Undoing Bush

News Type: Opinion — Seeded on Thu Jun 28, 2007 11:55 AM EDT

Article Source: Harper's Magazine

politics, united-states, federal-reserve-board, bush-economic-policies

What should Bush's successor do to reverse the damage? Unfortunately, once financial bubbles are allowed to develop, there are no easy solutions available. Even if a "soft landing" is possible, the notion that such a thing is somehow desirable does not really make sense. In the case of the housing market, if the bubble is allowed to deflate slowly, then the more than 140,000 people who buy homes every week are still purchasing them at bubble-inflated prices. These are the people who will take the greatest hit when the prices eventually adjust to a sustainable level. A slow adjustment may well be more harmful for existing homeowners as well. Americans have been borrowing at a record pace against their home equity, pulling out close to $600 billion in the peak year of 2005. They have been willing to draw against their equity because they assumed that prices would stay high and likely move higher. If house prices only adjust slowly, then more homeowners will have drawn down equity based on incorrect expectations about the path of the housing market.

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9.1

{"commentId":820153,"authorDomain":"geejay"}

TheJonesGirl

From an excellent piece in the June Harper's Magazine on the damage Bush has done to government and how the new president in '08 could fix the many errors of this admin.

{"commentId":820153,"threadId":"119354","contentId":"807711","authorDomain":"geejay"}

4 votes

#1 - Thu Jun 28, 2007 11:57 AM EDT

{"commentId":820433,"authorDomain":"chum"}

Chum

But restoring the pre-Bush tax rates (at least for the wealthy) and ending the war will free up sufficient funds to support universal health care and a major round of infrastructure modernization.

I wish Bush would step up, but I think he's allergic to responsibility. Too far from '08.

{"commentId":820433,"threadId":"119354","contentId":"807711","authorDomain":"chum"}

5 votes

#2 - Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:07 PM EDT

{"commentId":820447,"authorDomain":"geejay"}

TheJonesGirl

The article in Harper's is sobering, I don't envy the next president or understand why anyone would want that job, knowing they have to clean up a brazillion messes.

{"commentId":820447,"threadId":"119354","contentId":"807711","authorDomain":"geejay"}

4 votes

#2.1 - Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:12 PM EDT

{"commentId":820802,"authorDomain":"eSantiago"}

eSantiago

GWB: That's like.. heh heh... somebody from Brazil?

I know shameless stab, but I thought it was funny. :-D

{"commentId":820802,"threadId":"119354","contentId":"807711","authorDomain":"eSantiago"}

2 votes

#2.2 - Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:46 PM EDT

{"commentId":820810,"authorDomain":"geejay"}

TheJonesGirl

I couldn't resist!

{"commentId":820810,"threadId":"119354","contentId":"807711","authorDomain":"geejay"}

1 vote

#2.3 - Thu Jun 28, 2007 2:47 PM EDT

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THEJONESGIRL

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Undoing Bush

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