It's Just Money

Isn't it sad that Hank Paulson is a household name?

Back in 2003, a friend said to me, "isn't it sad that we all know who Donald Rumsfeld is?"

"Bizarre," I thought.  Why is it sad that we know who the Secretary of Defense is?

Well, the point was that my group of friends, while intelligent and educated, did not follow most of politics closely.  So, the fact that we all knew Donald Rumsfeld was seen as a sad state of the political environment.

Case in point... 

Quick, name the three men who served as Secretary of Defense under Clinton!

Very few of you were able to rattle them off.

And now Hank Paulson is a household name.  Quick, name the three Secretaries of Treasury under Clinton!

Presidential Candidate Subprime Bailout Position

In case you haven't heard, it's an election year.  This means endless and tiresome political commercials, mailings, and even phone calls.  This is not a political blog, as god knows there are enough of them out there.  But, as politics can have a major impact on our collective and individual pocketbooks, I'm going to venture into some political ground.

About two years ago, there were a handful of housing bubble blogs and risky finance blogs out there warning us of the impending housing and mortgage meltdown.  Most notably, The Housing Bubble Blog and Another F'd Borrower.  The housing industry dismissed such talk as doom and gloom.  A bunch of Chicken Littles.

Then it began.  Sales slowed.  The rate of price increases slowed.  Then flattened.  Soon, the subprime mortgage holders who were relying on price increases in order to refinance or sell at a profit found themselves in trouble.  And we all know what followed.  Government intervention.

I made my position on the matter known in an open letter to my senator.  As expected, the idea of a bailout is predominantly a Democrat issue.  Surprisingly, however, it has crossed the aisle.

So, as we continue into the primaries, and try to educate ourselves on the candidates and their positions, I have taken some time to research where each of them stand on the subprime bailout.