Republicans react to Obama’s housing plan by mouthing the mortgage banking industry’s talking points.
By on Feb 19th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Republicans react to Obama’s housing plan by mouthing the mortgage banking industry’s talking points.
Yesterday, President Barack Obama unveiled his plan to deal with the housing crisis. One part of the plan in particular — a provision allowing bankruptcy judges to “cram-down” mortgage payments for troubled homeowners — has drawn the ire of conservatives. Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) said it is “going to affect future mortgages, because that’s going to put an additional risk premium on all mortgages,” while Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) claimed “this is going to raise rates for everyone else because banks have to cover the risk.” Watch it:
As The Wonk Room noted, conservatives are getting their arguments straight from banking industry talking points. BusinessWeek reported that the Mortgage Bankers Association “is distributing talking points to key congressional aides…[with] the argument that if lenders can’t be confident that loan terms will survive, they will raise rates.”
View Most Popular
Advertisement
What We're About
What We're Fighting For
What We're Fighting Against
Featured
Subscribe to the Progress Report
Topic CloudView topics sorted by popularity
Afghanistan
Bachmann
Beck
Boehner
Business
Civil Rights
Congress
Corporate Ethics
Dobbs
Economy
Education
Election
Energy
Environment
Ethics
Fox News
Gingrich
Global Warming
Health Care
Hoffman
Immigration
International Relations
Iraq
Justice
LGBT
Lieberman
Limbaugh
Media
Military
O'Reilly
Obama
Palin
Pelosi
Politics
Race
Radical Right
Religion
Sports
Steele
Stimulus
Tea Parties
Tea Party
Terrorism
Veterans
Women's Rights
Visit Our Affiliated Sites
Reports
In-depth studies on select topics
Got a hot tip?
Have a hot news tip? We'd love to hear from you. Use the form below to send us the latest.
ArchivesBlog Roll
It’s kind of impressive, huh?
When the GOOPers speak, you can’t even see the mortgage bankers’ lips move…
Oh look, one of the bankers is drinking a glass of water now… wow… pretty good!
One do wonder, though… where are the bankers sticking their hands when they want to make the dum… ah. the GOOPers’ mouths move?
February 19th, 2009 at 1:36 pmThe republican party; where common sense is the least common of the senses and the biggest deficit is inBRAIN POWER.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:36 pmDidn’t the mortgage rats already discount that risk by ripping off the entire country? Perhaps these are the scum that most need to come to heel through nationalization.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:37 pmLundgren and Kyle have always been nothing but empty-headed puppets anyway. It makes perfect sense that they spew talking points which they haven’t a clue about. That’s all they have left at this point.
Isn’t it fascinating to watch the reich explode? Or is it implode? They’re doing their measured best to self-destruct.
Comical at this point to watch the incredible “drama queens” each taking their turns at whining and showing off their girly ruffled underpants.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:39 pmYup, here we go. Drudge has been floggin all day, the CNBC loons going nutzo over this mortgage rescue plan.
How DARE Obama try to put the economy back on track by saving homeowners that were swept-up by greedy mortgage bankers and Bush W’s pledge to spread homeownership??
Also, notice the GOP set-up by last week saying that homeowners needed a rescue so they would vote against the stimulus because there was not enought help for homeowners in it.
Now they, naturally, oppose this plan!! LOL!!
February 19th, 2009 at 1:39 pmBRAIN POWER remains only a distant concept which the current GOP has only heard about. These idiots deserve roles in The Wizard of Oz.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:39 pmMatt Drudge is an irrelevant cipher at this point. So what else is new? He doesn’t like Obama’s plan? Well, knock me over with a feather!
Drudge has become a total “drudgery” – a font of lies, deceit and lockstep reichwing blabber.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:41 pmThe GOP is so over.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:42 pmThe more these brain-dead morons in the Grand Opposition Party out themselves, the more they solidify the loss of their seat in congress. Yippee! Isn’t it wonderful to outsmart them so they all end up making flagrant jackasses of themselves in front of their constituents.
They’re painted into a corner now with no way out. If they continue to oppose, their people will crucify them. If they relent after all this bluster, they look like whining babies.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:42 pmIt’s a total lose/lose for any Republican who voted “no”.
Well, of COURSE the banking and mortgage industries aren’t wild about any plan that allows for bankruptcy cramdowns. Not when they were counting on the government to buy up their bad mortgages at full value.
Yes, some banks will cover potential losses by tacking on an additional risk fee, making their loans more expensive. But they will be undercut by a lender down the street who is lending responsibly and can therefore afford to lend at lower rates. It’s worked this way with auto insurance for some time now.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:43 pmRIP: GOP
February 19th, 2009 at 1:43 pmForever dead and buried now.
geez – could it be due to the incestuous relationships between big real estate money and the gop in every statehouse in the land?
i know that’s true here in my state, where the gop just lost another gubenatorial election because their candidate was discovered to be way in bed with the homebuilders association.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:43 pmI personally, never tune in to Hairball.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:45 pmhello! whew! anybody else experience the white out?
February 19th, 2009 at 1:46 pmThe republican strategy has become : If you can’t be part of the solution, cozy up with the people who created the problem.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:47 pmGo take a look at Drudge today.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:48 pmThey would like to see a revolt take place.
Marie Says:
Go take a look at Drudge today.
They would like to see a revolt take place.
No thanks. My stomach isn’t strong enough.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:50 pmRepublicans are obstructionists. And like someone said, “so over!”
February 19th, 2009 at 1:50 pmkaty Says:
hello! whew! anybody else experience the white out?
I did.
¶ AIO
February 19th, 2009 at 1:51 pmWhy is it that in an economic downturn (nice polite wording) banks and mortgage holders think it is such a bad thing to restructure mortgages to retain a long term investment in lieu of having properties dumped on a glutted, devalued market?
Answer? Could it be they want their rich buddies to be able to buy up huge chunks of real estate so they can become slum lords?
Or are they just stupid.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:53 pmWhite out? You mean when all the posts were about albino polar bears on icebergs?
Yeah.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:54 pmok… thanks!
i wonder if ed’s listeners crashed TPs servers!
February 19th, 2009 at 1:57 pmkaty Says:
hello! whew! anybody else experience the white out?
Here at TP? Yes, I’ve had a couple of problems connecting this morning. This isn’t the first time, but it isn’t always universal — others report no problems at times when I can’t get through at all.
February 19th, 2009 at 1:59 pmkaty Says:
hello! whew! anybody else experience the white out?
I did also. I thought that maybe I got booted for sending kisses and hugs to one of our trolls on the “gay thread”. Nice to know it wasn’t just me.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:03 pmkaty Says:
——————————————————————————–
hello! whew! anybody else experience the white out?
Yeah. Glad to know it wasn’t just me. I just clicked a post and everything went white! I thought my squirrels were on break (the ones that run the wheel that operate my Atari 1500 computer… now with 64 K RAM!!!!).
February 19th, 2009 at 2:06 pmWell, fcuk the republicans…
…after 911 I got a 25% cut in pay…wife went to work…
…yesterday I got an additional 35% cut in pay…I’m losing my house of 14 years…
..have to kick out the renters in my little bungalo because we have to move there…
…8 years of Bush has totally destroyed my life…55 401 K from worthless…
…savings…gone…can’t hardly pay a 900 dollar a month payment on a place to live…
….and I am a highly skilled professional…
…FCUK THE REPUBLICANS
February 19th, 2009 at 2:06 pm“…if lenders can’t be confident that loan terms will survive, they will raise rates.”
Dems need to turn that around this argument quickly and efficiently.
The obvious response should be, “Well, if the mortgage industry cannot control itself, and since the entire country’s economy has been wrecked and millions of people have lost their homes and their jobs –thanks to the same out of control industry– there is only one solution. That is to nationalize the mortgage and banking industries, immediately. The safety and security of the nation now depends on nationalizing the mortgage industry and disposing of these irresponsible criminals.”
February 19th, 2009 at 2:07 pm“this is going to raise rates for everyone else because banks have to cover the risk.”
Wha?
Did they cover the risk this last time? You know, when the banks were giving out loans to anyone who could breathe? Why, did they even lose their sleep over these risky loans?
Of course they didn’t, and we are all paying for it.
Please, spare me the talk about these poor, downtrodden, oppressed bankers…
February 19th, 2009 at 2:08 pmI don’t get it. It’s not like these banks aren’t still going to make 100s of 1000s of dollars anyway. Why not work with people and let them keep at least a little of their own money.
Besides, they are raising the rates on credit cards as we type. Why can’t they use some of that money to offset any lose from their mortgages?
February 19th, 2009 at 2:08 pmsorry lose = loss
February 19th, 2009 at 2:09 pmThe financial industry is simply a criminal enterprise these days. Nationalize. Banks should not be running “for profit”: they contribute nothing productive to society. When one pays $1000 a month in mortgage, but only $20 of that goes to paying off the principal — something is extremely wrong. Hell, the Mob had better rates than that.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:12 pmAny hint of responsible social spending, and these irresponsible loan sharks start whining in the name of the unnamed.
“We’ll be forced to raise rates!”
“We’ll be forced to pass the taxes onto the consumer!”
Folks, it’s not as if the actual math works out in their favor. They simply can’t let go of the obscene executive pay, so they threaten to impose artificial controls as a self-fulfilling prophecy. All ideology, all the time.
It’s as insane as listening to the 400% interest payday lenders defend their practice as “more choices for the consumer.”
February 19th, 2009 at 2:16 pmOh, now they’re worried about risk, huh?
February 19th, 2009 at 2:18 pmFor these people who have been part of the current problem to criticize and oppose EVERY PROPOSED SOLUTION OFFERED is bizarre. Their certainty of these plans failures coming so soon after a proposal and probably not even written down just exposes them as the obstructionists they are. They have their party and personal benefits before the country’s. Their mantra over and over has to start being tuned out even by some of their supporters, especially those who stand to benefitn from the White House’s attempt to solve the housing mortage problem for everyday folks.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:19 pmThere is a quick and simple answer to repugs and bankers whining and threatening dire actions to protect their ‘profits’.
Nationalize the banks. Set profit margins at 15%.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:19 pmHang in there, Buckie Boy.
You’re made of the good, tough, American stuff.
Keep the faith. It’s hard sometimes, I know.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:25 pmBuckie Boy Says:
Well, fcuk the republicans…
…after 911 I got a 25% cut in pay…wife went to work…
…yesterday I got an additional 35% cut in pay…I’m losing my house of 14 years…
..have to kick out the renters in my little bungalo because we have to move there…
…8 years of Bush has totally destroyed my life…55 401 K from worthless…
…savings…gone…can’t hardly pay a 900 dollar a month payment on a place to live…
….and I am a highly skilled professional…
…FCUK THE REPUBLICANS
Hello, Buckie. As much as I wanted to think of Obama taking office as instant gratification, I slowly came to realize that even though Bush & Co. is out of office, the Bush years are still in effect until their deeds cease to plague America. This country is truly in a bind. Obama will have to toy with many possible solutions and do the difficult job of clearing the swamp.
Republicans like to tell people if they work hard they will be well off. But under consistent GOP power the average American can play by the rules, work their entire lives, and still lose everything they have.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:26 pmAmerica’s biggest risk is, and has been, the BANKSTERS.
They’ve paid congresscritters off to allow predatory practices that would make the Mafia blush.
Anyone should be able to determine that 3 weeks = month, or raising your interest rate to 30% because you missed a payment on something that was never charged to your card is bullshit.
Let’s send the GOP & big banksters offshore so they can be with their money…
February 19th, 2009 at 2:28 pmSorry for your troubles, Buckie Boy.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:29 pmI hope that the Obama programs will soon bring some help to you.
Repugniscum will stymie whatever they can, but people like you must not be ignored.
Each of us has been hurt by the Bush years – some of us more than others – but we’re all going to suffer for a long time before we recover.
Good luck.
I’m sorry Prod but I’m having a little trouble understanding what you say. Could you take your head out of your butt before you speak?
February 19th, 2009 at 2:29 pmIt’s only illegal if you wear a leather jacket and hang out at strip clubs.
If you wear a suit and play golf, it’s called “free enterprise”.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:30 pmWhy was it a huge crime when the Mafia loan sharks charged interest in the 30-50% range but credit card companies can call it fair?
February 19th, 2009 at 2:31 pmOh yeah, the repugs changed the laws….never mind
February 19th, 2009 at 2:32 pmProud, I bet not a single borrower held a gun to a banker’s head when they signed the loan.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:32 pmProud, how dare you be so quick to condemn people for financial woes when you don’t have a clue.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:33 pmIt must be nice to live in your ivory tower – the rest of us work for a living and our jobs are disappearing, our kids are getting sick, and we are out of savings.
You are one sick fcuking a$$.
Proud Says:
Hey – Why do most states have “lemon laws” to protect consumers from lying car salesmen?
How are mortgage salesmen any different, and how are predatory loans OK when lemon cars are not??
You oversimplify things more than a 5-year-old Mr. Proud.
Go back to your AM radio, and leave the grownup topics to the grownups.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:34 pmProud’s the same guy who would do a one-man picket of a car dealer he felt ripped him off, but if anyone else gets ripped off, it’s their own fault.
Inconsistent and Incoherent – just like his hereoes on the radio.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:35 pmMany people who are in financial trouble took out home equity loans on their homes to pay off automobiles — interest on that home equity loan is deductible, car loans are not.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:36 pmYears ago all interest was tax deductible.
Now their home is worth less than the loans outstanding on them. They have lost their job and/or their health care. There is only so much that one can foresee.
Others lost jobs and can find employment in another state, but can’t sell their house in order to move there.
It’s a lot more complicated out there than sanctimonious people like Proud think.
Proud Says:
let’s not reward stupidity.
RIGHT ON, PROUD!!!!!! I’m not sure what that buzzing noise was before this line, but YOU GOT IT!!! And we should start by taking they gun out of the irresponsible infant’s hands — nationalize the banks. 350 billion dollars — what has that done???? It was THEY who insisted on the necessity. All that money, and nothing (but the execs STILL get their big fat paychecks).
Let’s not reward stupidity, as Proud says — nationalize the banks.
Let’s not reward stupidity, as Proud says — Fire all executives in any company that had to take bailout money (because THEIR stupidity brought their company to need welfare from the taxpayers). AND nationalize that company (when it has paid off the welfare, WITH market-rate interest, like the banks charge, THEN they can return to private sector for-profit).
February 19th, 2009 at 2:38 pmCaveat emptor. So how come the most (supposedly) civilized nation on the planet and in history should believe that shady business practices are ok? The law of the land should protect scam artists and con men?
Only in repug dreams.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:40 pmI remember when we had usury laws that would have prevented CC companies from charging the rates that they do.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:40 pmSee what happens when you are late with one payment:
incredible late fees that extend over two months, interest, and a jump in the rate.
Proud Says:
It is really very simple, pay your mortgage.
Simple pleasures of the simple mind: bash hardworking Americans thrown into a rut by GOP policies. How’s rent-free life in the basement, troll?
Why should we help the smal, small percentage of losers that don’t pay their bills? When you buy a house you can’t afford it is YOUR fault, not the bank.
Apparently, you aren’t phased that people hate voting for the GOP during a recession. Ratchet up that rhetoric. Give people the comfort that they made the right decision in voting for the hands-on party.
If decent hardworking people walk into a loan office, they expect a fair loan. I guess you don’t know that loan offices were discounting certain types of income so they could write in tougher terms on the contract. There are experts who’ve looked at some of these contracts and even they are baffled as to what the jargon means.
I bet not a single banker held a gun to someones head when they signed the loan.
What a great defense. How nice of them — I’m sooo glad it didn’t come to that point. They held a gun to their head metaphorically, when the obscenely stiffer terms kicked in, and they rabidly picked up one average American after another for the hefty commissions & fees.
Not that you’d know anything about average Americas — I bet you’ve never worked a day in your life.
Lost your job, you should have planned ahead, no job is forever nowadays.
Under GOP ideology no real jobs are created in first place, let alone retained for the long-term. It seems the only place these days that sets the example for long-term job security and benefits is the federal government. Bummer.
The vast majority of Americans are paying their bills, let’s not reward stupidity.
But the majority of Americans are worried they won’t be able to pay their bills if the reverberating effect of this deep recession hits them. What about the higher mortgage terms that have yet to hit more Americans?
No tough talk accepted — you created this mess. If you don’t want to be part of the solution, we will do everything we can to keep your kind in oblivion so this never happens again.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:41 pmbuckie boy — truly, I feel for you… and i hope that I am not soon going down a similar road (well… I only have one place, so if I lose it, we are literally on the street). Look for the positive — try to smile.
And never, ever, …. ever say, “Things can’t get any worse”…. It’s like an old gypsy curse.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:43 pmI get that the repuglycans are just puppetteering for the bankers, my question is:
Which one is Mortimer Snerd?
February 19th, 2009 at 2:46 pmLost your job, you should have planned ahead, no job is forever nowadays
No, not when the owner of the company decides to send your job off to a foreign country where a 9 yr old kid, making a few pennies can make your shirt cheaper and they can pocket more profit this quarter.
I’d ask how you would feel if your kid was put in that position but the only way you could be a parent would be by accident.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:47 pmLet’s not reward STUPIDITY?
You know, trolls don’t object to enriching mortgage companies who, after having identified a “risky” consumer, make out a risky loan. They’re stupid enough to think the supposed risk will pay off.
If only traditional fixed rate or limited ARM loans remained on the market during the housing boom, I could guarantee you that even people who had lower-than-qualifying incomes would be in be in their homes in much greater numbers, making their payments on-time.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:51 pmProud Says:
What are you proud of exactly? Your ability to distill everything into stark black and white and wrong interpretations?
It is really very simple, pay your mortgage.
If it was that simple, then why did this crisis occur?
Why should we help the smal, small percentage of losers that don’t pay their bills?
Again, nuanced points seem to fly right over your head. Do you understand the ripple effect of house foreclosures on surrounding property values? Do you understand that by de-valuing a neighborhood, businesses leave, infrastructure crumbles, and the people who HAVE been paying their mortgages end up owning houses that are worth LESS than what they initially paid for?
When you buy a house you can’t afford it is YOUR fault, not the bank. I bet not a single banker held a gun to someones head when they signed the loan.
They didn’t need to hold a gun. The came up from behind and slit people’s throats by jacking up interest rates ETC. And furthermore, to absolve the lending institution of doing their homework – THEIR RESPONSIBILITY AS A LENDER – on WHO they EXTEND loans to, is moronic. But hey, you seem to be on a roll here.
Lost your job, you should have planned ahead, no job is forever nowadays.
This is stupid and just plain thickheaded. By the same logic, the mortgage lenders should have planned ahead themselves and not floated credit to people who were on the brink of NOT being able to repay their loans.
The vast majority of Americans are paying their bills, let’s not reward stupidity.
Let me guess, you voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004? If so, don’t discuss rewarding stupidity.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:55 pmMcWars Says:
Let’s not reward STUPIDITY?
You know, trolls don’t object to enriching mortgage companies who, after having identified a “risky” consumer, make out a risky loan. They’re stupid enough to think the supposed risk will pay off.
If only traditional fixed rate or limited ARM loans remained on the market during the housing boom, I could guarantee you that even people who had lower-than-qualifying incomes would be in be in their homes in much greater numbers, making their payments on-time.
Get him!!! It is so ridiculous the rank hypocrisy of right-wingers. On the one hand, shame on the individual for taking a loan they may not be able to pay back if something goes wrong, on the other hand, cheer lead the companies and institutions who fleeced people.
Dolts…
February 19th, 2009 at 2:58 pmMarie, I keep your posts about your and your son’s financial troubles in mind. There are the realists & problem solvers in life, and then there are idiots who look the other way by poking fun at others. They get by on ass-kissing. People on the ground pick up their slack, and it has to end.
February 19th, 2009 at 2:59 pmI bet not a single banker held a gun to someones head when they signed the loan…
and I’ll bet not a single borrower held a gun to the banker’s head when they signed the loan… your point?
Since your an expert on the origins of this crisis would you mind answering a few questions, proud?
What role did the deregulation of the banking industry under Sen. Gramm’s Gramm-Leach-Bliley act of 1999 play in the current crisis?
What role did foreign demand for ’safe’ Mortgage Backed Securities play in the mortgage lenders reckless lending practices, practices encouraged by the above referenced deregulation?
How will tax breaks for corporations and builders, a supply side measure to stimulate ‘production,’ encourage recovery faster than government investment in mortgages and loan modifications considering there is no shortage of new single family housing (the over-supply is in fact one of the major problems) no need to stimulate production of more?
Thanks, proud…
February 19th, 2009 at 3:03 pmProud Says:
Spoken like the soulless moron we all know you are. I notice we helped out those bankers that CAUSED this whole problem. That is the trouble with ignorant brainwashed punks like you. You cant kiss enough rich butt nor denigrate working people who have fallen on hard times enough. I bet you have a pin up poster of Ebeneezer Scrooge in your bedroom. What a putz. Many people were predate on. They were TOLD, he we will schedule a ballon payment in 7 years but dont worry about that because by then the equity in your house will have grown so much we will just refinance on better terms. People trust professionals. YOU want to blame the victims for not being as smart as they might have been and give a pass to the crooks that actually caused the problem. Morons like you disgust me. In a just society people like you would be shunned as people with NO decency like you would just not be tolerated. What a punk you are. On the other hand I am sure if you kiss enough rich butt you will get some crumbs off of their table.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:03 pmJust out of curiousity, is there any place to find out just how many employees of lending institutions are in danger of foreclosure?
February 19th, 2009 at 3:03 pmProud says no job is forever. I missed that. Really? Because I have had MY job for 32 years. My stepfather had his for 42 years. You really are ignorant you know that Proud? Why are you proud of being so stupid?
February 19th, 2009 at 3:07 pmTweedster, I wonder if the mortgage industry provided Proud a year’s supply of Cheetos along with the approved talking points sheet for him to come to TP and work his sub-prime blathering.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:09 pmso proud, in fact, that he can’t stick around to back up his baseless assertions. a coward’s coward, if you will.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:10 pmtombaker, I think calling proud a coward is slandering cowards. We need a new word.
We can ask the repugs, they are good at making things up.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:12 pmWell folks, it looks as though we were able to shame Proud into leaving. Such a callous little troll…maybe he went outside to play in traffic!
February 19th, 2009 at 3:13 pmHey Proud, we can’t all live in our mother’s basement like you do. Why don’t you come back when you grow up.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:14 pmIf ever a rethug has an origninal thought or an honest thought they would be very dangerous.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:15 pmMcWars Says:
Tweedster, I wonder if the mortgage industry provided Proud a year’s supply of Cheetos along with the approved talking points sheet for him to come to TP and work his sub-prime blathering.
They certainly wouldn’t have had to put a gun to his head if they had Chester Cheetah was sitting across from him at the negotiating table!
February 19th, 2009 at 3:16 pmProud loses his job every time the RNC runs out of rolls of nickels.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:19 pmTweedster Says:
They certainly wouldn’t have had to put a gun to his head if they had Chester Cheetah was sitting across from him at the negotiating table!
BA HAHAHAHA!
The troll’s interest in the deal fell to 300% from 400% once he was told he couldn’t take the orange animal home for a one-nighter.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:24 pmThe biggest risk the a mortgage lender is illiquid and deteriorating collateral. Furthermore, many of these lenders have had no risk since they sold their loans without recourse.
I would attribute a portion of this mess to a failure to properly service loans due to a pooling of risk. Obama’s proposed initiatives should help to reverse this trend.
Creating liquidity and value in the housing market is more beneficial to mortgagors than the increased risks associated with loan restructuring. Furthermore, these same lenders need to provide working capital to those companies doing work under the stimulus plan. This initiative should loosen up the money market as well.
I would argue that our financial institutions are in far worse condition than their balance sheets depict due to insufficient bad debt reserves.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:35 pm#
#
McWars Says:
Tweedster Says:
They certainly wouldn’t have had to put a gun to his head if they had Chester Cheetah was sitting across from him at the negotiating table!
BA HAHAHAHA!
The troll’s interest in the deal fell to 300% from 400% once he was told he couldn’t take the orange animal home for a one-nighter
Yea, proud does seem like one of those freaky Santorum man-on-dog types.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:35 pmThese are good steps to help curb the pain of the crisis but the reason the DOW is still crashing is because no one is addressing LENDING.
Frozen LENDING is the hole in this ship. Its why we’re taking on water.
You can make all the tax incentives you want for people to buy homes. You can throw all the money you want at foreclosures but nothing will turn this around UNTIL LENDING RETURNS.
It makes no sense to offer tax cuts for buying homes and cars if no one can get a mortgage to buy that home or car with.
February 19th, 2009 at 3:53 pmIts like we’re on a ship at sea, and there’s a hole in the hull and we’re taking on water.
Everyone’s running around trying to find ways to keep the boat afloat, but no ones talking about patching the hole.
We can fix this problem if we want. It starts with returning lending, but the democrats are standing in the way of that. President Obama I think sees lending must return but he is fighting a bickering congress, and party leaders who don’t want to admit they did anything wrong.
If we can turn on lending, wide scale lending, federally insure it for the next 24 months, then foreign investors will like our securities again and home sales will return simultaneously, bringing back millions of jobs with it.
That’s what has to happen first.
If we’re going to stop the foreclosures, job losses and the economic losses then we need to bring back lending TOMORROW.
WIDE SCALE lending.
Federally insure it for the next 24 months and walla. Here comes the economy.
We have all sorts of plans. Repairing infrastructure to create temporary jobs.
Tax breaks to incite hiring.
Tax breaks to incite home buying and auto buying.
Tax breaks to help with bills.
Rebates, business investment, spending, etc.
We have all these wonderful ideas but no ones talking about just plugging the hole.
And the hole is lending.
Restore lending and you plug the hole.
It’s like Obama is the captain of a ship, and Congress is the crew.
The ship hits an iceberg and the ice punctures the hull, and now the ship is taking on water through the hole in the hull.
Everyones running around in a panic, and the captain is being advised by his crews damage reports and assessments to try all sorts of stuff to keep the ship afloat.
One crewmen suggests closing off the section where the hole is at.
One crewmen suggests inflating pontoons and strapping them to the sides of the ship.
One crewmen suggests beaching the ship in shallow waters.
Other crewmen are suggesting abandoning ship via the lifeboats.
But NO ONE, is suggesting they simply patch the hole.
We need to patch the hole, and the hole is lending.
But congress doesn’t want it patched, because if we do, it will put the spotlight on their role in freezing lending, which is something they do not want.
February 19th, 2009 at 4:04 pm#63 McWars
February 19th, 2009 at 4:16 pmThanks for the thoughts — we’re still hanging on.
Thickheads like proud make me sick.
Don’t let the Congress and their fat, greasy corporate banking executives (who are also their contributors) convince people that this problem was somehow caused by deadbeat borrowers.
Its not regular Americans who caused this problem.
THEY caused the problem. Congress caused he problem. And with no leadership in the White House the problem snowballed into what it is today.
Don’t let them pin this one on us, and escape their responsibilities.
They’re the deadbeats.
We gave them 350 BILLION dollars, and they used it to throw parties and to buy fancy jets and to purchase tax shelters so they could keep their ridiculously fat bonuses.
They’re the deadbeats.
The truth is the OVERWHELMING majority of US mortgages are good. In fact, only about 2 percent of all mortgages are in some stage of foreclosure as of the end of 2008. Sure it doubled from 2007, which was at 1.03 percent default rate at the end of the year.
The media is taking monthly figures in specific markets and selling them as overall rates. Like the story AP did yesterday that implied 9 percent of mortgages were in default. They’re not. We’re sitting around TWO percent. Not 9. Meaning 98 percent of mortgages are good.
But they won’t tell you this because they don’t want us knowing the truth. And the truth is it was THEIR fault. Not this BS congress and the financial institutions want us to believe about it being “DEADBEAT BORROWERS” or “TOXIC DEBT”.
Those are lies, designed to take responsibility for this crisis off their heads and place it on the heads of the American people.
Don’t let em.
This wasn’t about deadbeat borrowers. 98 percent of all Americans are paying their mortgages.
It wasn’t about “predatory lenders”.
It was about the removal of federal oversight permitting lenders to underestimate their losses which led to their not having sufficient capital to cover those losses, which is why Countrywide collapsed, when the securities bundled by Fannie Mae and Freddie showed higher default rates than was projected, scaring investors who pulled their monies out of US mortgage backed securities.
Return the oversight. Return lending by either federally funding it or federally insuring it and the economy will return overnight.
Fail to do that, and we can throw money at the problem until there’s none left and it won’t do a damn thing.
February 19th, 2009 at 4:18 pmYa, that is what normal human beings would think. But these are the greediest stinkers you can possibly imagine.
February 19th, 2009 at 4:26 pmUsery is a huge problem. How the card companys get away with what they do is amazing.
February 19th, 2009 at 4:57 pmA few years ago my business was in trouble (I was defrauded out of a huge sum of money). I had to borrow from a card, about 7500. cash advance to make some payment. After about a year, and making late payments my balance went to 15k. That’s 50% interest (adding in the compounding). So I called the bank and asked to close the account and asked if I could make three monthly payments and pay the amount in full. They said NO. I asked to be put on a payment plan, they said NO. I asked for a lower interest rate, they said NO. They said the only option I had was to pay the amount in full that day!
I did not go to collections, when I got in trouble I called to make arrangements. They refused. So I didn’t pay them. I tried to work with them and they wouldn’t work with me which would have had them paid in full.
Forward another year (or year and a half) and with their compounded interest they hounded be for 28k. That’s 20.5k of interest on 7.5k loan.
I refused to pay it and finally settled about two years later for 6k.
Dumbasses, I tried to pay them in full. All this bad debt you hear about is make believe. I had an account with this company for a good 10 – 15 years prior to this event. Believe me, they made plenty of money off of me over the years. They’re all just a bunch of lying bastards.
Of course the GOP is going to serve as the banking industry’s mouthpiece. They continually encourage lobbyists representing all areas of the financial sector to attend “fundraisers”.
They know which side their bread is buttered on.
February 20th, 2009 at 2:03 amPresident Obama here. Maybe you folks didn’t understand my brilliantly conceived mortgage plan, so let me explain it again. If you worked hard and played by the rules you will be taken care of and won’t lose your home. Now here’s the definition of working hard and playing by the rules… First, agree to buy a home that is far bigger and more expensive than anything you’ll ever need. Second, lie about your income on the mortgage application. Third don’t bother reading all that “truth in lending” stuff on the closing documents. Fourth, move into the home and wake up to the fact that you can’t afford three SUV’s, weekend trips to Vegas, and paying for your home. Fifth, stop making your mortgage payments. Sixth, refuse to move out of the house when your lender asks you to start paying your mortgage. Seventh, blame it all on the mortgage brokers, the banks, George Bush, the economy, evil corporations, and racism. Eighth, elect a President who has no clue how free market economies operate. Ninth, get to live in a luxury home for free. Any questions?
February 20th, 2009 at 9:16 amLies.
Right wing lies which the facts easily dismiss.
The right wing wants Americans to believe that its their fault the crisis occurred. They’ll tell you like this one here is telling you that it was YOU America, you “deadbeats” who bought outside of your means.
But the facts show its was not.
Less than TWO percent of all mortgages at the end of 2008 were in default.
Less than TWO percent.
98 percent of Americans are paying their mortgages, and that’s straight from Realty Trac.
Those are the facts.
This clowns lies are just those responsible for the crisis trying to pin it back on the heads of honest hard working Americans.
February 20th, 2009 at 1:31 pmMr Tibbs here let me explain that I am a mindless ignorant moron who will now regale you with fantasies and lies from Planet Wingnut that Rush has TOLD me to believe. Since I am far too stupid to even TRY to think for myself I just gobble them up no matter how stupid they are. Since I am a complete and utter moron I think they are clever so I will come to sites like this and regurgitate them on all the people who arent NEARLY as stupid as I am and hope THEY will think I am clever and offer me a pat on the head.
February 20th, 2009 at 4:41 pm