Here it is: The mother of all government bailouts
Scroll for updates…severance for CEOs?
What I wrote in July:
I’ve long warned of the inexorable bailout frenzy in the wake of last year’s stimulus-palooza. The Fannie/Freddie rescue will make the Bear Stearns bailout look like chickenfeed.
Well, welcome to the MOAB nightmare come true.
Taxpayers will be on the hook for $200 billion — with a “B” — in capital and credit lines to both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And that’s just the starting estimate. When do government projections ever get it right? And when do they ever overestimate the cost to taxpayers?
Both parties will twist themselves in semantic pretzels to argue that this isn’t a massive, socialist bailout scheme. Cut the bull. It walks and squawks like one because it is one. This is more of the same profit-side, crony capitalism and loss-side socialism. Who benefits? Liberal corruptocrats like Jamie Gorelick.
And what do we get for our money?
The fundamentals of the housing market will not change. We’ll pay for government intervention to keep home prices artificially high, while helping the two federally-sponsored enterprises rescue some of the nation’s most toxic loans.
When I called for the “Suck It Up” solution to the housing crisis, I didn’t mean that government should suck up our money. Crikey.
***
Peter Viles at L.A. Land: “The larger question, it seems to me, is whether the government’s rescue brings some stability back to the entire financial industry, or just buys the government time before the next unprecedented, historic bailout of the next institution deemed “too big to fail.” Banks are sitting on piles of bad debt and are unable to raise money and increasingly unwilling to lend; does the Fannie-Freddie bailout change that?”
***
Paging Jim DeMint!
***
Update: Terrific…
The chief executive officers of Fannie Mae stand to collect millions of dollars in severance compensation in the wake of the government’s takeover of the mortgage giants, The New York Times reported. Fannie Mae’s Daniel H. Mudd could get $9.3 million in severance pay, retirement benefits and deferred compensation if his dismissal is “without cause,” the consulting firm James F. Reda & Associates told the Times. And Freddie Mac’s Richard F. Syron could get a package valued at $14.1 million after a clause was added to his employment contract in mid-July, the Times reported. Investors are objecting to the prospect of the big payouts, the Times reported, adding that whether the executives actually will collect remains unclear.
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So with the government “temporarily” seizing control of both lenders with our money (as that is was taxes are) does that not “temporarily” make us investors and should that not “temporarily” give us say in this whole debacle? At a minimum I would sure like to get my stock dividend check while the government “temporarily” takes control of the lenders.
I just love how those of us who are good about paying their mortgages on time are screwed over by the federal government.
I hear from NPR it’s a good thing because the government makes back 10% interest on the bailout loan.
I believe there is also talk about another stimulus package… don’t cha just love an election year?
Besides, I believe the last stimulus bill work so well – that it justifies yet another one. *rolls eyes*
Sooner or later, someone is going to have to pay for all these bail-outs. Are the corruptocrats going to raise taxes or borrow more money from China?
Either way, either me or my kids (or both) will pay for this.
Depressing.
*I need to go look at the Palin speech to get my spirits back up.*
I sent my mortgage payment out last week…… I feel like I’ve been had, seriously.
Hmmm big banks with billions in debt. This sounds like something the federal government can fix (duh)!
So when the U.N. offers to bail out the failing United States, do we let them buy us out? Sure! It’ll give us an excuse to get rid of that pesky sovereignty we’ve been bitterly clinging to.
Paraphrasing the great Senator Dirkson from Illinois (this was a few decades ago): A hundred billion here, and a hundred billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money. As Sowell said, bailouts are like potato chips, you can’t just have one.
This is bad news. We simply cannot afford this. And when the new Administration takes over next year, the enormity of this financial disaster is going to put a damper on everything. Like everybody else, I find earmarks annoying, but they are not the problem. They represent maybe 1% of what these monster bailouts will cost and maybe .1% of entitlements, debt interest, and who knows what. I hope the American people are up to a sobering lesson of the consequences of fiscal irresponsibility, but for some reason I doubt they are.
So, in the event of a serious crisis, can’t the federal government just take control of all the homes that are delinquent in mortgage payments?
I wonder which DNC insider will get to relegate this?
The Supreme Court in 1935. On time and under budget!
What is so amazing to me is that the Wall St. Journal has been railing about the problems at Fan/Fred for several years now. There is no possible way that a beast of this nature wouldn’t end in a bailout. There is just too much moral hazard to go around when you have the government backing your debt. The politics ensured that no one was watching the store. Franklin Raines was a Clinton appointee, I believe, and he was the one who was cozy with the Dems who are now running for their lives. This is what happens when government intercedes in the private sector and the old economic adage applies, “Bad money drives out good.” Fan and Fred need to be liquidated. I don’t want any more of taxpayer money going down this rathole.
I’ve lived most of my adult life with two rules: the 7 P’s – Proper Prior Planning Prevents P*** Poor Performance; And rule #2 – NO ONE is indispensable. Both have served me well in any organization.
This bailout is a violation of rule #2 and an admission that these idiots think we won’t survive unless they “fix the problem”.
Great! Do you think they’ll send that back to the people who pay their mortgages on time?
Yup.
At times like this I can’t help but think of the mob in the Frankenstein movie. When a mob of people descend on the Capital building with pitchfork and torch in hand our “leadership” will begin to get a clue. Until then this crap will continue.
At least they owe us some names. Who has been fired? Who is under investigation? Who is potentially going to prison? If this is costing us $20B, the list of Who’s Who had better be a long one.
You’ll get your kickback in 2037.
Good thing I didn’t buy a house these last few years, or I wouldn’t have been able to afford everyone else’s!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go to work so I can give the government my money.
Fine, go agead an bail them out, however, I want a few things first.
1) The dismissal of all the decision makers right now. No goldem parachutes either. This includes the board of directors.
2)Dismantling and selling off the assets of these two fiascos.
3) Bring in the justice Department auditors and start going through the books to see if any Enronlike shennanigans were played.
4) If the answer to 3 is yes, prosecutions.
5) The utter and complete humiliation of those members of Congress, (Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, etc) who helped keep these disasters in the making.
I expect these two companies to be liquidated withing 5 years at a profit to the taxpayers. Put VP Palin on it. She’s known to get results. ;D
Since 1935 was a watershed moment when FDR, not a nice guy BTW, tried to pack the Court… seems to me the NINE OLD MEN, put him in his place quite often.
Chavez is President of the USA now? Seems like it, in this instance.
The decision is mainly form Bush administration….Democrats likely would have done the same if they were in power; but this one is a 100% Bush administration decision.
Somehow the notion that government will own about half the mortgages in the country, err, housees, direct, is not comforting.
Notice how they kicked the decision can 15 months out, when allegedly, Democrats will run everything … hmmmmmm.
This is shameful! When will our government ever learn that price fixing does more harm to our economy over the long term, than any perceived short term benefits it may produce – especially if a tax and spend administration assumes control of the Oval Office after November.
All this bailout will do is reward bad business decisions and save greedy lenders.
Of that 200 Billion, I wonder how much will be skimmed off the top by “ethical” politicians and their cronies.
This will be another arrow in Obama’s and the Lib’s quiver to raise our taxes to “pay for Bush’s failed policies” as they like to refer to everything Republican.
Was it Jefferson or Lincoln that busted up the Treasury Department? We need someone like that today.
This stinks of socialism. Let’s throw $200 B-B-Billion in good money after bad and protect those lenders practicing p_ss poor credit policies. Let’s protect aritifically high housing prices so the wheels of the bureaucratic machine keep spinning.
What will happen in states where property tax levies are through the roof when the true market value of housing is finally realized? A 30% correction in the housing market will bankrupt most communities that built their tax base around the theory that ‘housing never loses money’. I CAN’T WAIT! This is gonna be fun to watch!
Sure gets funny thinkin’ ’bout money
Makin’ my daily bread,
The more you make, the more they take
You never seem to get ahead,
You break your backs just to pay your tax
Then you don’t like the way that it’s spent,
Somewhere back we jumped the track
This isn’t what the governmeant…”
– David Gates (Bread)
Stocks surge on plan for mortgage giants
Stocks surged Monday as investors rushed to lay bets on a broad economic recovery following the weekend announcement that the U.S. government will bail out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The major indexes jumped, with the Dow Jones industrials gaining more than 250 points.
The plan to inject up to $100 billion in each of the government-chartered mortgage companies could not only help lower mortgage rates but, some investors are hoping, buoy the overall economy. The plan could help banks feel more open to write new mortgages and to refinance existing mortgages at lower rates, offering a possible lifeline to consumers struggling with increasing payments.
Dave Rovelli, managing director of U.S. equity trading at Canaccord Adams in New York, said while the plan boosts confidence in sectors like financials and home builders, it doesn’t immediately alleviate worries about other areas of the economy. Still, he said the move was far more welcome than a collapse of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. “It saves Armageddon from happening,” he said. “If you think about it this helps the financials, this helps the housing market. Tech took a huge hit last week. Does this really affect tech? I don’t think so.”
The U.S. government’s plan also touched off a global stock rally Monday. Foreign investors holding debt of the companies were relieved as were investors simply looking for stronger growth from the U.S. economy, particularly as many economies abroad give off signs they are slowing. Japan’s Nikkei stock average jumped 3.4 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index surged 4.3 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 jumped 3.81 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose 3.06 percent, and France’s CAC-40 surged 4.20 percent.
I’m still trying to figure out what bad thing really would have happened to the economy if Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac had been allowed to fail.
I know I’m just a simpleton with multiple advanced degrees in technical stuff as well as business but no matter how I try to spin it, I’m not able to figure out what exactly “collapses” if Fannie and Freddie go under.
Don’t the debtors still have to pay? Don’t the lenders still expect payment?
How about we put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac up for sale on eBay?
Sarah Palin, where arrrrrrrrre youuuuuuu?
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are a combined private/government business. If you know anyone who works for these companies, they will tell you how incredibly inefficient they are. They need to die on the vine. Let the free market rule and damn the consequences.
I love it how a bunch of people who can’t run a cafeteria (CONGRESS) thinks they understand finances so well that they know exactly the best course of action in any and all other financial matters.
Jamie Gorelick, the Architect Of 911’s Favorite Tool, is behind The Mother of All Bailouts? Wunderful.
My house is paid for – any chance I can get in on this monetary free for all?
Exactly why no statement from her..I am really starting to doubt Palin’s fiscal conservatism as more facts emerge from Alaska.
We already have a huge budget deficit added up since last 6-7 years and now this:(
Oh good grief.
Watch out. The Detroit Auto Industry is next in line.
OT:
McCain/Palin event added for wednesday morn in fairfax Virginee-aye-a
congrats to locals I’ll try to post after Lancaster PA event
be sure to send Prayers to Track
This panic move by government officials to takeover Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae only reveals the depth/intensity level of their desperation. They are peeing in their pants because they fear a global economic collapse that will make the 1930’s look like a Sunday school picnic.
My collie says:
It’s the economy, stupid….
As bad as all of this is, I am wondering what kind of golden parachutes are going to be passed out to those who created and perpetuated this mess.
The next move is going to be a heart- wrenching need for a ‘MORATORIUM ON FORECLOSERS’ combined with an arrears ‘FORGIVENESS PACKAGE’. The excuse will be WE NEED THIS TO STIMULATE THE ECONOMIES OF THE WORLD.
Some moron here in my office is trying to blame everything on Reagan’s market deregulation. lol.
Our economy IS the world economy. Anything that we do to help ourselves … helps the rest of the world. It’s not ‘an excuse.’ It’s a fact.
Just wait til you hear the plan to bail out the automakers in order to comply with Goreacle manmade warming crap!!
keep your ete on the ball gang
McCain/Palin 2008
off to bag a few rays b4 rally tuesday
crap ete = eye
DOINK
ta
WOW, FANNIE/FREDDIE today, for people in way over their asses in houses, and banks and mortgage lenders who loaned money to people who should not have even filled out an application, let alone gotten a mortgage… What is next??? The AUTO COMPANIES??? There would be more benefit in that than FANNIE/FREDDIE… At least when we BAILED OUT CHRYSLER, they paid us back…
Exactly!
As our government has now taken to preventing the natural forces of failure inherent in a free-market economy, can you imagine how much worse this trend/situation would be under an Obama administration?
The number of government bailouts and excess spending on social programs under BHO would be incalculable – and unaffordable!
Here it comes. Just like other socialist countries, the big government “bailout”. Another name for it is nationalization. I wonder how long, once the gov’t sees it can get away with it, before they “bailout” the oil companies too. One day we will wake up, and find the gov’t running everything. The sad part of it, is that many “Americans” will cheer. Whatever happened to “uphold, protect and defend” the Constitution…out the window, with FDR and Johnson.
Pretty odd logic — take a situation caused by the Republican “see no evil” approach to regulation, resulting in massive bailouts by a Republican Administration (kind of reminds me of the S&L crash that John McCain helped engineer) and then start wringing your hands about what the Democrats might do.
I imagine that whatever President Obama might do, it wouldn’t be nearly as expensive and irresponsible as the Bush Administration’s War in Iraq and mismanagement of the financial markets.
Recall that last time a Democrat lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we had a budget surplus.
Oh, and before you start with the whole “Republicans in Congress balanced the budget” blather, recall what the Republicans did when they had both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue: racked up a couple of trillion dollars in red ink. The only way to solve this problem is to put a Democrat in charge.
The giant elephant in the room, here, is the enormous loss of confidence in our supposed “leaders.” The corruption, fraud, dishonesty, theft, lies and lack of any basic moral compass in this mess speaks volumes. At this point, no-one in power can be trusted…they all knew about problems with Fannie and Freddie for a long time and did nothing. Washington and Wall Street need a thorough cleansing, otherwise the foxes continue….
I like EVILNED’s comment–#18. He has a good practical approach to the problem.
I guess I never learned the proper way to by a house / car / etc.–if I couldn’t afford it I didn’t buy it. Anyone getting a loan must be required to (1) PUT DOWN A 10% CASH DOWNPAYMENT, and (2)QUALIFY BY HAVING PROVABLE YEARLY INCOME OF 40% OF THE HOUSE VALUE. These “old conservative” ideas were abandoned for political correctness–this got us into this mess. NO MAS!
Rocketman
Wall St. is up today, and financial stocks are kicking butt – these guys love to preach capitalism and free markets when they’re making money, but once their stupid investments come back to bite them, they instantly become socialists and look for the bailout from the feds.
Foolish on steroids, but we all knew it was coming. As best I can remember this silliness, expensive silliness, started with poor Jerry Ford’s bailout of New York City 1975. What a plan that was: Take money from the people who did pay their bills, who did live within their means and fund the spend happy Clown of Gracy Mansion Mayor Abraham Beame.
And the greatful citizens of New York City rewarded Jerry Ford by voting for Jimmy Carter.
Thus the Iranian hostage crisis and the Ayatollah Khomeini. Thanks Jerry. I wonder what this will lead to. I pay my bills and wish every one else would pay theirs. I guess the concept of “if you can’t afford it you don’t need it” is beyond some folks.
Foolish on steroids.
You are, wrong end, but you are. Sorry.
Being gullible = Trusting someone who shouldn’t be trusted.
President George W. Bush is a good man with a good heart, but he is gullible. He trusts people who shouldn’t be trusted. At the beginning of his Presidency, he trusted Vladimir Putin. Recently he has been trusting Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who I believe is just as dangerous to our country as Vladimir Putin.
There are people who want to destroy our country, by any means possible.
Wake up, Neo…
While this is a big’un, this is hardly the MOAB’s in terms of bailouts.
Wait until Social Security.
Wait until Medicare/Medicaid.
THEN you’ll see what an atomic financial blast looks like.
The National Debt is now past $32,000 for every man, woman, and child. A family of four owes more than $120,000 for “services rendered but not paid for,” and it’s growing by the second.
You ain’t seen nothing yet.
They want government healthcare to relieve them of their union contracts.. The cost for US automakers healthcare is around $1200 per car.
Here’s our glorious candidates on this disaster in the making…
John McCain: “These two organizations have played a role that needs more transparency and we cannot allow them to fail”
“considered it an unfortunate but necessary step,”
Barrack Obama: “Long term, what we have to do is go ahead and make a decision. If these are public entities, then they have to get out of the profit-making business, and if they are private entities, then we don’t bail them out.”
Sarah Palin: “(FNM, FRE have) gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers.”
“A McCain-Palin administration will make them smaller and smarter and more effective for homeowners who need help.”
This is really, really sad – what I get from these comments is this: McCain knows nothing about economics, Palin has no idea the FNM and FRE were privately held companies, and the risk to taxpayer is the nationalization of the companies. She also think that government, McCain’s administration specifically, will do what government has never done – run something efficiently. It’s funny that Obama comes in with easily the most clear-headed and logical comment of the bunch.
Economy > war > national security > abortion > gay marriage
And McCain is failing miserably at making the case he will do a better job than Bush.
This is insane. I live in a region where real estate appreciated modestly, but steadly in value for years. I sold my home last year in 30 days for the asking price. My mother sold her house this last week in two days for the asking price. Our housing prices have not depressed at all. The market is brisk.
As Michelle said, “Suck it up.” Developers jacked up prices, people were stupid enough to buy at those prices, lenders were dumb enough to lend, and there it is.
Those riduculous prices need to adjust. Let the market do that. Stepping in is only going to keep prices too high in certain areas, which extends and exaccerbates the problem. Just a dumb idea.
Paulson works for Bush. Unlike Bernanke, Paulson can be fired with the stroke of a pen. He doesn’t do a thing without Bush’s say-so.
What you are seeing here is 100% Bush, and it’s classic Bush denial about what he himself has done.
Eight years of liberal economics are coming home to roost, and Bush is scrambling madly to make sure that the music doesn’t stop until he has a chair. He doesn’t want to be left holding the bag. He wants to say “see? When I was POTUS, the economy was terrific!”
Bush’s popularity is in the toilet because of his economic policies, not because of the Iraq War (like the MSM would lead you to believe). We, his base, have turned on him because of his insane spending, not because he kills Islamofascists.
And we were 100% right in our thinking. His liberal-onomics have led us past the brink of disaster. Fannie Mae just FAILED. GM and Ford are in line. The national debt is, again, $9.7 TRILLION.
Should be a fun 4 years…
Hey, did I mention that our adversaries are flush with cash? This ain’t your father’s Soviet Union. Putin is sitting on a MOUNTAIN of money, much like Reagan was 20 years ago.
And China? Puh-lease. More money than they can count, and lots of willing people to fly their jets and drive their tanks.
The times, they are a’changing…
And Republicans in charge of both Houses and nearly every state House in the country! In case the you haven’t heard the Clinton years were only successful as a result of his enacting into law nearly all ten points of Newt’s Contract w/ America!
Ahh, a Lion,
Spot on, and well done.
On September 8th, 2008 at 11:03 am, evilned said:
I’m starting to see a pattern where Democrats [Democratic Socialist Communists] seem to intentionally sink a company, and then get the government to bail out the company while they personally profit.
Take a look at Jon Corzine…he self-identified himself as a member of the ultra-left when he voted against the confirmation of John Roberts to be Chief Justice of the United States. He moved on from Senator to become Governor of New Jersey. But go back and look at what he did to Goldman Sachs. He rose to become Chairman and co-CEO of the firm, but after he became involved in the rescue package for the Long Term Capital Management in 1998, he was squeezed out of the firm. Despite his departure from Goldman Sachs, he earned what has been estimated to be $400 million during the 1999 initial public offering of the company.
The man has strong Chicago connections.
In my opinion, it appears that he is an active member of the Communist Party USA.
Btw, B. Hussein Obama, as president, would bring this nation to economic ruin. There’s no denying it.
BemusedLib – exactly how much money has been flushed down the sinkhole of “The War on Poverty”, and exactly how close to winning it are we?
Now please tell me again about expensive wars.
hmmm… Mcbama both seem to be in favor of this…
why couldn’t Palin run with Tancredo or hell, even Bob Barr or Chuck Baldwin? The glory of Palin is overshadowed by the overall crappiness of mcbama
DBNinKY,
Not so fast. Bill Clinton’s budgets were driven by three things:
He got lucky and caught the .Com boom, giving him an enormous windfall in tax receipts. He brought in far more than the models said that he would.
He cut back on social program growth. There’s no denying that the liberals were right in being angry with him. Much like Bush betrayed us, Bubba betrayed his base – only much less so than Bush. Bubba’s hand was light on the throttle, while Bush spent like a man possessed.
Most importantly: Bubba slashed the military. This, too, is irrefutable. He referred to it as the “Cold War Dividend,” and then pulled the plug.
And on a day much like today, 2 jets plowed into WTC 1 and WTC 2, with another into the Pentagon, and a fourth falling in a PA field.
But, hey, the budget was balanced…
I was talking to my sister-in-law over the weekend, she has worked for Freddie for 20+ years. According to her, Freddie and Fannie’s stocks have been devalued by special interests that want the two GSE’s broken up. That this is a massive fraud by members of congress to control the mortgage industry, and to reward the housing industry that over built and over priced the market place.
Both Freddie & Fannie are funded soley through private capitol, yet as GSE’s they have a line of credit with federal government. Neither Freddie or Fannie has EVER drawn on that line of credit.
Flashback:
March 29, 2008
Treasury’s Plan Would Give Fed Wide New Power
Flashback:
HotAir.com
March 17, 2008
Bear [Sterns] on the cheap
I also want to add that looking at the economic issues through the two-party prism is self-defeating. There is no democrat-republican divide here, both parties are the same. Our economy has been run on a boom-bush cycle since the inception of the Federal Reserve. Clinton was simply lucky enough to be in power during a boom cycle. The dot com boom busted right as Bush got into office. The Fed cashed in its last chip and caused the housing boom, which Bush got to take credit for, and led to almost 4 years of fake prosperity.
There’s no left vs right here, it’s the power elite vs us, authority vs liberty, and the politicians and power brokers are NOT going to give up their spot. So even though conservatives are dancing in the streets over Palin/McCain, know that there will be no change, and our standard of living will continue to decrease on the backs oppressive taxation, debt, and inflation.
Palin said in Colorado over the weekend she’d break them up and make them smaller because they’re too damn big and dysfunctional
In addition – “The War on Drugs”, “The War on Terror”, “The War on Hunger”, “The War on (input issue here)”. I’m waiting for “The War on Warming”. Any time we have a “War on…”, we spend trillions of dollars and only make the problem worse.
The economy was growing for most of the Reagan and W, eras, yet they never came close to balancing the budget.
Yes — we can say “no” to special interests. Republicans can’t.
There was nothing in those military budgets that would have prevented the 9/11, and the fact that the Pentagon is using it as an excuse to gear up with huge, Cold War-era weapons programs is symptomatic of the military’s descent into turf-protecting bureaucracy. I may never have said this before but on this issue, Rumsfeld was right.
I think George Bush actually reading the memo titled “Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States” might have been a more effective defense against terrorism than anything the Pentagon could or should have done.
What’s next? Food stipends for all? Since everyone “needs” a car to get to work, how about giving everyone a car? I wonder how our society would look if the government said, “make whatever decisions you want, but don’t expect your fellow taxpayers to pay for the consequences of them. If your business fails, it fails. If you can’t make payments on your house, don’t come to us. Unless you can vouch for the approval of all taxpayers, you’re not getting a dime of their money.” But no, instead we tell people, maybe not in words, but definitely through deeds and policy implications, that “hey, go ahead and get married so you’ll save money. Oh, you can’t pay your bills? Don’t worry, we’re a compassionate nation, we’ll help you out. It’s our government’s responsibility to care for our citizens. Oh, you’re a single mom with 4 kids? Don’t worry, we’ll help you out and if you have more kids, we’ll help them, too. Oh, your business is failing? Don’t worry, because it’s so big, we’ll help your failing business. These things just happen. You wish to have promiscuous sex? Have fun, here are the condoms, and we’ll pay your medical bills for the STDs and help with the future children as well. Oh, you take drugs? Well, here are some clean needles. It’s not your fault. We’ll pay for your medical costs, too. Same goes for smoking, rest assured.” Anyone else smell what I’m steppin’ in?
#42 please remind the moron you work with this the CRA of 77 that Jimmy Carter established and Bill Clinton expanded.
We’re still cleaning up after Carter’s fiasco at trying to be a president!
On September 8th, 2008 at 12:42 pm, RobM1981 said:
In Memory of My Friend
Bubba and his wife are followers of Marxist “Community Organizer” Saul Alinsky. Hillary wrote her college thesis about Alinsky.
Ronald Reagan called Communism by its proper name, “Evil“, and he won Cold War I.
Bubba slashed our military while Putin rose to power (becoming Acting President of Russia on December 31, 1999).
Putin has been using oil and gas revenues to rebuild Russia. There can be no question that Putin is agressively fighting Cold War II.
Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi and others in congress want to keep us dependent on hostile countries for our oil needs.
Less than 23 days left to Energy Freedom Day!
Our National Security depends on it.
It’s a good thing McCain and Palin aren’t “typical” Republicans. Lol.
Except for the $300 billion corporate tax cut and their support of the Fannie/Freddie bailout….
And people wonder why I’m all for voting “none of the above” and writing in someone else. It’s either amnesty with McCain, which will forever change our country, or a “civilian national security force” from Obama, which doesn’t seem too pleasant either.
Bemused Lib wrote:
You’re funny.
The fact that two of Obama’s chief financial advisors are Jim Johnson & Franklin Raines, both former CEO’s of Fannie Mae shows where the blame lies. Both parties share some blame but the Dem’s are up to their necks in it.
Funny, where I stand getting ANYTHING out of the profit making business, especially in an economic slowdown about as stupid as taking the Georgian Invasion to the UN Security Council, however he was right, bailing them out is doomed to failure. Best let them fail and put the boards in prison.
Aww you still mad at the big bad corporation?
Palin said Fannie and Freddie must be made smaller. Barack say that?
I have said it before and I will say it again. While I respect Michelle, she brings some very dangerous naivite to this situation. The problem is NOT that we are bailing out these two. The problem is that we have created a system where two government sponsored entities control the mortgage market, and thus, we have to bail them out. When Michelle focuses on the bail out, rather than on the dynamic that puts us in a position to have to bail them out, she does everyone a disservice.
Without these two giants there is no mortgage market. Banks do nothing on their own. Fannie/Freddie, underwrite, price, and securitize, nearly all the loans that are currently being done. The rest are done by FHA. As such, what we have is a socialized system of mortgages. That is the problem, not this bailout. This bailout is the only thing we can do given that we allowed these two giants to control the market and corrupt it and themselves.
Rather than focus on the bailout, which it appears Michelle is doing because frankly she doesn’t understand how the mortgage market works, she should be focusing on how to create solutions so that this is the last bailout. If Fannie and Freddie continues as they are now, nationalized, we will be bailing them out until the end of time.
So, I wish I could stop reading about this cynical here we go again bailouts on this site. The bailouts are beside the point. They are necessary. Without them, there is no one to underwrite, securitize, and price any mortgage in the market. What we need to focus on is how to create a system where two giants don’t control all these functions.
Even though it’s quoted right above your post, here is a statement Obama made:
“Long term, what we have to do is go ahead and make a decision. If these are public entities, then they have to get out of the profit-making business, and if they are private entities, then we don’t bail them out.”
Now I ask you this, do you honestly think that when a government nationalizes privately run companies, that they (the government) will make them smaller?
Now lets also add on to that the fact that our GDP is now 70% consumption, and that home equity drives much of that consumption.
Palin’s Statement again:
“A McCain-Palin administration will make them smaller and smarter and more effective for homeowners who need help.”
Sounds like a statement that could be used for nationalized healthcare, or nataionalized air travel, or any other socialist program.
I expect this type of crap from McCain, and I’ve lost a lot of respect for Palin today.
WHAT?!?
No one trolling with the worn and hackneyed phrase “Corporate Welfare?”
We must be driving our token libs to exhaustion, they can’t toss out their inappropriate cliches as fast as they used to.
I don’t see how this statement anticipates nationalizing anything. Smaller, smarter, efficient, less waste? That’s bad?
If anything, what Obama said was BS; it’s pretty much obvious and packaged.
He’s right, the libs can say no to any special interest they want, like one that would protect this country… the US Armed Forces, or advance this country… like a functional energy policy, or a plan to put tax money back into the economy, or any plan to eliminate a murderous dictator they immediately just say NO!
Mike Volpe – I respectfully disagree. Banks would lend PRUDENTLY if they had to in order to make a profit. Given that they have had Fannie and Freddie behind them, what on earth is/was their incentive to try to make a private mortgage market. They did what was easiest and most profitable for them.
Your contention that there is no market doesn’t make sense. The market would be different – yes, – but to say it wouldn’t exist is flat out false. Banks are in business to make money and if they could make money lending prudently, they would.
Bemused:
The boom that Clinton inherited was extraordinary. Look at the data. It had a huge impact on tax receipts.
And re: Bush – who here supports his fiscal sense?
GW Bush’s approval numbers aren’t in the toilet because he kills islamofascists or reviews proxy logs at public libraries. His base could care less about that.
We turned on him for a simple reason: he has given us almost eight years of deficit spending.
And re: “military spending wouldn’t have stopped the attacks,” that’s rubbish. Perhaps the CIA and NSA aren’t strictly part of the Defense budget, but it was in the same spirit that he slashed those departments. All part of the “Peace Dividend.”
Moreover, it’s not just about money. The Commander In Chief should view NSA and CIA as strategic assets, and should run them as such. Bush has done a mediocre job, but Clinton was an embarrassment.
Wow…I wonder how many houses they have.
MM on Fox with Neil Cavuto right now!
I just love how the fault of this bailout can be laid at Pres. Bush’s door. Clinton loosened the criteria for lending (especially to risky borrowers) and now those loose practices have come home to roost.
It was okay when times were good and credit of all kinds could prop up the irresponsible and ill-educated as well as its funding arms, Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae. When things go south, the principles of a free-market economy are abandoned, and that failure becomes supported by socialism first.
What’s even more wearisome is seeing buffoons like the treasury secretary on Neil Cavuto’s show, that it’s all Republicans’ fault for the bad economy, when no one has any control over the fluctuations of economics or the bad choices of borrowers. He claimed that he warned against “loosening standards” when working for Clinton but that it was still Pres. Bush’s fault. Doesn’t this sound familiar?
I do not support this bailout. Bloated is as bloated gets. Our hard-earned tax dollars are propping up these two useless “semi-privatized” organizations. When is DC gonna take some bipartisan responsibility on this crap? Both parties were at the wheel as well as two different administrations, Clinton and Bush.
The mortgage-lending structure is weak and gravity (or tax dollars) can’t keep them aloft forever. This is an EPIC FAIL on both parties’ parts.
We are watching a global situation of interconnection. This is more about control of the money, and keeping the global market afloat, than it is about one Nation. Remember, we are Nationalists. The Federal Reserve is for the global market, and not part of the government.
The Housing market these past ten years has become a giant bubble. They have allowed to many illegal aliens to be part of the American dream. Now, WE pay.
Conservative Rus,
Banks wouldn’t lend at all if they didn’t have a Fannie behind them. That is the problem. Fannie and Freddie dominate the market. They do everything from underwriting, pricing to securitization. Banks don’t know what to do without Fannie and Freddie. The problem is the structure of the market, not that we have to bail them out.
Like I said, Michelle is fixated on the size of the bailout when she should be fixated on the obscene nature of our mortgage market where two companies make each and every rule.
emjem,
I completely agree that Bill Clinton and his Congresses forced lenders to make loans to people who, until then, were considered too risky. This proves, if nothing else, that the President and the Congress had the power to make this problem.
Bill Clinton has not lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for almost 8 years now. GW Bush has. During Bush’s tenure, we gave him a Republican Congress and a Republican Senate.
*What did he do with this gift?*
He threw it away.
We all knew that his ineptitude – his INCREDIBLE ineptitude – cost us both the house and the senate. If he had only shown himself to be HALF conservative, he would have reversed some of this junk.
I blame this on Bush more than anyone else. Clinton got us into this mess without the same power as we gave Bush – but Bush didn’t have the will to get us out.
As for Pelosi and Reid, we knew that they were worthless when Bush let them in. We can’t claim surprise at anything that they’ve wrought…
Some more info on this