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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Guest Opinion: Water use at Southern Oregon University ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Sharing our stories ... Guest Opinion: Guns: a down-under solution? ... Guest Opinion: Water use at Southern Oregon University ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Sharing our stories ... Guest Opinion: Guns: a down-under solution? ... LOCAL TAKE Have we recovered from the Great Recession? Comment By John Darling For The Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For The Tidings Posted Jan. 16, 2015 at 7:25 PM By John Darling For The Tidings Posted Jan. 16, 2015 at 7:25 PM » RELATED CONTENT What do you think? --> Have an opinion on this story? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter. » Read more X What do you think? Have an opinion on this story? Send a letter to the editor at www.dailytidings.com/sendletter . • Should Gov. Kitzhaber resign due to his fiancee's entanglements?... • Are you prepared for the next great Cascadia quake? • What do you do with money saved from cheap gas? • What are you doing on Super Bowl Sunday? • What do you think of the state of the city? • Has Dr. King’s dream been realized? • What do you think of the proposed natural gas pipeline? • Are you glad the Ashland Rotary Centennial Ice Rink is here? • College debt load balloons: What could, should be done? • Do you think vaccinations should be mandatory? » Social News America seems to be slowly climbing out of the black hole created by the 2008 crash, which got labeled as the Great Recession. The causes are variously attributed to risky lending standards, with money going out the borrowers lacking good income and jobs, bundling and hawking of subprime mortgage securities, a large pool of available money from more prosperous times, repeal of Glass-Steagall banking regulation in 1999 and many other factors, leading to a perfect storm.  The U.S. Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in 2011 reported that “the crisis was avoidable and was caused by: Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve’s failure to stem the tide of toxic mortgages; Dramatic breakdowns in corporate governance including too many financial firms acting recklessly and taking on too much risk; An explosive mix of excessive borrowing and risk by households and Wall Street that put the financial system on a collision course with crisis; Key policy makers ill prepared for the crisis, lacking a full understanding of the financial system they oversaw; and systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels.“ It was a dramatic and scary time, with the first pebbles falling down the slope in 2005 as loans began to tighten and housing prices started to level off. The housing bubble popped in 2007-08 and giant, prestigious banking houses fell like houses of cards in the waning days of the Bush administration. The new Obama administration walked into giant bailouts of the banking industry and the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). The FDIC closed 465 banks. It was a nightmare not seen since the Crash of 1929, which began the Great Depression era. The nation held its breath and, glued to the tube, watched it all come (almost) down. Massive unemployment ensued and has still not fully rebounded. Grown children and grandparents moved back “home.” Millions of homes foreclosed and went cheap to the few who still had extra money. It was a collapse that few thought possible in the 80 years since bankers were jumping from high window ledges on Wall Street. The angry “occupy” movement got started on Wall Street, but was gone in a year, with no significant reforms having taken place. The gap between the rich and middle class widens with much railing about the end of a viable middle-class. Confidence? We’re not quite there yet, as this person-on-the-street survey hints. We’re just coming out of a long, deep recession. How has it changed the way you handle your money? Can it be prevented from happening again? Do you feel secure in our economy now? Grail Douglas — It could happen again. It always seems to. There are so many new factors coming into being, starting with the Internet. Who knows? We’re using fossil fuels in outrageous ways. It’s unpredictable. It happened in ’08 because of politics. People in power favored Wall Street and banks instead of the rest of us. Personally, we’re taking no chances but being very cautious with our money. Real estate seems to have stabilized and demand here is up. Sabina Cass — No. I don’t feel secure. It’s not looking that great. The economic system is still going through radical changes. The crash was caused by an out-of-whack system that’s not made to do well for all people. I’d be really happy if it changed. The wars going on forever have put a big strain on everything. Personally, I’m more aware, save more, invest more carefully. Jeff Houghton — No, of course not. I don’t feel secure. Why would I? The same people are in control and siphon up the money and concentrate the wealth. They’re fixing the political system in their favor and squeezing the lower classes and making them suffer. It’s going to happen again, the crash. Personally, I pay more interest for higher credit card debt.  Ginny Jost — No, I don’t feel secure at all. They’ve not made any Wall Street reforms, nothing permanent. They still offer adjustable rate mortgages and that’s what got us in trouble in the first place. The wars were not funded and then you had the mortgage crisis and the shady deals by big banks, all leading to the ’08 Crash. People got in houses with no down or jobs to support. Personally, we stayed in the market and it came back fine. I’m still OK on the market and real estate. Will Nuessle — What happened then is still happening. We never came out of the recession. Everything is being propped up by the Federal Reserve, which prints money to go get us into more debt. The banks are still doing all kinds of risky derivatives and getting backed by the Federal Reserve. Even the shale oil (pipeline) is being backed by lots of debt. It’s sick. Taxpayers cover all the debt banks run up and they’re too big to fail. By John Darling For The Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For The Tidings Posted Jan. 16, 2015 at 7:25 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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