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by UncleRob from CT, NY, NJ and FL

Last Post 1 day, 23 hours Ago


Let's bail them out because ...
Sep 23, 2008 | 8:56 PM
Category: News
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... the alternative, trust me, would be a LOT worse.

But let's construct the bail-out package(s) with some intelligence and common sense, yes? Washington, if there was ever a time to do something the correct way, this is it.

Give these financial giants (the ones whose greed created this mess in the first place) all the money they want/need, but:

o   garnish the all the salaries/bonuses/stock options of all the CEOs, CFOs, COOs, etc., etc. Do not let any of them walk away from this financial fiasco with pockets bulging with OUR money;

o   construct a payback schedule -- construct the "bail-out" as a loan instead of a gift;

o   assign forensic accountants to examine the books -- past, present and future to ensure there is no funny business above what we all know to date.
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Member Comments Total Comments: 5
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htbone51 read my blog view my photos
Sep 29, 2008 | 3:09 PM

With Citigroup and two other offshore banks holding more then $ 650 billion worth of AIG paper...Who is it that will be the winner....the 3 big banks or the perpetual loser....THE AMERICAN TAX PAYER.
k_niceness
Oct 2, 2008 | 12:51 PM

I'm tired of Wall Street being made the scapegoat here....such an easy target, because Wall Street employees are well-paid. There are lots of parties to blame here, including Main Street. Here are some examples…

Wall Street did not underwrite these bad mortgages...blame the mortgage lenders for that; instead, Wall Street was sold badly underwritten mortgages by the originators. Just because Wall Street bought bad cans of tuna and sold them (at huge profits) to investors without opening the cans, you can't blame Wall Street for filling the cans with bad tuna in the first place. Remember that the mortgage originators profited on the front end too!!!

Wall Street did not force people to buy houses that they obviously could not afford...blame mortgage brokers and real estate agents for that...don't forget that the real estate industry made tons of fees for pushing through these bad mortgages. Also blame those homebuyers who were so greedy that they bought much more house than they could actually afford.

Wall Street did not keep interest rates too low for too long, causing housing prices to inflate much higher than their intrinsic values...blame Greenspan for that.

Wall Street did not tell Freddie and Fannie to expand subprime lending...please refer to this NY Times article written back in 1999 that predicted the very scenario that we are in today.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB
153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260

I could go on and on, but let me just stop here…
Betsympac read my blog view my photos
Oct 2, 2008 | 2:54 PM

Yes. There are many to blame but let is not forget the source. The individuals who took out home mortgages with 0% down. They, more than anyone else, know what they can afford, and most did it with adjustable mortgages. They are called 'teaser rates' for a reason. Most likely, they will go up, based on the term. Blaming mortgage reps is fine too but if you have 9 to put down, you should keep renting, like I do. I would love to own, but it is not my time yet......why didn't they know that??
k_niceness
Oct 3, 2008 | 1:01 AM

I totally agree with you, Betsympac. I remember a 2-3 yrs ago when I was househunting, the RE agent and broker were pushing me to buy a house that I thought was way out of my affordability range...luckily I stuck to my pre-set leverage/debt service limits, else who knows where I would be today?
Sanctus read my blog view my photos
Oct 10, 2008 | 11:42 AM

I agree. I have been house shopping on and off for over 6 years and I have been constantly pressured into buying homes that were higher priced than what I requested. It makes it worse that I have perfect credit because both the real estate agents and the banks are always trying to talk me into spending more than I like. No matter how many times, for example, that I tell a Real Estate agent what my price range is, they continue to send me listings way above my stated price. Then when I go to look at properties, agents will enthusiastically tell me that " any offer will be considered" When I give them my offer, you can actually see them calculating their commission in their heads. Then they'll say things like, "Oh, no, that's just not high enough" I believe that real estate agents and mortgage bankers should just get one flat fee for every house and mortgage sold. The way the system works now with a percentage of the sale just creates more corruption and feeds the greed.

Daniel
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UncleRob

Computer Tech / Newspaperman / TV enthusiast / Curmudgeon

Member Since: 1/10/2007


 

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