_________________ I used to care, but I take a pill for that now.
Pushing buttons sure can be fun.
When a lion wants to go somewhere, he doesn’t worry about how many hyenas are in the way.
Paddle faster, I hear banjos.
Sat Sep 27, 2008 9:11 am
twotap F L I N T O I D
Careful Dave your about to unleash the wrath of Atlas Smirked if you keep making fun of his boy.
Sat Sep 27, 2008 9:14 am
Flintite F L I N T O I D
I don't enjoy brazen displays of ignorance, or outright lies.
Where to begin? Do you realize that the term "low-income" is referring to the middle-class? Those programs are in place for people who have jobs/sufficient income, but don't have savings. Those programs put a lot of people into homes in Genesee County, and not just in Flint- I'm talking about the suburbs. The poor do not get mortgages. Banks aren't big on neighborhoods around Dupont and MLK. The real losses in this mortgage fiasco comes from the middle class and up. People overreach and spend beyond their means in every income bracket. Homes go into foreclosure in Bloomfield Hills, Birmingham, Franklin, Troy, Rochester just like here in Flint or any of our suburban communities.
What do you think affects a bank more- a home in Flint's College Cultural area with a mortgage of $60,000, which sells as a repo for $35,000 or a home in Bloomfield Hills with a mortage of 2 millions dollars that goes through the foreclsure process and is later sold for 1.2 million dollars.
There are many people to blame in this mess. At the very top of the list are lenders and consumers. Mortgage brokers/bank loan officers are not analysts. They are sales people, who do anything and everything they can & SHOULD NOT to make the deal. They shop for unethical appraisers who will hit numbers and facilitate loans. Too many consumers are irresponsible with money. When you treat your home as though it's an ATM machine and pull every bit of equity out of it to buy toys you've created risk. Real estate markets are cyclical- they go up and down. Too many people belived that the real estate market has one trajectory. They borrowed as much as they could thinking "it's okay, in a year or two my houe will be worth 10% more than it is today. If I choose to, I'll sell it and pay off my loan."
So when you post crap about "low-income people" remember that you're talking about your neighbors, and maybe even your friends.
Sat Sep 27, 2008 11:14 am
twotap F L I N T O I D
And another factual account of who started this mess. As far as brazen lies Thats exactly what I think every time I hear Baracko or Dodd or Barney Frank, or Schummer or any other Dem try to pin this one on the Repubs.
The Bailouts Must Stop!
By Barbara J. Stock | Published 09/24/2008 | From Our Writers | Rating:
Barbara J. Stock
The average American listening to all the news of bank failures, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (who?) being taken over by the government, and now a bailout of large, privately owned and well known companies, is at first bewildered, and then angry. The average American should be furious
.
But whom should Americans be furious? That seems to be the big question as political fingers are pointing in every direction. Was it greedy CEO’s with their “golden parachutes?” Was it the Democrats? Was it the Republicans? Was it Wall Street? (Who, exactly IS “Wall Street?”) The simple answer is that it is all of the above.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Jr., and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke were on Capital Hill taking a verbal beating from some of the very people who should not be asking the questions, but answering them and answering those questions under oath.
Senator Chris Dodd, (D-Conn.) and Congressman Barney Frank, (D-Mass.) are the first two who should be grilled, not by fellow politicians, but by an independent and hopefully very clever, angry, and mean attorney hired by the American people. No one from the present Justice Department need apply. Both should be asked how much money they have taken from lobbyists hired by the CEO’s of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Since that is public record, they should then be asked what Fannie and Freddie got in return for that money.
Barney Frank should be questioned about his House Bill, H.R. 3838, that is clearly designed to keep Fannie and Freddie afloat as long as possible despite all the signs that there was serious trouble ahead. But all his bill did was make the hole bigger in the side of the Titanic. Basically all H. R. 3838 did was: “To temporarily increase the portfolio caps applicable to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, to provide the necessary financing to curb foreclosures by facilitating the refinancing of at-risk subprime borrowers into safe, affordable loans, and for other purposes.”
Barney Frank and his counterpart in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.) did everything they could to delay and cover-up the outright fraud and book-cooking that was going on within Freddie and Fannie.
As far back as 2003, Freddie and Fannie were $9 billion dollars in debt because of bad loans that continued to be accepted on a daily basis. Pressure from liberals in Congress to continue giving out bad loans was relentless and for years it continued with CEO’s, who happen to be friends of Dodd, Frank, Schumer, and Clinton, leaving with millions in their bank accounts as the companies they ran went under.
The truth is that this financial disaster for the American taxpayer didn’t begin under George Bush, or Bill Clinton, or George Herbert Walker Bush, or Ronald Reagan. It started under Jimmy Carter . It started with the passing of The Community Reinvestment Act in 1977. Basically, this act pushed local community banks and lenders, to “bend” the rules a little and give loans to low-income families. Like many liberal schemes, it seemed like a good idea at the time. There was a provision that protected the nervous lender in the clause that stated that loans should be given “in a safe and sound manner.” This gave the bank some leeway and choice in the loans that were given out.
Under Bill Clinton, The Community Reinvestment Act was revised. Basically, the revision started to put pressure on lenders to take more financial risks. It was felt that lenders were not being “fair” to minorities and the poor who only wanted to share in the American dream of owning their own home. Janet Reno began to outwardly threaten banks and mortgage lenders with prosecution if home loans were not approved for those who wanted to purchase homes that, in truth, they could not afford.
Fearing federal retribution, loans started being approved for people who had no down-payment, no jobs, no collateral, and absolutely no hope of ever being able to meet any mortgage payment after the grace period of low interest ran out.
Then, the greed took over. Banks would “bundle” up loans, good and bad, and sell them to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, making all their money up front for loans they knew would default eventually. As these loans did default, in larger and larger numbers, even Fannie and Freddie could no longer stand up under the hemorrhage of money loss. Wall Street panicked and so did the federal government.
Were there warning signs that a disaster was looming? Of course, there were. But there was money to be made and politicians and CEO’s alike were not about to give up the gravy train of money being crammed in their pockets. The CEO’s of Freddie and Fannie would hire lobbyists to slip money into the pockets of Senator Chris Dodd, (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate banking committee, who was supposed to be overseeing the banking industry, to the tune of $133,900 since 1989. Barack Obama was number two at the trough with over $120,000 which was no small feat since he has only been in the Senate for three years. Dodd and Obama were closely followed by the last Democratic nominee, John Kerry, (D-Mass.) and then Senator Hillary Clinton, (D-N.Y.)
What were these lobbyists buying for the millions they sprinkled around the Senate and House of Representatives? They were buying a blind eye. They were buying little or no oversight into the juggernaut that has finally crashed on the heads of the American taxpayer. CEO’s got rich, politicians got rich and they got votes, being able to tell minorities and the poor, “See what we are doing for you?” For years, the red flags were stuffed under the desk and ignored.
Early in his administration, George Bush sounded an alarm over the small amount of working capital Fannie and Freddie had on hand. He urged them to sell more shares to increase their reserve in funding and put them on more stable ground. He urged them to be more selective in the loans they bought. This suggestion was declined because the current stockholders would n ot make as much profit.
Franklin Raines, the Fannie Mae CEO from 1999 to 2004, decided to retire early, taking millions with him, under a cloud of accusations that he had cooked the books to make it appear the company was making money instead of going head-long into debt. Another player in this financial kabuki dance is Jamie Gorelick. That name should ring a bell with every American. She seems to surface right at the heart of every American disaster in the last 15 years. Ms. Gorelick was vice-chair of Fannie Mae from 1997 to 2003. Like all the others, she left with millions in her pocket while declaring that Fannie Mae “is among the handful of top-quality institutions."
The next year it was found that Fannie was $9 billion dollars in the red. Oddly, this $9 billion had been overlooked in the books Ms. Gorelick and Mr. Raines kept.
Let’s put Mr. Raines and Ms. Gorelick on the stand. The American people deserve to hear how much they gave lobbyists to pass on to their friends in Congress to keep the blinders on. That number is a staggering $16.2 million dollars since 1997. That amount bought very large blinders. And, it bought time. It bought time for the likes of Raines and Gorelick to make their millions and bow out before the bottom fell out.
Republican nominee John McCain raised the alarm two years ago but his plan for more oversight was killed in the Democrat-controlled committee. Over 20-year span, McCain took $20,000 but this did not stop him from voicing his concerns. The problem was that Democrats didn’t want to hear about it.
President Bush’s warnings were also ignored. Should Bush have done more? Yes. Unfortunately, Bush was distracted by the 9/11 attack and wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. So now, nearly every hour Americans watch as a pompous Chris Dodd or Barney Frank struts to a microphone to declare the “failed economic policies of the Bush administration are responsible for this mess.”
No, Senator, he is not. YOU and your greedy friends are responsible. It took three decades to reach the point of no return and some were there with their hands out nearly all of those years.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is launching a full investigation into all of this. This investigation will abruptly end should Barack Obama win in November. The last thing Democrats want is the American people learning how complicit so many of them are in the illegal practice at Fannie and Freddie that led to the taxpayers bearing the brunt of the their unbridled greed.
While politicians want oversight over the bailout, there has been little outcry for an investigation into how all this evolved.
It’s time for Americans to go to their windows and throw them open and yell, “We are mad as hell and we aren’t going to take it anymore!”
Then, in November, vote the lot of them out of office.
Sat Sep 27, 2008 12:28 pm
Brother WilliamX F L I N T O I D
My recall was you republicians former Governor John Angler.
Yes his last name was angler, due to the fact that he was
always angling to break a city, and the lower part of this
State has been screwed every since. Flint looks like a ghost
town. Benton Harbor looks like Iraq. and metro Detroit looks
like a third world country.
Which reminds me of this so-called bailed out bs. This is
another angle to cheat the American citizens out of their
hard earned tax dollars. According to the Republicians Wall
Street needs our money, but what about those $50 Cigar
smokers who burn two or three cigars a day?, and yet the
BIG 3 can't keep a factory open.
In closing, We started this mess by not standing up for our
rights. Which is why I am a member of the Grassroot/Indie
Party. To me the Dems & Repukes have went to the dogs,
and the only chance that the right choice would be made on
Nov 4th is not to put a Bush clonie in office.
_________________ BrotherWilliamX
CitizensAgainstCorruptedPoliticians
Detroit Michigan
Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:16 am
twotap F L I N T O I D
I dont see how putting a Jimny Carter "trust me"clone is going to help either. As far as who started the "you must give a loan regardless of income" fiasco its 100% democrat folly.
_________________ "If you like your current healthcare you can keep it, Period"!!
Barack Hussein Obama--- multiple times.
Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:37 am
Ted Jankowski F L I N T O I D
Interesting spin. There are some good facts in there. But the basis for the problem being blamed on Loans to Low income is insidiously wrong.
Sure there were some bad loans made through those institutions for Low income that went bad. What this story is missing is the bigger picture! Mega Giant Banks, WAMU, Chase, Etc, are not local. Loan goals are set at the top to make their money. Local banks know better what their local economy can support. But, that is small in comparison to the loss of wll paying jobs that have hit the heart of the middle class.
I know too many people that are middle class that have lost their home. WHY? Because their company folded! Nothing to do with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. THey simply lost their job and a Wal Mart job cannot pay the mortgage!
So our intellectuals in government decide that in order to save these companies and help cover up the FACT that the economy is failing. We Import now more Oil, Cars, Parts, Clothing, electronics, etc than we build and export. Come on guys, this is fourth grade economics. People dont have the money to pay their bills anymore.
The solution isn't to take 5089.32 from every taxpayer in the USA and give it to the Fat cats that continued to make bad decisions. But, to give that money or Help create Jobs in the USA so that people can pay their bills again.
Maybe, you think I'm wrong. That's ok. But let me ask. Do you think that the Guys that used to work at James Lumber making 45 - 50K a year now have jobs that pay the same? Or how about Kortez Glass, or Michael Lynn Lighting, Or Allied Van Lines, Or even the New Hires at GM? Half the pay that their predecessors made. While everybody I know that works for a living sees their wages going down over the last 20 years. Whose wages are going up? Government Jobs! Executives that run their business into the ground, School Administrators, State and Federal officials, etc.
We just keep getting asked to pay more so they can live comfortably. Wow, People have complained for years that Welfare is the government redistributing the wealth of the RIch to the poor. Hmmm, isn't this bail out a redistribution of the wealth of the working class to the rich!
Sun Oct 05, 2008 1:29 pm
Brother WilliamX F L I N T O I D
TED (quote) Wow, People have complained for years that Welfare
is the government redistributing the wealth of the RIch to the poor.
Hmmm, isn't this bail out a redistribution of the wealth of the
working class to the rich!
Ted, I have to kinda disagree about welfare money being taken from
the weaith by the government, and given to the poor. However, Wall
Street is reverse of what you posted. To me welfare was created to
assist people who was members of the poor working class, or did not
work at all.
People who complained for years are some of the someones that
lives in Flint. Who was working for GM at the time, and now that Flint
is economically hit no doult they are getting unemployment, retire-
ment, and some is even receiving food stamps.
However, I am looking at this situation as people who have worked
for decades, and have put money into the system to draw at a time
like this. What they are doing is living off of their own money unlikely
those Bozos on Wall Street. The bailout is unfair because it is taking
from the poor, and giving to the rich.
The RICH should stop spending money in Iraq, and other Middle
Eastern countries, and take care of homebase USA. Go do some
reasearch about the purpose of the English Poor Law of 1912, or
just type in the English Poor Law, and it will give you the right year
with detail of the law. This is the same law that later turned into
SSI, and Welfare assistances.
In closing, it states nothing about helping the rich to stay rich.
This bailout crap should be embarrassing to the United States,
and those high & mighty clowns on Wall Street
_________________ BrotherWilliamX
CitizensAgainstCorruptedPoliticians
Detroit Michigan
_________________ even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance.
P.Y.
Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:16 pm
Adam F L I N T O I D
Lack of jobs is the main problem. $1 triilion on military jobs oversease for wars might have saved our economy if it was spent over here instead.
Thu Jan 28, 2010 11:04 pm
back again F L I N T O I D
hangin' with adam too!
_________________ even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance.
P.Y.
_________________ even a small act of goodness may be a tiny raft of salvation across the treacherous gulf of sin, but one who drinks the wine of selfishness, and dances on the little boat of meaness, sinks in the ocean of ignorance.
P.Y.
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Ill bet Atlas and Flintite will love this.
