If you’re a reasonably well-informed American—a reader of the main stream media—you probably

如果你是大眾媒體的讀者

think that the 2008 financial crisis was caused by insufficient regulation of the financial

你會覺得金融危機因為失效的金融系統

system and greed on Wall Street.

和華爾街的貪婪所造成

Pelosi: “…the ramifications of the risk taking and the greed of these financial institutions.”

Pelosi:"這些金融機構冒險和貪婪的後果"

In the second presidential debate in 2008, Obama said that the financial crisis was caused by deregulation.

2008年第二次總統選舉辯論中，歐巴馬說金融危機缺乏管制造成的

Obama: “The biggest problem in this whole process was the deregulation of the financial system.”

歐巴馬：“這事件中最大的問題是缺乏管制的金融體系”

And McCain blamed the government’s housing policy. Obama won the election, and his narrative

麥坎責怪政府的房屋政策。歐巴馬贏得了選舉，他關於金融危機的敘述

about the crisis prevailed. There was never any serious debate, as the media immediately

也得到認可。不再有激烈的辯論

accepted the idea that lack of regulation and greed on Wall Street were the reason for the financial crisis.

媒體接受了金融危機肇因於缺乏管制和華爾街的貪婪這個說法

Chris Matthews: “What is going on in New York? Do they just not give a rat’s ***

Chris Matthews:"紐約是怎麼回事？他們完全"

about what the American people think?”

“不管美國人民怎麼想？”

The financial crisis was actually caused by the government’s housing policy, principally

金融危機其實是政府的房屋政策造成的，因為

the adoption of the Affordable Housing Goals in 1992. These required Fannie Mae and Freddie

1992年實行的“負擔得起房屋”政策。需要 Fannie Mae和Freddie Mac

Mac, two very large government-backed mortgage companies that dominated the mortgage market,

兩家支配整個房貸市場的大型政府支持的房貸公司

to meet a quota when they bought mortgages from banks. At first, the quota was 30 percent.

達成貸款目標。一開始，目標是向銀行借百分之三十的貸款

When Fannie and Freddie bought mortgages from banks, 30 percent of the mortgages had to

當 Fannie和Freddie 向銀行借貸款，百分之三十的貸款

be made to borrowers below the median income where they lived. But the Department of Housing

必須供給收入在平均以下的人。但是房屋

and Urban Development, HUD, was given the authority by Congress to raise the quota,

和城市發展部門，HUD，因為國會造成的壓力而提升放貸目標

and in gradual increments HUD raised the quota to 50 percent by 2000 and to 56 percent in 2008.

目標漸漸在2000年提升至百分之五十，在2008年提升至百分之五十六

In order to meet this quota, Fannie and Freddie had to reduce their underwriting

為了達成目標，Fannie和Freddie只好降低承保標準

standards, because it was not possible to find enough prime mortgages among borrowers

因為不可能在收入低於平均以下的人中找到足夠的優質房貸

below the median income. By 1995, Fannie and Freddie were accepting mortgages with 3 percent

1995年時，申請房貸時須支付百分之三的頭期款

downpayments, and by 2000 mortgages with no downpayments at all. Because Fannie and Freddie

到了2000年，完全不用支付頭期款了，因為Fannie和Freddie

were the dominant players in the housing finance, those reduced standards spread to the general

在房地產佔有大量市場，因此市場上充滿了降低標準的房貸

By 2008, 56 percent of all mortgages outstanding in the United States were subprime or otherwise risky.

到了2008年，在美國百分之五十六的房貸是次級房貸

And of these, 76 percent were on the books of government agencies, principally

百分之七十六登記在政府機構的帳上，主要是

Fannie and Freddie. This shows, beyond question, that it was the government that created the

Fannie和Freddie。顯示了是政府創造了對於這些房貸的需求

demand for these mortgages. If we don’t understand what caused the financial crisis,

如果我們不了解什麼原因造成金融危機，

we will stumble into another one.

我們將會跌倒在另一次金融危機