Which of “Bush’s policies” caused the “economic downturn”?

d_dock_2000: Which of “Bush’s policies” caused the “economic downturn”?
(Democrats) are blaming the downturn on the policies of Republican George W. Bush’s eight-year presidency. …

Was it “his” war, which has cost about $ 1 TRILLION, much of it spent back into the US economy?
or
Was it his “AFFORDABLE HOUSING” scam ?
Which cost Americans $ 8.3 TRILLION worth of phony paper when the bubble finally burst?
(Between June 2007 and November 2008, Americans lost more than a quarter of their net worth.
… Taken together, these losses total a staggering $ 8.3 trillion.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subprime_mortgage_crisis

“A September 1993 story in The Chicago Sun-Times presents (Madeline Talbott) as the leader of an initiative in which five area financial institutions … were “participating in a $ 55 million NATIONAL PILOT PROGRAM with AFFORDABLE-HOUSING group ACORN to make mortgages for low- and moderate-income people with troubled credit histories.”
“What made this program different from others, the paper added, was the participation of FANNIE MAE – which had AGREED TO BUY UP THE LOANS. “IF THIS PILOT PROGRAM WORKS,” crowed Talbott, “it will send a message to the lending community that it’s OK to make these kind of loans.”
Bob:
(In 2005) when the Bush administration proposed much tighter regulation of the two companies, Frank was adamant that “these two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis.” When the White House warned of “systemic risk for our financial system” unless the mortgage giants were curbed, Frank complained that the administration was more concerned about financial safety than about housing.

2006: Barney Frank: “I think it’s a good thing that housing prices are dropping. A few speculators get stung, that’s icing on the cake. The cake is… the cake is that people can afford to buy houses now. A 10% drop in housing prices is a good thing. Housing was over-valued.” What a nut case!!!

Answers and Views:

Answer by T
I don’t know about all those things you posted???? I only know freddy mac and fanny mae (and barny frank) ended my American dream, I lost my house and my son’s house and barny got a 10 million dollar bonus ….

Answer by bob
The Bush policy that lead to the economic downturn was his reluctance to veto many of the spending bills and things like the AFFORDABLE-HOUSING bill.

Answer by It’s him again
Deregulation of the banks and the stock market plus two very expensive and needless wars.

Answer by Crazy Croat
This is a good question to me because I have done extensive searches for any “policy” or regulation or even deregulation that Bush put in place; result? nada. But he did continue the affordable housing programs put in place by the Clinton administration. And it hardly makes sense to blame all the problems on deficit spending, especially since the current administration believes the way out is LOTS of deficit spending.

The initial problem was the housing bubble. Housing prices rose 80% 2000-2006, while personal income grew by only 2%. Something had to give, and when housing prices started to fall it caught out a lot lenders and borrowers who had assumed prices would continue to climb.

Economies are so complex that governments can rarely take the credit or blame for upturns and downturns. But history does show that governments are more often a detriment than a help.

Answer by Craig W. Dressler
The Bush administration did not cause the affordable housing scam because it occurred when Barney Frank and other Democrats took control of Congress and the regulation of Freddie and Fannie. In fact, Bush tried to push through a bill to regulate what was happening which the Democrats would not pass. Much of the Tarp money Bush proposed and passed will be paid back or has already been paid back to the U.S. Treasury. The Democrats have controlled Congress for almost four years and Obama for almost two. The current sad state of the economy rests squarely on the shoulders of Obama and the Democrats now. Their socialistic agenda has failed and will continue to fail if they are not stopped. Lastly, their policies will probably bankrupt the country fairly soon if they continue.

Answer by kenoplayer
Decreasing taxes and increasing government spending was the main factor. The sub prime mortgage scam was the straw that broke the camel’s back and created a dominoes effect throughout all aspects of the American economy and the world’s as well.