tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post5690662280637940322..comments2023-10-29T09:14:37.832-04:00Comments on Painfully Objective Political Analysis (POPA): AM I TURNING REPUBLICAN? BANK BAILOUT WAS A SHAM!Chris Wordenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00558836541249077077noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-35593281557029212792009-05-19T14:26:00.000-04:002009-05-19T14:26:00.000-04:00It doesn't make you a republican...it just proves ...It doesn't make you a republican...it just proves you have common sense. I had the same situation. My wife and I used to make average median income together (~90k). She used to work as a a bank (so we saw this sh*t coming)..and I was a computer programmer. We made above average income (based on the statistics)...yet our home is very modest. We paid $170k (which still high knowing mostly illegals were working to build it) in a decent area not pristine...but a large home for the price. Interest rates were really low...under 6%...we had excellent credit. We "qualified" for a home that cost over 300 thousand...but we figured if one of lost our jobs (which just happened) we would at least be able to pay our note. Do we get anything for being responsible? Hell no.<br />We have two old paid for cars that get decent mileage per gallon. Do we get a tax break? Nope.<br />Our taxes are being spent on some sorry idiots.<br />If we get behind on our mortage...if the bank could sell it for a profit they would in a heartbeat since it is a secured by an asset. Now they can't sell the overpriced asset...now it is considered "toxic". That is bullsh*t.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-43334710746563500492009-03-28T00:14:00.000-04:002009-03-28T00:14:00.000-04:00The day you announce you just might have a Liberta...The day you announce you just might have a Libertarian streak, I'll buy you a couple beers. <BR/><BR/>Heck, I'll buy you one beer just for questioning if you might be a republican! <BR/><BR/>Come to a libertarian meet up social night some time. I promise I won't try to recruit you. I'll just buy you a beer with no strings!Melyssahttp://www.hoosiersforfairtaxation.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-55186274506182716562009-03-27T17:43:00.000-04:002009-03-27T17:43:00.000-04:00Maybe not taking a turn down Republican Ave but pe...Maybe not taking a turn down Republican Ave but perhaps a Libertarian side street? ;-)<BR/><BR/>The whole idea behind capitalism is "creative destruction". The idea that if someone is a poor allocator of resources, they will fall to those who are better at it. <BR/><BR/>The idea that if someone invents the better mousetrap, you can become rich taking the place of the people who became rich with what would then be an inferior product that was once superior. Imagine, if having invented the better mousetrap, just as your competitors were on death's door, the government rescued them?<BR/><BR/>Imagine if you're Ford and have refused bailout money and then General Motors and Chrysler benefit from GMAC offering 0% financing after getting bailout money?<BR/><BR/>Your outrage is justified, it's not a partisan issue, it's just ... wrong. And we're immorally saddling future generations with debt and inflation to pay for it.Sean Shepardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04784017076656340302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-20597716116300214522009-03-15T02:20:00.000-04:002009-03-15T02:20:00.000-04:00comment was good enough to say it twice i guesscomment was good enough to say it twice i guessAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-2925432724793388552009-03-15T02:18:00.000-04:002009-03-15T02:18:00.000-04:00True Conservative,I'm not sure I follow your compl...True Conservative,<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure I follow your complaint. Did you say you were upset at "those who did not make good decisions" because you are trying to refinance your mortgage for a total value of one-third of the house's value? Or was it for three times the house's value?<BR/><BR/>If it's the second, i am speechless as to why any bank would offer such an amount of money.<BR/><BR/>Since I think it's the first, I'm not sure why there is a complaint about currently owning a home where your mortgage is (theoretically) less than one-third of the home's value. Doesn't this mean you have approximately +66.6% equity in your home? Well done I say. I find your home-ownership status in quite a good position and would be complaint-less. <BR/><BR/>Isn't it always the case in large-scale economic situations that the system-drainers cause the system-stabilizers to have to pay more for their good behaviors? Just like in insurance...the people without problems subsidize the users of the benefits. Certainly I don't hear a complaint about loss-distribution, do I? Isn't this debacle the same effect? Lots of poor choices as to how much home, or how expensive the home should be, or failing to read the "closing documents" to see if they were accurate in the first place, etc., all lead to those with the mental and financial wherewithal to be able to, over the course of years, pay down their mortgage and increase their equity to over half the value of the home paying higher premiums, and higher fees, and higher periodic finance charges.<BR/><BR/>If we like the system of credit and loss-spreading as we have had it for decades (during all of the growth economies), we have to take the good with the bad. And if that type of system has become so intertwined with national and international (and global) financial survival that refusing to "reward" poor decision makers with lower interest rates and friendlier mortgage terms will cause widespread financial ruin, I say "That is disgusting and it will be a bitter pill, that I will swallow."<BR/><BR/>Because when the "experts" tell me that giving someone that can't currently afford their mortgage payment a longer repayment term, and a lower interest rate, will keep them in their home instead of having the bank foreclose, I will nod my head. I can cite to absolutely no statistics and no macroeconomic giants that say otherwise.<BR/><BR/>And besides, even if I could, the macroeconomic giants in power right now will be calling the shots for a few more years to come anyway, so they're going to actually get the chance to see if their solution will be one of the successful ones. Every other "potential" solution will just be speculation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-26928886048032142232009-03-15T02:17:00.000-04:002009-03-15T02:17:00.000-04:00True Conservative,I'm not sure I follow your compl...True Conservative,<BR/><BR/>I'm not sure I follow your complaint. Did you say you were upset at "those who did not make good decisions" because you are trying to refinance your mortgage for a total value of one-third of the house's value? Or was it for three times the house's value?<BR/><BR/>If it's the second, i am speechless as to why any bank would offer such an amount of money.<BR/><BR/>Since I think it's the first, I'm not sure why there is a complaint about currently owning a home where your mortgage is (theoretically) less than one-third of the home's value. Doesn't this mean you have approximately +66.6% equity in your home? Well done I say. I find your home-ownership status in quite a good position and would be complaint-less. <BR/><BR/>Isn't it always the case in large-scale economic situations that the system-drainers cause the system-stabilizers to have to pay more for their good behaviors? Just like in insurance...the people without problems subsidize the users of the benefits. Certainly I don't hear a complaint about loss-distribution, do I? Isn't this debacle the same effect? Lots of poor choices as to how much home, or how expensive the home should be, or failing to read the "closing documents" to see if they were accurate in the first place, etc., all lead to those with the mental and financial wherewithal to be able to, over the course of years, pay down their mortgage and increase their equity to over half the value of the home paying higher premiums, and higher fees, and higher periodic finance charges.<BR/><BR/>If we like the system of credit and loss-spreading as we have had it for decades (during all of the growth economies), we have to take the good with the bad. And if that type of system has become so intertwined with national and international (and global) financial survival that refusing to "reward" poor decision makers with lower interest rates and friendlier mortgage terms will cause widespread financial ruin, I say "That is disgusting and it will be a bitter pill, that I will swallow."<BR/><BR/>Because when the "experts" tell me that giving someone that can't currently afford their mortgage payment a longer repayment term, and a lower interest rate, will keep them in their home instead of having the bank foreclose, I will nod my head. I can cite to absolutely no statistics and no macroeconomic giants that say otherwise.<BR/><BR/>And besides, even if I could, the macroeconomic giants in power right now will be calling the shots for a few more years to come anyway, so they're going to actually get the chance to see if their solution will be one of the successful ones. Every other "potential" solution will just be speculation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-38545407948951583812009-03-14T16:48:00.000-04:002009-03-14T16:48:00.000-04:00When I took population studies in college we were ...When I took population studies in college we were taught if you artificially feed an overgrown population, more people will eventually starve unless you address the population. Therefore you are not being humane by feeding without addressing the issues. Keeping people in houses they cannot afford will not solve the problem and your house value will not climb so long as the people are kept in these homes. I see this on a regular basis in my business. Sure some have lost their homes due to lost jobs and medical bills but from what I see that is the exception not the rule. I am trying to refinance a home with a value of nearly triple what I am trying to finance and now I have to pay extra fees due to those who did not make good decisions. Obama can tell people all day long, as he has, they were tricked in to these loans but if anyone has looked at closing documents they would see that what he says is not true.Mann Law, P.C.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10803791946039037861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-36518662908618058702009-03-13T01:32:00.000-04:002009-03-13T01:32:00.000-04:00Miklo:Well put across the board, but honestly, som...Miklo:<BR/><BR/>Well put across the board, but honestly, sometimes my inner anarchist says let the damn thing topple and see what actually happens. I'm tired of fear-mongers with their hands out saying save us. To quote Watchmen, and we'll reply: No.Chris Wordenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00558836541249077077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-58859407835095224892009-03-11T23:42:00.000-04:002009-03-11T23:42:00.000-04:00...and in response to Jacob Perry, it was a faith ......and in response to Jacob Perry, it was a faith in free-market economics and a faith in common-sense that got us into this mess. It's certainly going to take more than that (and perhaps something other than it) to get us out of it...like tighter regulations and greater transparency.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-34904724893964336482009-03-11T23:09:00.000-04:002009-03-11T23:09:00.000-04:00Bulworth,There are so many factors to be discussed...Bulworth,<BR/><BR/>There are so many factors to be discussed that fail to be adequately considered in your post that it's fairly difficult to form an appropriate response.<BR/><BR/>Most of what you're feeling about this bailout as it relates to your "disgust and lack of sympathy" isn't very surprising in our capitalist (not a bad word) economy.<BR/><BR/>However, it isn't a situation that should feel unfamiliar to anyone paying attention to our credit system in general. What about the following situation is significantly less fair to "responsible" home buyers or credit users: Due to credit card holders that fail to pay their bills month after month, credit card companies jack up EVERYONE'S interest rates to percentages that fall just under usurious rates...across the board.<BR/><BR/>I have never heard anyone raise as much fuss about that circumstance which has been going on for decades. (Oh wait, aren't these companies getting bailed out too? ...because they're too big to fail?)<BR/><BR/>A Macroeconomist I am not. As much as I think I know about how to keep national or international monetary systems afloat, I do have faith in higher education to the point of "trusting" the "experts" to figure this one out for me. I have higher education degrees and I believe that due to that education I am more equipped to deal with circumstances related to my education than those without it...generally. I too believe that those that have studied in the arts of economy on the large scale are likewise better equipped to handle the circumstances with which our country (, and the whole world, for that matter,) finds itself dealing.<BR/><BR/>Do I like the taste that this "answer" leaves in my mouth? No. Definitely, "No." This doesn't end my internal (and now external) dialogue. <BR/><BR/>Rather, it begins the discussion with: "Is there any better idea that can taste less disgusting (to use your term) and still solve the crisis (because I do believe it is one) in which we find ourselves?" Again, I am ill-equipped to produce an answer and won't offer a suggestion based on my "gut-reaction" and only a liberally (the "academic course focused" definition, not the "politically based" one)-trained mind. Instead, I'll leave it up to the "experts"<BR/><BR/>Plus, if it fails, it's their fault...not mine...and fail it might...even with the best of intentions...because we all know where those lead...<BR/><BR/>btw...i'm also one of those people that went for the 30-yr fixed at a historically low rate when I could've taken an ARM for a song of a rate. ...haven't missed a payment and even though my property taxes have caused my payment to increase EVERY YEAR, that too is based on the fact that the assessed value on my home was so far below the fair-market value that I was getting away with murder in terms of providing tax revenue to both my municipality as well as my school district when compared to the actual market value of my home. Don't quote on that, but I'm nothing if not honest. That keeps me ahead of too many people, I'm afraid.<BR/><BR/>Republicans have no monopoly on disgust for "down-and-outers" who find themselves there due in part to their own fault(s). I think the "glass-half-full" view of that circumstance is, "If the screw-ups DO get to refi. and their homes can maintain value, so too can my home retain value. If not, my house my also continue to lose value and that will cause me to have fewer options as to where I can live and how I can dispose of my devaluing asset - my home."<BR/><BR/>No good answers...available.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3126825064641092276.post-44222892935727541682009-03-09T10:23:00.000-04:002009-03-09T10:23:00.000-04:00No, you just possess common sense. If only our Pre...No, you just possess common sense. If only our President did as well.Jacob Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15659919624213074419noreply@blogger.com