Housing Mess Started With Bill Clinton In 1999

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Well for all of you blaming Bush for this mess look to your hero Bill Clinton who passed new lending laws in 1999.


Hot Air » Blog Archive » A great example of how we got to the credit-market meltdown

First, Clinton didn't pass any new laws. The Constitution does not permit the President to pass any legislation. Moreover, the Community Reinvestment Act was enacted in 1977, not 1999.

Second, the collapse of the housing market cannot be attributed to minorities becoming home owners. The CRA was designed to benefit low income areas, which includes inner cities and rural areas (predominantly white areas). Moreover, banks were making money hand over fist on those sub-prime loans. As long as home prices kept skyrocketing, the banks were reaping huge rewards and not incurring many risks. The CEOs running those lending institutions knew the market could collapse, but they were far more concerned with making great profits on a quarterly basis.