vailian

Reuters reports:
“Taking the gross domestic product of both economies in 2007, the combined GDP of the 15 countries which use the euro overtook that of the United States when the European currency surged to a record high of more than $1.56 per euro.”
(Full article here)

The people who are going to be hurt by this are not the ones who caused the problem in the first place. The banks thought they would be clever by taking mortgages off their balance sheets.. pocket the fee-- lose the risk-- but it meant that there was no incentive to actually check the transactions (what is the real value of the property? Does the buyer actually have enought income to pay the monthly bills? Is there a balloon clause hidden in the fine print?) and so the real estate bonds' value cannot be realistically estimated.
The banks are now waiting for government handouts to save them. The bill for this goes to the taxpayers.
Meanwhile the homeowners find themselves forced into foreclosure, and the ensuing glut on the market means that house prices are going to be weak for the next few years.
We should hope that the next Administration is better able to balance financial resposibility and social justice, and repair some of the damage done to America's international reputation.
IMHO.
Or am I missing something here?