Col, Hasbeen, Meredith, you're letting ideology get in the way of analysis, though I concede Hasbeen has a point in relation to the Clinton-led loans policies.

Howard would've been no more responsible than Rudd in dealing with this crisis.
You say he had brilliant economic policies - I say, he'd be doing similar things to Rudd.

Howard was also prone to throwing cash at things to look popular.
To refresh your memories - who was it that pledged $500,000 for the Apes of bloody Borneo during the last election? I'll give you a clue - it wasn't Rudd.

I forget who said it, but I remember a quote from one commentator "the Howard government died vomiting cash from every orifice to interest groups it thought could be bribed for support."

So please. Spare me the Howard worship. The man presided over a mineral boom the likes of which the country and the world has never seen. He did an okay job of the economy, but he wasn't the brilliant economic manager he's made out to be.

Hell, look at the interest rates when he was treasurer under Fraser. They were at odds with the rates when he was PM. He's the only treasurer who presided over double digit inflation, double digit unemployment and double digit interest rates simultaneously (June '83).

Granted, they were different times. As is now.

Howard as PM had it lucky. I'm not saying he's incompetent (regarding economics), I'm saying he and Rudd are awfully similar and your comparisons are invalid.

There are many reasons for this crisis - one is indeed the home loan policies instituted by Clinton.
This was to encourage loans so more people from lower income backgrounds could afford houses.
That's part of the picture. Another consideration is the reckless spending by the recent US administration.
You can't have low taxes, and high spending. It's common sense. Yet this supposedly fiscally conservative US administration has indulged in spending on a scale never been seen before.
So before you point the fingers entirely at Clinton, acknowledge the recent financial policy idiocy.

18% odd interest under Mr Keating.

A massive overflow of money after Mr Costello, who was treasurer not Mr Howard

Hasbeen

"The whole system of low start loans was a darling of the left. Clinton pushed it very hard, in the US, & no lesser icon of our left, Tom Burns, introduced it in Queensland."

I know you love to blame the 'Left' for all the world's ills, Hasbeen, but you're wrong to do it here and, at the risk of being pedantic, I'll continue to remind you of that fact.

The subprime loans debacle can't be sheeted home to one government. Many legislative changes made along the way under several presidencies contributed. It began with changes introduced in the 60's and 70's under Johnson and Carter. Changes under Reagan and George W Bush impacted and, yes, so did those under Clinton.

Clinton's presidency pushed for an end to the racially discriminatory 'Redlining' and for home loans to be spread to lower income earners. But Clinton was NOT responsible for the predatory practices that lending institutions adopted to achieve his aims. His objectives were not unreasonable and were quite laudably aimed towards achieving greater fairness of opportunity for all. The bridge-too-far taken by the institutions in question was very much down to their own greed and stupidity. Government regulation or lack of it of course played a part, but it did not in itself precipitate the collapse.

Even if Clinton was solely responsible, he was never a true 'Lefty'. He could far more accurately be described as a Centrist than a Leftist. And certainly on economic policy, which is what you're linking him to, he was well to the Right. He championed neoliberal economic rationalist thinking which is much more aligned to the Right than to the Left. That's very much part of the reason why many on the Left would never consider voting for Hillary Clinton, especially in light of competition from someone like Obama.

Whatever Tom Burns did or didn't do in Australia is irrelevant to this debate. The regulatory framework here is much more effectual and the situation would never have got out of control to the extent it did in the US.

Hasbeen "The whole system of low start loans was a darling of the left. Clinton pushed it very hard, in the US, & no lesser icon of our left, Tom Burns, introduced it in Queensland."

And do not forget it was the Labor Left who introduced it into Victoria but by the mid 1990s the mortgagees were whining like stuck pigs because they owned homes which were worth less than the mortgages and with interest rates having gone through the roof, were locked into paying unaffordable repayments for loans they could not liquidate by selling the property, because it would have left them with a residual liability after the sale.

Of course, if you need any other clues to how clueless the left is in matters of finance, just look at Fat Joan Kirner and her sock puppet treasurer, Jolly (by name but not nature) and the

1 Pyramid debacle – refinanced by taxing petrol
2 Tri-continental debacle – which cost $1,000 for every man woman and child in Victoria
3 State bank and other Asset Fire Sales to dig the state (newly tagged as “the rust bucket state”) out of the pooh and the downgrade in credit rating which ensued.

I am dreading what we will find out when the incumbent lefty cretins are forced to come clean and the rorts and scams suddenly pop out from under the rocks…
I think it will be time to find a new state in which to live and leave the under-funded burden back with the flotsam and jetsam who benefitted from the socialist largesse (because I certainly have not).

As far as "blaming the left",

who else to blame…?

Like Meredith observed with the state of federal fiscal management and surplus, under Howard/Costello versus the preceding Hawke/Keating : Keating/Dawkins deficits,

showed perfectly liberal prudence replacing lefty shambolick profligacy

and now we are back with the ‘spend-it-as-fast-as-you-can’ kids again.

TRTL you put your points well, however you waste your time.
Some just do not want to hear the truth.
Rudd has firm support from most and that much is clear.
The lefty brand Col throws around is not wasted, every one is left of our Col Rouge.

It is not just a matter of left verses right.It is all about a balance of power.When any group or organisation gets too much power, the other groups suffer.While the left in it's good intentions often fail because they they don't get the best performance from people,[ie bloated bureaucracies and wasting taxes].The far right with their selfish intentions become like the lazy left.They too want a free ride.

We can see these attributes of this humanity in all our families and ourselves."Let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

No,I'm not religious but there is a lot of wisdom in Jesus' teachings.Jesus was probably just an ordinary soul and that makes him far more powerful than the supernatural being many adore,who could escape into another dimension and not deal with our mortal realities.

At the moment we all need the courage to defeat what enslaves us.It is the debt trap that steals both time to be with family and realise self worth.Both here and the US our Govts are putting us in more debt.It is the workers who will ultimately pay the price.