The Democrat clamor for a housing bailout
Last week, it was Hillary Clinton crusading for a socialist housing bailout plan. Today, it’s bond mutual fund mogul William Gross in the Washington Post:
et with it, Mr. President. This is your moment to one-up Barney Frank and the Democrats. Create a Reconstruction Mortgage Corporation. Or, at the least, modify the existing FHA program, long discarded as ineffective. Bail ‘em out — and prevent a destructive housing deflation that Ben Bernanke cannot avert. After all, you’re the Decider, aren’t you?
And here are more Dems climbing aboard the housing gravy train:
Congressional Democrats have been ratcheting up calls for tighter regulation, and even the possibility of bailouts for distressed homeowners.
Although Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Edwards have both proposed a fund to help homeowners, the focus in Congress has been on expanding the ability of government-sponsored companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to finance more home loans.
Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York and Senator Dodd have both proposed raising the caps on the volume of mortgages that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can hold in their own portfolios.
Both companies package mortgages into securities that can be sold on Wall Street and into world financial markets. But the companies also hold millions of mortgages in their own portfolios. Under current regulations, the companies are each allowed to keep about $700 billion in mortgages, and neither has much room to acquire more loans. Democrats contend that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could provide a crucial source of refinancing for people trying to extricate themselves from unmanageable loans.
But the Fed and the Treasury Department have argued that the two companies’ portfolios have effectively become government-sponsored behemoths that crowd out private lenders and could pose big risks to taxpayers if their holdings plunged in value.
The mortgage blogger at Another F*ed Borrower says “I told you so” and notes that LA Democrat City Councilman Richard Alarcon has also joined the mob:
I told you it was only a matter of time until the politicians started talking BAILOUT for people that bit off more than they could chew. They can’t have it both ways (or can they). They can’t have 70% ‘home ownership’ (more like home mortgageship) on one hand, and then use taxpayer money to say that nobody loses a house on the other. The thing is, 70% of the population probably shouldn’t be owning a house, and certainly not at the prices that many of them paid. The coming ‘foreclosure boom’ is going to realign the home ownership percentages to more realistic levels and realign housing prices to levels that reflect incomes…
…pparently, biting off more than one can chew is no longer an individual problem, it is society’s problem. Who knew that the ‘leaders’ of our country were so against personal responsibility. Aside from the capital gains tax, ’society’ didn’t really benefit from the massive property appreciation, so why should society have to foot the bill for the ‘bad investments’ that were made.
Sadly, it isn’t just politicians on the national level that are screaming BAILOUT! Seems that Los Angeles City Councilman Richard A[l]arcon wants CITY, STATE, and FEDERAL funds to bailout CITY homeowners that cannot afford their mortgages!!
Insane: Take from responsible taxpayers and give to homeowners who made bad investments and are up to their eyeballs in debt.
It’s the Democrat way.
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You gotta love Democrats. These proposals take the old phrase, “A chicken in every pot”, to a whole new level.
Do they want to help me pay for my new home that’s under construction?
Can I get a free pass too?
Just more taxes to pay next year on two homes…..gee, and to think that those who live off the government get some MORE of my money.
Gayle, Fly Fishing Cottage in New Zealand is souding better and better.
corr. sounding.
Yep.
I’d love to have a house. I’d love to have BIG house with nice furniture, a lovely yard, and a shiny car in the driveway.
But you know what? WE CAN’T AFFORD IT.
So we live in an apartment, drive the tiny car I bought in college (which is GREAT with a 6-month-old and all his equipment), and deal with it.
Because the government is not responsible for housing me. I am.
And I’m not irresponsible enough to buy a house I can’t afford. I’m not entitled to more than my means allow - I earn what I have, and I have to work hard to have decent things.
What about that is so difficult for people, and Democrats, to understand?
I wonder, what would a bailout do to the federal budget deficit? And who would the Democrats blame?
Where does the money come from to bailout the people who took out loans that they couldn’t afford, given by bankers who knew what would happen when the piper showed up? Economics education has no place amongst the paper or plastic busy lesson day.
Of course this bailout idea stinks and would only hurt this country, but it’s just another democratic paper tiger. According to plan, float the idea that they care and want to help and see, it’s the GOP that doesn’t care about you and look it’s their fault you’re in this mess to begin with.
I guess I CAN afford a home after all (many, in fact). I didn’t get a home mortgage because I knew that home price were artifically inflated and that the cost would be more than I could manage at this time. It’s good to know that my life long dream of at least *paying* for a home will finally become a reality thanks to the Communist Party of American (the Democrats).
I make less than $82,000 per year. Have two children under the age of 25, rent an apartment (because houses are too expensive), pay for my own insurance. Never, never in my life could I ever ask what theses Dems are proposing. I know my limitations and when I exceed my income I pull back until I am within my means again. I am happy. I am content. I take personal responsibility seriously as I wish our leaders would also do.
I suppose the motto of the Democratic Party should be: “It’s not your fault you did something stupid, and we’ll gladly use other (responsible) people’s money to help you!”
That says it all right now. This proposed bailout is not about the homeowner’s with mortgages they can’t afford. It’s about people like Mr. Gross who have millions of dollars invested in paper that is backed by at-risk mortgages. They invested in this stuff because of the higher rates they could get while ignoring the higher risk, but now the risk is coming back to bite them in the butt.
Dont you just love how some of these types extoll the virtues of capitalism and free markets when the markets are hot but then turn around and run to the government for a bailout when the market inevitably corrects its excesses>
I see a bailout coming. Isn’t that the purpose of all the sob stories in the newspapers about people being “victimized” by lenders?
Our paper closed one of their sob stories with a quote by a man who did not borrow up to the hilt. He called his neighbors greedy and stupid. Amen.
This is the socialist agenda in a nutshell. We can all have nothing equally. With the exception of those in “leadership” positions who for some reason are entitled to more than the rest of us.
I read recently that Fidel Castro is one of the wealthiest people in the world. And we all know how much sacrificing that poor Kim Jong Il does for “the people”.
The demoncrats are leading us to a disaster much greater than global warming. . .global poverty.
It is amazing how large these people want the Federal Government to be.
1. Socialized health Care (it could be done, but nobody in Washington knows how to do it ‘right’. They just want control and take more money that they can throw at it)
2. Freedom from making bad mistakes (if you make a mistake the government will bail you out)
3. Freedom for anyone who wants to come here and get government assistance around the world (no secure borders and amnesty for those who step across the border). After all, we have a statue in our largest city with a poem on a plaque that says ‘give us your tired, your poor . . . ‘ - that must be legally binding.
The only thing these people don’t want our government to do is fund the military - which is the only thing the federal government is supposed to do.
These people are dangerous. They think they are smarter than everyone else so they should tell everyone else how to live every aspect of their life. Tax, Tax, Tax -
‘Just give me your money because I know better than you how to spend it. The people elected me to take your money and spend it for you. Now work harder so you can give me more money,’ says the current government.
“Insane: Take from responsible taxpayers and give…”
Yep. That pretty much sums up the Democrats and their collective vision.
“Create a Reconstruction Mortgage Corporation.”
Yah…let the govn’t get involved and run things. That’ll fix the problem.
GOOD GOD the dems are clueless.
I don’t understand why my family should be penalized for saying no. We said “No” when the real estate agent tried to show us houses in the upscale gated community. We said “No” to the mortgage guy who qualified us for almost 3x what we spent. We said “HE!! NO!” when they trotted out the “exotic” mortgage products that would help us “maximize our cash flows”. Only the illiterate and innumerate fall for that nonsense, and they probably can’t swing the responsiblity of home ownership anyway.
Why does it seem like the Democrats in this country want to make being sensible, responsible, and financially aware a disadvantage?
You hit the nail on the head. I’m sure he stands to lose millions because of his bad investments on want the bailout for himself.
Let’s just hope the party of personal responsibility doesn’t cave in to this madness.
I’ll say it again. If the government would abolish the income tax on wage earnings most people would be able to afford their mortgage or, at the least, it would buy them more time to work out an amicable solution.
There would still be plenty of tax money from corporate profits, investment profits, and excise taxes to for Hillary to waste on other social experiments.
(I can’t get the preview button to work, hence the ridiculously long bold statement above. My apologies to the gods of blog formatting.)
A bail out? Great idea!
All these democratic socialists have my permission to donate their own money to help out these obtuse, myopic sharks & chums that fell into this money pit.
Your own money, twits. Keep your greasy fingers out of the public coffers and off my wallet!!
What about corporations facing bankruptcy? Why stop with homeowners….investors who lose their shirt in the stock market…..companies who go belly-up….isn’t everybody entitled to a bailout?
Hey I got an idea… let them serve their country and earn a VA loan, it’s the American thing to do!
#17 davidleerothmann said:
Dave - we already are at a disadvantage.
I think it’s the entitlement mentality that’s driving the whole shebang - don’t earn what you need and save for the nicer things… No, tax somebody else and stay at home on the couch instead!
This has got to be some kind of joke. They were the ones that got into the mess. Why on earth should we bail them out?????
That little ‘housing boom’ doubled the price of housing in this town. We can’t afford to even rent an apartment. The price of just a 2 bedroom apartment (we have 3 kids, 2 boys and a girl so 2 bedroom means we sleep in the living room) is 3/4 of what we make a month.
And now they want a BAIL OUT? OMG…
This mortgage foreclosure story fits perfectly with the democrat narrative about American citizens: we are stupid children in need of a paternalistic government. Left to our own devices, we make bad decisions. If only we would listen to Hillary, et al, we would be smarter. It’s disgusting, and quite frankly, it’s insulting.
Sadly, the media won’t report this story for what it is: another sad tale about human greed. People took adjustable rate mortgages because they initially offered low, low rates and left more funds to the homeowner for discretionary spending. Then, the rate adjusts — as the 200 documents they SIGNED at the closing said it would — and now they can’t pay their bills. Sorry, you bought too much house. You knew you were buying too much house, but your greed led you to believe you wouldn’t have to pay for it like the rest of the world does.
My daddy used to tell me two things all the time:
1) There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.
2) If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
Those people should have bought the house they could afford on a fixed rate mortgage, but they wanted MORE, and they thought they could get it for LESS.
Moreover, these people had an “out” as it were, which was selling their homes before they foreclosed. Do you have any idea how many payments you have to miss before your property is foreclosed? Well, it typically takes a year or more, plenty of time to sell.
Grow up. Get out of MY wallet. Home ownership is for the big kids.
Hrmmm. . . .you know, there are some nice houses in the area that are still on the market. They were out of our price range initially (technically, we could have swung it, but it would have been very tight), but hey, if the gov’t is going to pick up the tab, why not? I mean, why shouldn’t I be rewarded for making bad choices in life?
“Life is a b*tch and then you die.” What is it with people who chose not to take responsibilty for reading a contract when making, possibly, the most important financial decision of their lives? “If it sounds too good to be be true - it probably is.” Unbelievable!
Tony,
I really gotta get with the program! I’m tired of going to work every day, and my couch is really comfortable!
I’m sure they dems will say they won’t need to raise taxes for the bailout while they simulatenously raid another “trust” fund to finance. To politicians the phrase trust fund appears to mean “trust us, it ain’t funded.”
Typical commie-puke/al-Qeada loving party.Rob Petter,(tax payer)to pay Paul,
(a possible demo voter).
My only question is, where do I sign up for my check? I could use at least a half million, give or take. There’s this nice lakefront home I’ve been dying to buy. Heck, maybe I could even get a few hundred thousand more my existing home if my buyer could get his bailout check too.
Buy only what you need, pay it off as quickly as possible, bank the rest for retirement. I have friends that haven’t been in several rooms of their humungus homes for months on end. The only ones ever seeing them are the cleaning people! Your friends and family may be wowed by your new home, but having to call them for a room to stay after foreclosure will be humiliating.
still waiting for my lottery ticket bailout.
When we built our home we qualified for 25% more than what we wanted to spend. We held our ground and moved in for $2K under the target we were willing to pay. Why the heck should the rest of us have to pay for those that bought more house than they could afford? Those that can’t live within their means should be punished not the rest of us. The only way these people will every learn is through experiencing the consequences of their poor decisions and greed.
That’s not entirely accurate. It is more like “Take from responsible taxpayers and give to wealthy investors who are hooked on an ever booming housing market and construction industry.”
The Democrats have never evidenced much interest in the poor before and I don’t think they are starting now.
“We’re going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good.” — HRC
Exactly. And it says a lot about the Democrats that they are at the service of people like Gross.
And it says a lot about the Democrats that they are at the service of people like Gross.
Hey, hey….everyone quit complaining…my wife’s Nordstom bill just came in…I can’t pay it…I’m thinking maybe Hillary will help out….I could get used to having tax payers take care of all my wife’s excessive spending habits…maybe I could get them to pay my health insurance…and then maybe my food bills…they could take care of that luxury vehicle I bought too…whew! I feel better already….Uncle Sam to the rescue…so now I’ve got no responsibility for my outrageous spending habits and greed…the govt will catch me before I fall…no accountability…yeah…it’s like I’m a child and the govt is my Daddy!…ok, where’s my allowance!?
flenser: The Democrats interest in the poor, the stupid and the illegal is that the ever-grateful beneficiaries will vote for them. (Support the troops!)
Are you aware of who takes out these loans? It is a generation that currently is between the ages of 30 to 50 who feel that it is necessary to have the largest house in town to show how important they are. They are able to qualify for the loans due to either a professional status or making a low 6 figure income. They usually could afford a home that is cheaper, but they would not have the impressive size. Now those of us who have more restaint are asked to bail them out.
As a result of this and many other concepts in this country, I am voting for Hillary. My reason is that she well hasten the distruction of the country and this will give us in the South a chance to regain our freedom.
That’s what the Democrats are about: funding dysfunction.
It’s pretty obvious that many of these homeowners didn’t read their mortgages beyone what they had to pay the first month. Many of them here in DC were taking interest only mortgages based on the assumption that the hyper-appreciation of the beginning of the decade would never end. They weren’t mortgages but speculation, betting that the trees would grow to the sky.
PokerGuy (#15),
Wouldn’t it be nice if the government can bail us out when we lose at poker..
I can get into the spirit I think… No losing.. no personal responsibility..
Life is fun!!
Thirteen28 (#11) you’re exactly right. They take all those sub-prime mortgages, package them up, sell them, and the Financial “wizards” (see Lehman Brothers Lays Off 1,200 in any paper this week) and issue bonds based on a value the packages supposedly have. Only the value is marked at some pie-in-the-sky ridiculous number, and Bill Gross and his buddies are now stuck with billions in paper that’s worth, um, well less than they paid. You’ll start hearing from other Wall Streeters any moment now about how the government should bail out all these people who overpaid and underfinanced their homes. You’ll also see thousands more lay-offs on Wall Street as this house of cards comes tumbling down. These are people with million dollar studios in Manhattan, and they’ll want you to bail them out too. CBS will follow with a story about an illegal alien who had a loan most Americans wouldn’t take, lost it all and now has to be bailed out. Well, not about an actual person, but true anyway.
Bottom line, it’s about bailing out rich people, with the added benefit of pandering to the left for votes.
After thinking this dilemma over for all of 5 seconds I’ve come to the same conclusion I did with illegal immigration.
NO! NO! NO! Bailout
So I’ve worked all my life and saved my money, lived below my means actually to prepare for the future, and now I am going to be asked to pay for somebody who didn’t control his finances and lived high off the hog while I was scrimping??
NO WAY
We can’t be the party of “no” !
We have to say “Yes” to giving money to irresponsible people right?
Or at least reach across the aisle and take somebody’s hand and lead them down the path of understanding that people’s lack of responsibility should not EQUAL responsible people bailing them out.
Hey, my house is only 2,000 square foot. Over my dead body will people with 4,000 square foot houses be taking my tax payer dollars because they couldn’t be more frugal…
Question, is it the blame of the foolish consumers who over spend and or is it the crooked, greedy, shady money lenders that made bad decisions that brought this all about? I still say no. no matter who’s fault it is.
A number of years ago i lost a good business…where was the government then? sar/
The answer is - both.
It’s like people all over who are extending themselves buying wide/big HDTV’s at $6,000 per pop. My TV that I bought in 2000 for $200 works just fine thank you.
Is it the fault of the seller of that TV? Maybe - Some poor sap who is in their 20’s and should put away 20% of their income to retirement should not be buying the big fancy SUV, plasma or LCD HDTV or their $3 Mocha/Latte each day. But they do.
People bought into a bigger house than they could afford with a conventional 30 year loan and 20% down by purchasing a loan with $0 down and a very low adjustable rate.
Now we are going to dump on those brokers…. Well, I for one won’t. These buyers need to learn a lesson about life.
PUT YOUR DANG MONEY AWAY FOR THE FUTURE…
Stop acting like the government should protect you from your own stupid decisions from cradle to grave at the EXPENSE of RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE !!!
I need to lay off the keyboard for awhile.. Thanks for letting me vent MM!
I guess you have not read the story, but it is not the buyers begging for a Fed bailout, it is the multi-billionaire hedge fund managers. Maybe they need to learn a lesson about life - that they cannot count on the government to bail them out of their stupid actions.
Of course it always has so far, so they are entitled to think that way.
Although I don’t agree with Vermont succcession idea, it may start to spark my if all this BS keeps up.
I added this link for some more “friday fun’ and it seems appropriate for our current Government.
intereshttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6909771689547216877&q=barney+fife&total=81&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1t
Somewhere out there exists a liberal that believes in personal responsibility. This liberal expresses ideas that are truthful, relevant, useful, and accurate.
This liberal attends my Thursday night poker game with moderate Palestinian leaders, the Easter Bunny, and my pet unicorn.
Whether it irresponsible individuals or airlines that lose billions, it is not my responsibility to subsidize them.
http://blacktygrrrr.wordpress.com/2007/04/24/liberals-are-rightjust-not-about-anything-that-matters/
It is very simple to figure out. Hillary is a liberal. She doesn’t get it. President Bush is a conservative. He gets it.
http://blacktygrrrr.wordpress.com/2007/08/24/president-bush-simply-gets-it/
Respectfully,
eric
corr. spark my interest
We see here the basic flaw in the Republican perspective on life - the belief that the rich are the good guys and the poor are the bad guys.
Even though the rich, by and large, ARE the Democrats and the liberals.
Geez, havin a bad day this will work.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6909771689547216877&q=barney+fife&total=81&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1t
uncle
All the 125% mortgage loans stuck all the subprime buyers with huge debt. BUT the mortgage companies that profited from this insane idea of bad loans for more than value on already overpriced real estate ( 125% of value?, They’re brain dead not to know this was a problem), let the BILLIONS of dollars in those profits pay for any bailout IF they really think that’s so wise.
Let the shady lenders and clearinghouses put their own money back into this mess. They created and allowed it, and they all got RICH because of it.
flenser,
I got it now.
Can we still borrow from the Chinese, or have they gotten wise yet? We should get as much as we can before defaulting.
Hey guys, can we use the little LINK button please?
Just hi-light what you want linked from, then put the URL in the little box, and bingo….no long incomplete url’s.
where you want the link highlite
then click on link button,
then copy and paste URL into space provided.
I ACTUALLY saw a bumper sticker that I as a conservative agree with on a liberal’s car.
It said “Consume Less”
Sound advice !! Baby boomers listen up! We need you to sock money away and stop buying the Audi’s and what not so that you aren’t relying on an unreformed Social Security. Personal savings accounts are what you need to rely on - not the younger generation.
Baby boomers as a whole (yes I’m generalizing but this is what statistics say) have been FAR less responsible saving money than their parent generation.
yes, ty, sorry…
On comment #61. That bumper sticker puts the idea to people about “personal responsibility”. That’s why I’m surprised it was on a liberal’s car. Maybe it was a conservative’s car. Who knows??
That’s why I’m surprised it was on a liberal’s car.
was it a Volvo?
Bad Baklava.
Here it is.
I feel like I was correct again.
Consume less - Don’t buy the sticker for $2 a pop.
If you lend money to illegal aliens your gonna get stiffed, maybe this will teach them a lesson.
NO! The people should stand against this! I am tired of the government bailing out every freakin’ loser in the country and taking is out of MY income to pay for it!
DA*M the Democrats! DA*M the RINOs!
Let the freakin’ lenders take responsibility for their decisions! Those who have been foreclosed upon should take responsibility for THEIR decisions!
Sometimes you take risks and win, and other times you lose. US. GOVERNMENT STOP STEALING FROM ME AND GIVING IT TO LOSERS!
Well if it works anything like New Orleans it would be simpler and cheaper to make a big pile of the cash and set fire to it. The group in question did not manage money then and will not be able to in the near future or ever!
Hedge funds? Our farsighted, wise , greatly venerated and fiscally responsible Pols on the Hill had the chance to regulate hedge funds and turned it down. Is my memory correct in thinking that suggestion never got out of committee? Don’t recall the details.
I live in an 1100 sq. ft. home. It’s smaller than I’d like, but it certainly gets the job done. To the people who were so stupid and short-sighted that they couldn’t resist the urge to get a McMansion when presented with the unscrupulous opportunity, I say get your paws off my wallet. What you’re expecting your government to do as a gift basically amounts to theft from the rest of us.
If they genuinely feel that their mortgage companies misled them into such peril, I’d say that they should go digging for gold with an attorney, not a congressman. I wish them luck, though; it seems like the least one could do when signing the most important contract of his life is to bother to take the time to read it and understand its implications.
I’m sure that the Senate Democrats know that the Republicans will never let such a bill get cloture. Does it seem to anyone else like the Dems are just posturing for media spin and a sympathy vote yet again?
On another blog I read, someone suggested the idea that the government give every person - when they turn 18 - $100,000.
That’s it. No more. No less. Do with that $100,000 as you please, but once it’s gone - you’re out of luck.
I thought it was a silly idea at first, but then I realized it wouldn’t be that bad.
1) It would put everyone on equal footing when they are legal adults. This would make the collectivist Democrats happy.
2) It satisfies the notion of independence and personal hard work. People who choose to spend the money wisely are rewarded. Those that don’t, aren’t.
3) It would prevent these bailouts and welfare programs from draining billions of tax dollars from the people who work hard and make wise personal and financial decisions.
We don’t need another d*mned road to communism government program.
I don’t understand what the big blessed whoopie is about this (unless it’s being manufactured for political purposes).
Add another ten years to the term of each subprime loan (to what it should have been to begin with) and mandate payoff insurance in case of physical hardship (death) and get over it.
Which is better fiscal management? Foreclosing at a loss or restructuring the length of the term?
There now, was that so bad?
This is a link to an article by David Horowitz about those who are pushing for this sort of government control. It’s _very_ long, but worth reading, if you can take time. In the nature of “it takes a thief to catch a thief”, Horowitz was once one of “them”. He knows them well.
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/articles/Progressive%20Narcissism.htm
Personal responsibility is part of freedom. Free to choose with the associated responsibility to live with the consequences of your own choices–good or bad.
This is what extended the depression of the 1930s.
#52 blacktygrrrr said:
NO - Not the Easter Bunny!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiZjxwfRgxg
When I bought my condo, I agonized over whether I could truly afford it or not. Obviously, I didn’t need to do that.
I love the government.
/sarcasm
This is total insanity. I feel sorry for the new generation coming into this world today. They will never know the American Dream or “being the best you can be”. No, they will be taught that liberty and freedom didn’t work and the Founding Fathers were evil. Government will take care of them…womb to tomb.
Fortunately, many of those facing foreclosure on their McMansions will need smaller properties. The small housing market will boom (as will the rental markets) - they can subdivide some of those 12,000 sq. ft. monsters into apartments. Credit will just be harder to get. And, the louts will lose some money but not the billions they’re talking about. Ok, I’m not a financial genious.
It’s scary that many people have spent themselves into oblivion. No savings, record setting credit card bills, mortgages they’ll default on if either signers on the loan loses even one month’s paycheck, furniture purchased with no-payments for two-three years, and cars/SUVs/ATVs/jetskis/boats/ all financed as well. My daddy always told me when I was looking to buy a new snazzy car to always keep one car paid for….that way if everything went to h#ll I’d at least have something to live in.
The RINOs may be on the same page as Shrillery on this issue though. If/when new construction slows down we’re going to be faced with millions of illegals without jobs. Having worked off the books, no way to prove past employment, stolen identities with no available benefits, things could get nasty. How could the RINOs push for amnesty when the illegals cannot find a job?
That’s not “fortunate” at all. That screws over those of us who have been responsibly renting while we save for a down payment on a small property.
I live alone; I don’t care if the bottom falls out of 3000 sq ft with three-car garage and four bathrooms marker, but I don’t deserve to have my unfinished basement dreams crushed other people’s stupidity!
Whatever happened to personal responsibility? I got into some financial problems several years ago (partly my own fault and partly the ex) and considered a couple of years ago one of those subprime mortgages. But I decided to do it the right way and sock away several hundred dollars a month. I’ve gotten rid of all but one credit cards. I also contribute a good amount to my 401K (I make a good salary - it’s just my credit that’s an issue). When my credit is finally back in good shape and I’ve saved up 20% down, then I buy a house.
Some friends of mine have a 3,000 sq ft house, which they could easily afford when they bought it. Husband was a government worker, but wife made a good salary in the IT industry, until her company downsized after the tech bubble burst. They didn’t go crying to anyone asking for handouts. They tightened their belts as tight as they could, got rid of all their credit cards but one and managed even to put a little bit more every month towards their mortgage and paid it off last year. Today, the wife finally got a full-time job, four years after she was originally laid off. It doesn’t pay as much as her previous job, but they can finally loosen their belts a bit. Where was their handout?
it was bad enough when they bailed out the market last week with someting like 2 billion. now this. where does it end?
Welcome to the Democratic Nanny State. It just drives me bananas. People like me and the other responsible people on here have to bail out the idiots who have no savings, live beyond their means,and sign up for an interest only mortgage on a house which is over priced in the first place. This is the new democratic entitlement, everyone is Entitled to own a house. Where is that in the constitution? In Europe, a much smaller percentage of people own their homes. People who make stupid decisions should lose their house. If you can’t read a contract and make responsible decisions, RENT !
Hill and the gang can promise anything during the campaign. What separates the smart people from the stupid is that we (the smart ones) realize there is NO WAY to pay for these empty promises.
I’m waiting for the day when these socialists will “decide” that all of our respective incomes will go straight to the government, which THEY as the anointed will decide how much income you and I really need and deserve.
This is great! I’ll go buy that $1 million dollar house down the street I can’t afford, risk foreclosure, and the Hill will make it all right for me….
Oh, I forgot. They won’t lend me the money because that “undocumented slave” is using my SSN and credit so I can have cheap lettuce, and he can have health care coverage on my insurance plan. It would be uncharitable for me to use the credit I’ve built up, because that would not give him the chance to own his own home, or the opportunity to ruin that same credit surplus.
I would want to take away that foreigner’s inalienable right to destroy American lives!
How could I be so forgetful?
Perhaps we should impose a credit score tax! That way, we can take points away from those that have paid their bills on time, and worked hard to not spend more than they can afford, and give it to those who were irresponsible in spending more money than they had.
I mean, it’s not fair that the responsible individuals should be allowed to to pay such small interest rates, when the irresponsible individuals of higher risk are forced to pay such a high rate for their right to own a home beyond their means, 4 brand new cars, 6 big screen TVs, 4 computers, and enough cell phones and iPods for themselves and their 5 kids. For gosh sakes, they only make $44,000 a year, and every middle class family deserves all those things they can’t afford. (/sarc off)
So Michelle thinks the lenders that bit off more than they could chew shouldn’t be somewhat responsible? The government is bailing THEM out. How come you conservatives love welfare when it benefits the greedy corporations, but not when it helps fellow citizens. These idiots, of course, shouldn’t be bailed out of the $500,000 mortgages…but neither should the corporations who, frankly, lied and manipulated the poor-credit, low-income-having morons who signed on the dotted line. It goes both ways. The corporations are just as guilty — if not more so — than the dumb borrowers because they tactfully took advantage of the morons who didn’t know any better.
You mean the corporation that John Edwards worked for? And really, you think Michelle said what?
Isn’t Socialism great?Look at what wonders it did for the[former]USSR,Cuba, China and look what it’s doing for Canada and most of Western Europe.Maybe the working people of America can bail them out,too.
Does anybody here read what she writes?
Anybody?
What a great idea, Crashemt! No one has thought of that before. A credit score tax! People with a credit score above 700 will pay a tax (sliding scale, of course) on each point above 700. The money collected will be put in a “lock box” to help those with a credit score of less than 500, for example. So, if your score is 470, you could receive a check each month to pay your bills. It would help the poor and tax the rich. It would boost the economy, because people would run out to buy the latest and greatest, knowing the government (err..responsible people) would pay for it. Meanwhile, the responsible people (err..the rich) would purposely screw up their credit score, to avoid the tax. That would punish those evil credit companies and banks. The government would then have to step in and decide what you can buy and what you can’t buy. Wow! A ticket to the White House, you politicians!
This is so out-of-left-field, and knowing how Hillary thinks and moves (we all do at this point) I cannot help but think that this is more than an election ploy to appeal to the liberal quasi-socialist base. This has the scent of sticky fingers on it, and somehow I get the feeling that someone, somehow - possibly a few well-placed dems sharing the same finacial advice - see in this a way to enrich their personal fortunes. Sometimes our spider senses must be paid attention to, and mine are ringing loud and clear right now.
“Scent of sticky fingers on it….” Love it! And, most of our pols are probably connected with the hedge funds and mortgage brokers in some way too.
*sigh*
We didn’t buy a McMansion, we bought a 20 year old townhouse and still got over our heads with our mortgage. Neither my husband or I had any idea what we were doing, we’re pretty clueless with money, but trying to learn more. We weren’t taught anything about money by our parents, so here we are struggling along every month with a baby on the way. I’m not looking for a handout though. If we have to sell, we will (and we would have already, if we weren’t in a precarious situation with a potential job transfer).
I just wish someone had taught me about money when I was 18. I am 26 now. The mistakes we’ve made have been because we didn’t know any better.
Parents, give your kids who are coming out of college a financial education, because they probably didn’t learn anything useful while they were there.
Patch -the -bun Hi. Sorry that things are not going too well, but…(there’s always a but isn’t there LOL).Don’t blame your parents. The bottom line figure must have been there(even if in the small print) and if that small voice says beware(and I hope it did)listen. If the voice wasn’t there, you need to be especially careful and get good advice in the future? Don’t you just hate a person who speaks in parentheses and gives advice you could have done without?
Don’t really know what you mean about the bottom line figure, jeanie. Like most things in life, its complicated. A combination of expensive mortgage (that we could afford at the time), unanticipated expenses, and shrinking income. I made the best decision I could with the information I had. I truly thought that buying a house was a smart move, rather than “throwing our money away” in rent each month. I know now that we should have waited a few more years (we had already waited 4 years) and bought when the prices went down. But I didn’t know the prices were high, I thought $355K for a townhouse was normal for this area.
I don’t think its the parents *fault* that people make bad decisions. But the more people know about money, the less likely you are to make a bad decision, right? I certainly wasn’t trying to make life difficult. I wish I had known more though.
Again though, I’m not asking anyone for a handout. Thats what makes me a conservative, not a liberal.
Patchthebun is a good example. I hope everyone here remembers to teach their kids finances and budgets. They will be most grateful. We are all bombarded 24/7 to buy,buy, buy, TODAY. The future(payments) comes very quickly. A house is not required spending. Liquids assets are essential first, before property. Thinking money will be fine next year, doesn’t pay the bills. Always have something to fall back on first. A good example is a couple I know. They spent $140K on a house…all their money, because they didn’t have anywhere near a decent credit score. House is in both their names. Now, they’re divorcing. House is worthless because they haven’t any credit to draw equity. If they sell, they split the money, which is tough on her, because it was all her money, with 3 kids. It would have been better to rent and invest the money. She can’t even afford a lawyer to get a divorce. I know, I’ve “loaned” money a couple of times. Sad.
If every American today were to live within his means, retail purchases would plummet, and only God knows how many businesses would go belly up and how many people would lose their jobs.
This didn’t have to be. Let’s look at history. After World War II, our country went through a period of great prosperity. There were no such things as credit cards or adjustible-rate mortgages. Lenders had to adhere to usury laws that kept interest rates down. Businesses that wanted to merge or acquire had to be mindful of antitrust laws that were more likely to be enforced than they are today. Fair trade laws aimed to keep small businesses from being swallowed up by big ones, albeit imperfectly. The income of a husband as a rule was sufficient to support the entire family, so many wives stayed at home to raise the children. Labor unions, at least the honest ones, generally were able to gain income and benefits for their members that kept pace with the cost of living, and labor-manangement grievance committees settled problems that government is now called on to resolve. Despite the loathing of unions by conservatives, workers established “made in the U.S.A” as the gold standard of industrial quality.
So how did we get from there to here? The answer is the key to straightening out the economic mess we are in. Sen. Schumer’s bailout proposal may not work, but neither will moralistic finger pointing.