The Note, 2/18/09: Obama Outlines Mortgage Rescue Plan in Phoenix

The Dow sinking 297 points as the stimulus was signed is a wrong suggestion of cause and effect. I forgot where I read that. It may have been on the Drudge Report.

we now have a[resident who as a senator voted present more than he voted for or against.

Wall Street would not be happy unless truckloads of cash backed up to the loading dock. When will Wall Street contribute to the solution of this crisis?

HH wrote:”Most minorities quit paying their mortgage because they believe Obama is going to give them money and houses”,
Most Republicans are liar and village idiots just like you.

Wall Street would not be happy unless truckloads of cash backed up to the loading dock. When will Wall Street contribute to the solution of this crisis?
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So was Wall Street being recalcitrant about the stimulus yesterday, or is it in a free fall?

Stimulus projects are already underway. Two were started yesterday in MO as the bill was signed. I have a friend who is a senior engineer with the IL Dept. of Transportation. He says they have dozens of infastructure projects ready to go now that the bill was signed. Wall St. needs to step up and have some confidence.

Every time Pb0 makes a feel-good speech or moves a feel-good pen, the stock market sinks 3-5%.
Since he was elected, the stock market has sank more than 30%, on top of the initial 20% due to his first “stimulus”.
kat is no rocket scientist to tell if there is a cause-effect correlation, but we still can make linear plots; it has an R^2 of 0.99.

That’s not my quote. I was quoting somebody else.
F Wall Street. After seeing the Frontline series on the meltdown last night, I say flush the entire house and get all new blood in there. Greed is NOT good when left unchecked, Mr. Gecko.

HH: I drove by some $400,000 townhouses built a year ago. Some of them are in foreclosure. People should not fall for the flexible mortgage “scam”. Guess what happens to your mortgage payment when the interest on the mortgage goes from 4% up to 12%—does your employer ever give you an 8% raise?
FYI–farm land in northern Iowa valued at $4,000 per acre in 1976 dropped to $2,000 per acre in 1983–farmers had been encouraged by bankers to put up their land in 1976 to borrow money to purchase expensive need farm equipment, etc. In 1983 the bankers wanted their money. Farmers lost their farms not because they “quit paying their loans” but because they didn’t have the money because agri-business economy went down the tube.

kat – You know kat fudges no data.
****************************************************
Unlike you, sir, who makes it up.

So lets see – if you bought a house you couldn’t afford – you get help. if you lost your job due to the bad economic situation caused by irresponsible people with credit – tough luck? Just a normal day for libs – reward people for bad behaviour.

When you look around you and see nothing but dirt you’re in a hole. As this article states, it’s time to stop digging. The deeper we dig the hole the harder it will be to climb out.

mmonroeliveson “The deeper we dig the hole the harder it will be to climb out.”
Which is exactly why we should stop with the irresponsible tax cuts, deregulation and failed Republican policies that dug the hole over the last 8 years.

Everybody should just stop paying thier mortgage. Why be responsible?

Posted by: HH | Feb 18, 2009 9:16:21 AM
You said; “Most minorities quit paying their mortgage because they believe Obama is going to give them money and houses, he needs to address this misconception unless this is another entitlement program for democrats.”
I say; “This is a RIDIDULOUS and intentionally misleading and UNSUPPORTABLE STATEMENT!” I wonder; “What’s your point?” ……. I can only imagine.

Change we can believe in. Even the dems are are starting to distance themselves from BO. BO is obviously in above his head and his chicago buddies are all corrupt. Rahm hasn’t paid taxes for a house “gifted” to him. Boy I’d like that deal. Burris is going to resign any day now that the dems threw him under the bus. Gietner is an idiot. a great week for BO.

i agree with Tim.this is very questionable because we dont know if it will work or if it will not and i guess we will just have to see. :D

“Change we can believe in. Even the dems are are starting to distance themselves from BO. BO is obviously in above his head and his chicago buddies are all corrupt. Rahm hasn’t paid taxes for a house “gifted” to him. Boy I’d like that deal. Burris is going to resign any day now that the dems threw him under the bus. Gietner is an idiot. a great week for BO.”
Ha! You are a broken record. You really have nothing to say, do you? You’re still working off one of Rush’s January memos. Get with the program, brosef!

Bobj72; Gotta say I’m with you on this one. Purest of fantasy by HH.

mRS. mILES IS THE BEST TEACHER..
sYKE.!

YEW. kONOW D4UM.

all i know is dat i get dumn and im in this booty class with dis fake teacher
U KNOW DUM

So yesterday, he flies from DC to Denver and back(biden did as well) to sign the stimulus package and the today he flies from DC to Phoenix and back for announce a mortgage plan. Could not anyone of this been done in the Green Room, Lincoln Bedroom, or even the Rose Garden?????!!!!!???. What a waste of US taxpayers dollars!!!

Posters keep posting solutions that would require the government to dictate to financial institutions how they manage their assets. The government doesn’t own the banks yet so such solutions aren’t feasible. That’s why the government will buy into banks. Then the government can intervene in private sector bank activities. Nationalization of our major banks is just around the corner. It will happen as soon as our president and treasury secretary have worked out the details. Then we can witness some serious mismanagement.

I thought Rahms news was new .

Fishmonger, I like your thoughts but, I think trying to get the banks to do that would take an act of God…And I know some thing Obama is the Messiah but, the banks would lose money even if they were not completely right in the means in which they have acquired such loans. They won’t want to take all the blame for what has become everyone’s problem…
I am one of those Americans that did not participate in the housing or credit crisis and no, I don’t like the idea that I must put tax dollars because others were not so smart.
Some years ago I went through a divorce and changed careers with then a couple of kids in tow, which made me radically think of what I really needed and what I just don’t…So I hate the idea that I said it and could see this coming several yrs ago, but greed doesn’t listen to reason.
Still,
I support the President,
Because some form of Stimulus (or plural)was going to happen no matter who was elected… To do nothing was and is the wrong course of action.
The thought of McCain/Palin heading up such action with the failed policies of the GOP… somehow seems like…I am really having trouble just thinking about it…
Anybody that has had to go into clean up a big mess…knows that things are going to get worse before things start to become better and still adjustments will have to be made…
I see a President doing the best that he can with what’s been left for him to deal with…
I have every confidence and faith in him…That’s only my belief but, I am sticking with it…

Don’s say anything silly today Silky and expose yourself as a paid Obama Marxist Socialist Blogger!
What do you think of the Welfare Stimulus, Silky?

It’s funny hearing all these Republicans criticizing Obama because he’s not doing a good enough job of cleaning up the Bush/GOP mess.

I want to know what Silky thinks of all the money for the marsh mice?
Or the Mexican-American water commission. Or this piece of PORK or that piece of PORK?
How can possible defend Obama and his garbage, Silky? Are you from Chicago, too, or what?
You should be ashamed of yourself and your Socialist Marxist President, Silky!

Not amused–”he’s not doing a good enough job of cleaning up the Bush/GOP mess.”— How is this a Bush/GOP Mess? What republicans can you name who were responsible for the mortgage crisis? go ahead, name a few, just name one..can you? This mess is not a Bush mess.. nor is it a GOP mess.. BUT what is being done right now WILL be a democrat mess and its going to destroy the fabric of the country as we know it.. wake up…

Hey NOT AMUSED -
Ever hear of Community ReInvestment Act?
Of course not, you are an uninformed liberal on welfare hoping for more handouts.
You are a disgrace to America. So is Obama!
Your champion is an out-of-control Socialist Marxist! The whole world is seeing it with their own eyes.
Deny it all you want. Just drink Kool-Aid!

Sigmonde–”A new Community Redevelopment Act that encourages home ownership to everyone, regardless of income or credit worthiness”– thats exactly what caused this problem in the first place… and your suggesting that we do it again??

I think the banking and auto industry are the ones on welfare right now.

Not amused..”Nobody is a bigger liar than Bush/Cheney! What would McCain/Palin be doing to clean up the Bush/GOP mess?”– I’m still waiting to hear what mess they created?? Or are you simply going to keep saying it till someone believes its true without any facts to back it up?

Republicans are quick to criticize Obama, and slow to defend George Bush and his failed economic and foreign policies of the last eight years.

I’d rather be a Communist, a socialist, a liberal, or any other name you can think of….than a Republican.

Silky –”Ha! You are a broken record. You really have nothing to say, do you?” Sort of like all you sociodems who talk about Clinton’s mythical surplus and unemployment record.. or like not amused who keeps beating the drum about Bush’s and the Gop’s mess but won’t back it up with a single fact…

Even McCain was stating that the bailout had to help people who were in danger of foreclosure…I guess that makes him a socialist liberal too?

not amused.. “I’d rather be a Communist, a socialist, a liberal, or any other name you can think of….than a Republican.”– you’re going to get your wish.. Why not after all look how good all those socialist and communist countries are doing.. North Korea has 40% of the population with out electricity and starving, the average family in China enjoys a 400 sq foot apartment with out hot water…liberia’s inflation rate is so high, they just started printing new money with 8 zero’s removed from the numbers so it would “look better”…

Bush/GOP mess fact: tax cuts during a time of war resulting in huge deficit.
Bush/Cheney mess fact: pushing the Iraq invasion when Iraqis had nothing to do with 9/11, nor had WMD. Over $500 billion spent needlessly, so far.
GOP/Gramm mess fact: Phil Gramm responsible for pushing much of the deregulation that contributed to the economic meltdown.
Bush economic mess: refusing to admit that we were in a recession until it was obvious to every man woman and child.
I could go on, but what would be the point?

USA and dave…you guys should get together with the Farrelly Brothers and make a movie.

not amused –”Even McCain was stating that the bailout had to help people who were in danger of foreclosure”– true, but no one got helped by the first bailout.. it was essentially wasted on banks who did not tranfer the assistance to the people that it was intended to help.. now Obama is pushing another package to “help stop forclosures” — only one problem.. it is designed to help only those who recklessly got in over their heads.. those who were cautious but saw the market dive and watched the value of their homes plummet get almost no help.. and those who managed to stay out of the mess.. well guess what their reward is.. their taxes are going to save the irresponsible ones.. hummm…

All hail our great Socialst Marxist leader Barrack Hussein Obama!!!
Get used to it America, your country is not your country anymore. It is ours now and YOU will pay US!
Ha ha fools. We ARE here and you CAN’T get rid of us!!!

What’s wrong with more welfare. I don’t have a TV, or a car. Why shouldn’t I get stuff FREE?
Hooray Obama. I voted for YOU!

Why wasn’t it a “socialist” nation when Reagan and the first Bush cut taxes for the rich? Remember “trickle down economics”? That was a bust.

“Do you even know what the Community ReInvestment Act is, Communist?”
The Community ReInvestment Act was not responsible for the mortgage companies lending to to people who could not pay back the loans. The government was not forcing banks to loan money to poor people – that is a lie circulating the internet. It was not responsible for mortgage companies bundling bad debt with less risky loans, and selling that debt for huge profits. It was not responsible for making Greenspan lower the interest rates, which encouraged more people to borrow money to buy houses.
You have been lied to by the rightwing blowhards, my friend. You are filled with self righteous anger because you think you know something the rest of us don’t, but you have been lied to.

I love that Obama is now the President. I especially love hearing all the Republicans who were so smug eight years ago now complaining and whining. Music to my ears! Keep it up…b!t(h’s. Ha ha!

If you’ll read this months Time magazine, you’ll find a list of 25 people most responsible for the failing economy. Clinton is in there because he didn’t do enough to stop Phil Gramm and the GOP from deregulation in 1998. The majority of the list are Republicans.

“but no one got helped by the first bailout..” Posted by: arkie vet |
Oh yes they did! People came out of the woodwork and flooded social service agencies to receive help from the first bailout plan! Problem is, most of them couldn’t be helped. Even once foreclosure was stopped, many of these people still did not have adequate income, etc. so still lost their homes.
Another part of the story that the media is not telling you is that more than half of these foreclosures are from builders and investors – they are NOT owner-occupied homes. THey are a result of builders over building and investors overbuying during the boom.

not amused – Are irresponsible homeowners on that Time list? Are people who didn’t save their money for a rainy day on the list? How about the builders and investors who overbuilt new homes throughout the country – are they on the list?

Yes, American consumers are on the Time list. For living beyond their means.

Not amused — let me answer you point by point since you were so kind as to actually respond –1.)tax cuts during a time of war resulting in huge deficit. — the tax cuts restored 6 million of the 6.8 million jobs lost at the end of the clinton presidency.. the result was that MORE money came into the government in the form of tax revenues after the tax cuts than before there fore if anything, the cuts REDUCED the burden on the government and reduced the size of the debt — the real cause of the growth in the deficit ( which was already over 5 trillion was that congress ( for the first time in history) failed to cut back any domestic spending during the war.. which means we did not tighten our belts at home to make up for the cost of the war.. something we have always done in the past. 2.)”pushing the Iraq invasion when Iraqis had nothing to do with 9/11, nor had WMD. Over $500 billion spent needlessly, so far.” — Hindsight is 20/20 but Sadamm has thumbed his nose at 17 UN proclamations and refused to give inspectors unfettered access to his country to determine for certain that no WMDs existed.. With 9/11 came a very real threat that IF those WMDs did exist, it would have amplified that danger to America. At least 47 prominient democrats including Hillary, Al Gore and Nancy Pelosci made public statements as far back as 1998 that SUPPORTED military action in Iraq.. John Kerry who ran against Bush penned two letters ( one to Clinton before bush was elected) and another one to Bush (each was co-signed by other prominent democrats)urging both presidents to take military action. Bush requested and recieved a vote under the war powers act from congress authorizing military action in early 2003. So your argument that it was Bush’s war holds no water.. It only became Bush’s war when no WMDs were found and the democrats who had supported action earlier distanced themselves from it and became critics..3.)”Phil Gramm responsible for pushing much of the deregulation that contributed to the economic meltdown.” — Graham did actually co sponsor the original bill that repealed the Glass Steagal act which was a 1930s era bill that regulated the lending industry.. But the bill was passed 92 to 8 in the senate ( one of the 8 by the way was McCain – who thought is allowed too much deregulation) Clinton immediately signed it stating that it was just what the country needed to allow lower income families the ability to own their own home.. In 2005 when the problems with fannie and freddie surfaced, a number of republicans testified that the industry needed to be reined in, but prominent member of the democrat party such as Rangle, Dodd and Reid shot them down and testified that there was no problem and called the entire set of hearings a republican attempt to prevent lower income citizens from owning a home..4.)”refusing to admit that we were in a recession until it was obvious to every man woman and child.”–Until the crash of the mortgage industry we were NOT in a recession.. the standard fro determining a recession is two consecutive quarters of increased unemployment coupled with a reduction in the GDP and an increase in inflation.. that did not occur until the 4th quarter of last year.. ( fully 2 years after republicans began warning about the impending mortgage crisis)..
If you want to go on, please do.. and by all means if you want me to name names give dates or do anything else, I’ll do that for you… the bottom line is that while EVERYONE was involved, far more blame can be placed on the legislators who refused to accept the fact that big trouble was coming…

I’d much rather be an Obamabot than a Limbaught!

not amused
I was just as upset about bush’s idiodic bailout, as most conservatives were. I was 100% against it. The $$$ never went to where it should have gone and it was wasted, as most gov’t mananged $$$ is.
The difference between barry and bush’s bailouts is that bush’s ultimate goal was not socialism, barry’s is.

Re Iraq WMDs, UN Inspector Hans Blix was in Iraq, saying they could find no WMDs. He was begging the U.S. to give him more info and time to inspect as Saddam was being cooperative at that point. We told Inspector Blix to get out before we attacked.

Obama was against the Iraq invasion from the very beginning which is one of the reasons he beat Hillary in the primary.

silky
Well, atleast you didn’t call me stupid or an idiot this time. Please check with the Tax Foundation.
Here is a headline from March 30 2006
“Number of Americans Paying Zero Federal Income Tax Grows to 43.4 Million”.
Here is the article…….
“With the April 17th deadline for federal tax returns looming, Americans are sharply aware of their federal income tax liabilities. However, one aspect of federal income taxes they may not be aware of is the growing number of Americans who pay zero federal income tax after taking advantage of deductions and credits.
During 2006, Tax Foundation economists estimate that roughly 43.4 million tax returns, representing 91 million individuals, will face a zero or negative tax liability. That’s out of a total of 136 million federal tax returns that will be filed. Adding to this figure the 15 million households and individuals who file no tax return at all, roughly 121 million Americans—or 41 percent of the U.S. population—will be completely outside the federal income tax system in 2006.1 This total includes those who pay no tax, and those who pay some tax upfront and are later refunded the full amount of the tax paid or more.”
As I said, barry is a socialist who is trying to be a modern day robin hood. Only the robin hood from the disney movie didn’t eat lobster dinners, eat at 5 star restaurants, stay at 5 star hotels or fly on private jets, and his kids didn’t attend 20k per year private schools. Barry is a typical limosuine liberal.

Phil Gramm was McCain’s economic advisor. How would McCain have handled this economic crisis? More tax cuts for the rich? Less regulation? Let them eat cake?

Maybe Hans Blix couldn’t find any WMD because there weren’t any. Did that occur to you? And so we took out Iran’s enemy for them. We took out Al Qaidas enemy for them. We gave Bin Laden a valuable recuiting and training tool. Spin it any way you want, it’s still true.

not amused
You have proven me wrong. Tell me, where did you get your copy of the Communist Manifesto?
I am done with capitalism, too. Even though it works so well, it produces poor people with pot bellies and cigarettes, along with the greatest standard of living the world has ever seen. Our “poor” people live like royalty compared to 90% of the rest of the world, but socialism is the way to go!
change! change! change!

Well, I’ve gotten my fill of Republican whining for the day. This Obama-bot liberal (and proud of it because I have a heart) is going to go outside and enjoy some New Mexico sunshine! I hope all of you Repubs can get over your depression. No? Well you can vote for Sarah Palin four years from now, but until then, Go-bama!

“Here is a list of some of the socialist democrats who are responsible for FORCING lending agencies to give homes to those who never pay them back…..”
Find a link that shows that Democrats forced banks to lend money to people who couldn’t pay it back. This is rightwing propaganda, Dave.

not amused – I’m glad that consumers are on the list – too many people live way beyond their means …. but they really aren’t the ones who caused the housing problems, especially those people who are able to keep up with their credit card payments.
It’s the homebuyers who bought homes they couldn’t afford and builders who built more homes then they could sell that are the root of this housing problem. That’s it in a nutshell. Not the politicians, not the bankers – they were just supporting characters. The stars of the show are the irresponsible homebuyers and the reckless builders. But believe Time if you want.

American consumers in debt were on the list. So were homebuilders who built too many homes thus creating an oversupply. Realtors who pushed people into homes they couldn’t afford were on the list. You should read it, it’s interesting. Time magazine. It’s not a liberal magazine, it’s got criticism for both sides.

You can’t blame people for wanting to live in a nice house. Those people expect the banks to tell them whether or not they can afford to buy a house, just like it’s always been. The banks were stupid to give loans to people who couldn’t afford them. If I make a loan to some bum on the street, I know I’m pretty much giving my money away. The banks should have been more careful with their money.

Amy–”Actually, Dave, we are the only wealthy country in the world that doesn’t have universal healthcare. I have a friend in Australia who can’t believe if I lose my job I will also lose my health insurance. It seems inconceivable to him.” Have you asked your friend how much of his paycheck goes to taxes??

Amy.. why don’t you ask your friend a few more questions.. 1.) If his doctor says he needs an MRI, how long does he have to wait to get one? can he go to any madical facility in his town or does he have to go where the government tells him to go? 3.) does he have to go to different places depending on the treatment? does his age or other helath factors play a role in what health care he receives for a given problem? Chances are that many of these questions will get an answer that americans are not willing to live with.. I’ll give you a good example.. My mom is in relatively good health for her age, but she is 80.. under the nationalized healthcare system proposed in the recent stimulus package, provided services are granted by the government based on a cost effectiveness ratio.. which means that since she is on medicare, at age 80 if she needs a liver transplant for example, she would be denied treatment due to her age.. even if her doctor says it would help her live years longer.. is this what you want?

Arkie vet
These liberal loons will not stop until America is like cuba or france. I have to go, so please keep up the good fight!

Democrats are losers. The ones who have jobs (Geithner) don’t pay taxes. The rest just sponge off of the real hard working Americans!
Democrats are nothing but welfare children in need of more hand-outs because they are ENTITLED and their CIVIL RIGHTS are in constant violation.
Yeah WELFARE. Yeah DEMOCRATS. Yeah OBAMA.
“Now I need some gas Mr. President” Peggy the Mooch.

Thanks Obama, buddy, this is why I voted for you. So I can keep the mansion I had no business being in in the first place. But it was racism, you see…

arkie: are you serious-over in 2/3 years try 10 if we are lucky and i am an optomist…and all i can say is..you could have been in charge of Katrina..conversation on this blog has gotten to be other-worldly….

Ask NOT AMUSED what they will do with their $ 13 !
Have a party with your socialist communist Marxist pal Obama at the house you knew damn well you couldn’t afford when you bought it.
Just because NOT AMUSED is TOO LAZY to WORK and EXPECTS A HANDOUT…

What a true champion of communism NOT AMUSED appears to be
WELFARE FOR ALL
BAILOUTS FOR ALL
HARDWORK FOR NONE
GEORGE BUSH IS ALL TO BLAME, NO ONE ELSE

LIBERALS ARE SOCIALISTS AND THEY MUST BE STOPPED. THEY ARE TRYING TO MAKE AMERICA LIKE FRANCE, AND THAT COUNTRY STILL SUCKS TODAY JUST AS IT DID IN MY TIME ALMOST 300 YEARS AGO.

Cowgirl
I’m confused….how can 2 million people get into Washington DC in sub zero temps in 1 day when 200,000 couldn’t get out of New Orleans at 85 degrees with four days notice?

“Democrats are nothing but welfare children in need of more hand-outs because they are ENTITLED and their CIVIL RIGHTS are in constant violation.
I’m beginning to believe Rightwingerism is a mental disease. Its a kind of prejudice, where sufferers create a bogeyman who represents everything they fear about themselves – that they will be poor and in need of a handout, that they will get hurt and not have healthcare, that they will end up in a minority. All comments from the rightwingers today have been foaming at the mouth nonesense. They repeat lies and misinformation they have heard to support their prejudices and spew hate for Obama and “commie liberals.” I wish you guys would think happy thoughts for awhile. Yes, the economy is tanking, but lets stay civilized. Its going to be all right. Don’t freak.

cowgirl;You may have hit on something. I know I’m usually too busy working to keep up with politics on a daily basis As ong as things seem to be going well I don’t pay much attention. Now that things are going badly I can see we’re headed for rock bottom no matter how much taxpayer money is thrown at the problems. It’s as if a concerted effort is being made to ensure our government’s failure. The money throwing is just part of the problems.

Cowgirl, how much in the bailout for YOUR special interest PORK project.
Are you in foreclosure?
Are you a communist? Do you have a clue as to the loser you call a leader. Say hi to Bill Ayers. And Tony Rezko.
Are you proud of America yet?

Don’t let the capitalists push you around, comrade cowgirl

Cowgirl, why don’t you go live in Soviet Union?
Oh yeah, it collapsed because SOCIALISM DOESN’T WORK
DOESN’T WORK, like WELFARE DEMOCRATS

Don’t worry cowgirl, Obama will solve ALL your problems. He will outlaw free speech and no one will ever call you a communist again!

notamused; Re: your 1:22 post…I’m learning from the present and most assuredly hope I never have to relive it.

The Obamatrons are like those who followed Jim Jones.

seriously, cowgirl — whats your vison of the future.. How do you see an America thats good for everyone? I am interested to know what folks like you, amy, bobj, not amused, and silky expect.. why you think that government control of the people would be better than the people’s control of the government would be??

arkie vet
I won’t address your comments on Katrina because I live in Maine. I do think your characterization of the Democratic Mayor and Governor’s actions or non-action is over the top. I can’t imagine what its like to have your city fill up like a bathtub. In our last ice storm we needed help from other states to get our electricity back on. It’s not hard to imagine local services being overwhelmed. I think most people don’t blame Bush for the slow federal help, except in the sense the guy in put in charge of FEMA was a former horse show promoter, but it certainly looked like he was disengaged.

Am I to beleive that the market waits until a president speak and if the market likes what it hears then it will go bullish and if the market don’t like what it hears then it goes in the tank? So you are telling me that the stock market is a living being who is controlled by what it likes to hear. Oh and HH you are an idiot.

My problem is with rightwingers saying things like:
“check out the Cspan video of the congressional hearing in late 2006 and look at who is asking for rr-regulation and who is shooting them down.. It’s pretty apparent that by this time, the democrats owned and operated this fiasco.. ”
It suits your prejudice to make Democrats the scapecoat for the mortgage crisis and ultimately the recession, although everything I have read on the Fannie and Freddie problems indicate it wasn’t the loans to poor people that tripped them up, but the buying of bad debt made by other mortgage companies. The mortgage companies and bankers have been “drunk” as Bush once said, for sometime now, and its ridiculous to try and say Democrats were the ones who gave them the bottle. Republicans have been anti-regulation for decades, as part of their core value, to let the markets do what they will do. You zoom in on Barney Frank arguing to not put regulations on Frannie and Freddie to bolster your argument, but its a pretty weak leg to build your case on.

Amy– Why is that a weak case? It wasn’t just barney frank, but a number of people including Dodd, and Reid each of whom made a large sum of money from the lobbyists.. Franklin raines who ran Fannie Mae made 90 million in just over six years while his company was selling the bad loans in “class groups” and undermining the market..Yoru right that lenders have been drunk in some cases, but congress DID give them the bottle and to expand on your analogy — when some republicans tried to “cut the drunk off” the democrats who were in power at that time refused to “stop serving”… the actuall video is pretty telling as to who was sounding the alarm and who was blocking any efforts to stop the problem before ti got worse.. republicans have been in favor of deregulation in many instances.. but usually when it involved cap and trade regulation or exorbitant environmental restrictions ( like in the coal industry) that disadvantaged our companies against companies from other countries. this was not that type of deregulation. this was the deregulation of the banking industry.. basically allowing lendors to operate just like junk bond salesmen.. that was never the intent of the deregulation and never the purpose of repealing glass steagal.. the purpose was to give limited leaway to lenders to allow more people to get loans.. but it wasn’t until these companies (like freddie and fannie) started bundling their loans to hide just how wreckless they were that the problems really started..

“if she needs a liver transplant for example, she would be denied treatment due to her age”
I guess you missed the tragedy, widely reported in 2007, when a teenage girl was refused just such a lifesaving operation because the insurance company claimed it wouldn’t help – then reversed itself, but too late to save her.
Australia, U.K., France, Sweden, Canada, etc. are all democracies. If they don’t like their healthcare system they can vote to change it. I work in an office with many European implants. One young man was in a very serious car accident here and ended up going back to Germany to recover because the care was BETTER there and he was covered.

dave
You sure think Barney Frank is a powerful man. A Senator from New York, or, no, wait, isn’t he a House Representative? is as powerful as a President, Vice President, and a whole raft of Republicans put together?

Posted by: Houses4All | Feb 18, 2009 12:21:38 PM
Assuming you know something about Mortgage Lending, You said;….. “But lo-and-behold…a magical program from the FHA has existed for years. The problem is…people keep trying to borrow/buy beyond their means and the FHA limits. …”
I say; “I’m sure you’re aware Government guaranteed loans (FHA & VA Loans) are “the Most Closely Regulated loans” available, aren’t you? With an FHA Loan, a 3% Down Payment, which for a while, could be modified and “a demonstrated ability to pay” is Mandatory. When you couple that with a mandatory MI (mortgage insurance; 1% of the unpaid balance, until the principal = 80% or less) – that makes FHA clearly the loan with the “Least Risk” available in the market. But, is this what you reference as “a magical program?” FHA Loan guidelines are WIDELY PUBLICIZED and communicated.”
And as for Other Loan Programs available in the arena, they are ALL DEVELOPED BY THE MAJOR LENDERS and their Consultants and Associates (including Traders.) Obviously, the objective of the loan programs they develop are designed to maximize Profitability and minimize risk. (“Basic Business: 101″) NO ONE Forces, Encourages of Suggests that a lender “lower the bar” to loan to folks who don’t meet each lenders qualification standards. THAT’S A MYTH but it’s a viable “Talking Point” for the ‘Hard Right’ as they ‘speak down to’ the ill-informed and the uneducated. (“The chasm between the ‘Haves’ and the ‘have nots’, I’d say.”)

Amy
Well, barney franks was Head of the House Financial Services committee, who was also the LEADING ADVOCATE for “affordable housing” and “no oversight of fanniemae or freddymac”.
He was sleeping with the head of fanniemae, while also lashing out at anyone who sought to halt some of the ridiculous loans the democrats were forcing the lenders to make (republicans).
Did you watch any of the you tube videos? Don’t believe me, believe your own eyes.

The arguments that I have been reading between the Demos and Repbuks are outragious. You all fight with eachother while some fatcat is somewhere laughing at you counting his money. FishMonger, (what a name) has a great ideal go back and read it. What kind of world do we live in now? We insult our fellow man at every turn and we fight among eachother so readly.
Making raciest comments about oneother while at the sametime calling oueselves Christians or spritualist.
Ok you did’nt vote for the man, but he was left with problems that are not of his making. It was not just the [making] of the republicans or democrates either, or the irresponsible home buyer who was told that he and his wife did not need money to buy into the American Dream and was given a low intrest rate morgatage which was not a fixed rate. The lending practices of the banks and auto compinies and the lobbiest and all of big and small business is what helped America into her ressession. I am asking you neighbor, to give advice, some counsel to your country. John McCain asked you to stand up and fight for America he did not say only if I am elected. I am asking, I am begging my neighbors Amy, HH, mmonroeliveson, Bailout Babe, Sam Adams all of you to put your best ideals forth and not the bashing not the hate. You are all waiting for the next four to eight years to come and go but if things keep going in this direction there won’t be an America in the next four to eight years because the fatcats will have gutted us all, poor people, white, black, asian, latian, indian. (I am using lower case on all of us). So the ball is in your court, Fight for America even if you didn’t vote for the president. The American people are the only lobbiest we need. I am the Voice in the Wilderness.

Amy, you can MEASURE THE LEVEL OF A PERSONS INTELLECTUAL COMPETENCE and the probability of a Productive and Meaningful Discussion with THEM THAT WOULD POSSIBLY SAY; “but videos are 100% truthful.”
Umh, umh, umh, umh…..umh…

bobj72 –”NO ONE Forces, Encourages of Suggests that a lender “lower the bar” to loan to folks who don’t meet each lenders qualification standards. THAT’S A MYTH but it’s a viable “Talking Point”– actually its not a myth.. its exactly what was happening.. In simple truth, lenders were being encouraged not to decline loans but to allow loans at higher rates for anyone who applied.. I did a refi on my house in 2005.. Without proof of income and without an actual appraisal.. I told them what i made, and they took the apraised value from my local tax office and gave me an 80% refi with nothing down and no closing costs.. In Arizona, its estimated that 5 million of the defaulted loans were given to non citizens who simply showed that they had a job and were approved.. the lenders such as fannie and freddie knew that such loans were high risk, and could not be sold as stand alones.. so they were grouped.. as an example.. 1 low risk loan and a moderate risk loan was grouped with 2 or 3 high risk loans.. the bundle was sold as a moderate risk bundle.. If only one of the high risks failed, no problem.. the bundle still had value.. but if 2 or three failed not only did the bundle not have value, but the actual low risk loan that was grouped in with them was jepordized as well.. this is what caused the problem.. and YES it was because major lenders were ENCOURAGED to extend credit on ever decreasing standards..

Well arkie vet it’s good to know that you don’t know sarcasim when you hear it. Thank you for the economic 101 lession it was informitive. However, the stock market which is made up of thousands of people who represents 100s of thousands of investors need to listen to what the people are saying and not just what is going on around them. The people is who they should be listing to and not just good news or bad to determine wheater the market florishes. I know I wear rose colored glasses. I am an American and that too is scarcasim.

bobj72
You are quite possibly one of the stranger bloggers I have come across here. With all of your “”;;;;::: that you feel the need to put in EVERY one of your posts, I often wonder what the heck you are talking about.
Maybe with some of your :::””;;;;; you can explain how VIDEOS of barney frank saying….
“ANY OVERSIGHT OF FREDDIE/FANNIE WILL ONLY DECREASE AFFORDABLE HOUSING” 2006
“WE MUST HAVE MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND INCOME EQUALITY”2006
“FREDDIE AND FANNIE ARE FINE! THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THEM. THEY ARE BOTH FINANCIALLY SOUND! 2006
are anything but 100% truthful.
The man is flagrant socialist with the liberal media backing him. He ran a gay prositution ring from his house and had an affair with the head of fannie. ( I am not making this stuff up).

Posted by: Tyrone Norwood | Feb 18, 2009 4:49:21 PM
Mr. Norwood, I highly respect You and the desire and intent of your noble idea. It really “Comes Down To” who has the legitimate right to say; “I’m a PATROIT and I Place Country FIRST, AHEAD of My Politics, Partisanship and Party.” (Unfortunately, Only 25% of Americans are legitimate Christians, so we can’t say God comes first.)
Some folks just seem to think they have
an Exclusive on “Patroitism.” (Accusing all others as being frauds.)

Oh well I’ll keep trying and prayin

William J-”Ted Turner does not “own” Time nor Time-Warner. And btw, Time has the reputation of being pretty conservative.”– lets see, time warner is a subsidiary of Warner which was owned in part by Turner.. and Time which as you say is conservative.. had no trouble abandoning those principles right after the Time Warner merger by naming Jane Fonda its woman of the year.. yeah that sounds conservative to me…

Gotta go folks.. to any I offended, I am sorry – not my intent. To any i may have made to stop and look at things differently, great, thats what this is all about. To any who refused to even listen and consider.. why are you here anyway?
To everyone.. No one is always right and no one is always wrong..if only we remember that we are the better for it..

Amy after everything that I said all you got out of it was “Ok you didn’t vote for the man”? Where did you get the ideal that the president is just gonna give away money and houses and that this is going all to minorities? who is lying to who a lot of those homes were costing $ 200.000 dollars who do you know on wealfare that could get a bank loan for that kind of property?
AND IF saying.”" Most minorities quit paying their mortgage because they believe Obama is going to give them money and houses,”"Obama’s Welfare Army is on the march!”,”Are you a communist? Do you have a clue as to the loser you calling a leader” if that’s not bashing then excuse me I don’t know what bashing is. By the way, I thought the Rep were rightwingers and Democrats were leftest pigs anyway I guess Im the leftest pig? arkie vet and bobj72 Thanks for the kind words you guys rock. Vet you are very informative and I mean that.bobj72 thanks but Amy, damm.. Im sorry, just, DAMM.

The irresponsibility and greed that abounds in America right now is astounding.
From companies using tax payer money to pay huge fat bonuses to the actions of the Government passing a stimulus bill loaded with pork to irresponsible banks making idiotic loans to consumers buying houses far more expensive than they are able to afford (if they could afford a house at all).
What happened to the American Dream? The chance for people to sink or swim on the merit of their own efforts is what American Dream used to be . . .
Is the American Dream now to borrow more than you can pay or make other stupid financial decisions and then whine till the government fixes the problem by spending money it doesn’t have?
These freeloading companies and individuals are profiting off the backs of those who have to work minimum wage jobs to pay rent every month.
Taxpayers everywhere should be outraged that the government is making it possible for people to avoid the consequences of their greed.
Dan Decker
http://www.weeklypoint.com

It’s been said that the thing that will cause the people to accept socialism is that they will demand it. When life as we’ve known it as a democratic society or republic if you will, becomes intolerable we will demand something back for what we’ve put into the government. There’s already a large block of citizens who are the poor, the underpriviliged, those who never had opportunities to sieze. This group hasn’t put much in so shouldn’t expect much back. These are the ones pursuing the American promise. Anything they get is charity but we are a charitable nation as we should be. There’s enough for them to survive on in the stimulus. This group has been trained to expect government support. It was the left wing that spoiled them for their votes. Then there are those who have lost the happiness they pursued, who are now pushing for the government to do something. This group has contributed a lot to the government and they have managed their money along the way in an attempt to attain the American Dream. These people are the target of the stimulus package. These are made up of all manner of political persuasions, but primarily centrists who are independent thinkers, opportunist achievers, and honest hard workers. Soon those of us who are currently among the survivors will see our numbers whittled down. There’s no other job to go to but the bills keep coming and we must have food and shelter. We will be joining those who are already reaching a hand out to the government. As time goes on even those who still have income are finding out the dollar is worth less, i.e. has less buying power because the nation is going deeper into debt daily. We’re not getting raises to compensate. Many have lost their life savings and their retirement benefits. Healthcare costs, even with insurance, are so exhaustive they can cause deprivation of wants and needs even in financially “secure” families. Looking down on the world financial situation and the way it came about would almost make one think this whole thing has been orchestrated. That would be a conspiracy theory of unprecidented proportions, like this crisis of unprecidented proportions. The people will demand socialism soon because capitalism has been brought to her knees. All that awaits her is the beheading. Yes, the people will demand nationalization of businesses and banks and the next step will be world government. For years I’ve understood that a goal of the political and financial leaders of the world has been to bring the value of the currency of the far east, european nations, and the western nations to the same value so it would be practical to form a world bank. Who’d have foreseen that common value could be “0″?

Tyrone Norwood, please note below;
Posted by: HH | Feb 18, 2009 9:16:21 AM
“HH” said; “Most minorities quit paying their mortgage because they believe Obama is going to give them money and houses, he needs to address this misconception unless this is another entitlement program for democrats.”
To “HH” I say; “This is a RIDICULOUS, intentionally misleading and UNSUPPORTABLE STATEMENT!” I wonder; “What’s your point?” ……. I can only imagine.

Blaming President Bush for the existing crisis is absolutely the most condescending lie in these posts. Why are you not blaming the corrupt board of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Rahm Emanuel being one of those)? Study this for yourselves. Their oversight alone sank these mismanaged programs. Do you even realize it was “community organizers” who forced banks and other lenders to lend to people who could not afford the houses they were buying? You can’t blame these poor people who want a house like anyone else…no, the blame is a corrupt establishment who forced the banks to loan to these people knowing they couldn’t afford the houses! If you saw your grown child buying a house for $350,000 on a salary of $20,000 a year, would you not say loudly and often, “Don’t do it! The house will own you!”, even if they could get the loan? Democrats have been in control of the House and the Senate for 2 years prior to Obama being elected President and sinking our economy is not just their fault, it is their goal. Bush was convinced they were right about bailouts and he sold us all out to the Democrat’s fantasies of total control. That you can blame him for. They want all of us to be under their control and for us to have no personal freedoms left unless “granted” by the government. All the people who espouse their undying love for this President, the Saviour, and want their personal freedoms (freedom from religion, freedom from values, freedom from responsibility, freedom to express their poisonous views), will realize that without the other freedoms (freedom to fail, freedom of all speech-not just left wing speech, freedom to be religious as well as not,freedom to have heartfelt values, we all lose. Because when value based freedoms are taken away, it is only a matter of time before everyone’s freedoms are taken away. Unless you want to be herd bound sheep and follow blindly, you all better stand up for everyone’s freedoms and demand truth from the media. OT – Do you really want national health care? Anybody a vet? Tell everyone how great it is to go into a VA hospital and be treated. My dad had to have all his teeth pulled…it has taken over a year to get false teeth because of the delays and rescheduling and delays and rescheduling…can you imagine when the system is for everyone??????