confused. I think the problems with the minority lending started something like this.

  19. Me said,

    July 24, 2008 at 23:06

    I’ll speak as someone who knows dick-all about economics and finances: whatever my accountant or lender tells me, I have to accept at face value, because I’m simply not adept enough with numbers and figures to refute them. And it’s not as if I’m undereducated or naive either. But you start babbling at me about “adjustable rate this” and “sub-prime that”, and I simply have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.

    As it happens, I’ve been fortunate in that I’ve had excellent accountants, bankers, lenders, etc. that all came highly recommended by trusted friends, and have all earned my trust over time. That said, if were a bit less fortuitous, had things a bit tougher economically, and had something like a brand new home dangled in front of me by someone who seemed like an expert, I could easily see myself sucked into one of these predatory loans. Not because I’m stupid or irresponsible, but because they’re supposed to be the experts.

    No other profession accepts this kind of malfeasance. Why should the lending industry be any different?

  20. Mark B said,

    July 24, 2008 at 23:07

    I declaere this ’shorter’ invalid, due to lack of ‘I am aware of all Internet tradtions’ disclaimer. Yes, the joke is getting old, but traditions are not there to amuse us, they are necessary for the preservation of society!!1!

  21. Rightwingsnarkle said,

    July 24, 2008 at 23:13

    I declaere this ’shorter’ invalid…

    I’m not ready to go that far, but I think we can agree that it’s tainted.

  22. Rufus said,

    July 24, 2008 at 23:14

    Yeah, remember that underprivileged minority on the show “Flip This House?”

    Oh. Me, neither.

  23. Gregory said,

    July 24, 2008 at 23:25

    My lovely wife and I turned down an ARM when we bought our house, and yet I don’t remember a government agent there forcing the mortgage broker to sell us one.

  24. sagra said,

    July 24, 2008 at 23:31

    But you start babbling at me about “adjustable rate this” and “sub-prime that”, and I simply have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.

    Adjustable Rate means something like “Ooooh, baby. You’re so beautiful tonight” and sub-prime means “You make me so hot I can’t stand it!”

    In other words, you mostly hear them when you’re about to get fucked.

  25. Dr.BDH said,

    July 24, 2008 at 23:44

    Did Sowell miss Shrub’s definitive explanation of this mess? “Wall Street got drunk.” Or is he being petulant because his wingnut welfare check is late?

  26. Prudence Goodwife said,

    July 24, 2008 at 23:44

    “It was not that many years ago when there was moral outrage ringing throughout the media because lenders were reluctant to lend in certain neighborhoods and because banks did not approve mortgage loan applications from blacks as often as they approved mortgage loan applications from whites.”

    It’s always race with these motherfuckers.

  27. mikey said,

    July 24, 2008 at 23:56

    Sub Prime is the chick you go home with after midnight.

    Typically, she steals your wallet and leaves while you’re in the shower…

    mikey

  28. WereBear said,

    July 25, 2008 at 0:04

    It’s a rigged game.

    I think we should all corporatize ourselves, just like the big boys.

    Then everything we do is deductable, we can skimp on taxpaying, and debt is just another word for unrealized assets.

  29. Jrod said,

    July 25, 2008 at 0:38

    Quoth the Sowell:

    In our own personal lives, common sense leads us to avoid some neighborhoods. If you want to call that “redlining,” so be it. But places where it is dangerous to go are often also places where it is dangerous to send your money.

    Undoubtedly, these sorts of places are so dangerous because they are on top of cursed indian burial grounds or something, and not because of any economic reasons like, just for instance, a refusal amonst lenders to provide capital for any business besides liquor stores and Money Trees, helping to ensure that such areas are completely bereft of any opportunity outside of dealing crack.

    Oh well. We tried to help these misbegotten souls by providing mortgages based on massively overinflated home values with a monthly payment that suddenly doubled a few years in, but the ungrateful wretches threw away their chance by selfishly becoming destitute and moving into a shantytown. A usual, it’s up to our economic elite to try to pick up the pieces, with no real help outside of billions of dollars of taxpayer money.

    Godspeed, heroes!

  30. Jrod said,

    July 25, 2008 at 0:40

    AS usual, I type real good.

  31. gab said,

    July 25, 2008 at 0:45

    I had the distinct honor and privilege to have had Sowell as my first ever economics professor. It was only after I had a couple of econ classes that I realized the guy was a horrible teacher. Not that he introduced politics into his classes, he just couldn’t teach. AND, we had to buy his book. God that pissed me off…

  32. MzNicky said,

    July 25, 2008 at 0:59

    What sagra said.

  33. Marco said,

    July 25, 2008 at 1:11

    “AND, we had to buy his book. God that pissed me off…”

    That was a sure sign of crap course in my college experience, too.

    “Really? We have to buy your book? You’re the wizard all the other dunces call when there’s a (insert course subject here) question?”

  34. MzNicky said,

    July 25, 2008 at 1:18

    I think we should all corporatize ourselves, just like the big boys.

    I think WereBear’s onto something. In the words of the immortal James Brown:

    “People, people, we’ve got to get over
    Before we go under

    Hey, give yourself a chance to come through
    Wow, tell yourself, I can do what you can do

    Let’s get together and get some land
    Raise our food like the man
    Save our money, do like the mob
    Put up your factory and own the job

    … I’ve got a brand new funky President
    And hey, I need to be the mayor”

    “Funky President” also contains the memorable lyric

    “Get down and praise the Lord/Get sexy, get funky and dance”

    but hey, it’s the Godfather, baby!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbeBO1lKo2s&feature=related

    [d'oh stupid link thing grumble grumble]

  35. Gary Ruppert said,

    July 25, 2008 at 1:20

    The fact is, there is liberal bias here an ignorange of facts, reality and the laws of economics. I think the banks were taken advantage of by the race-hustlers and poverty-pimps, which means they deserve a bailout since public pressure made them fail. There should be rules keeping losers from borrowing money unless they are prepared to pay high interest rates, which is why payday oans ARE supported by the free market as lenders to those without credit.

  36. Righteous Bubba said,

    July 25, 2008 at 1:22

    ignorange

    That is an awesome word and I am grateful.

  37. mikey said,

    July 25, 2008 at 1:26

    Um. I’m sorry. Little help here.

    “Poverty Pimps”?

    What the FUCK is a “Poverty Pimp”?

    A fancy dressed dood, who, if you give him some money, will let you live in public housing with no food to eat for an hour?

    I’m genuinely trying, and I’m not getting it..

    mikey

  38. Gary Ruppert said,

    July 25, 2008 at 1:29

    The fact is, poverty pimps, like the “community organizer” Obama/Osama, profit from keeping the poor dependent on handouts, with no incentive to work harder to improve their standing, they secure a voting bloc of the lazy and unfit and ride into office as candymen to the losers.

  39. slippy hussein toad said,

    July 25, 2008 at 1:31

    I’m reading the debunking of this horseshit (thanks, Realist) and I have this vision. The following quote inspired me:

    The revisionists say the problem wasn’t too little regulation; but too much, via CRA.

    Now, I’ve watched with full knowledge as huge segments of our economy were deregulated in a frenzy over the last 20 years. Those regulations were often set up in the wake of a fox-guards-henhouse style crisis, the biggest being of course the fucking Great Depression. So my response is, that I would like to see the mortgage company re-regulated thusly:

    Lenders shall deliver their loan offers with a Federal Loan Scrutinizer standing behind them holding a .45 caliber pistol to their head with the hammer cocked. Should aforementioned Lending Agent fail to adequately explain, and receive back in Buyer’s own words the terms and consequences of the Agreement in full, including all consequences of rate adjustments and failure to pay, Loan Scrutinizer is authorized to empty the clip of the .45 right into the motherfucker’s forehead. All transaction discussions shall be recorded on videotape from six angles at the expense of the Lender, to be archived by the Office of Loan Scrutiny and Buyer for all eternity.

    You can tell I’m not a fan of people who think money is a fucking game, and that the rest of us are pawns in their financial chess-match.

  40. Jrod said,

    July 25, 2008 at 1:42

    You can always tell a poverty pimp by looking at his hat. Your standard high class pimp will have a peacock feather in his outlandish wide-brimmed hat, while the cut-rate poverty pimp will have some cheap crap like a pheasant feather. If you look closely, you’ll also notice that their velvet suits come off the rack, rather than being tailored.

    Hopefully this will be helpful for bargain-hunting Johns during these hard times.

  41. Jennifer said,

    July 25, 2008 at 1:49

    This is just hysterically funny. Just go. Read it.

    And if you missed my link upthread, yeah, the video’s a few minutes long, but it speaks directly to the topic of this thread and explains how the banks wound up in this mess.

  42. ron said,

    July 25, 2008 at 1:55

    my wingnut friend beat him to the punch by a week. from a july 16th email:

    “the prob is that they were mandated BY THE GOV to provide shitty loans….”

  43. r€nato said,

    July 25, 2008 at 2:39

    I’m not calling Sowell an Uncle Tom, but he IS one of those minorities who discovered that he can assure himself of a steady paycheck by consistently selling out his brothers.

    Oh, wait, he IS an Uncle Tom.

  44. Jrod said,

    July 25, 2008 at 2:43

    That’s giving Sowell far too much credit.

    He’s an Uncle Ruckus.

  45. jim said,

    July 25, 2008 at 3:19

    From the article Jennifer cited:

    Fred Zeidman, co-chairman of Jewish outreach for the McCain campaign, said he still expects Lieberman to be an important advocate for the GOP nominee amongst Jewish donors.

    “Who could hope for anything better than him, a man of his integrity and stature?” Zeidman said of Lieberman’s potential impact.

    Boffo, thy name is Zeidman!

    Although ya gotta admit, Sowell gives him a real run for his money on the Irony Richter Scale:

    It was government intervention in the financial markets, which is now supposed to save the situation, that created the problem in the first place.

    Tru dat - if the neocons hadn’t've transformed Wall Street into the financial version of a poorly hacked Hong Kong bootleg copy of HALO 2, none of this horrific shit would ever have gone down in the 1st place. The GOP has been “intervening” like a spring-break sophomore on crystal meth for years & years now, & it shows.

  46. History said,

    July 25, 2008 at 3:29

    You used to learn from me. You learned to regulate and contain surveilance, because it could be used dishonestly, to advance a particular political agenda, rather than the good of our nation as a whole.

    You learned from me that when foxes guard the henhouse, you end up with no hens. Lots of people get rich, many, MANY more are ruined and the economy suffers.

    You learned that it’s cheaper and better to make things than to buy them.

    Then you forgot it all. You felt invincible, you felt like you could ignore history, like maybe those lessons learned at such grievous cost in the past might just no longer apply. You listened to the likes of Phil Gramm, and Dick Cheney, and now you find yourself on the brink. And yet you’re STILL not sure who to listen to.

    Listen to history children, learn and act quickly. Or history is a very good guide to the outcome you can expect….

    mikey

  47. Gary Ruppert said,

    July 25, 2008 at 3:31

    The fact is, history has passed jugement on socialism and comminism. It’s no good. You liberals who continue to defend it and critisise the free market are the enemies of freedom, and do not understand how economics and reality works. You have no facts and logic, only hate and bias.

  48. History said,

    July 25, 2008 at 3:48

    No Gary. I have judged the fat criminals who fed at the trough of ideologically driven greed. These people chose their politics based on their own self-enrichment. The divide between those in America who can feed their children and those who cannot is widening.

    Answer simply this: Confronted with History, where the people ALWAYS had to overthrow the plutocrats, just exactly how comforable are you in your gated community?

    Do you really want to keep pushing the divide?

    All I can promise you is that we’ll try to give you a decent burial, but chances are we won’t have the opportunity to do so. You can’t produce value, you can’t fight, you’re nothing but meat. And if you keep driving our society towards the obvious tipping point that is the twelve thousand pound gorilla in the room, you and your families will not survive.

    Perhaps there’s another, middle path you might advocate?

    Or would that require you to recognize reality, something you have never been able to do?

    mikey

  49. Fozzetti said,

    July 25, 2008 at 3:53

    Oh No! The Caddy- Driving Welfare Queens are Baaaaack! Run for your lives!

  50. Jrod said,

    July 25, 2008 at 4:06

    This History guy makes some good points. Is there, like, a TV channel or high school class I could take to learn more about you?

  51. ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said,

    July 25, 2008 at 4:15

    Jrod said,

    July 25, 2008 at 4:06

    This History guy makes some good points. Is there, like, a TV channel or high school class I could take to learn more about you

    Sadly, No.

  52. mikey said,

    July 25, 2008 at 4:19

    Here’s the plan. I’m gonna take a couple of fresh New Zealand Lamb Chops, and season them simply with salt, pepper , garlic and rosemary.

    Then I’ll take a small skillet, and saute onion, mushroom and pepper sauce until its soft. Then a little flour and water to tighten it up, and I’ll pour it over the seasoned lamb in an oven proof dish. Right into the oven for 25-30 minutes. Meantime, I’m roasting some chopped yukon golds in olive oil and herbs at 375 for about an hour. I’ll serve the lamb with greek yogurt, chives and parsley and the potatoes with creme fresh and chopped Serranos. Big win…

    I’m sorry. What were we talking about?

    mikehhy

  53. mikey said,

    July 25, 2008 at 4:21

    #

    Jrod said,

    July 25, 2008 at 4:06

    This History guy makes some good points. Is there, like, a TV channel or high school class I could take to learn more about you?

    Um. [Shyly] You MIGHT wanna check out his blog. He’s been ranting again. There are old women in nurses outfits trying to make him take his medicine. There might not be much time…

    mikey

  54. bayville said,

    July 25, 2008 at 4:37

    Did I miss the statistics, studies and sources that validate Sewell’s point or did the libural media “accidentally” delete them.

  55. ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said,

    July 25, 2008 at 4:50

    Click this link!

    You will laugh, or your money back.

  56. lobbey said,

    July 25, 2008 at 6:09

    The fact is, poverty pimps, like the “community organizer” Obama/Osama, profit from keeping the poor dependent on handouts, with no incentive to work harder to improve their standing, they secure a voting bloc of the lazy and unfit and ride into office as candymen to the losers.

    “Candymen”, are those the guys those old government education programs warned us about (”hey little girl, do you want some candy”)? or a secret nestle slush fund (those bastards are everywhere), or perhaps something from a Steven king book. Gary, stop throwing these random phrases around, you know us socialist bastards lack decent education and are permanently high on crack, if we are not too busy carrying out gay abortions!!

  57. Lesley said,

    July 25, 2008 at 7:26

    Knock Knock!! Who’s there? Just the facts!

    Given a Shovel, Digging Deeper Into Debt:
    Practices that produced record profits for many banks have led millions of Americans to the brink

    …behind the big increase in consumer debt is a major shift in the way lenders approach their business. In earlier years, actually being repaid by borrowers was crucial to lenders. Now, because so much consumer debt is packaged into securities and sold to investors, repayment of the loans takes on less importance to those lenders than the fees and charges generated when loans are made. …“Today the focus for lenders is not so much on consumer loans being repaid, but on the loan as a perpetual earning asset,” said Julie L. Williams, chief counsel of the Comptroller of the Currency, in a March 2005 speech that received little notice at the time.

    Just two generations ago, America was a nation of mostly thrifty people living within their means, even setting money aside for unforeseen expenses. Today, Americans carry $2.56 trillion in consumer debt, up 22 percent since 2000 alone, according to the Federal Reserve Board. …More ominous, as Americans have dug themselves deeper into debt, the value of their assets has started to fall. Mortgage debt stood at $10.5 trillion at the end of last year, more than double the $4.8 trillion just seven years earlier, but home prices that were rising to support increasing levels of debt, like home equity lines of credit, are now dropping. The combination of increased debt, falling asset prices and stagnant incomes does not threaten just imprudent borrowers. The entire economy has become vulnerable to the spending slowdown that results when consumers…hit the wall.

  58. Jrod said,

    July 25, 2008 at 10:11

    You mean to tell me that an economy based on rampant speculation as well as tossing credit to anyone regardless of their ability to pay leads to a, I dunno, a large depression? Golly, who coulda guessed?

    If only there was some field of study that could have warned us about this. Like, say, maybe we could record the things that happen, so that we could avoid doing stupid things more than once. But since such a thing doesn’t exist, I suppose we should just give our economic elites the benefit of the doubt and assume that this was all an innocent mistake and that they do, in fact, have our best interests at heart.

  59. bjacques said,

    July 25, 2008 at 15:31

    Sowell’s right. If we keep abusing the rich who graciously hire people and keep the economy running, they might all just disappear and go underground one day. I read a book about that once, so it could happen.

    I have the recipe for the world’s best fudge, but I’m keeping it a secret.

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