Why doesn't our media cover stories like this? They talk about the economy and mortgage crisis, but they aren't showing the real effects of it. Instead we have to rely upon foreign news to hear about tent cities popping up in America, full of citizens that once owned their own homes.
(h/t Bob Cesca)
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Damn that Hillary! lol
Hooverville revisited....
Change of Address form reads for new mailing address:
General Delivery
Bushtown, Cheneystan
.
Their problem is that they aren't CEOs of major financial institutions. If they were, they'd get a big handout from the government, and they'd be set for life.
My solution for this crisis: Make everyone CEOs of major financial institutions. Problem solved instantly.
The modern day equivalent of a "Hooverville." The "Bushtents." Very sad, unfortunately there's no sex scandals going on in the "Bushtents" so I doubt you'll see American media anywhere. And by the way what are they still so scared about? There's no question or doubt about it, we ARE in a RECESSION folks!
I know a couple like this. They live in a trailer because they lost everything when he had a major illness a few years back. Now they travel all over the country working at KOA campgrounds.
This combination of housing crisis and outrageously expensive health care and insurance is destroying us.
Damn, that brought on so many emotions. You're right, why don't we see this on our news here in the US? It should be the lead story. Which state was this in?
Some people here are breaking into the abandoned homes and crashing until the someone notifies the police. There was a house not too very far from mine where people did that. When they left the stuff they left behind almost filled one of those big dumpsters you see at construction sites. Old clothes, dirty mattresses and broken plastic furniture. A service had to be brought in to clear it out and clean it up.
Thank goodness our home is paid for so that's one less thing to worry about.
evidently jamie hasnt seen a good thriller. you have to wait until its too late before you go and tell everyone.
My home is modest...I can't imagine losing it, It must really be hard on the kids.
Well, Herbert Hoover's off the hook. These encampments should be called Bushvilles or Cheneyvilles now. Oh but you won't hear about these stories in the media, hell no! They're busy covering why it is so important to bail out Bear Stearns to the tune of 200 billion dollars. See if you're a hotshit CEO and you fuck up, the government will always be there to help you out. If you're some powerless working stiff, well, it's "go fuck yourself!" Wait till the end of the year when you start hearing stories about the bonuses Bear Stearns' CEO's get. Privatize the Profits, Socialize the Losses - they should put that on our currency instead of In God We Trust.
2 IdahoMoe Says: Hooverville revisited….
I had a flashback to those too.
21st century HOOVERVilles
Pissed off Patricia@7
I believe you mentioned once that you're a Florida resident. Do you recall ever hearing about how homeless people have taken to moving into Ocala National Forest? I vaguely remember hearing something about that, but I don't recall where. Do you?
How are these people ever going to escape this tragedy? How can they ever get ahead again? Getting a home loan in the future is going to be damned near impossible for a long long time. Forget sending economic stimulus checks to everyone, send them to these people. These folks will definitely spend the money and they need it so much.
The dow dropped 300 points a day after the gains made from the Fed rate cut. This is becoming par for the course. The Fed cuts the prime and we get a day or two of rallies, then reality sets in and stocks start sinking for the next week or two until the Fed announces another rate cut. They're at 2.25 now, how much closer to zero can it go before other countries start bailing on the dollar?
When you throw in the $200 billion "loan" so these financial companies have money to pay their executive bonuses, it looks like they're handing out life preservers to all their buddies before we're completely under water. Are they purposely trying to recreate the German hyperinflation of the late 20's?
And what really ticks me off is you just know that when Obama or Clinton take office the Fed will do a complete 180 and start talking about how they have to raise rates to combat the double digit inflation rate. So the next President will be handed the same mess that Carter was given, and ultimately blamed for thanks to the magic of the "free" press and the amnesia of the American people. So we'll have another period of stagflation and the Republicans will use it to win back the Presidency and Congress in 2012, because most of the American people are morons.
I could say many things about the corporate agenda that controls the corporate media but I think you know all of these things. Until we find a way to take the media back from the 5 crime families that own them we will never have a educated citizenry. The Internets and all the tubes can only hold some much.
Nobody knows you when you're down and out. Buddy, can you spare a dime?
What the hell did people expect to happen when Bush did what he did? Spending gobs of money on two wars while planning a third (and Fallon's resignation is extremely worrisome)....
To be blunt, I was expecting the bottom to fall out as early as 2006. I thought I was nuts, but it turns out I may be right. However, the standard of living we have is stolen from the rest of the planet (Sweet Yehoshua, the garbage my family produces!) and we are about to find out that planetary resources are limited, and 50+ years of freeloading off the rest of the planet won't leave a pretty result. O.o
GWB can authorize a bailout of Bear Sterns, but turns his back on helping these folks out? Something is ass-backwards.
Oh wait, they're not part of his base- "the haves & the have mores."
That's why our fellow citizens are relegated to living in Hoovervilles...
I saw this at YouTibe. I'm expatted over there. Ted/Edwin = same difference. That's me. Reminds me of the Katrina REFUGEES. Yes, let's resurrect that term!!! It drove the wingnuts crazy: oooh pleaze pleaze stop calling them REFUGEES. Has impact, eh?
And so many of them voted for Bush. Twice.
Heck of a surge. Heck of an economy. Heck of a decade.
Raise your tin can to the new permanent Republican majority!
Your comment is awaiting moderation.
It is a shame to see people ignore the facts and give credit to Obama for speaking out “early” as some people allege. The fact is that Obama had this hidden tucked away and hoped no one would bring it up. He was forced to discuss it and had to discuss it becuase he is in danger of losing support from not just whites, but Asian, Latinos, etc.
He is not the Golden Boy people portray him to be. And it is quite disturbing to hear and read about how he is “brave” for speaking out. He is not any more brave than Hillary or anyone else, he was FORCED to discuss the issue! Dont forget that when the story first broke he said that had he heard any of these remarks he would have told him how he disagreed, this initially made me think that he never sat through one these racist political rallies; however, during his speech he confirmed that he was in fact present when certain not so proper remarks were said.
The fact is that his alleged spiritual leader is a racist hates America and preaches politics rather than Jesus. The fact is that he is feeding racist remarks into people- if you notice people in his church did not look appalled when he said these horrible remarks- they were CHEERING!!!! Quite frankly i dont think Obama was appalled either when he sat in there- was he also cheering??? Thnk about it people- do you really want someone as president who has a racist preacher as his spiritual guide?!?!? Please! Wake up and smell the coffee!!! Everyone is jumping on this bandwagon of “SUPPORT OBAMA” because “they want to make history”- vote intelligently not on history making. Vote on the facts- dont be blinded. The small problems now will only be magnified as President. His committment to this preacher should show you where he places his countrymen- second place. He would rather stay committed to this racist person than dennounce any ties. It is sad and disturbing how double standards have played into this election. If Hillary had as a “spiritual advisor” the head of the KKK, her political career would be over- she would be eated up alive, but with Obama all we have done was patted him on the back and said “great speech!” Shame on you! Shame on you for allowing this and setting double standards. Shame on you for ignoring the issue at hand, which is: his alleged spiritual advisor is racist and he has been guiding Obama for 20 years.
Dont be blinded, dont jump on a bandwagon, vote on the facts
As a citizen of Los Angeles, I'm sick to hear of these stories, but believe they'll be more evident as time goes on. Of course, CNN, NBC, CBS and Faux News could care less. They're more interested in the latest sleaze
about Hollywood sluts.
t-bone @ 17:
Modern version...can you spare a buck for the dollar store.
geneHUSSEIN214 @ 13:
Nope, sorry. If it was in the news I missed it.
What was Hooverville? The first time I saw the word here, I read it as Hooterville. I was trying to figure out what a old tv show had to do with this. But where and what was Hooverville.
t-bone @ 17:
How long before we start seeing that famous billboard from the 30s going up everywhere:
"HOMELESS MEN- KEEP GOING. WE CAN'T FEED OUR OWN."
jessica @ 22:
Wrong article sweetie.
This looks like yet another face of American Fascism. All those Katrina victims. The military coming home from war wounded and mind-bent with little to no care. A war that's lasted longer than the Civil War, WW II, WW I. Millions of Americans with no health insurance, much less medical care. Hundreds of thousands of jobs lost. The stock market and banking in shambles.
Is it real only when one is a victim? What does it look like to you?
This is the future of America.
They couldn't afford their mortgages as their payments got higher and higher each month? That doesn't add up. Who the heck financed these people? And why didn't they see the debt writing on the wall BEFORE they lost their homes? I mean, come on. The economy is bad, but this isn't the 1920s depression yet.
pissed off patricia @ 25:
GOOGLE "hooverville"
How is it ignored.
President Bush did a flyover last month on his way back from vacation.
It plays out like a Steinbeck Novel.
Hooverville is the first thing that came to my mind too. So perhaps we need to have a contest to name the new shanty towns of amurcka like the McCain re-naming.
I've already seen Bushville & Cheneystan.
So I submit Bushfield, Bushburg, Cheneyville, KBR City, Halliburton County, McFuckedesstan, & Debtors Courts.
bushopolis
pissedoffpatricia@25
"Hoovervilles" were the shanty towns that sprung up across the country in the wake of the Great Depression. They were the last refuge for people who had nothing left. Have you ever seen the movie "Cinderella Man"? It's about boxer Jim Braddock who became a hero of sorts for the downtrodden during the Great Depression. Pretty good film starring Russel Crowe. Anyway, while watching it I had learned something about New York history I had never known despite being born and raised there. It seems there was one such Hooverville in Central Park. I never knew that.
the SUN is a globe - the Moon is a ball - the Earth is a sphere
... Your House can B round
http://www.EarthBall.org
low cost homes and greehouses 4 earth citizens around OUR earth
...NOW... why not ?
We need help getting this project off the ground,
contact, Roger@RogerART.com anyGLOBALtime,
Peace, Love & Later, Roger & Friends
.
Jessica @ 22
Are you spamming?
Your post is WAY off-topic.
America's MSM has quit dealing with reality. Look at how they have dealt with the war, governmental spying, torture...the list goes on and on.
If the story isn't about white girls disappearing they only give it a cursory mention.
Hell, this is just a story about a few people who, according to Bush, made bad choices.
If you hadn't heard, things are f*#^ing fantastic.
Republican response: "But that kid at the end had a bicycle! That is proof that the economy is booming. Who needs a home, health care, or food when you have material goods like bicycles and televisions? Consequently, these tent cities should be called Freedomvilles!"
Who says Bush isn't going to help out the little guy? They are going to get a whole 600 dollar rebate check, that should set everything right. LOL Something everyone should know about those rebate checks, they are merely an advance on next year's tax refund. So if you get a refund next year, the 600 will be deducted out of it.
pissed off patricia @ 25:
Hoovervilles, named after President Hoover, were little more than tent cities for all the people displaced by the Great Depression.
Paging Chris: Is this the self-corerrection you speak of? $200 billion for the rich bankers, and... watch the video.
From the International Herald Tribune: "Four of the biggest U.S. investment banks — Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns Cos. — will pay out about $49.6 billion US in compensation this year. Of that, bonuses are traditionally estimated to represent 60 per cent, or almost $30 billion US."
Apparently, it went on to say, some of the Bear Stearns guys won't get bonuses this year. Really?!?
You Decide.
geneHUSSEIN214 @ 34:
Or Henry Fonda in the Grapes of Wrath.
Leslie @ 41:
Go watch the classic film, "Grapes of Wrath", with Henry Fonda, if you don't have time to read the magnificent novel.
Very glad you picked this up, has been a hot topic here all week.
Bushvilles.
Bushvilles.
Bushvilles.
Repeat until it is in the lexicon.
Bushvilles.
Bushvilles.
Bushvilles.
Lollimom @ 44:
my dad made me watch that movie when I was young...Made quite an impact
pissed off patricia @ 25:
Hoovervilles were everywhere across America during the Great Depression. They were shanty towns of the poor and homeless and they were in every state in the Union. The remnants of an old Hooverville are still evident just outside of my hometown in central Kansas.
Pale Rider posted about one of these tent cities back around Christmas time.
I was homeless once. I didn't need to watch the video.
ConcernedHusseinCanuck @ 30:
It was those damned balloon mortgages. They've been around for a few decades, but savvy people would NEVER get a balloon mortgage. It's hard for some people to be savvy in today's world. You may start with a very affordable mortgage payment, but you don't know what interest rate you'll be paying down the line since the later interest rate is tied to market forces. For these people, the interest rates skyrocketed in a few short years, making their mortgage payments 2 and 3 times higher than when they started, far outpacing any kind of salary increases.
It was a ripoff of Americans who weren't suspicious enough of lending companies.
Blame Bush all you want, but the fact is these people got into houses they couldn't afford, No one forced them to buy a house they couldn't afford they weren't tricked into it, it called being stupid and getting an ARM or interest only loan. Hey guess what the rates go up and your payment increases. Now these idiots who are getting foreclosed on our destroying property values for all of us with half a brain who budgeted and planned and actually make our payments on time. George Soros has 8 Billion dollars in the bank he could bail out everybody, instead of spending his money on attacking Bush and FOX News.
geneHUSSEIN214 @ 34:
Thank you so much for the details. I thought it must have had something to do with the depression but I had never heard of it.
Today a CNN reporter was talking to some truckers at a truck stop. It now cost a thousand dollars for them to fill up their big trucks with fuel. These guys are financially hurting too. They are considering a work stoppage if gas prices keep climbing. They said three truckers had their trucks repossessed from their parking lot recently.
Well, while the Fed bails out formerly multi-billion-dollar corporations with our tax dollars, the credit card companies are charging us 20-35% interest, the dollar's value is still diving, prices are going up, and wages have been stagnant for years. But, hey, Paulson worked on Sunday, so things must be OK. Heckuva job!
"Freedomville's just another word for
Nothin' left to lose..."
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/barbara2.asp
Troll- Want to trade life experiences with Me?
This is what happens when Fed created bubbles later burst.
THIS is why I personally am so against the Fed, and why I always talk about it. Talk of ending the Fed is not just some intellectual meandering of economic radicals with nothing else to do. It is based on a more than 1000 year old history of humanity's need for sound money, and the terrible consequences that can result.
It is a strong and unerring conviction to adhere to principles that are both logically and empirically verified. It is not necessary for societal progress that the Fed exists. It was agreed to be formed in 1913 on a remote island by bankers, who then took their plans to Congress during Christmas break where it was put into law. The existence of the Fed was never debated in the media, newspapers, radio, or in Congress. It simply appeared and since then the dollar has declined and is now worth only 4 cents relative to 1913.
For the most important parts of an economy to function well, namely sound money, interest rates, productivity, and most importantly REAL SAVINGS, to leave all these choices not up to the millions of people in the country acting in cooperation, but up to a small group of unknown men in an ivory tower is the reason the economy suffers. They are benefitting from having the power to issue a country's currency, and the rest of the economy is suffering, because our inherent ability to produce an advanced civilization, which acts to raise worker productivity and hence lower prices, is constantly attacked by a central bank that always increases the quantity of money in the economy, which acts to not only to offset the gains of productivity, but surpasses it and thus raises prices back up.
In other words, since 1971, when the Fed took complete control of the money supply, ALL THE GAINS IN PRODUCTIVITY since that time have been STOLEN from society and handed off to themselves, and the state, which is the bankers personal body guard and enforcer of the currency monopoly.
In other words, the beauty of capitalism (raising standards of living for each generation) has been masked for so long, that people do not even think it exists anymore. Because the Fed has made the purchasing power of money continually drop, we need more of them to buy goods and services. The prices of goods and services WOULD have fallen, in the absence of currency expansion.
Not only does an entire nation suffer, and indeed the world suffers insofar as they accept dollars, there are some people that are always hit really hard. Those folks in the tents, while not the smartest bunch for accepting mortgages for no money down and low interest at variable mortgage rates, would never have been put in that position if it weren't for all that newly created money to find its way into housing.
It is terribly destructive to attack the lenders, because most of them were just doing their jobs honestly and so it would be unfair to blame these people because of others who were not so honest. Solely relying on blanket regulations will not solve the problem long term, in fact it will lead to absolute tyranny. This is because the Fed will still exist, and so they will create further economic bubbles in the future, and if people react in the same knee-jerk way as before by calling for regulations, there will be even more regulations for that section of the economy. Eventually this process will lead to full socialism as was predicted by free market economists back in the early 20th century. It makes absolutely no sense to create regulation after regulation and expect the bad economic events to stop, if the Fed still exists, because they are creating the bubbles in the first place. People who think "more regulation" remind me of kids at an amusement park playing whack-a-mole. Each mole is a bubble, and the Fed is the carny operating the machine. You can keep whacking and whacking the moles as they come up, but they will not stop until the carny turns the machine off, by which time all the moles will be destroyed.
where is chris to rip these poor people a new one???
bushville
we will all be there soon
Banner of Brazoria @ 45:
Yes. A bit of deja vue. Don't forget the Cheneytown.
This election should be about one thing, the economy. the only person who has the balls to say what actually needs to be done, former GAO comptroller general David M. Walker. Research the guy and what he has to say...
Acting Patriotic @ 55:
Thanks Babs...another Gin and Tonic?
These people gambled and lost. I feel sorry for them to the fact they may have been duped by more than questionable lending practices, but in the end, its their own fault for buying a house they couldn't afford. A government bail out on these people will bring the rest of us down.
David is dead on. This ain't new, homelessness is chronic in this country where a social saftey net is only available for the wealthy. You can't blame the media, you have to be blind traveling to work on a daily basis not to see all the homeless in the underpass or the tents along the railroad tracks in the forested areas. Hell since Reagan, we have had rampant homelessness. I just think everyone assumes they're drug addicts and not people like you and me. Well hello.
Southern California Shanty Town / Tent City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmeHiFZUWtE
This is the title of another video at YouTube. I like "shanty town" myself: sure to provoke wingnuts more. How about you? Discuss.
I went to over twenty different schools during my life from first grade to graduation from high school. Luckily, I never failed a grade. My parents had cars repossessed and I know what it's like to be evicted from a house due to late rent payments. I know what it's like to have to leave your toys behind because the landlord changed the locks. I can tell you that sort of lifestyle for a little kid is hell and no kid should have to live the way these kids are living in these tents. Only a heartless country would impose such conditions on families and children.
My dad's alcoholism was the reason we had such a damned awful time, but these are just people who made mistakes or had bad fortune. Someone should be there for them.
Troll @ 51:
Of course these financially sophisticated borrowers knew they were creating a giant bubble. They forced the financial institutions to securitize these shaky mortgages by bundling them together and selling them around the world as investment grade securities. The investment bankers didn't want to and felt really bad about their billions in bonuses. But these creepy homeowners made them do it. (I recently returned from Republican Trolltard land and this is the latest news.)
[[[51 Troll Says:]]]
George Soros has 8 Billion dollars in the bank he could bail out everybody, instead of spending his money on attacking Bush and FOX News.
===>>Maybe he will: everyone BUT you, you f%$king moron. (Like, it's his job, or something?)
The Wall St. CEO bonuses (billions on billions) would bail everyone out. Those are JUST the bonuses.
My wife and I could afford our home just swell. We went on cruises,vacations to Montana,raised a healthy,intelligent child. Then,two things happened at the same time. My wife was hurt on the job and workmens comp screwed Us while at the same time,my factory closed up doors. If You think there is no age descrimination,try applying for a job when you are 50 or older. We were homeless for 3 years after over 40 years paying taxes and being good citizens. So,to You people who don't know what the F***k you are talking about STFU.
I still remember those russian films showing how bad it was in america these stories make those films seem rosy by comparison
Here we go again, blame everyone but the people that signed the paperwork to buy the house. I'm sure that each of them had a gun put to their head to sign the paperwork. This is not a Left or Right issue this is a common sense issue. buying a house is a risk, the market goes up and down. People have to take responsibility for their decisions.
Troll- I wish you good fortune. Ass**le
Troll @ 70:
Why are we bailing out Bear Stearns? Are THEY responsible for their actions?
IdahoMoe @ 2:
I don't think "Bushville" really hits home strongly enough -- how about "Dubyaville"?
David Hawes @ 68:
A painful story to hear David. Do not let the troll punch your buttons though. His financial planning consists of delivering enough fliers to pay the fifty bucks a week his Mom charges to live in the basement.
David Hawes
So sorry about that. It's absolutely true for most of us Americans that we're only one paycheck away from disaster, but to permanently lose two incomes at the same time is terrible.
Hey David, I do have a great life. Just because your bogus workers comp claim was refused and you were pobably at a union job that paid you 20 dollars an hour to put a bolt on something go ahead and blame everybody else. You should probably be out looking for a job instead of trolling the internet
Thanx PeterG. I know Troll and others like Him. Just getting some shit down the hole.
Troll @ 76:
Dude you are a loser as a human being.
Peter G @ 66:
"Of course these financially sophisticated borrowers knew they were creating a giant bubble."
Don't make the common mistake of assuming that ALL problems are always caused by maliciousness. Bubbles are called bubbles because enough people DON'T think there is one! That's why they buy into it, this fuels the bubble. Bubbles don't occur in a vacuum. There must be people that buy stock and make investments in order for there to be a bubble. No rational person will buy stock or make investments if they knew the market price of it would fall.
"They forced the financial institutions to securitize these shaky mortgages by bundling them together and selling them around the world as investment grade securities."
They never FORCED anyone to do anything. That's the state's job. You can't equivocate physical force with peaceful cooperation. Only a savage would ever think they are the same.
"The investment bankers didn't want to and felt really bad about their billions in bonuses."
Gee, wonder why?
"But these creepy homeowners made them do it."
Nope.
70 Troll
Hate to agree with someone that goes by the name of Troll, but you are right. How friggin' stupid are these people? I know there are predatory lending practices, to say the least, but what kind of idiot would ever even attempt to buy something they couldn't afford? Did these people vote for Bush? Yikes. I make 20,000/yr....can I buy a 400,000 dollar home please. Oh my, I lost it. Those evil bankers.
See I knew He was an assh**le.
ConcernedHusseinCanuck @ 80:
Trolls of a feather....
anneyhussein @ 75:
Be charitable to the Troll David. With his spelling and punctuation it is clear that he is one supportive Mom away from homelessness. He is clearly not employable.
Drew@79 That was satire dude.
Troll (chris?):
Better watch your back, karma's a bitch!
ummm Troll I'm very glad you have a good life. Live it well. I have told my story and you read it completely wrong. No surprise.
82 IdahoMoe
So, you don't think these people have any responsibility for their own lives? Come on. If I can't afford something, I don't buy it. Period. Do I own my own home? Yes. Did I sign onto a stupid mortgage I couldn't afford? NO. What we have to babysit adults now?
David, I'm proud of you for doing what you had to do to fight back and make it back. Good for you for not giving up.
You really didn't let the bastards keep you down.
I have read here about internment camps that have been built around the country. I bet I know who ends up in them. Can't have Texans, Floridians, and any other wealthy southerners be bothered by looking at millions of homeless. Nope, it just wouldn't be civil. As far as someone 'being there' for them, can't happen. Carl Pohlad needs his tax breaks more than they need a home. After all, 3.5 billion just doesn't buy what it used to.....
Troll @ 70:
You are forgetting about information asymmetry. Even the very best and brightest people are no match for the arbitrary decisions at the Fed, which causes EVERYONE involved to suffer.
Did you know that the Fed bailed out Bear Stearns with OUR money? They bailed them out because if they didn't BS would have went bankrupt, and the BILLIONS of dollars in bonuses given out just this January would have had to be returned. So basically what happened is that the Fed bailed a bunch of its friends out on Wall Street, so they can continue to drive their Maseratis while the rest of the country gets screwed?
Are you an individualist or are you retarded?
Perhaps some misunderstand me. IF these people lost their homes (like one in the clip) because of illness, that is totally different. But if they lost their homes because they couldn't afford them, well then they never could afford them. I'd love to have three brand new trucks in my driveway and the banks would loan me the money. Can I afford them? No.
There was another "Hooverville" in Washington DC, populated by World War 1
"Bonus army" veterans who came to Washington to beg Congress to pay them the bonus money it had promised them when they were overseas. President Hoover answered the calls of these brave men by calling out the regular army to destroy their shantytown and teargas and chase the veterans out. Among the officers commanding those troops were Douglas MacArthur and Dwight Eisenhower. Many of those men never forgot this 20 years later when Eisenhower ran for President.
I like to see Bush try to pull this kind shit on veterans today. These young men coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are tough, and you would see a different kind of confrontation. Peaceful, my ass...they'd would burn down the White House!
Peter G @ 84:
Shit, I'm sorry dude...I thought that since this was a serious issue that the posters would be serious.
Fortunately,My wife and I manage a beautiful motel in a beautiful town in beautiful Florida a mile from the beach. I couldn't be more Happy.
ConcernedHusseinCanuck @ 87:
Now you're asking yourself questions. Sybill
"Free Market Hiltons" Going up all over the country... America turning into a thrid world country before our eyes!
68 David Hawes
That's tragic. A good reason for REAL universal healthcare if I ever heard/read it. If that is what all these people went through, then of course there should be government help. But at least one on this clip said it was because he couldn't afford his ballooning mortgage payments. That isn't the same. Obviously he either didn't know what he was signing, or did, and could never afford the home he had.
ConcernedHusseinCanuck @ 91:
Exactly ...you are still an ass though.
enough for today..later taters
“HOMELESS MEN- KEEP GOING. WE CAN’T FEED OUR OWN.”
I was one of the poor fools who evacuated from Houston for Hurricane Rita. Spent 16 hours on the road to go 120 miles to my brother's. All the exits were blocked with signs saying "No vacancies here - keep driving". People were running out of gas and getting stranded all over the highway. Couldn't even exit to turn around & go home - police roadblocks at every exit.
It was viscerally shocking. That's the first time I felt like an "Okie". Looks like a whole lot more people are getting ready to experience it. Only difference now is that the signs are the electric portable kind.
95 IdahoMoe
Actually some were aimed at you. I am not heartless, and I do not believe in letting everybody lose their homes and have their lives devastated due to economics. But I find it very hard to believe that all of this is economics. If it is healthcare problems, yes, it is tragic. If it because Jed couldn't afford his huge mortgage after maxxing out his credit cards and income, knowing full well he couldn't continue, then I don't feel sorry for them. Not everyone who goes through hard times is a victim of government or corporate screwing. Some people just suck at budgeting.
ConcernedHusseinCanuck @ 87:
You must be a civil servant to have an iron ricebowl so secure as to laugh at other's misfortune. With your free health care and ironclad job security the smugness must come very easily. Of course every single mortgagee was assured by their lending institutions that it was all perfectly affordable. Having got their signatures they proceeded to dump these frail investments on others. It so odd to see you endorsing the Bush administrations financial policies. After all The Bushies led the charge to end the regulations on mortgages.
98 IdahoMoe
Thank you. I'll have to tell that one to the agencies I financially support. Sure they'll get a kick out of it.
Drew @ 93:
S'alright. I guess I'd better make it more obvious. On reflection I sounded just like Troll.
While these people are living in tents, just down the highway in SF:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/19/MNAIVMIAP.DTL
102 Peter G
Hmmm....I didn't realize a flamer on a message board could see right through my computer screen. I am not laughing. It's tragic. And once again you can't seem to comprehend my opinion in all your sanctimonious self righteousness. Nice. I don't have a government "job", I am in the construction industry and see this on a daily basis. Know why? Because people CANNOT afford it and never could. That doesn't make me heartless, or pompous. My income depends on people affording construction. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out people with low incomes cannot afford an upper class life, and this isn't just a Bush policy problem. It is here in Canada as well. I could point out numerous customers, friends, and neighbours who cannot afford their lifestyle. I just believe in accountability. Sorry if that doesn't meet your standards.
It's the new HOOVERVILLE
BUSHVILLE
and that's what it should be called by everyone
Peter G @ 104:
I was never clever, so no worries...
or Bush-Hooverville
I think the lesson here is that everyone has their own story and everyone is unique. I never asked for a handout-only what was promised to Me and Not Given. I did what i was told to do from birth. Then I got reemed. I'm not bitter-just causious.
Drew @ 79:
It's called irony.
Some of these people have those tents with 2, 3, or even 4 "rooms". So this is working out quite well for them.
IdahoMoe @ 78:
He's human? He must be, other animals aren't this cruel.
ecotopian @ 113:
Guess you have never met a Dingo.
I hate myself.
ConcernedHusseinCanuck @ 80:
Some probably are "friggin' stupid"; others simply had bad luck. I expect a lot of people who lost their homes did so because of a layoff, a health crisis, or something else outside their control. And maybe they stretched their finances, or didn't fully understand the consequences of their mortgages, and they do deserve blame for that. But if the federal government offers them no safety net, then why should companies like Bear Stearns, which profited (until recently) off these people, get bailed out by the federal government? You can't have it both ways.
Under I'm so old, ...
I remember when one dollar would get two British Pound Sterling, now, it is just the reverse; then, the Canadian dollars were unwelcome, and now they are equal to U$. The EURO is at a record high against the Bu$h Bucks. Thank you, Uncle Miltie Freidman! If you've not read the Shock Doctrine, by Naomi Klein, do. It will explain it all for you. BTW - some other tent town options: Shokdocton, Friedmanville, Bu$hburg, Cheneyopolis.
ConcernedHusseinCanuck @ 91:
But what if you could afford them and then one day couldn't afford them because you lost your job? Are you suddenly stupid because of that? No. Just unlucky. At the time these people took out their mortages, they could afford them. Then one day they couldn't. That doesn't mean they're all morons.
ConcernedHusseinCanuck @ 30:
Actually, this depression will be (and already is for many people) much worse than 1920. In the '20's there was no personal debt and money was still backed up with silver.
Hopefully, you won't learn exactly how things got where they did for these people. But I hope someone is a little more thoughtful with you if it does happen to you.
116 Brian
No, you can't have it both ways, and Bush has screwed up not just the US economy, but many of the trading partners as well. Problem is, without these corporations, where do people work to make a living to afford homes? Bailing out a bank was a win/lose situation no matter how you slice it. If they didn't, investors would panic. If they did (and they did), it pisses off the working class that have suffered so much for so long. Corporate greed has run roughshod over everyone. How do we solve it? I don't know myself, anyone?
Horst @ 117:
Milton Friedman was merely name dropped by Naomi Klein, because he was the figurehead of free markets, which is what Naomi really abhors. He is not responsible for the CIA jackals and economic hitmen coming out of the rocks they live under to undermine other nations' sovereignty. That's the government's fault.
Friedman is responsible for promoting and justifying fiat money, as you alluded to.
ConcernedHusseinCanuck @ 106:
Do you ever listen to yourself CC. You've got sanctimonious self righteousness down to a fine science. I don't think I've seen a more ironic post then that one you did calling for HRC to speak to issues and not attack. As someone who continuously flames and has never posted reasoned analysis of anything I find your last post nearly as ironic. When called on the toxic bullshit you are given to spewing you retreat into petulant anti-American whining that, as a fellow Canadian, I find grating and embarrassing. I can only imagine how our American friends feel about it. I do so enjoy watching you back peddle when you step on your dick ( as above). Stick to funny stuff. You are better at that.
Peter G @ 122:
wow,someone else noticed.Thank You.
122 Peter G
Once again you don't grasp what I said. Either you are...... or....... Fill in the blanks, because it is against commenting policies and I'm tired of dealing with your stupidity. What I stated was NOT backpeddaling. It's called realism typed with actual knowledge of an industry. You do have knowledge of an industry, right? Far be it from me to question your wisdom on something you obviously know nothing about. I've worked damn hard in my life to get where I am, and really could care less what some pompous ass on a message board thinks. Good day to you. And take your mudpuppy with you.
Welcome to the fog-shrouded abyss of 2008.
ConcernedHusseinCanuck @ 124:
he was right CC.....sorry.
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
So, how will having rampant homelessness not bring "the rest of us" down? Will it raise us up somehow?
Your statement is a contradiction. "I know alot of these people were outrighted lied to, but it's still their fault." How is it their fault? Should you need a degree in economics to buy a house in this country?
If my doctor tells me to do something, and turns out he was wrong or mistaken, whose fault is it if I get sicker? It's HIS fault! Same thing with the lenders. They deliberately lied to these people "sure, you can afford it, no problem!".
This story has been around since last year (http://features.us.reuters.com/cover/news/D8C99CD0-AF35-11DC-9E67-616F0DA5.html), but you know what, none of the US media are willing to take it for fear of being branded as "helping the enemy" by exposing what a shambles our US economy is.
And that comes at a price, i.e. access to US White House.. It is a well known fact in K-street that this admin, Bush admin, unlike any other prior administration, regularly revoke WH media access to those US-only media outlets that they deemed would jeopardize their PR talking points.
it won't be long until the US gets Brazil styled favelas.
#120 Canuck
"... without these corporations, where do people work to make a living to afford homes? Bailing out a bank was a win/lose situation ..."
Am I missing something, or is it just and old guy's poor vision that bailing out the mortgagees so they could make their installments to the financial institutions so they would NOT now need to be bailed out by the taxes of those who lost their homes AND those who have not ... (yet) ... such an unwise thing to do. Seems that not helping maintain a stable populace in a rational way, and thereby also sustain the corporatists, suggests the situation might be intentional, sort of like, well, you can choose your Bush disaster to plug in here.
Don't the people who loaned the money bear any responsibility?
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out people with low incomes cannot pay back an upper class loan. But they gave them out anyway, and are now crying about it. Difference is, they're getting bailed out. Why aren't the people?
This isn't the great depression, there are plenty of jobs to be had. They should get a part time job or two and rent an apartment. That's what I did...worked out well for me.
Regardless of whether the economy is slowing down or not, the overall the job market is bettter now that is has been over the last 20 years.
Drew (121),
Regret to inform you that you are mistaken, buddy. Your comment ("Milton Friedman was merely name dropped by Naomi Klein, ...) merely reveals you haven't read the text beneath the dust jacket of the book. Freidman and Jeffrey Sachs, his disciple, are repeatedly referenced and their involvement in the destruction of numerous countries economies is precisely documented. Read a book, bud. It'll do you good; keep you from appearing silly on blogs.
Anyone (oh you troll people you) who blames some of these foreclosed borrowers for their own mess ought to understand that high pressure sales tactics, swiftly rising prices, a profound scarcity of homes near GOOD schools, the fantasy of the "ownership society", ridiculous credit availability (I'm talking NO money down! and no income check), a complete lack of risk assumption for the mortgage originator ALL work together to entice people into loans that they ought not have. Add to that lousy renter protection laws so that the rental market is substandard and you have the mess we're in. Friends of mine have gone in for re/financing and been told they could qualify for WAY more than made sense given their incomes. The pressure is on. The broker suffers NO consequences for the bad loan since it's resold instantly. People are desperate for good schools and safe neighborhoods. We're all told to stretch on the early payments as the house will increase in value and salaries will rise.... Please be aware of the way that the deck is just completely stacked against any but the most sophisticated borrowers. You have to be able to do the math using amortization tables -- you have to know what amortization means. You have to be on guard. Until there are regulations that require that every borrower be given one sheet of paper that says IN LARGE PRINT: MONTHLY PAYMENTS for principle, interest, insurance, mortgage insurance, taxes, typical utilities, typical repairs, neighborhood standards and the like -- and at the end it says IN LARGE PRINT this is what you can expect to pay every month..... Then a lot of people will finally be informed. Information is power. Mortgage brokers depend on asymmetry to get their commissions. It's a nasty job.
Not to say there aren't sophisticated speculators, but even some speculators might have been duped. Markets crash eventually, and it was pretty clear some years ago that housing price increases were WAY outstripping income increases. Something had to give......
*Michelle Malkin appears* "How dare that piece of filth pig dog child allow himself to be filmed living in a tent city! He must be disloyal. I will now publish the exact location of this low-class swine so that some true patriots can visit him and silence him for his disobedience. Be sure to mark his defiled corpse by branding a W into his forehead so that we can all praise your defense of freedom. However, I am not responsible for anything that happens to the child because all conservatives are moral because we say so.
Besides, he has a bicycle so his parents must be rich. We have to seize that bicycle and give it to someone more worthy, such as Ann Coulter. Also, did you notice that the child had shoes? If his family is so hungry, why doesn't he boil the shoe and eat it?"
in Canada, banks will not loan you a mortgage if your salary is low and/or if your credit hirtory is weak. Banks are more strictly regulated.
the probably in the US is that lenders and banks still operated the same way they did during the days of the Wild-Wild-West.
The attitude of some conservatives who are defending the banks and lenders still have the same mentality of those evil doers during the Wild-Wild-West.
#136 Fills
Fils,
Didn't you know? It was the fault of the indigenous people that the white man stole their land a slaughtered their populations. Geez, man. You probably think the fault lies with the murderous settlers, or something ridiculous like that!
booboouu @ 132:
hahahahaha! you made good jokes! but your statistics about the job market is just like your name.
Bushed! @ 134:
Excellent post.
A national brochure should be developed and every potential homeowner needs to fill in the blanks with whatever help is available before ever deciding to buy a house.
These are very scary times, and we do not know how we get by from one week to the next. Gas to go to work is getting tough, making or house payments is even harder. We get calls every hour asking where the money is at. We lose sleep wondering what the hell we are going to do. Somehow we get by, but it gets progressively worse everyday. As stated here, if one of us falls sick, we are dead in the water.
However, the video shows where we can go any any moment. I am sure a lot of these people are honest folks, and it makes me very sad for them because nobody seems to care. That's the way it is, and I wish it were different.
Instead, the government pours billions every day into a never ending war, giving tax breaks to the rich, and let's the Fed bail out their cronies. I wish I could go to the Fed and let them give me money. It simply does not work that way. Now those that really need help will not see it. I see very, very hard times coming, and I believe this is just the beginning.
CC
Those are kids living in those conditions. They had no choice in their fate. I'm sure camping out gets old after a couple of weeks.
5 minute missconduct.
The empty can makes the most noise.>
Stonicus, yours is a voice of clearness and rationality. Thank you.
--JudyHusseinLou
Its like a convention of people banned by Daily Kos, keeps growing and growing.
Didn't we all know this day was coming?
Washington and the Media will have their man - and the hell with the voters.
MSNBC today began the first new show run by David Gregory. One of two new shows aimed specifically at putting their candidate in the White House.
On this historic day of the 5th year of the war, Gregory had been on the air for 23 minutes straight -before I shut him off - without mentioning anything but Obama and Wright. Like a secretive whacko fanatic he clipped one liners from all over the country and introduces them to prove how Obama is sinking in the polls and how destructive this is to his campaign, and how Hillary and McCain now stand good chances to win.
But where Obama never uttered one unkind word toward anyone, and where Wright only spoke to a small group of Blacks, inside his own church and never uttered one word of harm against any man, black or white -nor ever intended his words to be used outside to incite violence against others, this is not so with either MSNBC, NBC, CNN, David Gregory, Chris Matthews the Republican party or Hillary and her supporters. Who speak to deliberately harm and incite others, to further their own personal interest, and the country be damned.
See the dif. ?
Today is the first day of looking into the white mans territory- RACE IN AMERICA -FROM THE WHITE POINT OF VIEW!
I urge others to look for other clips proving those who live in glass houses ..well you know the rest.
And I will NAME NAMES.
1. A MISSISSIPPI CHURCH AND IT'S RACISM
Fellowship Baptist Church in Saltillo, Mississippi, voted out a 12-year-old boy who “asked Jesus to live in his heart” at the church two weeks ago. Why the ban? Joe is biracial, and church members didn’t want the black side of his family attending with him.
They were “afraid Joe might come with his people and have blacks in the church,” church pastor John Stevens told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal.
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/8305.html
2. A REPUBLICAN SAMPLE OF INCITING VIOLENCE AND RACISM
"“You know, the Lord can cause the rain to fall on the just and the unjust alike,” says the Idaho Republican Bill Sali. Encouraging violence against non -whites.
"... the Senate invited a Hindu leader to deliver the daily invocation. Apparently, this has sent Idaho’s Bill Sali (R) over the edge.
“We have not only a Hindu prayer being offered in the Senate, we have a Muslim member of the House of Representatives now, Keith Ellison from Minnesota. Those are changes — and they are not what was envisioned by the Founding Fathers,” asserts Sali.
Sali says America was built on Christian principles that were derived from scripture. He also says the only way the United States has been allowed to exist in a world that is so hostile to Christian principles is through “the protective hand of God.”
According to Congressman Sali, the only way the U.S. can continue to survive is under that protective hand of God. He states when a Hindu prayer is offered, “that’s a different god” and that it “creates problems for the longevity of this country.”
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/08/10/gop-bigotry-rears-its-ugly-head/
3. THIS ISSUE WAS RAISED BEFORE OBAMA AND WRIGHT:
"I’m telling you Christians, what’s wrong with you? Why can’t you hit the streets? Why can’t you clean it out yourselves?"
"Basketball players -- multimillionaires can’t write a paragraph. Football players, multimillionaires, can’t read. Yes. Multimillionaires. Well, Brown v. Board of Education, where are we today? It’s there. They paved the way. What did we do with it? The White Man, he’s laughing -- got to be laughing. 50 percent drop out -- rest of them in prison."
Bill Cosby at the NAACP Convention on the 50th Aniv. of Brown v. Board of Ed.
Good question bill, what is wrong with the white Christians?
That's just a sample of the horrors of discrimination and racism, and bigotry that are out there - in everyones neighborhood
in every city and in every state.
Barack tried to bring us all above that, -but Hillary and the media want to remain there. So be it.
pissedoffpatricia@65
Patricia, what you described sounds dreadful. I remember having it tough as a kid growing up, but nothing like that (maybe because we didn't have that much to lose to begin with). I understand how you feel. I agree with what you said about the people who are now homeless. Many of them were just working people trying to get their small piece of the American Dream. They trusted the banks and mortgage brokers to be truthful about the terms of their mortgages. Hey, I've been there. I've sat in an office and tried to make sense of 50 page mortgage documents composed of boilerplate legalese, while some geek keeps telling you "Oh, it's Ok, just sign here, here, here, and here!" It was tough for me, and I have some legal background. I can just imagine what it was for these people. Oh, but the government will bail out Bear Stearns to the tune of 200 billion dollars of OUR money. What a fucking country!
TheConstitution @ 62:
It's called cooperation. You help out those who are down, and they help you when you are down. That's how you build a strong society, not by pushing materialism, debt, and consumption so a few people can get super-rich, then shrugging when a huge swath of the population is crushed by the machine.
Capitalism is going to kill us.
Troll @ 76:
Troll you're a jackass. I'll bet my paycheck that you never worked an honest day in your miserable life. I'd love for you to work at my factory. We'd break you in half.
TheConstitution @ 62:
These people gambled and lost. I feel sorry for them to the fact they may have been duped by more than questionable lending practices, but in the end, its their own fault for buying a house they couldn’t afford. A government bail out on these people will bring the rest of us down.
Ok, fine. If that's the case we want back the fucking $200 billion that George Bush just gave away to Bear Stearns
Either this administration/government is criminal or psychotic. There are no other choices. You make the decision. Either way, they need to GO!
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