Are financial leaders have proven themselves to be a ship of fools. The leadership offered is a socialist vs. a watered down free market solution embedded with heavy lobby money. Lobby financial interests have befuddled clear thinking.

Unqualified buyers were encouraged into mortgages, the root cause for the financial meltdown. Our financial subprime woes started with Jimmy Carter who, though well meaning, dumb-headedly enacted legislation to entice loans to people who were bad credit risks. Purchasing a home and paying property taxes was sold as the ultimate dream for financial happiness and getting ahead. His administration began distancing itself from conservative lending and accounting principles.

With the Clintons in the White House, the problem skyrocketed. They passed legislation punishing the mortgage companies if they did not lend to non-deserving borrowers. They put laws with teeth in them thus encouraging easy credit with eyes shut to risk. Sound lending practices were thrown out the window.

These foolish loans were bought up by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They repackaged these loans and sold them on the open market to other financial institutions. They also gave hundreds of millions of dollars into political coffers to ensure this circus continued.

Insurance companies insured these bogus loans. AIG and others evaluated this risk. Their leverage was originally set at 12 to one. They too threw million in lobby money at Congress, then the asked for a 30 to 1 leverage and further increased risk. This pumped up and largely increased their profits by huge amounts while the real estate market was going up.

This fraud was given the stamp of approval by chief economists Greenspan and Bernanke and the ship of fool’s balloon took off. Socialist organizations such as Acorn (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and other similar groups pressured banks into giving even more misguided loans.

Banking Committee Chairman, The House Finance Chief, SEC Chairman and other top-ranking government officials allowed this cancer to perpetuate because of the lobby money they received. The greed for lobby money twisted sound reasoning and perpetuated complete nonsensical thinking. The only solution for not tempting elected officials to sway their votes from socially responsible to sociopathic dimensions is to banish those accepting lobby money from government service as well as requiring jail time.

When the hot air balloon runs out of fuel used to create the hot air, the balloon crashes. When the easy credit real estate market turned and foreclosures ascended, the balloon was punctured and stopped climbing; it crashed. Humpty Dumpty and the 700 billion dollar bailout that was weighed down with pork project bought and paid for by additional lobby money show how corrupt these weasels are. Where is the ethical outrage?

Across the nation, real estate prices have fallen and municipal and state governments have raised their tax rates to compensate for the shortfall. If, when you get your assessment bill, you need to compare your home to the assessments of similar sold homes, you may find that you are overtaxed and could profit from a property tax appeal. It’s worth another look.