Recession Longest In 60 Years, and Banks Still Not Lending
The National Bureau of Economic Research Announced that the recession started in 2007 and ended with the beginning of recovery in June 2009. Income, employment industrial production and wholesale retail sales for the analysis.
The previous longest postwar recessions in 1973-75 and 1981-82 both lasted 16 months, it said. This recession officially lasted 18 months but most Americans would say it seems like much longer.
Most economists have concluded that if the US is to create jobs and start growth that banks will have to be given incentives to lend money to small business.
"We must point out that banks are still not lending and job growth is not happening as a result" said Ben Boothe Appraiser, and CEO of http://benboothe.com
Boothe, a leading Appraiser and economic consultant said the following questions were critical:
Good Luck surviving the recovery!
- Why hasn't the Federal Government given incentives for banks to lend money to small business?
- Why hasn't the Government given small business tax breaks, grants or incentives to hire people?
- Why are bankruptcy laws which protect lenders and big business, not being reformed to help small families and business that are victims of this economy?
- Why are credit card companies still allowed to raise interest rates to 29% without notice, or to destroy credit scores, without scrutiny?
- Why is the ACH system of debits without notice to checking accounts not being regulated?
- Why are the mid to small business owners of America being forced to carry most of the brunt and pain of this recession?
"While Texas is supposed to be a bright spot in the economy with Houston, San Antonio/Austin, and Fort Worth/Dallas showing the best commercial building development growth in the nation, unemployment still remains high" observed Boothe.
In the meantime,the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also reduced predictions for US growth.
The OECD predicted the US economy will grow by 2.6% this year. It also warned in its latest economic survey of the US that we may experience higher long-term unemployment.
Meanwhile, the UK's Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said that it expected the US economy to expand by 2.2% next year, after growing by 2.5% this year.
An informal "Global Perspectives" polling interview of leading bankers in Texas suggested that many bankers believe that regulators do not want them to lend. Others believe that the economy needs a positive change in psychology, for bankers and business leaders to become more involved in the economy. One banker (a former "Banker's Banker in Texas" said to Global Perspectives: "I don't think the bankers will lend, until there is a foundation change in market psychology. Therefore it could be 2 or 3 years before we see meaningful lending, and recovery."
At the rate of business failures and bankruptcy increase, plus the increases in ACH fraud cases and credit card defaults due to unethical high rates and policies of credit card companies, 2 to 3 years could equate to millions of Americans being ruined financially.
A disaster of that magnitude should not be allowed to happen. For that reason alone, the government should step in to create an environment of stable growth and bank lending to small business on a broad scale. This government cannot seem to take it's eyes off of Wall Street. Main street is the key to the solution, and the concept that we are not dealing with millions of numbers, but with millions of individuals.
Again, the editors of GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES call upon this President, to:
1. Make solid substantial moves to encourage, create incentives, for bank lending to small business.
2. To elevate that to strongly insist that banks begin to lend to small business, but with sound, bank designed loan underwriting policies.
3. The stick should be penalties and strong violation fines for banks that violate the Community Reinvestment Act by not serving the financial needs of their community. The CRA should be utilized not to "make bad loans to bad customers" but should be used to offset the current policies of banks that suggest that they simple have locked the vault doors.
Never let us forget that banks have a fiduciary obligation to serve the financial needs of the community, and the role of the Federal Reserve and the FDIC is to provide for a stable and prosperous economy. It is a Public Trust, and should super-cede bank prejudices, or political spin that would cause them to "hoard" taxpayer and depositor funds instead to investing these moneys back into our nations communities.
But furthermore, it is my belief that bankers want to make money and they know that they have a strangle hold on the economy. They simply need assurances that regulators will not punish them or threaten them (as some examiners seem to be doing) if they do initiate new loans to their communities.
We should be past an environment where the examiners become the judge, jury and executioners of bankers. We should create an environment that suggest we are all working together for our nation and the prosperity of it's people.
A key factor would be for an investor or property owner toobtain a new appraisal, to both prepare a foundation for future loans, but as protection against "bottem feeders" stealing your property.