Progress Illinois

Chicagoan Jonathan Hoenig, who runs Capitalistpig Asset Management, is a frequent guest on conservative outlets like Fox News, as well as numerous financial networks.  He's previously burnished his reputation as a hardcore right-winger by urging a military strike on North Korea in order to boost the stock market and arguing that the economy's ability to "thrive" depended on the execution of convicted September 11 mastermind Zacarias Moussaoui.  Now he's on the national airwaves spreading the bogus claim that the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is a root cause of the current financial crisis. 

Here's his plan for how to deal with the meltdown, as explained during a recent appearance on Bill O'Reilly's radio show (as captured by Media Matters):

HOENIG: Let the bad actors fail, let bad banks fail, kick deadbeats out of their homes, get rid of the Community Reinvestment Act that makes banks give loans to bad risks, no more easy money from the Fed, no more bailouts for anybody, and no Fannie, Freddie ...

Media Matters provides a great rebuttal to the idea that the CRA is to blame for the current situation.  For more, check out Adam's post from earlier this week in which he explains why the act is worth preserving.