Reader comments
You are to blame for credit crisis

Good letter in form and idea. However, not ALL of us have been living beyond our means. I'm upset that after buying a modest home, vehicle, and disciplining myself to have no credit card balances - I get to pay for others short sighted decisions. Gee, Thanks.

What really irratates me about this article is not every one in America live beyond our means, yet you lump us together and put blame in all of us. What even irratates me more is the arrogant way of thinking you seem to have. Yes in general the consumer is just as responsible for the mess we are all in but in my opinion that dosent excuse the lenders for practicing unethical buisness, What I mean by this knowingly giving out loans that the consumer couldnt afford so they can collect as much intrest as they could and when they have taken all they could they forclose and collect the equity as well. sounds kind of like how the mafia works. And where was the government through all of this? They wern't governing. I find it hard to beleive that noone saw that this was coming and couldnt do anything to stop it. But even above all of that what disgusts me is the consumer pays for this and the C.E.O.s of the failed buisness walk away with a bailout of taxpayers money. Epic Failure.

Mr Cook paints with a pretty broad brush. I live modestly BUT within my means and have an excellent credit rating. Why should I be forced to bail out bankers and people that have no self control when it comes to lending and borrowing money? We used to hold people responsible for their actions. What happened to those values? There are a bunch of folks that should pay for the state of this economy, either through bankruptcy or jail time. I certainly am not one of them.

I think the altitude must be muddling the author's thinking process. He is getting two very different issues mixed up. We are all responsible for our personal finances, but the federal government is largely responsible for the collective economy. The cranky, conservative, anti-government crowd, is to blame for this current fiasco. Not only is the Bush/Cheney, administration very pro deregulation, but they have a real history of encouraging very lax oversight by federal agencies, like FEMA, the EPA, etc. Capitalism is fueled by greed and self interest, which are strong motivators, but they must be tempered with wise over sight.

Right.

Let's blame those folks who just wanted a little piece of the pie for themselves. Who wanted to share in the American Dream. Who wanted to partake just a little bit in the prosperity that seemed to be bursting forth all around them.

Don't blame the lenders who lured them to live beyond their means with too-good-to-be-true credit terms.

Don't blame the fat cats who made Billions off these deals.

Don't blame the President who continually throws good money after those fat cats.

Sure, these folks made a bad decision. Who tried to counsel them about it first? Not the lenders, government nor the fat cats.

Yes, I admit it, its my fault. I dreamed up collateralized debt obligations and credit default swaps. I encourage the investments banks to leverage themselves to a 33 to 1 ratio. I told the Wall Street CEOs that an annual bonus that was more money than the annual income of every reader of this paper combined was a just reward for their exemplerary leadership. Sorry about all that, what was I thinking?

To "liberal Larry | 7:30 a.m." it was the increased government regulation/involvement that created Fannie and Freddie. It was the government regulators not doing their jobs that allowed this to happen (the head of the regulators was a Chris Dodd). A former head of Fannie Mae helped select Biden as VP, and now is advising Obama about housing.

Fannie and Freddie were created by Jimmy Carter, and had their rules relaxed under Bill Clinton. They bowed to groups like ACORN to give out loans to people who couldn't afford them, all under the guise of making it so that every american can own a home.

Since you are so anti-conservative, answer this: If Democrats are so wonderful and have all of the answers, why is Michigan under a 4 year recession, and why is it that Utah (during the same time) had high job growth and low unemployment? Could it be that socialism doesn't work? If you think that socialism works, look at the yahoo finance page, and the article that states that in Europe record low unemployment is 7.1%.

Capitalism told bankers not to make loans to people who could not afford the payments. The Government, starting in 1977, told them they hadto, inthe name of "fairness". Who is to blame?

Its all
Bush's fault...and the neocons

A little sensitive folks, he must have struck a nerve. A wise man once told me we all like being lied to. When asked what he meant he explained we run and buy carpet when we are told it comes with free labor. We purchase goods when we will not have to pay anything for it until next year. All the time thinking we are getting a good deal. The truth hurts we are in a way responsible for this.

Nobody gets lured without already having convinced themselves that they are entitled. Sorry if you just wanted a piece of "the American Dream", but it doesn't come free. The Constitution guarantees the pursuit of happiness, not the free obtaining of it.
The writer is dead on target. Others may be guilty of greed and avarice as well, but we make the decisions and sign the papers. Ultimately we do what we want to do. Their complicit guilt does not mean we are innocent. No matter how correct the writer may be, many will refuse to look in the mirror. It will ALWAYS someone else's fault for them. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody expects to die?

Two things: The truth hurts and we are still a country that in denominated by majority rule. No one wants to be at fault for anything. We want to be a "no fault" society and yet the world doesn't work that way. We want to blame anyone, everyone but me. Again, it matters not who we blame but whom history will say had the most influence for bad or good.

Finally, saying "I am a good person. I pay my bills. I live within my means. Don't count me in for the blame." counts for nothing if more than half of the population has been living as the author of the article describes. No politician who needs a vote is going to look them in the eye and say it. No media outlet who needs their patronage is going to say it (unless they are quoting some other person (a.k.a. Phil Grahm) who is saying it. So who is left to point the finger, unless we look in the mirror and admit to being the guilty party.

Yes, it is true that those consumers who have been "living beyond (their) means" are a large part of the problem. And while that may be a majority of the population, it is not all-inclusive. So, those who decided to buy cars and/or homes they could not really afford, should deal with the consequences of that risk they took. Specifically, reposessions and foreclosures are a natural consequence for such people. These losses are essential to the free market resetting itself and making it so this doesn't happen again next decade!

As for me, I bought a home 3 years ago that was priced well under the limits for which I was "pre-approved" - a range I knew I could handle. I bought a new car 2 years ago, and just finished paying it off well in advance of the loan's term. The only debt I have is my (fixed) mortgage, and I live well within my means, saving for the future. What is my reward? Government bailouts cause rapid inflation, and I pay more for food to feed my family!

Thanks!

Speak for yourself, Kent.

My car is paid off. My modest home will soon be paid off.

I pay my credit cards off in full every month.

I don't put my money in "Have I got a sweet deal for you!" Wall Street firms.

If it were up to me, every Wall Street "golden parachute" granted in the past decade would be retroactively taxed at 100% and all executive compensation greater than 40x that given to any company's lowest-paid employee would also be taxed at 100%, retroactive for the past ten years.

And the next time anyone starts bellyaching about "socialism" and the superiority of the "free" market I'm going to show them today's newspapers headlines about the bailout and slap them on the nose with it.

Spoken like a true conservative republican.

What did George Bush say to America in response to 9/11???

"Go shopping!!!"

So, following Mr. Cook's line, we are to blame for listening to the President and following his advice.

Oh, and Dave, when you say "Capitalism told bankers not to make loans to people who could not afford the payments. The Government, starting in 1977, told them they hadto, inthe name of "fairness". Who is to blame?" you conveniently forget one point.

Congress told Bankers that they had to be fair in not using race or home location. Also, the majority of foreclosures are not in the inner city and low income areas addressed by the Community Redevelopment Act you mention,. The foreclosures are in the suburbs where the CRA did not apply.

Government did not tell them they had to give no-doc loans, no down loans, no credit check loans, and 125% LTV loans. That was a credit tool created by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley act that deregulated the finacial industry.

Unfortunately, you have bought into the Rush/Hannity talking point to distract you from the reality that it is the failure of the conservative deregulation movement that has lead us to the brink.

to redshirt: You have been listening to Limbaugh for waaay to long. The economic downturn in Michigan has more to do with the automobile companies closing up shop than any liberal/conservative governance. The question that everybody in this election needs to be asking is this. "Do I want 4 more years of the same failed policies?" McCain the "Maverick" has voted with the republican party over 95% of the time.

Mr Cook you might live beyond your means but I don`t. Don`t blame the big lending agentcies and your bad credit decisions on me.

Great letter! Although everyone didn't participate in feeding at the trough, many did. The reality is that a lot of people were looking to live beyond their means and now are looking for the government to bail them out. The best thing that could happen to this nation is a recession/depression. It would hurt a lot, but many people would come out of it with a more practical attitude about money.

To "Utahn in Michigan | 9:31 a.m." so, why are the auto companies shutting down shop there? Could it be the taxes are too high? Also, what are they doing to attract new business. From what I have read, they keep increasing taxes, which drives business away.

You don't like McCain because he agrees with Bush 95% of the time, yet Obama has voted down party lines 98% of the time.

Obama wants us to get us to look more like Europe. Their record unemployment was 7.1%, and some countries have unemployment rates near what the US had during the great depression. Is that what you want?