Clueless Rick Santorum Thinks Gas Prices Caused The Financial Crisis

[Emit]

Republicans across the political world have struggled to comprehend the causes of the financial crisis since it began roiling the American economy nearly five years ago. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum (R), now one of the GOP’s two leading presidential candidates, hasn’t been immune, going all-in on the notion that government policy, government-sponsored housing programs, and government regulation were the main drivers of the crisis, a claim that has been repeatedly debunked.

~snip~

(...) Santorum offered an even further out there explanation for the crisis.

~snip~

“We went into a recession in 2008. People forget why. They thought it was a housing bubble. The housing bubble was caused because of a dramatic spike in energy prices that caused the housing bubble to burst,” Santorum told the audience. “People had to pay so much money to air condition and heat their homes or pay for gasoline that they couldn’t pay their mortgage.”

~snip~

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/02/08/421494/santorum-gas-prices-financial-crisis/

[Ecumenist]

1. Wha Da...I'm not even going to ask. I've learned not to try to understand stupid

people, It makes me itch and get a headache.

[sakabatou]

2. O.o

[Scootaloo]

3. Even for Santorum, that was dumb

[Mopar151]

4. Ricky is certain that grits ain't groceries.

Talk about reality-impaired.... This goober thinks logic and fact are tools of the devil!

[Zalatix]

5. He's got that reversed.

The bubble caused the crisis. The high prices of gasoline was more like that the brick that fell on the camel's already broken spine.

[DCKit]

6. Clueless. nt

[stillwaiting]

7. Then, Why The Hell does he not support...

... alternative energy?

Solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, etc.

All forms of clean, renewable energy that can help America become energy independent.

Subsidies to allow for clean energy production and for breakthroughs in efficiency are needed, and the benefits could be enjoyed by all Americans.

[doc03]

12. "Drill Baby Drill", "Tax Cuts", "Spending Cuts" , "Family Values" , "Take our Country Back"

is all the Republicans need to know. The Republicans can solve any problem with a short catch phrase.

[Raven]

8. Frightening. Who is advising this idiot? n/t

[sendero]

9. This is a typical cynical Republican ploy.....

..... to place blame in such as way as to advance their agenda. Agenda? Drill baby drill.

They rely on the FACT that most Americans don't have clue one what caused the financial crisis.

[quaker bill]

10. Not big enough rickky

The many trillion dollar gap between what was owed and what could be paid, was large enough to buy all the gasoline we consume for many years. The bubble burst as all of them do, because someone, somewhere, noticed that the emperor was actually naked. It is always just that simple.

[DCBob]

11. It certainly was not the cause but one could argue it was one of the triggers..

The housing ponzi scheme might have continued for another year or so if oil/gas prices had stayed low.

[FarCenter]

13. Energy prices were the trigger, but not the only or major cause

In California, Arizona, etc., a feature of the housing bubble was that developers continued to build housing developments farther and farther away from urban areas and employment. These far suburban developments became radically unattractive when oil hit over $140 / barrel. Developments stalled, prices dropped as buyers evaluated the cost of commuting 2 hours with $4.50 / gallon gas in their SUVs, and in these non-recourse mortgage states the homeowners started walking away from their houses and mortgages. This put downward pressure on house prices closer to the cities, and the collapse continued.

So the price of gas certainly played a role, but it was the easy money from mortgage securitization by Fannie and Freddie and by the non-bank mortgage securitization industry that was the biggest cause. That and a lot of speculation, flipping, and outright fraud by realtors, mortgage lenders, and homebuyers. Maybe it is time to get out those Carlton Sheets tapes and build an empire in real estate with no money down!