BigGent's Blog

You can't take partisanship out of the equasion, you need to know where and who the problem started with. Do you remember 'red-lining', the practice of scrutinizing low-income applicants and their ability to pay? The government outlawed the practice and ordered mortage companies to approve high-risk loans.

In a nutshell, Fannie and Freddie were created by the government to buy up risky loans. The execs were awarded bonuses on the value of assets (risky loans). They bought a lot of bad paper, cooked the books, took the bonuses, and destroyed the industry. They certainly never got the congressional anal probe that Enron and Worldcom did.

And for the players - Laws eliminating red-lining were put in place by Carter and Clinton. The banking committee, which had oversight, was run by Chris Dodd and Barney Frank. And this quasi-government entity gave big donations to Dodd, Hillary Clinton, and Obama.

You're right, why should anybody pay their
mortages when the people who clearly couldn't afford home loans are bailed out? $700B wouldn't clover all outstanding debts, they're only covering 5% of mortages.

All these bad loans will be bundled and probably sold to international investors, for pennies on the dollar, who will likely make money when our economy recovers.

These are the same people who want to take over healthcare and are promoting the 'windfall profits' tax. They're a bunch of Socialists who think they should run everything and blame everyone else for their failures.

Dear Mr Hawger.

Your exactly the person I had in mind when I posed these questions. Because it's not all about Homes. This Bail out covers Credit Cards,Auto Loans & Financing of all sorts.

Yes Mr Hawger. Your the type of person I had in mind exactly. Because you may consider it your fault. But in actuality, It's not. Let's consider your story. Which I know mirrors so many Americans today. I know, because of the credit numbers.

You probable weren't doing to bad, minding your own business. Making your payments,when suddenly you're bombarded by all these tempting offers of money & ways to get out of debt. You can hardly turn around without your phone ringing & mail box overflowing with Mortgage,refinancing & Credit Card offers. For the credit Industry, it's like fishing in a barrel. You had nowhere to turn. As a matter of fact. It got so bad laws had to be passed to prevent it,or to slow it down at least.

I Myself,got so many,I got tired of saying no. I said no,because my home is paid off,free & clear & still they kept harassing me. that's why Mr Hawger,your story & those like yours is so frustrating to me. Because the credit companys literally gave you little or no choice. To understand that,one needs to understand how the credit industry works. It's like playing in Las Vegas. Sure you can win a round or two, But in the end the odds are against you.

Understand,when you Mortgage a house or refinance an existing mortgage,what you're doing in fact is Renting with the hope of being done someday. The second most frustrating thing about this is, the credit

wHEN THESE COMPANIES AND BIG WIGS WERE TAKING THERE BIG BONUSES AND SALRIES, DID WE GET A PIEICE OF THE PIE,NOT!!!!!! NOW THEY WANT US TO PAY!!!!! I DONT KNOW ABOUT ANYONE ELSE, WE CANT AFFORD TO MAKE ANY LESS THAN WE DO NOW AND I CANT FIND A JOB TO SAVE MY LIFE!

I think they should start paying on results

According to what I read and understood regarding this bailout, it must be passed in one form or another so that credit availability won't become frozen or non-existent for Americans across the country. Without it,banks will not have the funds to give car loans, mortgages, small business loans, home equity loans, etc. to individuals, even those with superb credit ratings. What will that do to the auto industry, building industry, small business man, etc. and all of their employees? No available money for loans will mean that there will be no one buying their products, unless they have ready cash to do so. Not passing it will affect all of us, not just those working for these bailed out institutions. (President Bush spoke of this on Wednesday night.)

There was a story on one of the networks of a small businessman with an 800 credit score who could not get the funds needed for his business. There were other stories of individuals with good credit not finding funds available for their loans. Banks are already getting tighter with their money. So the message here is that even those of us who have good credit and pay our bills may not be able to get a car loan when we need it.

I don't like bailing out others with my money any more than the rest of you, but it may be the only answer to save our economy. I do think, however, that the President's plan to give the Secretary of the Treasury the sole power to make decisions regarding the money is wrong. It must be a system of checks and balances with accountability, not a money giveaway with one person holding the checkbook.

SOrry - type-o "Foriegn Aide" of "Aid"?? You get the idea?

Hey big gent, I think the scope of this rescue attempt is beyond even the experts. As people pay their mortgages the 700B will get back to govt coffers as the plan is layed out right now but I think taht the American people should keep a wary eye out on all things Washington and vote accordingly. My situation is precarious, I got a construction loan a year ago, 65% loan to value of my property, the house is all done but I can't get financing due to this mess for the follow on loan to turn it into a regular mortgage. If I can't, due to the market as it stands now I will lose everything! I have absolutely no idea who is at fault. I think it is every politician taht ever graced the halls in Washington that contributed to this. They need to work together and for myself I am watching and any move away from just working to get it done will instantly get me out to vote against that person, conservative or liberal, this is too important for the same old partisan crap. By the way if I offended you in the past with some of my verbage, I apologize.

People could sell or Invest in their homes again with out worrying about losing money.

The New Car Markets would heat up to levels not seen in over a decade. Plants would have to reopen to keep up with demand. Laid off workers would be recalled to work in not only the auto plants but supply plants as well.

As people returned to work,so too would the Cities that have faced so much abandonment & decay over the years. All the small businesses that have seen decline would actually experience a new economic growth & Be able to expand,Hire & Rehire as well.

As people came back to towns all over America, the children that they bring back would once again fill the classrooms of struggling Schools. Because the greater the enrollment, the greater the finances available to teach the children. So in theory, Children would get a better education, so we can nurture More Intelligent leaders to keep us from getting back into this mess ever again.

Would the Banking or Credit industry suffer because of this temporary loss of funds? I'd say no, not at all. as a matter of fact I'd say they'd prosper as well. Because now. Because of money that was ours in the first place. They would be getting customers that will not only apply for new loans But can actually afford those loans as well. So I'd say "Fear not Credit Company's. They'll be plenty of Consumers that have not learned their lessons,for you to prey upon".

Yes, I might sound like an Idealist. But I feel if WE'VE got to pay for it. $700 Billion is a small price to pay for Financial & Economic Prosper

I feel your pain BigGent, but paying off everyone's mortgage is not going to happen. The underlying factor here in this whole mess is the GREED that Banks, Underwriters, Mortgage Brokers, Appraisers and everyone else associated with making these loans exhibited. They all got paid huge fees when the deals closed. Now even though I hate to see the Banks get bailed out, it's the consequence of not bailing them out that scares me. Do you have a 401K, or own stocks, or have holdings in the financial sector of our economy? If you do and this "Bailout Plan" does not happen, you and I could lose a significant part of our savings and retirement portfolios. I don't want to see any CEO's of these Banks get rewarded with big bonuses or offered any Golden Parachutes, and I would like to see help offered to struggling homeowners to avoid foreclosure so they can stay in their homes and pay what they can afford. Giving it back to the Bank at $.30 on the dollar will only make the overall situation worse and deepen the crises.

Further, the prosecutors should go after the Mortgage Brokers, Appraisers, Underwriters, Bankers and anyone who was connected to these fraudulent loans to set the example that this kind of criminal activity will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Their crimes have shaken our economy to the very core and will take years to recover from. Our Grandchildren will be paying for this well into their lifetimes.

Senator Richard Shelby,a Republican, is a member of the Banking Committee in the Senate. This is the committee which is trying to hammer out this $700,000,000,000 bailout agreement. Senator Shelby stated that he received a letter signed by over 200 economists, many of whom are faculty at top ranking universities, who advised that the Paulson plan or anything like it should not be approved. The economists said:"Don't rush to judgement" on this bailout.

My question is: Why don't these 200 economists formulate a plan since they understand the economy in all probability more than anyone? Somehow it doesn't seem advisable that legislators should be the ones to "hammer out" such an agreement when they are not experts in the field. Let the economists figure it out and present their solution to Congress! Then Congress can decide!

I'm sure that the Banking Committee has advisors working with them on this all important issue. But the 200 economists who wrote Shelby gave fair warning that this bailout may be a disaster for the economy.