patrick.net

Siriam,

That report on Sen. Dodd's proposal pi$$sed me off to no end. I've never done this before, but I just sent an email to Dodd on his website. I encourage everyone here to do the same:

http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/3128&cat=Opinion

Jimbo,

I think NCRC kind of dovetails with The Center for Responsible Lending in their commitment to "sustainable home ownership" and stability and growth in communities.

This whole bailout issue is ridiculous! It's like stuffing 10lbs. of shit into a 1 lbs. bag and when it starts to break, out with the duct tape!

When will people (especially statists of both kinds) realize that creative destruction is essential to this whole process?

In the 20's.

"“Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate the farmers, liquidate real estate. Purge the rottenness out of the system. High costs of living and high living will come down. People will work harder, live a more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up the wrecks from less competent people."

I believe in this school of thoughts.

I meant 1930's.

PAR,
Of course your sarcasm was clear. I hope mine was too.

skibum - Thanks for the link. I just emailed Dodd.

The dollar has been looking very scary for the past month. I can almost hear those printing presses printing up money for the first helicoptor drop!

skibum,

It was alright for me to get in a plug on the "24 Month Club" too, right?

It was alright for me to get in a plug on the “24 Month Club” too, right?

Huh?

@skibum,

250/500K Cap Gains Exemption on "primary" residence every OTHER year?!

250/500K Cap Gains Exemption on “primary” residence every OTHER year?!

The right thing to do is to eliminiate the capital gains tax.

“In the U.S. Senate, Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (news, bio, voting record) said he may offer a bill to protect consumers who were “victimized” by subprime mortgages they can no longer afford.”

But how will "victimized" be defined? That is the question.

I completely agree with both of these statements. If people were victimized and can prove it, they should be allowed to walk away unscathed.

Huh? They were victimized by themselves and their stupidity. I say liquidate borrowers!

I really hate the victim mentality.

Peter P,

Agreed, but let's level the playing field and do it across the board. :)

PAR,

I for one am not assuming there will be any scenario that leads to, as you put it, where "JBRs are going to get envelopes in the mail so that we can send checks directly to FBs."

I believe that this is just a lot of political grandstanding by a Dem who envisions himself a "fighter for the common man," and who's more "common" than a FB. I'm sure he'll get some good political mileage out of this proposal, but I bet, and I pray that this thing dies in Committee. FBs (especially subprime) hold absolutely no political clout - heck, does that segement even vote? - but let's hope Dodd's idea doesn't snowball.

On the other hand, the real political clout is held by the brokerage houses, HFs, institutional investors that will probably bear a significant part of this fallout.

DinOR,
Thanks. You're being overly optimistic, though!

Agreed, but let’s level the playing field and do it across the board.

Hmm.....

I got it done–thanks for the link. Whew, they ask for a lot of identifying info–guess they want to cutback on the threats that he’ll be getting now?

Doesn't mean you have to give him your true identity. :lol:

It's like - Sen. Dodd to all the FBs : "Help is on the way".

Does anyone else remember that slogan from almost 8 years ago ? You know how the guy helped the people he promised to help.

I said real estate is our new religion. Christian Weller says it's a game of Jenga:

"Christian Weller, a senior economist at the liberal Center for American Progress in Washington, likened the housing market to the parlor game of Jenga, in which wooden pieces are piled into a tower, then removed one by one.

Fewer loans. Fewer sales. Lower prices.

"We know the bottom part is being pulled out," Weller said. "We don't know if the top is going to come crashing down on us."

http://tinyurl.com/yveppo

Real estate is a souffle. It rises and rises. But when you poke it with a spoon, it will lose some air.

They should take a vote on what everyone wants with their names and addresses:

1) FB bailout.
2) No FB bailout.

All those who vote for 1) will fund it. The only ones who will fund it will be the FB's.

@ skibum,

Well, no argument there! However I do feel it's important to get to the root cause of issues and the more of us that chime in the harder it becomes to sweep it under the carpet!

I mean, what WOULD motivate a guy to buy a house when he knows his credit sucks, the payments are out of his comfort zone, will likely re-set (driving them further out of reach) and pay an inflated price along w/inflated taxes?

C'ain't be but one thang and that's FREE MONEY!

How many of them would still have thunk it's a "bargain" to go out on a limb like that if there wuz a balook'in tax bill at the end of it?

Mama-lukah-boo-boo-day! (I rest my case) :)

The only "victimized" borrowers are those who were forced to sign up for a mortgage loan at gunpoint. Anyone know any such borrower?

Everyone else chose to get into a loan worth millions of dollars over a period of thirty years, of their own volition. They are supposed to do the research; it is their responsibility. If you walk up to a stranger and offer him one hundred dollars of easy money, his first question would be "whats the catch?"

These people, in their greed, took on loans that they shouldn't have taken on. Some managed to sell at the peak and consider themselves to be real estate moghuls.

Those who didn't are suddenly victims? If someone's greed and stupidity blinds their innate sense of caution, how does that make them victims?

Sriram G,

Exactly.

Mama-lukah-boo-boo-day!

BTW, good analysis on this topic

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2007/03/1st-helicopter-drop-now-being-organized.html

A generally good economic blog.

The only “victimized” borrowers are those who were forced to sign up for a mortgage loan at gunpoint. Anyone know any such borrower?

This is exactly right! I have been saying this for years!

Borrowers who play this babe of the woods routine piss me off!!!

They commited a crime by lying on the application with help of a broker. Now they're going to get away with it?

I think I am going to hook up with a bunch of thugs and rob a bank! If I don't get caught, I'll be rich! If I get caught, I'll just say that they made me do it, they'll let me go and I'll be no richer or poorer! Sounds like a solid business plan to me.

Siriam,
Exactly. It's like the "victims" of all those spams from some Nigerian finance minister begging for help to free up his millions of dollars with a promise of a cut of the pie. These "victims" are victims of their own greed, stupidity and lack of common sense. Yes, some foreign "dignitary" has searched out YOU, Mr. Amerikan dude, as the best way for him to redeem himself in his noble effort. Go for it, but don't cry when you've lost your shirt!

allah,

Why rob a bank when you can just walk in during regular business hours and rob your OWN home w/a cash out re-fi?

Real estate is a souffle. It rises and rises. But when you poke it with a spoon, it will lose some air.

Does that mean if we open the oven door and peek at it, it will deflate?

(BTW...isn't the souffle analogy what that idiot "economist" from UOP keeps using-I forget his name?)

the "other",

Why waste your time here! You should be trying to outbid Casey when the spring bounce arrives! Buy now!

allah,

Why rob a bank when you can just walk in during regular business hours and rob your OWN home w/a cash out re-fi?

Less paperwork.

If they must bailout something, they should bailout the large banks.

Why? If individual FBs don't get a free pass, why should the banksters? Isn't letting bad BUSINESSES fail a critical part of the free market's "creative destruction"? Won't the FDIC reimburse middle & working-class depositors in the event of a bank failure (the only true innocent "victims" we should really be concerned about: people like us)?

Hell, I'll even go one further: If you had to choose between bailing out average dumbass FBs or the high-flying greedbag banksters at BofA, Wells-Fargo, Morgan Stanley, hedge funds, etc., which would you choose?

(A: Neither --yeah, I feel the same way.) But if you HAD to hold your nose and choose, which would it be? I'd take the regular schlub over Boomer McGreedbag any day.

Thanks to skibum & others for the write-your-Congress rep links. The idea of drafting a form letter or cut-'n-paste is a great idea. Anyone have any model examples they'd like to share here?

PAR - I understand what you are saying. But it took under 5 minutes to draft a couple of emails and send them out. Maybe it won't help, but it certainly won't hurt.

Thanks for Sue McAllister's email.

Why? If individual FBs don’t get a free pass, why should the banksters? Isn’t letting bad BUSINESSES fail a critical part of the free market’s “creative destruction”?

I said "if they must".

But if you HAD to hold your nose and choose, which would it be? I’d take the regular schlub over Boomer McGreedbag any day.

Honestly, would you like to see billionaires losing billions (and still remain billionaires) or would like like to see your peers (i.e. resource competitors) losing their shirts?

Fine, I am being evil here. :twisted:

HARM,

Mish (Mike Shedlock) did a great piece that took the impacts of a bail-out to their logical conclusion and as you might suspect... it isn't pretty!

PAR - I understand what you are saying. But it took under 5 minutes to draft a couple of emails and send them out. Maybe it won’t help, but it certainly won’t hurt.

They probably have spam filters that look for stuff like:

"bailout"
"bastard"
"taxpayer"
"subprime"
"pissed off!"
"ARM rest"

that eats the email before it even gets to them.