Republicans, analysts question Obama’s foreclosure plan – CNN.com

Okay, let’s make this perfectly clear – we should let housing prices fall in order to create affordable housing for all of us who played by the rules, and didn’t jump into loans we couldn’t afford to buy overpriced houses.

Obama’s suggested propping up of unjustified housing prices will hurt everyone who wants affordable housing.

51 Thoughts on “Republicans, analysts question Obama’s foreclosure plan – CNN.com

  1. Becki Tyree on 2/18/2009 at 12:41 pm said:

    It’s not the the Republicans don’t get what it.. It’s more they are so out of touch with the average Americans that unfortunately elected them. It amazes me that the same folks who are so outspoken about the efforts this Administration is making to fix this mess, are the same folks who have been in their current Senate seat over the last eight years while this mess was being made.

    The American people want resolution not ongoing conflict! If the Republicans EVER gain the majority again in the House and Senate, then we will listen to them, but until, Shut Up and do some work to fix this mess.

  2. So, when all those people sell their homes which now have no equity because of a collapsing real estate market which was not their fault, you’re suggesting that we just let them live under freeway overpasses and go on welfare. And all those banks that will fail because they couldn’t absorb all the foreclosures, will just have to try to sell those foreclosed-on properties to people who won’t be able to get a loan anyway. And, if I’ve paid all of my mortgage payments on time, but a couple of my neighbors have been foreclosed on and my property value is adversely effected, I should just suffer along with them. Unfortunately, your simplistic reaction to this highly complex issue is exactly what the Republican Party is hoping for. They’re just exploiting your ignorance of the problem. This attitude is like saying the government shouldn’t provide assistance to earthquake survivors in California because they all should have known they lived in an earthquake zone anyway.

  3. JAMES DUCKWORTH SLC UTAH on 2/18/2009 at 12:46 pm said:

    NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT IT TOOK THE REPUBLICANS 8 YEARS TO DESTROY OUR GOVT.
    WE ALL PAY FOR OUR MISTAKES NOT ONLY BY NOT VOTING OUT ALL THE OLD TOADS BUT BY BELEIVING IN A PARTY REP. OR DEM.
    WE NEED TO CLEANS OUR CONGRESS AND SENATE VOTE ALL THE INCUMBENT’;S OUT
    OR
    START A REVOLUTION

  4. Michael on 2/18/2009 at 12:59 pm said:

    This isn’t in response to Jere’s Soapbox. I just wanted to offer MY answers to the questions posed:

    What will your plan do for the over 90 percent of homeowners who are playing and paying by the rules? “Anyone remember the story of the prodigal son? If not, let’s just say that sometimes you’ve got to help out those who may have made some bad decisions. The 90% of homeowners that did a good job, congratulations.”

    • Does your plan compensate banks for bad mortgages they should have never made in the first place? “Hindsight is 20/20. Yes, we will compensate the banks because they didn’t realize it would turn out this bad or they wouldn’t have made them in the first place.”

    • Will individuals who misrepresented their income or assets on their original mortgage application be eligible to get the taxpayer funded assistance under your plan? “Again, hindsight is 20/20. An individual during the time of the bubble heard about all the cheap housing availability and they could finally afford a home. Americans can be greedy, yes, but the whole reason for the bailout is because EVERYONE INVOLVED MADE MISTAKES.”

    • Will you require mortgage servicers to verify income and other eligibility standards before modifying mortgages? “Yes. Good idea.”

    • What will you do to prevent the same mortgages that receive assistance and are modified from going into default three, six or eight months later? “Propose a penalty on those mortgages just like credit card companies penalize their customers from continuing to receive 0% interest on purchases if they default on a monthly payment.”

    • How do you intend to move forward in the drafting of the legislation and who will author it? “I don’t know. That’s why the president makes the big bucks.”

  5. Marcy on 2/18/2009 at 1:02 pm said:

    Of course the Republicans are questioning how exactly it would work to stave off a crisis plaguing the country, because they have no idea how to fix it and need advise from people who may be able to.

  6. JohnRJ08 said, “So, when all those people sell their homes which now have no equity because of a collapsing real estate market which was not their fault, you’re suggesting that we just let them live under freeway overpasses and go on welfare.”

    If some babooze thought that a 250,000 house was worth 500,000, and paid that fool’s price, too bad for them. They should have their houses foreclosed on, enter bankruptcy, and start renting something they can afford instead of asking the taxpayers to give them a hand out.

    You cannot solve this problem by propping up people who made bad decisions – and yes, JohnRJ08, paying a ridiculous price for a home with a variable rate mortgage was a bad decision.

  7. Becki said, “It amazes me that the same folks who are so outspoken about the efforts this Administration is making to fix this mess, are the same folks who have been in their current Senate seat over the last eight years while this mess was being made.”

    This goes back to the CRA, and the attempts of Democrats, over the past 30 years, to decide who should and who should not own homes, regardless of fundamentals (thank you barney frank and chris dodd). If you think the actions taken by this rookie administration are doing anything to help, I highly suggest you read Amity Shlaes “The Forgotten Man” at your earliest convenience.

  8. James said, “NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT IT TOOK THE REPUBLICANS 8 YEARS TO DESTROY OUR GOVT.”

    Okay, first, lose the caps lock. We can hear you.

    Second, ask yourself who has been in charge of Congress during the past 8 years. Hint, it wasn’t only Republicans: http://arts.bev.net/roperldavid/politics/congress.htm

    That being said, if government is the problem, not the answer, then it is perfectly rational to want to “destroy” those programs and earmarks which do nothing but steal from our grandchildren.

  9. Are you serious???? A lot of these people didn’t buy “overpriced” houses – they worked hard in middle america at jobs (that no longer exist) to have the dream of homeownership and can’t make their mortgage payments due to the recession and can’t sell there house because of the housing crash. And if you read the freaking information – available in a simple Q&A fashion on the white house blog you will learn that there IS help for people who are current on their mortage and have been “perfect little conservatives”.

  10. Jeff on 2/18/2009 at 1:11 pm said:

    I think that this is too broad of a statement. Agree that many folks overextended themselves to get us in this situation. But there are also a great many who did play by the rules that would be impacted if you just let the housing prices drop. For example:

    – folks who signed up for a boutique mortgage because they only planned on being in their home for < 5 years and couldn’t justify the extra percentage point with this goal in mind, even though they could have afforded this payment.

    Now that the housing market is in the crapper and values have dropped, these folks cannot sell their house, nor refinance. Played by the rules, bought something within their means, but badly affected by this situation.

    There are many other takes on this, but clearly not as simple as it might seem.

  11. Darrell in Iowa on 2/18/2009 at 1:11 pm said:

    I am getting so fed up with Republicans and their partisanship bickering when this country is on the brink of disaster. It was Republican Bush and his cronies that got us in this mess. How short is their memory…they got thumped in the election.

    Even my die hard Republican banker friend says Obama’s plan is very good and needed.

  12. Rooster said, “[they] can’t make their mortgage payments due to the recession and can’t sell there house because of the housing crash”

    I think it’s obvious that they overpaid if they cannot afford their mortgages anymore. You cannot rely on ever increasing property values, so if you’re going to buy a house, you need to do it responsibly. Democrat government has been pushing irresponsible loans and reduced affordable housing in the process.

    Rewarding people who bought overpriced houses, but thought to themselves, “If I ever get in trouble, I’ll just flip the house, and I’ll be fine,” is not going to solve the problem. They can sell their houses at a loss, enter bankruptcy, and move on from their bad bet.

  13. Marcy said, “Of course the Republicans are questioning how exactly it would work to stave off a crisis plaguing the country, because they have no idea how to fix it and need advise from people who may be able to.”

    I’ll give you a hint – nobody in government knows how to fix this problem, because they don’t even realize that their misguided attempts at market intervention caused the problem.

  14. JohnRJ08 said, “This attitude is like saying the government shouldn’t provide assistance to earthquake survivors in California because they all should have known they lived in an earthquake zone anyway.”

    Are you saying that the government should provide assistance to anyone who is subject to any sort accident? Emergency medical, food and shelter assistance for earthquake victims is NOT the same thing as propping up someone’s bad bet. Your attitude is like saying the government shouldn’t provide assistance to Las Vegas gamblers, because they all should have known that the house always wins.

    We cannot save everyone from every bad decision they could possibly make. And comparing propping up someone’s finances to people who may need life-saving assistance (like those poor folks suffering from record cold weather, who have been quietly ignored by the same media that shouted ‘Katrina’ from the rooftops), is misguided.

  15. I absolutely agree that the democrats pushed for everyone to own a home and this helped to push the current crisis. But the point is that living in a community where housing prices have barely risen – we are talking about south bend indiana here people not san diego – people who work to make us all fantastic things finally bought houses and then the housing market crashed 20-30% or more in some places. Most of these people were not looking to flip houses. You think these people aren’t paying for their “mistakes”??? There is a certain cruelness in the argument of all conservatives – Henry David Thoreau

  16. Diane on 2/18/2009 at 1:20 pm said:

    Where were the complaining Republicans when W and the bunch of thugs he had in the White House were helping to drive this country straight into the ground? I don’t remember a single Republican criticizing his antics. They are ticked that they lost control of Congress and the White House and will never go along with anything President Obama does. W had 6 years of a Republican controlled Congress and you see where that got us. I don’t remember having heard the word “bipartisanship” when the Republicans were in control. You lost the election! Now, sit down and shut up!

  17. Kerry on 2/18/2009 at 1:21 pm said:

    I’m as Democrat as they get but the GOP’s questions are completely legitimate and I hope Pres. Obama has legitimate answers to their concerns. I live in Las Vegas and know countless people that are in trouble with their mortgage but 100% made the bed they’re sleeping in and don’t deserve to be bailed out. Whether they were flipping houses or were “somehow” approved for a mortgage they knew d**n well they shouldn’t have been, they just need to deal with it. The homeowners that the government should focus on are the ones that bought a house that had an inflated price due to the speculators driving the market up. They’re upside down, big time, through no fault of their own. Most rational people knew in their gut that housing prices were rising at levels that didn’t make sense but if you were buying a house, what were going to do? In Las Vegas, half the apartment inventory was converted to condos which drove up rents. You bought a house because you figured if you waited, the prices were just going to get more ridiculous.

  18. Miriam on 2/18/2009 at 1:22 pm said:

    I think that the Republicans keep questioning everything because they are out of ideas and out of touch. I bought my house during the bubble and probably overpaid for it. I have been on time with all my payments but I am certainly looking into refinancing. I’m glad the President is at least taking some action because inaction is the worse thing for this economy.

  19. Rooster said, “people who work to make us all fantastic things finally bought houses and then the housing market crashed 20-30% or more in some places. Most of these people were not looking to flip houses. You think these people aren’t paying for their “mistakes”???”

    Why should people who didn’t get the benefit of overpriced houses pay for those who did? The market was well more than 30% overpriced, and these people made bad choices. Why should our tax dollars go to propping them up, when the fundamentals haven’t changed -> their houses simply aren’t worth what they paid for them.

  20. Darrell said, “It was Republican Bush and his cronies that got us in this mess.”

    Not the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac anti-regulators of Chris Dodd and Barney Frank?

    Please, Darrell, look a bit closer, and you’ll note that it was the Democrats with their hand on the wheel that drove real estate prices sky high, forcing banks to give loans to people who simply could not afford them.

  21. I am a registered Democrat that has voted for Obama, and work in the Real Estate Industry and I agree, something more needs to be done, but Obama is only putting a small Band-Aid to a much larger laceration. What he is doing is not nearly going to be enough, and after 5 years we will be back to where we started. On top of that, those hardest hit by the crisis will not be covered under this plan. Allow me to explain.

    1) His administrations definition of “modification” is different that the actual finance/real estate industry’s. What the program is offering is not a true modification, but what is known in the mortgage industry as”forbearance.” What will happen is the lender (a.k.a. mortgage servicer) will offer to reduce the interest, not the principal balance of the loan to the lendee for a fixed period of time, on average for period of 2-5 years, after which, the lender will be allowed to re-step the interest back to the original number. For example, under Obama’s plan, if you originally financed your house at a rate of 7%, the interest will be reduced to 5% or so for only 5 years upon the lender’s discretion, and then gradually adjusted back to 7%, and again, your principal balance will not be affected.

    A true modification is permanent and also CAN REDUCE THE PRINCIPAL BALANCE OF THE LOAN WHILE OFFERING A LOWERED INTEREST RATE FOR THE ENTIRE LIFE OF THE LOAN, AND YOUR PAYMENT WILL BE ADJUSTED TO MATCH BOTH. Only a licensed law firm should be trusted to complete this task for you. So, for arguments sake, I’m going to stop calling Obama’s plan a modification and refer to it as what it truly is, a forbearance.

    2) For those hardest hit by the decline of property values, you are S.O.L. (for a lack of better terms) under Obama’s plan. I’ll explain. The total cost of the forbearance CANNOT EXCEED 105% of the current market value of the home. If you purchased your home for $210,000 the current market value of the property can not be lower than $200,000. So for those, such as many of my close friends, that purchased homes for $320,000 or so who owe $300,000 on homes worth only $250,000 or less, you are excluded from the plan. On top of that, only one mortgage will be allowed for Obama’s forbearance. Again, calling a loan modification LAWYER will be the best route for you.

    3) Lenders are not required to engage in the plan, even though all of the overhead will be covered for each forbearance. So the control is still left with the lender and not the consumer.

    All in all, as an expert in my field, I can go on and on about how inadequate this program is. I honestly hope that this is only a start and Obama is placing all of his eggs in one basket. I really hope that his economic team is really working harder to provide a much different and thorough means to fix our economic crisis.

  22. Jeff said, “- folks who signed up for a boutique mortgage because they only planned on being in their home for < 5 years and couldn’t justify the extra percentage point" They shouldn't have bought a home with a 30 year mortgage if they only planned on staying there 5 years. They should have rented. The thought that there should be some "right" to owning a house is what got us into this mess -> we encouraged people who should have been renting to go for ownership, even it it meant ignoring fundamentals.

    The massive transfer of wealth from those people who did not take risky real estate moves, to those who did, is criminal. Obama, and his democrat cronies who drove Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the ridiculous unregulated extremes even when they were patently in trouble, should be held accountable.

  23. Wow, lots of comments today. Thank you everyone for visiting!

  24. correction, I hope Obama is NOT placing all of his eggs in one basket. My apologies…

  25. Miriam said, “I bought my house during the bubble and probably overpaid for it. I have been on time with all my payments but I am certainly looking into refinancing. I’m glad the President is at least taking some action because inaction is the worse thing for this economy.”

    Why is inaction the worse thing for this economy? And why should I pay for your choice to buy an overpriced house?

    Read Amity Shlaes, “The Forgotten Man,” and you’ll learn more about when action, especially large, bureaucratic government action with all the attendant waste and market distorting forces, is the wrong way to go.

  26. Christopher Dupras said, “All in all, as an expert in my field, I can go on and on about how inadequate this program is.”

    Wow, that was a pretty detailed explanation, thank you. I wonder though, do you have an opinion on what rational housing price levels are? I know there’s a graph of before and after the CRA legislation of Carter, showing housing prices outpacing inflation after the CRA – as an expert, do you think housing prices should be equal to inflation, and what kind of correction are we looking at if we did straight-line inflation increases since the CRA instead of the “wedge” we have today?

  27. Michael on 2/18/2009 at 1:38 pm said:

    What about “Michael said” I feel left out on a comment for my comment… :(

  28. Jere – Hey man I’m a renter, I just see it differently. If these people can’t renegotiate their loans and stay in their houses we are gonna pay ALOT more for them in the emergency service sector all the while driving down the cost of the entire communities housing and creating a spiral effect. How much would a person have to put down on a house in your mind to have not made a “bad choice”? 20%? 30% ? 50%? Here’s one for ya – my cousin and husband got transfered to Germany (he is in the marine corp). Because of the housing market they could not afford to rent the house and cover the mortgage and could not sell the house to cover the mortgage even though they put 100K down. So the answer to them is because they got transfered by our government they should declare bankrupcy?? Great answer. Each of these cases is being evaluated individually – they will not help people who lied about their income etc. the point is to renegotiate the loans. Why don’t you read about it first. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/02/18/Help-for-homeowners/

  29. Okay, I am a hard working person who has done my very best to make my mortgage payment on time every time. I did not fall for one of those questionable loans and I even refinanced at a lower rate plus shorter term when the opportunity arose. Yes, we were lucky, responsible, smart, and at first, smug. We are now one of two couples on our block who are still in our homes. That’s right, all of our neighbors are gone and most of the houses sit vacant with for sale signs on them.

    In one of the houses we have what we suspect to be squatters, but unlike the other homes, this one is no longer in derelict condition. So no one complains, and we do our best to help this family out where we can.

    So what did my smug, “I did everything right get me?” My house value has plummeted, my neighborhood is a ghost town, and all the neighbors that we loved, are all gone. I am sure it will rebound, but honestly, those neighbors were good people. And if given an opportunity, they would have made good on their loans.

    In conclusion, yeah, this is kind of a slap in the face to those of us who have managed our finances well, but it really is time to stop our smug holier than thou attitudes. But for the grace of God we could have been them.

    Just my two cents.

  30. Michael said, “I feel left out on a comment for my comment… :(”

    Sorry, Michael, didn’t mean to leave you out! :)

  31. Keith on 2/18/2009 at 1:43 pm said:

    Obama says the mortgage bailout isn’t aimed at irresponsible home owners who took out loans they couldn’t afford or who lost $$ flipping them. The obvious questions is how is he going to decide who deserves the $$$$?

    My sincere hope is that this legislation will be CAREFULLY considered and not jammed down our proverbial throats (as in the last two bailouts)..

  32. PhxHomeowner on 2/18/2009 at 1:44 pm said:

    Okay…we all have opinions but the plain, simple truth is this…if big business can “use” the system for their benefit, then why not the average citizen. I have made my payments on time since I purchased my home 3 years ago (in the midst of inflated pricing which NO ONE knew about until AFTER the fact). The Bush administration’s package did nothing for people like me and gave bank CEO’s a blank check to pay stockholder dividends and CEO bonuses.

    The true crime here is that banks, in their never ending greed, knowingly provided funds for people they knew would never be able to afford payments once ARM rates adjusted. Those same banks provided ARM loans on questionable credit and then refused refinancing to those same individuals when it came time to adjust their loan rates stating their bad credit rating was not good enough to do so…thus guaranteeing those banks higher payments (revenue) for the duration of the loan…nothing but greed. Their failure was realizing that when people are forced into a corner…they will do anything to survive…even give up their home.

    I have recently changed my outlook on people who feel they had no option but to leave their home…like any big business…their investment turned south so they took the hit on their credit (which was already hurting) and cut their losses. Home prices will recover at some point…but I don’t believe they will as high as they were 3 years ago…at least not within the next 10 years…so unless you plan on being in your home for the duration of the loan…there is a decision to be made. Stay…or go! Business does what is best for them..and now people are doing what is best for their families…and I say good for them.

  33. Miriam on 2/18/2009 at 1:53 pm said:

    Jere said,
    Why is inaction the worse thing for this economy? And why should I pay for your choice to buy an overpriced house?

    I think inaction is worse for the economy because the more foreclosures that occur the lower EVERYONE’s home values are going to become. Just recently some of the bailed out banks have decided to jack up everyone’s interest rates on credit cards. This increase will also hurt many homeowners that are carrying credit card balances. Some of the increases are ridiculous, more than 8% which if you are carrying a large balance can really mess your budget up. That’s why I would rather have some action than no action.

    You’re NOT paying for my choice. I’m paying for my choice. I previously refinanced my home and am more than capable of paying the mortgage. I was using that as an example of how some of us first time home buyers weren’t aware of how much some of the homes were being overpriced. A search of within 2 miles of my home revealed higher prices for all the home. So I did attempt to research prices before buying.

  34. Michael B on 2/18/2009 at 1:53 pm said:

    The president says this wont reward poeple who took out loans they could not afford. What does this to poeple who took out loans the bank said they could afford? The lenders are just as guilty as the poeple who took out loans they knew they couldnt afford. So those were mislead still dont get support?

  35. Miriam said, “I think inaction is worse for the economy because the more foreclosures that occur the lower EVERYONE’s home values are going to become.”

    Good. Everyone’s home values should go down if homes are overpriced. That will allow people who can’t afford houses now to be able to afford homes. This is a good thing.

  36. PhxHomeowner said, “(in the midst of inflated pricing which NO ONE knew about until AFTER the fact)”

    Actually, it was pretty obvious that the pricing was inflated -> simply looking at a chart of housing prices compared to inflation would have shown you that.

    PhxHomeowner also said, “The true crime here is that banks, in their never ending greed, knowingly provided funds for people they knew would never be able to afford payments once ARM rates adjusted.”

    Isn’t the true crime that the Federal government forced banks to make loans to people who couldn’t afford them? The competing impulses of affordable housing and increased home ownership cannot be tamed by government in any rational way. If government props up people who cannot afford houses (in the name of increased home ownership), prices will rise, and housing will not be affordable for others.

  37. kaneda on 2/18/2009 at 2:18 pm said:

    hmm.. so far this administration approved bad business practiced, and people who spent money on bad investments. So, I bought a house and I am still living in it even though it is losing value. But this stimulus bill will not help me. This bill is only bailing out people under Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans. So my tax money is helping this dumba$$e$ and I got nothing. Even though I am losing money in my house investment! BTW, who got the most money from Fannie and Freddie before he came the president! OBAMA! This bill is bailing out his corporate big time friends!

  38. John on 2/18/2009 at 2:21 pm said:

    Jere, you seem to gloss over the fact that the Republicans had total control for 6 years and were given a projected surplus. As the majority, in those 6 years they could have easily steered us away from the cliff and put those ‘bad’, ‘bad’ democrats who made all this happen (according to you) in their place. But they didn’t, they just sat back and let it happen….right? So why would anyone want advice from these same people when they had the reigns and did nothing?

    As a consumer I can want many things. I can want a big house, a big expensive car or to party all day with my pay, etc. But what I want shouldn’t matter to a lender as much as what I can afford. If I can’t afford it, I shouldn’t get the loan, period. So IMO, the majority of blame falls on the banks and their greedy executives most of whom knew the burrowers could not afford to pay back these loans. They knew but weren’t worried because they were going to turn these loans over to someone else and still make a profit. I will never believe what the dems had in mind was to award people with loans they couldn’t pay back. What happened is the banking execs, like the greedy, hungry sharks they are, saw a chance to take advantage of a situation and did so, period.

    So now Obama is left with no choice put to try to prop up the job market and halt a spiraling economy. I’d rather see the money spent on our infrastructure than that of Iraq. In the end it benefits us even though that benefit may not come immediately. As for the Repubs, they need to either get on board or get irrelevant.

  39. Rick said, “We are now one of two couples on our block who are still in our homes. That’s right, all of our neighbors are gone and most of the houses sit vacant with for sale signs on them.”

    And if the housing prices fell enough, new neighbors could move in, right? I think a big part of this whole mess is that we’re trying to prop up values that just don’t jibe with fundamentals. Banks don’t want to admit that the houses they financed are worth only pennies on the dollar. Once their backs break, and housing values plummet, believe me, buyers will show up.

    But right now, sellers on your block are keeping their prices high with the hopes that new government programs will encourage borrowers to pay those prices, instead of falling in line with supply and demand. All this does is delay the inevitable.

  40. John said, “As the majority, in those 6 years they could have easily steered us away from the cliff and put those ‘bad’, ‘bad’ democrats who made all this happen (according to you) in their place.”

    Well, we’ll see if you hold the Democrats to the same standard if they run us of any cliffs in the next 6 years.

    Frankly, in many ways you’re right – Republicans didn’t hold to their values and let the minority Democrats run all over them, and we’re suffering from the consequences. This is why I voted for Perot, Perot, Nader, Nader, and only this time McCain – I think having divided power might have helped us craft truly bi-partisan legislation, and it’s pretty obvious that the Pelosi/Reid/Obama trifecta only pays lip service to the idea of bi-partisanship.

  41. Right or wrong something needs to get done. It is easier to fix than to do nothing should this not work.

  42. Whether or not something needs to get done begs the question – should it be government doing it?

  43. JAMES DUCKWORTH SLC UTAH on 2/18/2009 at 3:25 pm said:

    imho
    the republicrats still can’t figure it out
    of the people by the people and for the people
    no it’s a free for all let’s rape the u.s. govt. and as republicans
    they will not expect us

    [edited for case sensitive eyeballs]

  44. empire on 2/18/2009 at 3:35 pm said:

    Obama and the Democrats have us in a fine mess (again)!
    They have no clue as usual!

    The Democrats have controlled the last 2 congresses, they come up with the legislation, and they do the spending. We are in a mess because of the Democrats!!

    The only way out the mess they created and bring back santiy: Vote Republican
    Then we will have peace and prosperity.

  45. Um, empire looks like he drank a different flavor of koolaid – the only way out of this mess is to realize that government is the problem, not the solution. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a democrat or republican who figures that out.

  46. Randy on 2/18/2009 at 4:06 pm said:

    I have to say, some of the comments do not relate to real life. My company has many outlets (380 in the US and 140 in Canada). In order to move up the ladder, I need to change locations. I do this about every 5-6 years. If I take my equity and put it in my pocket, I pay income tax on it and I have to rent a place to live. I’ll loose money that way. I mortgage houses for 30 years and sell them when I need to move. It keeps my payments down and is usually easier to move on the market. I usually make 10-15-20 grand on the deal. I am not speculating, I am being frugal. The house I am in now has gone down in value since I bought it 4 years ago. I am not in trouble with the loan. I am just screwed when I go to sell the place. The property values in my neighborhood have all gone down. I feel like a victim of an inflating market. I buy a house to earn equity while I live in it, and JERE said I should rent. If you rent, you are paying someone elses mortgage. Dumb idea if you have the means to buy.

  47. Randy said, “If you rent, you are paying someone elses mortgage. Dumb idea if you have the means to buy.”

    Not such a dumb idea if the person took out a mortgage they couldn’t afford at a price that wasn’t justified by the fundamentals.

  48. pappy on 2/18/2009 at 5:12 pm said:

    It seems reptiles can borrow us into an abyss,but trying to save peoples homes and jobs is a no no.I guess godfather pillfreak Limbaugh has spoken.
    Yes Frank and Dodd were for helping lower income people,they made mistakes but the concept is good.Reptiles are in it only for money.Remember de control is in reptile DNA. Bush himself is on you tube saying we are breaking down barriers so a poor man can have the same house as a rich man.Reptiles will not forsake loser Reganonics it didn’t work for Regan (2 recessions) and it has’nt worked ever for anybody.LET IT GO it stinks,Regan was a horrible president .He doubled the tax rate on middle income families nice guy.Your ,leave the market alone ,it will take care of itself ,no regulation has failed time and time again. It doesn’t work

  49. pappy said, “Yes Frank and Dodd were for helping lower income people,they made mistakes but the concept is good.”

    No, Frank and Dodd were for forcing banks to lend to people who couldn’t afford it, without thinking about the unintended consequences -> less affordable housing, a bubble in prices, and well compensated cronies at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac…well, maybe they did intend that last one.

    The only regulations they should be creating are those that give transparency of information -> the market works when it has enough information. If you want to make useful regulations, make regulations that make things transparent, instead of hidden, backdoor deals preferred by folks like Frank and Dodd.

  50. pappy on 2/18/2009 at 5:29 pm said:

    So I guess this is all Dems doing,Frank and Dodd forced banks to make predatory loans. I don’t buy it. And Bush and the reptiles what was their intention? See Time mag 25 culprits Phil Gramm # 1, Mccain’s economic advisor.Same crap voodoo economics

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