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Krugman on Bush and McCain's Housing Crisis Response: "It’s Like Katrina" to Say "Let People Suffer"
Last week, Sen. McCain spoke to the Orange County Hispanic Small Business Roundtable in California on solving the nation's economic woes. During that speech, he stated that he does not believe the federal government should assist struggling homeowners:
I have always been committed to the principle that it is not the duty of government to bail out and reward those who act irresponsibly, whether they are big banks or small borrowers.
It would be a little different if the administration said housing prices are going up. If they hadn’t said there’s no bubble. It’s a national disaster in effect. It’s like Katrina. To say, oh, let people suffer, saying let those people who made the mistake of staying in New Orleans suffer.
Transcript:
REICH: This is not something that’s just a run-of-the-mill economic or finance crisis. I think therefore, it is very important, and appropriate for the government to do something. I mean, John McCain makes Herbert Hoover look like an activist.
WILL: He was.
KRUGMAN: Yeah, when I listened to McCain give that speech, I immediately thought of Herbert Hoover’s treasury secretary. Liquidate farmers, you can’t do this. This is a financial crisis. You’ve got to do something, and that does include helping homeowners who were sucked in a little different if Alan Greenspan said you should all take out adjustable rate mortgages.
It would be a little different if the administration said housing prices are going up. If they hadn’t said there’s no bubble. It’s a national disaster in effect. It’s like Katrina. To say, oh, let people suffer, saying let those people who made the mistake of staying in New Orleans suffer.
Tagged as: bush, economy, mccain, housing, hurricane katrina, krugman
Amanda Terkel is Deputy Research Director at the Center for American Progress and serves as Deputy Editor for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.
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