Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Answering Financial Crisis Slander

I don't have much time, but this is too important not to post. Right-wing liars from Ann Coulter to Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) have been arguing that the left, along with minorities, are to blame for the current financial crisis. I just wanted to put a few resources at your control to fight that back if people bring it up in conversation (you may not be able to convert bigots, but you can at least keep them from multiplying).

Go here for thinkprogress's report on Bachmann's lie, and why it's a lie.

Go here for the Center for American Progress's systemic refutation of the "liberals caused the sub-prime crisis" myth.

That should get you on your way to even more good research on the question (send me the links if you find especially good stuff). If you care about answering racist slander as much as I do, I know posting these citations was not in vain...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Brian Wesbury, in an item in today's WSJ, indirectly rebuts the claim you've identified ( http://tinyurl.com/4l85h2 ), saying, "Here's something you won't believe: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have not drawn a dime from the Treasury's $200 billion facility that was created to bail them out. It was the use of mark-to-market accounting that allowed Treasury to declare them bankrupt. On a cash flow basis, they were solvent." Overall, the loans were performing. If that's true, clearly the mortgagors (poor, minority, or whatever) aren't the primary problem.