Kill the bailout: Illegal immigration and the mortgage mess
My syndicated column today tackles the bailout angle no one wants to talk about: Open borders and the home loan debacle. You’ve heard a lot about Fannie/Freddie and the minority lending shakedowns, but you haven’t heard most commentators/analysts on either the left or the right talk about the massive illegal alien mortgage racket — a topic I’ve reported on for the past five years. That’s because fault lies at the feet of the crime-enabling banking industry and the ethnic lobbyists and the illegal alien-enabling Bush administration.
They screwed us. Now, they want us to fork over a trillion dollars.
Screw them.
Kill this bailout.
And I second Mark Krikorian: Credit is not a civil right. It’s not a civil right for illegal aliens. For foreign banks. For American banks. For anyone. The bailout proposal, as I noted earlier, now includes student loans and auto loan debt. Will our tax dollars next cover foreign student loan debts? Illegal alien in-state discounted college tuition debt? Where and when will it end?
Oh, but pardon me. I’m just being, you know, an ideological purist.
***
Illegal immigration and the mortgage mess
by Michelle Malkin
Creators Syndicate
Copyright 2008
The Mother of All Bailouts has many fathers. As panicked politicians prepare to fork over a trillion dollars in taxpayer funding to rescue the financial industry, they’ve fingered regulation, deregulation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Community Reinvestment Act, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, both Bushes, greedy banks, greedy borrowers, greedy short-sellers, and minority home ownership mau-mauers (can’t call ‘em greedy, that would be racist) for blame.
But there’s one giant paternal elephant in the room that has slipped notice: How illegal immigration, crime-enabling banks, and open-borders Bush policies fueled the mortgage crisis.
It’s no coincidence that most of the areas hardest hit by the foreclosure wave – Loudon County, Virginia, California’s Inland Empire, Stockton, San Joaquin Valley, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, for starters — also happen to be some of the nation’s largest illegal alien sanctuaries. Half of the mortgages to Hispanics are subprime (the accursed species of loan to borrowers with the shadiest credit histories). A quarter of all those subprime loans are in default and foreclosure.
Regional reports across the country have decried the subprime meltdown’s impact on illegal immigrant “victims.” A July report showed that in seven of the 10 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates, Hispanics represented at least one-third of the population; in two of those areas – Merced and Salinas-Monterey, Calif. – Hispanics comprised half the population. The amnesty-promoting National Council of La Raza and its Development Fund have received millions in federal funds to “counsel” their constituents on obtaining mortgages with little to no money down; the group almost succeeded in attaching a $10 million earmark for itself in one of the housing bills past this spring.
For the last five years, I’ve reported on the rapidly expanding illegal alien home loan racket. The top banks clamoring for their handouts as their profits plummet, led by Wachovia and Bank of America, launched aggressive campaigns to woo illegal alien homebuyers. The quasi-governmental Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority jumped in to guarantee home loans to illegal immigrants. The Washington Post noted, almost as an afterthought in a 2005 report: “Hispanics, the nation’s fastest-growing major ethnic or racial group, have been courted aggressively by real estate agents, mortgage brokers and programs for first-time buyers that offer help with closing costs. Ads proclaim: “Sin verificacion de ingresos ! Sin verificacion de documento !” — which loosely translates as, ‘Income tax forms are not required, nor are immigration papers.’”
In addition, fraudsters have engaged in massive house-flipping rings using illegal aliens as straw buyers. Among many examples cited by the FBI: a conspiracy in Las Vegas involving a former Nevada First Residential Mortgage Company branch manager who directed loan officers and processors in the origination of 233 fraudulent Federal Housing Authority loans valued at over $25 million. The defrauders manufactured and submitted false employment and income documentation for borrowers; most were illegal immigrants from Mexico. To date, the FBI reported, “58 loans with a total value of $6.2 million have gone into default, with a loss to the Housing and Urban Development Department of over $1.9 million.”
It’s the tip of the iceberg. Thanks to lax Bush administration-approved policies allowing illegal aliens to use “matricula consular cards” and taxpayer identification numbers to open bank accounts, more forms of mortgage fraud have burgeoned. Moneylenders still have no access to a verification system to check Social Security numbers before approving loans. In an interview about rampant illegal alien home loan fraud, a spokeswoman for the U.S. General Accounting Office told me five years ago:
“[C]onsidering the size of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, and other large cities throughout the United States known to be inundated with illegal aliens, I don’t think the federal government is willing to expose this problem for financial reasons as well as for fear of political repercussions.”
Chickens coming home to roost. And law-abiding, responsible taxpayers are going to pay for it.
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Fred – I tried calling those numbers, but no answer – maybe they didn’t pay their bill.
These $hitbags gave mortgages to illegals that are defaulting and we have to pay for it? Bull$hit!
So, what are we gonna do about this huh?
Congress already passed one bailout bill in July for 300 billion. Should we see how that goes first?
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26839037
My husband stays away from all things political anymore, but even he is furious about this.
Mega mega dittos.
ANARCHY IS NEVER THE SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM.
Enforce the damn laws – all of them – and let the chips land where they may.
More here.
Mushy-headed Liberal thinking (sic) has been a major contributor to this mess.
And if you haven’t called your Senators yet, here is how to get a little outraged to get you to call:
http://www.outragedpatriots.com/
Wow…Malkin against Bush? If it were somebody else pointing against Bush, then I am sure Malkin and others here would be accusing them of BDS…
Glad you realized Bush’s real values even if this late. I think the biggest hurt to Reagan conservatism in recent years has been done by Bush. Its always tough to identify an internal enemy than an external one.
If you are trying to kill this beast and are dealing with a Democrat member of Congress, a good tactic to use is to point out that Bush rammed through authorization of the Iraq War in much the same way.
You don’t have to agree with this statement, but it will help sway your liberal representative.
700 BILLION???? to people who screwed US….WE THE PEOPLE should not pay these crooks. speaking of crooks follow the money who benefited the most????
There is one thing that could make me support a bailout. And that would be a guarantee that there would be only ONE earmark. One little bit-o-pork for me. A pledge of no mortgages, no credit, no financial transactions by illegal aliens ever again. Followed by 535 resignations with a lifetime ban from from any form of public service. No lobbying and no holding of any elected office.
I’m a short drive up 99 from Merced. We live in a small rural community where dairy, almonds, walnuts, grapes, corn, and hay are probably our biggest crops. We were seeing many of the smaller acreage homes (homes on 1 – 5 acres) being sold for astounding prices, locals who grew up in the area were being priced out.
Eventually, when the “buyers” moved in, it would be the same MO. First off, they were nearly always Hispanics. The home quickly fell into disrepair… Despite the brand new Escalades, F250’s, etc. parked in the driveway (and on the lawn.) There were enough cars parked around the home to indicate 3 to 4 families were living in it. There were also enough “women of the house” and children to suggest the same. In some cases it would not be families living in house, but whole construction crews. If there were any outbuildings, on the premises, they tried to adapt them for what looked like a “bunk house” of sorts. Only, to halt “remodeling”… My guess, the county planning department stepped in.
Most of the houses are vacant now with real estate “for sale” signs, which indicate they are bank owned. The ones which aren’t one the market yet… we know it is only a matter of time. Most , from the outside, look as if they will require 10’s of thousands of dollars or more to return them to their original state prior to being bought by these individuals… individuals who obviously were never “home ownership” material.
Mad doesn’t begin to define how I feel! And, now I have to help pay to fix the mess. I’m already living it!
You are either a new reader or have a short attention span. Michelle Malkin speaks her mind and is not afraid to speak against republicans (or I should say RINOs) when she feels they are wrong.
SO unlike liberal bloggers that tow the line no matter what.
it is my understanding that most of the subprime loan defaults in the hardest hit areas of the country are from illegals…is this true?? if so how in the h@#l did they qualify…when i apply for a loan they banks use a microscope up my butt to determine if i qualify??????
From Google Translation: Without verification of income! Without checking the document!
Lesson to Osama:
No need for airplanes to destroy one’s adversary.
Just let the liberals run the asylum, and it will conveniently self-destruct.
Not to be picky, but the county in Virginia is spelled Loudoun.
only one group of politicos and capitalists in this country are responsible for the decapitation strike on our economy using foreign labor as their battleaxe:
G-L-O-B-A-L-I-S-T-S.
They have set the stage for a massive shorting of the Euro. And it will be followed by a rise in the dollar, a temporary fix to reinflate valuations of real estate, for the purpose of drawing down more dollars from the Bailout Trough. Then it will be time to re-short the dollar, deflate values of those of us still holding our own paid for properties (please tell me you are not holding a mortgage that is less than 2 years old), and reset our currency into some “guaranteed” new fiat currency that allows the national economic border to disappear altogether.
They have already conditioned us at the “Monkey Mind” level to accept a new currency by changing the look of the American currency. If you are not headbutting your Monkey, you will be in for a real surprise to find that when the currency changes to reflect a North American Union economic block, you will hold only 50 per cent of the net worth you hold today. Values will be reduced downward after a major surge upward. You have approximately 18 months.
If illegal immigration is a problem for our financial system, then the Globalist solution will be to change the economic sovereignty of the USA to aaccomodate it. The TransNational Highway land grab is nearly complete north to south, east to west in the Central belt from Texas to Canada. The Globalist Agenda is a done deal: protect your wealth now. Changing politicians minds is a foregone conclusion. They are all on board.
I repeat: “….and hell followed with him.” Take your pick of either ticket. The only difference is where we will be fighting IslamoFascism- here in the USA or where they live overseas. Everything else: Globalist Agenda.
Bear1909 out.
The burro in the room revealed!
Just a couple of years ago, if you were Mexican all you needed was a pulse to buy a car or a house in SoCal. Because I look more Scots-Irish and have an English surname, I have to actually have money and submit to a Grand Inquisition just to get a crappy car like the one in the FreeCreditReport.com ads or a $400,000 condo in a gang-infested neighborhood.
We are in this pickle because too many greedy b*stards and meddling do-gooders wanted to make risky loans to people who couldn’t afford to pay them, including illegal aliens. The institutions went along with this because they knew if they lose the gamble, Uncle Sucker will come bail them out. Why do you think so many on Wall Street these days give $$ to the Democrats? Because the Dems are more generous in the bailout department than the GOP (though not by very much).
This isn’t the free market, this is banana republic economics on a large scale.
#84 Roland
Newt Gingrich has a plan that sounds a whole lot better than a $700B bailout of Wall Street.
Via The Corner at National Review Online:
“Four reform steps will have capital flowing with no government bureaucracy and no taxpayer burden.
First, suspend the mark-to-market rule which is insanely driving companies to unnecessary bankruptcy. If short selling can be suspended on 799 stocks (an arbitrary number and a warning of the rule by bureaucrats which is coming under the Paulson plan), the mark-to-market rule can be suspended for six months and then replaced with a more accurate three year rolling average mark-to-market.
Second, repeal Sarbanes-Oxley. It failed with Freddy Mac. It failed with Fannie Mae. It failed with Bear Stearns. It failed with Lehman Brothers. It failed with AIG. It is crippling our entrepreneurial economy. I spent three days this week in Silicon Valley. Everyone agreed Sarbanes-Oxley was crippling the economy. One firm told me they would bring more than 20 companies public in the next year if the law was repealed. Its Sarbanes-Oxley’s $3 million per startup annual accounting fee that is keeping these companies private.
Third, match our competitors in China and Singapore by going to a zero capital gains tax. Private capital will flood into Wall Street with zero capital gains and it will come at no cost to the taxpayer. Even if you believe in a static analytical model in which lower capital gains taxes mean lower revenues for the Treasury, a zero capital gains tax costs much less than the Paulson plan. And if you believe in a historic model (as I do), a zero capital gains tax would lead to a dramatic increase in federal revenue through a larger, more competitive and more prosperous economy.
Fourth, immediately pass an “all of the above” energy plan designed to bring home $500 billion of the $700 billion a year we are sending overseas. With that much energy income the American economy would boom and government revenues would grow.”
Then you are clueless. When Republicans go against what they ae elected to represent us for, we will slam them. Thats not BDS.
‘No Taxation Without Representation‘… Hell, we might have to change that to ‘No Taxation Without TaxPayer Represention‘.
If McCain get elected, then its not because of his stance on Immigration. If he gets in office, we will make his life and all of our congressional representatives lives a living hell. The days of walking all over us are over.
And unfortunately, Palin may have to use McCain as a stepping stone to further that agenda. If she violates what we stand for and gets sucked in by Washington, then we may end up turning on her too.
On September 24th, 2008 at 12:10 pm, bear1909 said:
Truer words were never spoken.
So, our little blogger presumes to be smarter than Ben Bernanke?
“The cost of this bailout is small compared to the cost if we don’t.”
Sorry,
I’m with Bernanke on this one.
Proving your point: http://charlotte.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2008/ce092308.htm
I agree 100% with you Michelle and I hope your efforts to counter this bill are successful. I believe this is the greatest threat our country has ever faced and the future of our country depends on us not giving away the hard earned taxpayer money because greed took over common sense on Wall Street.
I don’t think, our little blogger understands the gravity of the situation.
It’s all about “Liquidity”
If the cash flow in the investment market freezes, and the cash flow in the credit market freezes, it will send the economy into a death spiral.
That, simply stated, is the heart of the problem.
So, you can whine and gripe all you want about the minutae, but at the end of the day, the bailout makes perfect economic sense.
I’m sorry, Michelle, but I just can’t read this.
I’ll get too mad and overwhelmed. If I were a conservative leader, I really wouldn’t know where to start. There’s just so much of our money not only being wasted but being invested in efforts to destroy us.
The same way that Hillary made a comeback late in the primaries when she went after the disaffected blue dog Democrat vote, if McCain would just start preaching about slashing government and taxes, he would win by a landslide.
Crickets.
I personally do not think it makes perfect sense. I want to see the options and then decide. At this moment we are only being given TWO options – Do it or the economy will have a complete and utter collapse.
Thats B.S. With all of these brilliant minds in the world, all they can give us is ‘BAILOUT EVERY MARKET NOW AND DONT ASK QUESTIONS’ ?
Time for some IMMEDIATE action to keep E_Verify going past 2008 -
http://www.numbersusa.com/content/
http://www.TeamAmericaPac.org
Need to bring the Capitol phone system down again..
Well, if you think it is, then you are presuming to be smarter than Ben Bernanke.
It may very well be, he’s a bit more qualified to speak to the subject than you are.
But who knows…You may be an economic wizard.
Welcome to the USSA.
The United Socialist States Of America.
Somehow, Bush and the GOP did what the real socialists in the Democrat party could not do. Hasta la Vista, Estados Unidos.
I want them to stop giving my money to political groups! La Raza, ACORN, Black Panthers, KKK, any of them!
Express yourself to the local manager at Bank of America or WaMu…
Well, here’s the nanny state that congress has always wanted. Except for one thing, the taxpayers do not have unlimited funds to contribute to the Washington bottomless pit. I am disgusted with all of them, especially the pro-illegal crowd.
You see, this would be ANOTHER unwritten subsidy–by taxpayers–for a wealthy group.
Let’s take employers.
They are now fighting to limit E-Verify, and advocate “Comprehensive Immigration Reform”,(TRANSLATION: Amnesty)
WHY?
An American Worker has to earn $40 or more an hour–to get by with his family.
Illegals will work for $10 an hour
Who makes up that $30 an hour difference? YOU DO.
The Feds have MANDATED that they get free health care.
They sign up in Sanctuary Cities for “Social Benefits”.
And I would add something that Bear said yesterday – you really need some gold. Coins, since the Feds will probably try and stop trading in GLD when it all hits the fan. No panic buying, not all your assets, just as insurance.
Full disclosure, I bought mining stocks when gold was $300 an ounce. Not trying to bid things up, just a thought that if they do de-value the dollar, gold will hold it’s purchasing power.
Sandspur – thanks for Newt’s thoughts….
#119 sandspur
I like it.
Gender issues?
I believe the economic wizards got us to this point.
This proposed bailout is just a disgusting response to the failures of greedy banks, lenders and homeowners. You reap what you sow. If you give out loans to shady recipients, what do you really expect?
Why won’t the American people wake up to the fact that there are illegals taking everything from us? Now it’s homes they were never entitled to. How can these bankers and lenders live with themselves that they gave out loans to recipients who weren’t even American citizens?
Neither political party cares anymore about this country. Both parties let this happen, even Pres. Bush. I say this with a sinking heart. However, the American people who participated in this rampant greed need to take responsibility for this as well.
Michelle, thank you for this article. I just don’t think the American people care. They smell blood in the water and they’re gonna follow their savior, St. Obummer, right to the cliff. Nothing will change.
These illegals got away with the American dream that they neither deserve or worked for. The FHA and the HUDD needs to go away. Why? Because they were big players in this, giving loans to unqualified people because it was the recipient’s “civil right.”
Truth, hard work, honesty… none of it matters anymore. Not to racial hucksters like Obummer. People can get free rides and then a bailout without repercussions.
NOT. ON. MY. DIME.
Thank you Michelle for saying what we all knew was going to happen when the Banks decided to NOT require ID for illegals. That was done at the insistance of the “progressive” democrats and the illegal lobby. Now they want us to bail everyone out–HELL NO!!
Congress was forced into giving millions to ACORN with the FAN/FRED bailout by Demoncrats. They even had to EARMARK the bailout. Just how stupid is that?? And why didn’t the Repubs block that earmark??? NO guts thats why. That is the story since 1999.
Bernake, Paulson smarter than me?? Chris Dodd or Barney Frank?? George Bush?? NO! Arrogant, manipulative, sneaky,greedy liars all. Not one of them had any interest in the taxpayer only in their own hubris. Why would they suddenly be worried about the taxpayer or the economy or saving anything. They helped create this mess.
Leave the capital free market system alone. One bailout didn’t work what makes anyone think that another will?? You want socialism then call your congressman and give him the OK on the bailout.
I prefer freedom and a free capitalist market. FAilure is part of it. Another Great Depression if we don’t bend over? Sorry Don’t believe it!!
There are other alternatives than a bailout like tax breaks. 10 years to get into this and “they” want a 72 hour knee-jerk quick fix. Too fast and not well thought out will cause more damage–just like the FIRST great depression.
If it’s gone unmentioned I just wanted to say: Thank God for people like you. If it weren’t for people like you, military spouses like me would lose all hope. Thank you!
Uranium mining stocks a good hedge right now too.
Ben Bernanke is a Greenspan stooge. The groundwork for this mess was a Greenspan nudge nudge wink wink deal.
Also, remember, the Fed has NO CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY. Nor does the IRS. So perhaps we as the People can revamp the capital gains insanity, and take away the Treasury/Fed monopoly on would be investment capital by setting their Capital Gains Tax Goose free to lay its eggs where they belong: in the private sector.
Newt’s plan has the necessary juevos to right the excesses of regulation (Sarbanes-Oxley).
Wrecking the oil production stranglehold on prices, right now, by drillling wherever we can displaces Chavez in Venezuela, the Saudi Royal family’s wahabbist shenanigans in the US and Europe, ends Putin’s adventurist policies in the Caspian Region and his gangster regime, sends Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs to their virginal reward in wherever they go when they croak, and makes Mexico consider paying us in oil for whatever they need from us (except absorbing their poor and their criminals as “illegals”).
Newt is calling for a boom economy by making oil cheap the old fashion way: produce more and expand our own production capacity while getting the rogue nation dictators out of the business.
Re gold coins: Be cautious. It is a largely retail market and appreciation of their value melts off at time of re-sale. Look into “chip gold”…. better value based on the spot price of gold and isnt subject to the whims of the retail market that controls the liquidation value at time of re-sale.
With chip gold you can own a piece of a gold bar that you can buy by the ounce in the size of a credit card. Google “chip gold”.
Another name to google for a no-holds barred (no pun intended) dose of economic and financial reality is DINES. Love him or hate him- he tells the truth and he forecasted all of this crap falling out from a Greenspan Federal Reserve.
I am denying any urges to invest in “distressed” real estate. Maxxing out my cash positions for now and being patient. Have a serious gold hedge right now. It is going to be a true buyers market after the bleeding stops. Have increased my savings rate from 15 per cent of gross income to 28 per cent. I am converting 20 per cent of savings monthly into gold. Retired all debts large and small seven years ago.
Good luck to all MMers who are going to do the right thing economically right now as a way of demonstrating love for country.
Bear1909 out
“….and hell followed with him.”
Um… “Impeach Bush”?
(ducks)
As long as India and China continue to buy gold at the feverish pace they have been buying at for the last 10 years, it matters little what the US Govt is doing in that market (besides getting other countries to sell their gold reserves.) That strategy has kept the lid on the price of gold as explored at length by GATA (google them….they have a free newsletter on the subject that is not the run of the mill gold bug tin foil hat schlock).
Bear1909 out
Where is John McCain to tell us that God’s Children, whom he already considers exempt from our immigration laws, should also be exempt from paying for the mortgages they obtained fraudulently? Even those who didn’t use fraudulent documents should have been turned down, THEY ARE ILLEGAL ALIENS!
Yes, Bill Grant, Obama is worse.
I don’t vote for liberals, R or D.
I aint swingin at you. But i will remind you that Bush made 7 or 8 different attempts during his two terms to get some oversight in place that was rejected by the ho’s in Congress. Check the Congressional Record for all of Bahnee Fwanks’ shennanigans….and Dodd’s…to block them.
The MSM is doing a great job of casting these two ferrets as “concerned” when in fact they both deserve to be censured and dumped from Congress, and then investigated and tried on racketeering charges under RICO statutes.
Orange jump suits in a maximum security federal pen will end this free hand that legislators have taken to do this kind of crime.
This debacle will cost Obama the election. Too much connection to it no matter what the MSM tries to do to associate McCain. Obama is a bag man.
The timing of this whole debacle is suspect.
Clintons. Again. Throwing Jamie Gorelick to the wolves…i wonder what her golden parachute is going to look like.
When you say crap like this, you’re just an ass. Do you know that?
How many times did many on here complain about the Bush administration regarding illegal immigration, the Iraq War, spending, and his excessively weak spine? Where the hell do you get off?
Don’t you freaking lecture ANY OF US on unwavering trust of the Bush administration when Bush stabbed many conservatives in the back about things like spending and illegal immigration. You are an absolute moron.
Are you even in touch with reality? Do you even understand how many conservatives are angry at Bush including myself? You are way off base and it isn’t the first time.
YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING.
I agree with most here. People who shouldn’t have bought a home, leant money by people who shouldn’t have loaned it and we have to pay for it..(The sheep having to bail out the pigs) Unfortunately my retirement fund is in danger and it looks like another lesser of 2 evils. Why didn’t Newt run for prez damn it….
Your vote is a solemn responsibility, not something you do to make yourself feel good.
Responsible voters are going to hold their noses and vote to stop Obama. Then they’ll go home and take a long shower.
Meanwhile, you’ll be feeling all self-righteous and good about yourself because you didn’t bother to take your last chance to help stop Obama.
You better pray those of us who are responsible manage to stop him. Then you’ll get to piss and moan for the next four years about McCain, smearing those of us who stopped Obama with everything McCain does wrong.
Are you really such a profoundly selfish person?
I’m a big fan of MM, but I don’t agree with the illegal immigrants as the cause or the root of this financial debacle. Their numbers are small as compared to the speculators that invested heavily in real estate, hoping to make the big bucks as they flipped their real estate protfolio.
The precursor to this financial meltdown did not happen 2 or 3 years ago. It started in 1999 when the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, designed to protect the consumers,by separating the activities of investment banks from the consumer-oriented commercial banks, was repealed by the Gramm-Leach-Billey Act of 1999, essentially the deregulation of the banking and securities industry and stripping the layer of protection of the consumers. Result, merger of investment banks, commercial banks, securities companies,insurance companies
and the crossing of state lines to accom[plish their mergers.
Enter the Community Redevelopment Investment Loan promoted by the Clinton administration, requiring banks to reinvest in their community and to promote affordable homeownership, specially to the minorities. Result, lowering the standards or criteria to qualify for a loan and the proliferation of sub-prime loans attracting buyers who normally will not qualify under the traditional underwriting. Sub-prime lenders are confident because Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA are standing by to buy the mortgage back securities from them, a wide open secondary market backed by a quasi-government financial institution. To paraphrase Paul Harvey, “now you know the rest of the story” notwithstanding the 17 times that Congress was warned by the Bush administration, and once by Sen. McCain in his speec on the senate floor in 2006, regarding the impending financial perils if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue on its course and the need for additional regulations to oversee and control Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
As far as the $700 billion bailout, h**l no. The banks assets are not down to zero and AIG’s Insurance Services division is rock solid. Why were they bailed out, follow the money.
our little pi$$a$$ commenter FranksDeludedEgo said:
If you think giving Paulson control of $700B dollars without question makes perfect economic sense, then you are economically retarded. He must have gone to Harvard and majored in Stupid.
Did I bend your Politically Correct Nose out of joint?
boo – freakin’ – hoo
Complaints ≠ Solutions
Look,
I’m as mad as everyone else…I’m mad as hell – I’m sick to my stomach, this has to be done on the backs of the taxpayer.
UNLIKE everyone else, I know who to blame.
Democrats have waged an unending, malicious, with malice aforethought, WAR on the economy….They’ve waged war on consumer confidence…They’ve waged war on investor confidence…They’ve blocked every effort to avert this looming catastrophe.
Well, they’ve finally succeeded in bringing it to the brink of disaster.
And NOW, they’re waging a war on trying to rescue it.
I don’t think, I need to mention their motivation, do I?
Havent read all of the posts on this thread but, um…..
The 16th amendment and the Federal Reserve Acts (which is a derivative of the constitutional authority of the Legislative Branch)?
Just called the offices of both Senators Warner and Webb of VA and left my opinion. No bailout. Look for an alternative measure. I don’t think it will matter in Warner’ case because he’s “retiring.” I live in VA.
Am trying to reach the offices of Sen. Chucky Schmucky Schumer and Clinton because I’m a NY absentee voter. Having trouble getting through because their lines are “busy.”
I wish there was a way that these senatorial offices could pass along my sentiments along to the entire state delegations. That way… none of them get off scott free.
How about this as an alternative to the mother of all bailouts;
The Feds provides the faltering institutions with some type of loan, like a bridge loan, to give the financial institution some form of liquidity and time to reorganize and restructure without going into conservatorship. The loan amount will be the discounted value of the institution’s assets. In the interim, the financial institution pays the interest portion only (sounds familiar?) to the Feds and a baloon payment of the principal at terms end. Feds holds the financial institutions assets as collateral. If and when the Feds sells this assets and makes a profit in the transaction, Feds keeps the profit, but if the transaction resulted in a net loss to the Feds, the financial institution is still on the hook on the difference between the loan principal and the sales price.
If the company survives and becomes a viable institution due to this bridge loan, the Feds comes out ahead due to the payment of the interest on the loan and recouping the principal. If it’s the latter where the sales price of the asset is below the loan principal’s value, the Feds was able to minimize the risk for the taxpayers. Interest payments were received for a period of time, and the principal will be partially paid, not a total loss to the taxpayers.
Just a thought, it could be just a pipe dream or it’s just too simple to be realistic.
Give us all a break, will you? Your ignorance shows. Where were you all the times MM pointed out Pres. Bush’s lack of spine, enabling illegals, and overspending. Where were you?
You’ve now joined lgm in the land of fallacy and delusion. EPIC FAIL.
See, you morons.
I respect someone who offers SOLUTIONS and ALTERNATIVES
Thank-you, akoypinoy
There’s a difference between disagreeing on a specific Bush policy, and disagreeing with every Bush policy simply because it’s a Bush policy. That’s where BDS comes into play. As a BDS sufferer though, you are incapable of recognizing the difference.
Why Are The Democrat[ic Socialist]s Attacking
SEC Chairman Chris Cox?
The answer may surprise you.
We know darn well that the bailout fat-cats will just bundle all bad school loans, car loans, etc. together, including debt incurred by illegals as well as foreign students who were here legally but ran out on their debt. Of course we will be told there is no practical way to sort these bad debts from others, and any pressure to do so will be met with cries of “Racist!”
How did we end up with a federal government staffed with elected officials and bureaucrats who seems to actually hate the very people who comprise the citizenry of their own country?
This includes the president who has shown more concern for illegals and his wealthy business friends than he does for the country itself or the law respecting citizens who put him in office and who pay the bills.
Everyone seems to have strong representation ion Washington except good citizens who work and pay taxes.
Just contacted Clinton’s office… no one at home. Left a detailed message for her not to support this bailout and that if Dems were in a hurry to support the Iraq Authorization Bill than they should look at a real alternative to the bailout palooza.
Chucky Schucky Schumer’s lines are all tied up. Wonder why that is.
I called my Senators (waiting for a callback from my Congressman)…and both Sen. Alexander and Sen. Corker’s offices have said they are getting tons of calls on this and the response is universally thumbs down.
From Corker’s office…1000 calls on this issue in 3 days…and from those calls, only 5 of them were supportive of the bailout.
AH-HAH !!!
Ask for $700 Billion…Wait for counter-offer.
p’haps the system works, after all.
horse-trading
At the end of the day, it may not hurt as much as we thought.
If you read her article (how come so few people do that?) you’ll see that the illegals make up a disproportinate slice of the subprime market.
Those “speculators that invested heavily in real estate” did not simply sit on their empty property, they sold it. And they sold it to people who should never have been given loans.
To quote MM;
Also;
Would it kill people here to actually read what is written once in a while?
Unbelievable. Thank you for the angle on
this Michelle. I emailed Rep. Honda, 15th District in San Jose. I need to email Babsy Boxer and DiFi.
NO RIP OFF OF TAXPAYERS. NO BAIL OUT OF WALL STREET. And can we close the Borders NOW?
I e-mailed Feinstein and Boxer this morning, saying Kill the Bailout.
Also said the mess is a Democrat mess and they shouldn’t compound their ownfelony.
Think I’ll get a response?
Please email your representatives and senators.
There’s plenty of blame to go around and most of it comes from promoting politically correct liberal causes.
The thing to stay focused on at this point is to make a choice, do we construct the largest socialistic bureaucracy ever in our history, give the government unprecedented power to corrupt, steal and fund giveaway programs like never before not to mention mortgaging and enslaving future generations perhaps, forever, or we can drop capital gains and corp. taxes which is cheaper, much less prone to corruption, makes Wall street and corporations clean up their own mess and saves us a huge bundle of money and our Republican form of government.
Tough choice.
Ok, following on the comments of franksalterego, et al, …
One question goes begging:
What happens if said bailout doesn’t “work”??? Then what?
My vote is for no bailout. Let the well-connected, the rich and powerful take a hard dive as have individual Americans have been required to endure in the past.
Sorry to be so blunt about this, but it now seems things could have been much better if Flight 93 had hit its target; namely: the US Capitol.
Bush is already about to leave, but the idiot American electorate is about to put more than 95% of the same moronic gang back into power.
In the aggregate, we deserve this.
Has no one stated one simple step to help prevent this fiasco from happening again?
GET RID OF
Has anyone mentioned a simple step to help prevent a repeat of this fiasco.
ELIMINATE THE HOME MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION
What is John McCains all time favorite movie?
Can we deport this clown to his beloved Mexico already?
Start stocking up on all the ammo for your firearms NOW (if you haven’t started already). Things could get VERY ugly in the coming months. If we fall into a deep depression we’re going to see a lot of people do things they would normally never think of doing. Better safe than sorry. God Bless the USA and all the remaining patriots.
Did anyone see Michelle on Cavuto?
Anyone else think that if congress can spend 700 billion of OUR money to bail out a**hats that perhaps they are collecting too much of OUR money in taxes?
Too funny, listening to Obama respond to the economic crisis upon learning that McCain wants to return to Washington and is asking to cancelling the debate!
Whether the bailout is right or wrong (and I think it’s wrong), at least McCain wants to help shape the outcome. The difference in their approaches:
McCain: I’ll be there to fix it.
Obama: If you need me, call me.
OBAMA’S KATRINA
President Bush was hung from the media tree for flying over Katrina post-hurricane.
This Bailout is even bigger, and Obama wants chill in Mississippi.
More interesting reading:
http://pfds.opensecrets.org/092408.html
Not that I am advocating for anything on this because I do not know if this bill is the correct thing to do or not, but:
Which is better, a bail out bill or a great depression? Which is better, a bailout bill or the American version of the Japan credit crisis?
I am stocked up on hard currency, canned goods and bullets so Ill be fine, but the course of action advocated here: “doing nothing” may not be the best idea… Or it may… Who is REALLY sure on this one?
A good friend today proposed letting the whole country massively meltdown, go through a Darwinian survival test.
Personally, while I have a fixed rate mortgage, and own more than 55% of my house, as an engineer I don’t think the clients I work for (private industry, local, state and federal entities and agencies) will have the resources to keep me busy during a meltdown, so I’m not crazy about THAT idea…
….but dam if this new story of a fleecing of the American public makes me want to throw caution to the wind and say – “let’s have it”.
(PS, had the – “you know things may get really bad over all this”, last night with my wife. Kind of depressing to consider the country may head into a depression…)
Boys and Girls, this is gonna get scary.
And the candidates are NOT up to this challenge.
This is ridiculous…and in todays mail I received a postcard from http://www.usbankhomemortgage.com advertising “discount on closing costs &easy loan application process” what do they know that we do not?
No money for illegal aliens who were given free credit.
This really is the fault of some banks, but the old “racial shakedown” artiste is hiding in the closet.
great article here
Tuesday, 9-23, on NPR’s Fresh Air, Terry Gross interviewed Gretchen Morgenson, a NYT columnist and financial reporter. I know, I know, NPR & NYT — what a stinking combo — but had some very interesting info, as you will see. At about minute 23:00 this fascinating exchange described a loophole in the bailout proposal which is big enough to drive the bad debt of foreign countries through.
Here’s the link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94928783
I transcribed the exchange, and here it is with my emphasis added:
* * *
TG: Now, these toxic loans and financial products that have been compared to weapons of mass destruction, a lot of them have ended up in foreign banks because of the global economy. What is the bailout plan gonna do, if anything, for the foreign banks that have this toxicity in them now?
GM: Well, I think the bailout plan states that you have to have a US entity in order to be able to sell loans to the fund. So I think it keeps or it’s trying to keep foreigners from, you know, sort of dumping their loans on to the taxpayer. But again, you know, Wall Street is very creative and knows how to get around these kinds of dictums. And what you could easily see someone do is offer to buy a foreign entity’s loans, put them on their books, and then send them to the taxpayer as part of their problem. So you know, kind of getting around that attempt to cordon it off only to the United States entities.
* * *
Stunning! You know “creative” financiers won’t be able to pass up this golden opportunity. Just how much foreign bad debt will be added to our bill? You think these foreign entities might throw in some bad student loans and maybe some credit card debt, too? Everyone else is doing it.
Sure, give the toxic debt to the Americans. They’ll swallow anything.
no one…I just know the government doesn’t have a good track record ‘saving’ us…
Yeah, the “Hi I’m from the government and I’m here to help you” line is still working on some people…
We’re doomed. The only cure for this is term limits and an informed electorate (neither is likely). Polls show people think Obama (#2 recipient of Fannie/Freddie contributions) would better handle the economy. What data do people have to support that idiot notion?
When the gummint creates a market for worthless crap, you can depend on business to manufacture as much crap as the gummint will buy.
Less than half the people in this country pay any meaningful amount of tax (i.e. pay in more than per-capita spending) so the majority thinks “don’t cost me nuthin”.
And then the rich assuage their guilt by voting for liberals. Living north of San Diego (lots of rich people), I’m amazed at the number of Obama stickers… people who vote liberal because 1) they have enough money to afford possible tax increases and 2) they manage to live without the consequences of the policies they support with their votes. I’m damn sure that if the rich folks in Carlsbad or Rancho Santa Fe had to tolerate masses of illegals in their schools, street crime, or a few housing projects in their neighborhoods – their tune would change.
#188: if you’re some Wall Street tycoon peddling worthless paper to the clowns at Fannie/Freddie/Sallie Mae then, yes, the government is “here to help”.
If I were in Congress, I’d attach some pretty nasty medicine to these pills (e.g. credit card companies would have to agree to caps on interest and fees; no golden parachutes; etc).
Has anyone noticed the following ad in the middle of msn.com home page?
Offer: Bush signs housing rescue bill. $300,000 for $1,727/mo Fixed. NO SSN REQUIRED
Guess the lenders still aren’t concerned about the financial crisis we are in………or the problem of giving loans to illegals!
This is a must hear!
http://freshtracks.us/
I have a solution for you: This government needs to be abolished. We the people need to go dust off that old document called the Constitution and try this again.
I love the irony on FoxNews tonight: A commercial advertising refinancing products because “the government bail-out is fueling a new re-fi boom”. Immediately following that jaw-dropping advert was a sound bite from Busy’s speech. Perfect. Swindle, swindler.
You know, we’re all Democrat this, Democrat that on this board I’m not a Republican… anymore… but, I’m DEFINITELY not a Democrat. However, the Dims are the ones taking the lead speaking out against paying the executives in these failed corporations millions of dollars to leave.
Regulating executive pay is wrong, however, disallowing the enrichment of larcenous executives in a “bail-out” is right.
True story:
Sold my home in South Central Los Angeles to a group of illegal alien families in 2005. 900 square foot house, and there were 12 of them including their children. Sold for about $400,000. I wonder if they kept up the hefty payments or just walked away to another house down the street when the bottom dropped out.
I know, I’m part of the problem, but if I didn’t sell to them, I would’ve been sued.
Can this be that Paulson is going to make some BIG money on this?
Here is a great video, that explains this housing/banking crisis, and who created this mess!
I want our esteemed leaders to explain the bailout us:
Who exctly gets hold of the $700 billion and how are they going to use the money to stimulate the economy?
Certainly, the money cannot be used to pay the salaries of the guys who got us into this mess in the first place. At the same time, the money cannot be used to bail out the flippers who were betting on the ever rising house prices.
Are these money going to be used for the low income housing loans?
What transparency will be built in, so that we the ordinary Americans, can track the flow of the money?
How are these money to be paid back to the treasury? What would be the terms and the timetable?
I didn’t know what to make of this bailout, even after listening to both sides. Thanks for putting things into perspective.