The 10 Dopiest Business and Economy Leaders of 2008

Blame yourselves first folks

Anybody can blame someone else. But did you overbuy? Who did you vote for and why? There's plenty of blame to go around. No funding for agencies that are supposed to be watchdogs, a Treasury Security that was CEO of Goldman Sachs and has no idea how he's spending TARP monies, a President that seemed to be on vacation constantly, a Vice President who could shoot straight only when a friend of his showed him his butt, and the list could go on forever and ever. But the real blame follows:

All of us. We were (or at least most of us anyway) greedy. A lot of us overbought homes, others took out mortgages they knew they couldn't afford or flat falsified information about themselves and then the time came to pay the piper. But like a shoemakers children, we were the last to get shoes, or at the very least a little common sense about money.

It took $4+ gas, food prices that rose weekly, fools making money off the backs of everyone except themselves, and the great unwashed, the people of the United States.

No one complained when times were good and now the griping and blaming is going to last for another year or so, when things will naturally get better.

For those of you complaining, did you save any money? And I'm talking about the minimum three months of living expenses (barebones) that should have been there? Did you put 20 percent down when you bought a home? Did you take out a mortgage you couldn't afford because of course housing prices were always going up?

As just a good old 61-year old Bubba from South Carolina, I saw this coming and practiced good money management. I didn't live off credit, saved as much as was reasonable to have a decent standard of living, knew a con when I saw one. And the years of one percent interest, which we have now or lower, got us into the mess. Blame Greenspan, Bush, Frank, Dodd, whomever you want to but look into the mirror at yourself. You have just as much blame as the rest.

I take my share of the blame. Will you?

Bubba of SC @ Dec 20, 2008 22:06:07 PM

Con RipOff Artists AND OUTRIGHT CRIMINALS

The question "all Americans" (as the Dems are fond of saying) are asking, is why are any aof these Bastards free to roam and enjoy the fruits of their ill gotten gains.

What we are being told in so many words is that if you lived straight and within your means, you're stupid and broke.

Not a good message to people who NOW can actually arm themselves against these pigs. The time has come to take the country back; by force if necessary.

DiplomatBear of FL @ Dec 19, 2008 13:50:47 PM

Bush must be clowning around

Is George Bush the monkey or what, like he suddenly cares about the people of the USA, the poor, the single parent families, even touching the middle class with his incompetent war in Iraq, that he mongered fake data to invade, that used up valuable real capital and the reputational influencial capital of the USA, before letting his Cheney cronies pull his string and go sky high with gas prices, that turned out to be a result of speculation by the Lehman, Bear STearns, etc, that we are now bailing out,

Americans cant have been doing well as a result, and the poor etc had to be choking financially, not even including the morons who made $22k and bought a $450k house

and now he goes around like he cares? The only sad thing is the shoe thrower missed,

He should pardon himself, what this regime has done is criminal.

Jonbonjovy of OK @ Dec 19, 2008 07:36:40 AM

To Jon of CA:

Your comment: "...Talk about asleep at the switch! You better believe that President Obama never would have let this happen." is based on what, exactly?

When has this man ever managed finances exceeding his own checkbook? I'm not against standing up for your man, but try to have some objectivity. Senator Obama is a political novice in every sense of the word. Even the oft-villified Sarah Palin is a governor with a very large budget to manage (which she has done quite well, thank you).

Blind faith...good luck with that.

cnandrews of CO @ Dec 17, 2008 15:59:09 PM

To Jon from from CA Your comments are socialism all over again, Social justice What the hell is that?You aren't watching your buddy Barry very well, the ceo's of Fannie and Freddie were on his campaign staff. If he's so great why isn't he calling for their heads as well as Barney Fife (Frank). Also What about Charlie Wrangle, you the Dem on Ways and Means who wrote tax code and then got caught not paying his "fair share". If Barry doesn't do anything about that clown we know it'll be politics as usual

Tom MI of MI @ Dec 17, 2008 13:18:54 PM

Congress

Where were the Senators and representatives while all of this unfolded? There are committees and infinite resources to monitor wall street, housing, hedge funds, credit card and auto companies.

It's not over - congressional action - not reaction is what will help restore confidence.

Paul C of IL @ Dec 17, 2008 12:45:13 PM

Govt not the free market caused this

The fault of expecting the govt to run business and regulate.

Check YOUR history, it started with Carter, then Clinton, then the Bushes.

Greenspan was not supporting free market Rand economics. He was interested in

power and did whatever he wanted to do to get more of it.

We need no bailouts,

No more govt intervention,

Throw out the Franks, Dodds etc of the world,

John Galt of CA @ Dec 17, 2008 12:34:07 PM

@clueless Jon of CA

Mr. Hopey Changeytude so far, has accumulated Hugo Chavez, Hamas, CAIR, The Nation of Islam, Jeremiah Wright, William Ayers and Bernadine Dorhn as friends, admirers, and supporters. The Islamofascists on the planet are head over heels for a "change they can believe in". Obama' socialist/Marxist roots in Chicago were mentored by the likes of Saul Alinksy and Frank Davis. Congratulations. You got the "change" you wanted. Welcome to 4 years of USSA.

Just don't expect the rest of us to follow suit.

SFC MAC of OH @ Dec 17, 2008 09:30:32 AM