Who is to blame for the Financial Crisis and who is best equipped to get us out

I think the FED is to blame, just as they have been to blame for every financial problem since they have been in existence. The FED is who controls the currency, sets the interest rates, controls credit availability, and causes inflation and the devaluation of the dollar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw End of explanation...

Free enterprise is the best answer to the problems.. Government caused it, as far as I'm concerned [and human frailty and flaw, showing up as greed in (some) CEO's, etc]. From what I hear government strong armed banks into giving out very risky loans, which springs from the idea of equality for all regardless of efforts. I.e, yes it would be nice is all folks could own a home, but it won't work giving loans to those not able to pay their mortgage.. Also some loans by greed on both sides, where a house is bought but financed into it is all the furniture and a pool, so the loan is now double what the house is worth.. AIG is the insurance company for the banks. So when these bad loans fell through it affected the banks and also AIG. The answer is not more government intervention! Government intervention is what stifles free enterprise. If all wealth is centralized, with the object being to distribute it evenly, motivation and innovation is stifled. [Besides, these govs which collect up the wealth to redistribute, somehow always seem to forget the redistribute part anyway!!] - Our economy would be well on its way to recovery if not for the trillions of dollars of debt being racked up now.. that's tax debt for you and me.. Government seems to want less jobs and more and more dependants upon the system. But once too many get dpendant on the system, there's not many left to support the system/pay taxes! So it never works. More dependants, more votes. Doesn't matter I guess if they destroy the country, which once worked extremely well...

Ultimately, the blame for the financial crisis must fall on we voters who elected the politicians who could not control governmental spending while we failed to control own. All the talk about a mortgage crisis, financial meltdown, and interest rate debacle is in the final analysis merely distraction from the real issue. Americans have become too soft and undisciplined to do what needs to be done concerning money either in their personal life or in public life.

I'm with Red about blaming the voters. So many voted yet weren't informed about the issues. As usual, America looked at the outside of President Obama and didn't take the time to look at the inside of his character or the content of his heart. It didn't take me long to see it. I'm not at all racist, I would have loved to take part in voting for our first black president. But not at the cost of destroying our great nation. We the people are going to have to be the ones to get us out of it. I can't help but think that if all of this were to happen during the next generation than all would probably be lost. I believe things are going to get really bad. That's when people will get back to traditional values and people will once again get involved and informed, and hopefully America can somehow get out of this stronger and better than it's ever been.

The Federal reserve and the Elite of the world Are to blame for our economic problems (Politicians and political parties are just a guise) and the best equipped to get us out are you and me, and the rest of the citizens of this country, step number one is to pray, step number two, is to buy more american, even buying one item that you usually buy chinese made, and buying american for instead, is a step in the right direction, step number 3, is to start paying more attention to bills that are in the process of becoming laws, and not being afraid to write your state politicians about them, step 4, is to get rid of the CPSIA which limits many small businesses, and step 5 (actually step 5 might actually come before step 3, but this is when I thought of it) pay much closer attention on a state level, because thats where A LOT of the change you want is going to happen. and be prepared to do something about it. and to actually do it.

My answer isn't about politicians, a political system, or any other political structure directly. I believe that what really caused this financial crisis is a belief system in this country. The government, love them or hate them, bend to the will of the people. If a Democratic candidate's base is demanding something, then that something is needed to keep voters -- same goes for Republicans, Libertarians, etc. After America conquered segragation, the next step was to include minorities into a proclaimed "white man's world" financially. Even though less than 1% of white people in America were in any position to "hold minorities back," 100% of white people were, ironically and hypocritically, lumped together into one proclaimed "problem." As the years progressed, this "problem," as seen by shortsighted individuals who feel the plight of the few is enough evidence to cause detriment to the many, started to become the "answer" to every new group claiming to be a victim. By the mid '70s values such as strong families, independent responsibility, self-reliance, compentency and qualification to be employed, and a right of the people over the right of a government were all being considered strictly "white" and outdated values; more specifically, a conservative, bigoted view of American. To change this, as many believed, America had to progress and transform itself into a country that catered to its citizens, rather than being a country that provided a platform for its citizens to achieve on their own merit. Now instead of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" being taught, you had millions of people believing that the government - the white, evil, bigoted government - owed them a living. Henceforth, separatism was glorifed, so long as it wasn't white separatism. Single mothers were glorified, so long as they weren't white-trash. Violence against America was glorified, so long as it wasn't coming from white police and protectors. America, in only a few short years, transformed into a safe haven for millions upon millions of "victims" of these 100% white oppressors. So, already changing due to Kennedy's martydom, Carter expanded and he and his administration bent closer to the will of the people. Now, no longer did the individual have to feel as if he or she had to work. As soon as they gave their heart-melting story of victimhood, tax dollars from the 100% white devils would be pooled into a pot and distributed on a worst-off, more-served basis. From this stemmed groups that pressured the 100% white devils into making loans, giving credit, paying more taxes, and turing a blind eye to unqualified individuals to do anything but mooch. From there, the snowball effect took over. The floodgates were open. Democracy was no longer about the land of the free, home of the brave, and the place where hard work pays off. It was about the loudest beggars being served. As such, every politician began catering to the outreached hands. No matter what side it was, personal responsibility gave way to a welfare mindset. Greedy individuals then were able to sneak in under the radar and exploit our government's willingness to cater to everyone. And now that the damage is done some people continue to blame well-to-do people - like the employees of AIG who received bonuses - instead of taking responsibility for their progressive liberal ideology causing calamity in America. The mindsets of people stuck at opposite poles - either a beggar or a greed-stricken a-hole - caused this financial crisis. While it was happening, unfortunately, this country still had other problems to deal with: Education, terror, and infinite other day-to-day things that threaten to rip loose the fabric of American culture. But I don't blame the greedy so much as those dependant on government. Without the distractions caused by these "victims," the greed would have been noticed decades ago and snuffed out! And ironically, we're now becoming a victim-catering society all together with this new administration! Personal self-worth has been replaced by high-chairs and binkys.

i think congress is to blame they are supposed to have oversight over, banking, housing, SEC and the Federal Reserve. They spent more time worrying about steroids then they did any of these important issues that have crippled our economy.

Hello Bob, Thanks for responding on my Obama discussion,I appreciate it. About the financial crisis, well we don't need to blame a president for it, instead blame the financial and banking sectors of the country. They are the ones who created this mess, mismanagement, over spending to personal bonuses of CEO's, and misinvestments. Like the issue on the company AIG, having so many sums of money given as cash incentives to employees specially to high ranking executive in the company despite the financial situation of the country. These crisis needs the help of so many sectors to work hand in hand and cannot be addressed by a president alone. The president is just a person to lead all sectors of the economy to the right direction, and he needs us the people to work hand in hand with him. We the people have the responsibility to crosscut as much as possible, budget wisely and be a loaw abiding citizen, in dire crisis anarchy and anger rises, so we need to calm down, compose ourselves and face the crisis, not argue this and that.