KS Sen Pat Roberts Wants To Put Foreclosure Relief Bill "On The Back Burner"
By Logan Murphy Monday May 05, 2008 3:00pm
Kansas Senator, Pat Roberts, is in for a tough fight to hold on to his seat this year and his rhetoric and lack of interest in helping the hundreds of thousands of American families caught up in the foreclosure crisis isn't going to win many hearts and minds in his home state:
The odds of Congress passing a big housing-rescue package depend largely on vulnerable Republican senators such as New Hampshire’s John Sununu.
“There’s a feeling among some that, ‘I read the fine print, and I didn’t take on more than I could afford,” says Sen. Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican who is up for re-election this year. The suggestion is that he’s reluctant to do something his constituents would see as unfairly helping people who were irresponsible. Sen. Roberts says he worries about the “unintended consequences” of Congress acting rashly, and he wants to put the FHA proposal “on the back burner” until he has a chance to study it further. Read on...
As with Sen John McCain and the rest of the GOP, Roberts is woefully out of touch with reality and the plight of the average American. His opponent, Democrat Jim Slattery, is going to give him all he can handle. Howard Dean's 50 state strategy is still in play and this year looks good for Democrats, even in traditional Republican strongholds. If you would like to show some love to Slattery and help rid the U.S. Senate of Mr. Memory Pills, you can find out more about him and donate here. Rep Nancy Boyda, who has worked hard and done a great job in the House, also faces a challenge from the right wing sludge machine and Jim Ryun, the hard core neocon she defeated back in 2006. You can donate to her campaign here.
Login or Register to post comments.
"Until he has a chance to study it further", eh? And I suppose the studying has also been moved to the back burner.
We must RUSH to help our dishonest financial institutions to prevent them from suffering the pangs of loss due to the harsh reality of the free market.
Normal Americans can go Cheney themselves.
This message is a paraphrase of the GOP position on economic equality.
well....hang on here...while I would certainly agree that Pat Roberts should go, I will agree with him on this point. I'm debt free. I didn't take on an unholy mortgage. I don't have to drive the latest german sports car. I didn't buy a vacation home. I played it safe.
Why should I bail out someone that knew full well that they were getting in way over their head?
He's probably supporting the gas tax holiday for all those people who bought a Hummer.
If the people of his district STILL vote for him, then they are neanderthals who belong on the bottom of the economic rung. Remember, the Lord helps them who help themselves. If they refuse to vote him out, I have no sympathy.
there is only one GOD for the gop
CORPORATION. all others are
fodder to support them. ks sen pat roberts is
a fU@king bastard to the fascist elite gop.
no matter how depressed the country and American
people are and becoming, he must continue
the abject greed of his gop party of reichwing fascists.
Oh please Drew. Go troll somewhere else. Bush dismantled all the protections Clinton put in place to help the average Joe. I bet you think the 18 cent Tax holiday is a great idea too.
Drew @ 3:
My husband and I are in the same place you are, no debt. But the govt bailed out a big mortgage institution at the blink of an eye. That was our money they used. Some people were robbed in this mortgage mess while others were greedy. I have no problem helping the people who were robbed and I also want laws enforced so this sort of thing cannot happen again.
Middle America! Rise up! Vote for ANOTHER four years of Republican rule!
The liberals are destroying America.
We don't need employer or government funded healthcare! We don't need unemployment insurance! We don't need Social Security! They are only a drain on our great industries! We must eliminate them. Only then can you keep your money and you will be FREE!!
Gawwwd Bless A...Merrrr..I..Caaaa...Laaaaand....that I loooooooove.....
Yes, America. Fall for this bullshit AGAIN. You'll get everything you have coming to you.
In Zen they call it "frost over snow", or "legs on a snake"; in western parlance it is "pulling oneself up by one's own bootstraps"; try that sometime--it's impossible (but, then, a mighty effort to do so can be illuminating if self-discovery, rather than enhanced personal effectiveness and power, is the goal).
If people were were swindled, why not a legal action instead of a demand of sacrifice?
Drew @ 3:
i commend your stable position in life. so, why do you object to this?
you already fully support welfare for the massively profitable
corporations. or did you not know this?
Drew @ 3:
Exactly Drew. And why should I help finance roads you drive on if your area can't afford to build them outright? And why should I help with your police and firefighter costs? When you walk around in public, you should know you may be a victim of crime. Or when you move into a domicile, you should know it might catch on fire.
There was a story on our local news here in Fla. about a young couple, they had two kids and a big beautiful home plus two nice newer cars. They decided to buy two condos at the top of the housing boom. They bought them to flip. Of course the bubble popped and they were stuck in a world of debt. They couldn't sell the condos for what they paid for them and took a hell of a hit making their own home payments plus trying to pay for the empty condos. They are about to lose everything and the wife whined that they made the decision to buy the condos and flip them so they could one day afford to send their kids to college.
If they wanted to be sure their kids could afford college there were much wiser ways to go about it. They saw a chance and became greedy.
I have no sympathy for this couple and in my opinion they do not deserve a bail out.
Drew @ 3:
Why did you bail out Bear Stearns?
A lot of people were swindled and the perps need to be prosecuted. However that doesn't mean that the government should just throw money at the problem. That will only lead to more corruption and waste.
I was practically harassed by a mortgage lender a few years ago to sign up with his firm. I'm glad I didn't, but it only makes me feel sick to think that people will be able to keep their overpriced McMansions when I deferred buying a home. While I'm certainly voting democrat in the next election I hope they don't fall into the bad habits that made "liberal" a bad word.
miss_kitty @ 13:
You're confusion the issue, Drew isn't complaining about taxes. He's just observing that it's not fair for people to get free McMansions from the government. (Don't forget that the rich will also benefit from the "bailout".)
As long as mortgage people work on commission they will swindle, lie and cheat to "make their numbers" in order to feed their need for greed.
I worked in that industry for 15 years and finally moved on after working for two companies who would have sold their own mothers a libor arm if it meant putting money in their own pockets (that is as long as their mother wasn't black.) Yes, companies "redline" and if you're not white and middle class they will dump you into the subprime soup cause that's where the money is.
People who sell shoes one day can sell you a mortgage the next and as long as they make their sales quotas, they'll have a job. Another fine kettle of fish brought to you by de-regulation.
I have to agree with Roberts.
People who took out HELOCs should have thought about what they were doing, money is not free.
People who were so greedy they bought homes to flip and then got caught when prices fell deserve what they got.
People who were too stupid to see the mania of the largest housing bubble in the history of the world deserve having their ass handed to them on a platter.
People who were too stupid to not sell to some other fool when prices were near the top and are not now renting deserve everything they have coming to them.
I can understand why some people would be resentful. If a family has been working hard and making their mortgage payments for say twenty years on a modest house, and then a large new home is built next door and the owner gets bailed out of his mortgage payments because he was fooled into a bad loan, that would anger the family who have worked long and hard for what they have.
Drew @ 3:
Great. Another self indulged loser with no point using other people's real plight to promote their own singular "success".
BTW, Countrywide has been lowered to junk status after predatory lending practices and illegal methods (like borrowers being told to lie about their income). And they're in trouble for preying on their customers who are headed toward bnky
Lawmakers target mortgage lenders
Senate subcommittee investigates possible abuse of the bankruptcy code by mortgage lenders.
Yes, by all mean Senator Roberts, let’s put the FHA proposal “on the back burner” until
you have a chance to study it furtherafter the coming elections. Yeah, that’s the ticket.The predators should be forced to pay back what was illicit, use the money to secure reputable loans for people who were openly defrauded, and to hell with the bankers - they got what they deserved. Unfortunately, their losses are passed on to you. Every Time.
"Sen. Roberts says he worries about the “unintended consequences” of Congress acting rashly, and he wants to put the FHA proposal “on the back burner” until he has a chance to study it further..."
How quickly did this sonofabitch vote for the 'Patriot' Act, and what sort of studying of it did he do?
Defending Drew
Drew is merely pointing out that many "speculators" jumped into an over-inflated market, both corporate and individual, hoping to get rich quick. Others grabbed at "0% down" mortgages, ignored reading their contracts and took variable rates, instead of being prudent and savvy with their investing. As a far-left liberal who also played it safe and continued renting as prices skyrocketed here in California, I'm not thrilled at the prospect of bailing out either side of this fiasco. Sellers or buyers. Shame on the lot of them. If only there was a real free market to correct itself, but morons on both sides of the political spectrum won't ever let that happen, especially when they're pandering for votes. Can you spell R-E-G-U-L-A-T-I-O-N?
pissed off patricia @ 14:
I'm with you on this one. But since there appears to be no oversight or regulation of the banking industry there are many other good intentioned home buyers out there who were sold a bill of goods. Stupidity on one side, out and out greed on the other.
pissed off patricia @ 20:
True. But a couple of points:
1. Your hypothetical family would see the value of their own hard-earned property go down if they were suddenly surrounded by foreclosures, as is happening in some neighborhoods.
2. As I understand the relief bill, the government isn't going to be making anybody's mortgage payments. The loans will simply be restructured. People will still have to pay their mortgages.
I don't know about anyone else, but my husband and I had to jump through hoops in order to buy our house last year.
We had to provide copies of checking and savings statements, check stubs from both employers, even our 2006 tax return. How is it that people were allowed to buy homes without providing proof of income?
RLeeds @ 26:
If that's the case they should wait and see what the legislation says. I think we all can agree that people that are buying properties and flipping them should not be bailed out. That same homeowner might need some help keeping their own home if it was bought legitimately. I don't think the senate is interested in putting speculators in the same status as the average homeowner.
Ron @ 15:
Like we had a choice, right Ron? Using your logic - why do you support the Iraq war?
Good - I'm glad he's taking a good look at this. Many of these housing 'victims' used their houses as ATM's buying boats, vacations, clothing, additional houses, etc. thereby driving up the housing prices until they were completely beyond the reach of people with normal means and savings plans.
Dr. Acula @ 31:
I didn't EVER!
Ron @ 33:
EXACTLY my point Ron. Drew didn't "bail out Bear Sterns" either.
first, none of this shit would have happened had not that damn fool w invaded iraq and caused the price of gas to triple. how many foreclosures were there before the iraq invasion? how many foreclosures were there when gas was
$1.19/gallon?
second,
does anyone know the specifics of this bill barney frank has introduced to allow some odd billions of dollars to be made available to fund fha loans to help out homeowners facing foreclosure? as i understand, there will be no ltv (loan to value) restrictions and no credit score or payment history restrictions to qualify for this loan. a borrower must only qualify on ability to pay (debt to income), as i understand. if anyone knows the specifics of this bill, please post where to find this info. if what i understand is true, then this bill would go a long way to solving one of americas greatest problems. then of course, we can move on to getting the troops out of iraq and then even solve the rest of this countrys problems. wow, now i see why the damn republican't crooks will not support this bill.
RLeeds @ 26:
If McInsane wins...not only won't we have regulation...we won't even have a President that is reguLAR.
Dr. Acula @ 34:
No but I don't see him objecting to it.
Dr. Acula @ 34:
Bear Stearns is a PUBLIC bailout of a private corporation...same as the Feds bailing out Chrysler. So. Yes...he did. We all did. I don't remember ever signing off on that.
"I didn't borrow more than I could afford".
Obviously he hasn't look at America's balance sheet after the Republicans got nailed in 2006.
In God's name, where do all you housing slaves expect the Federal Government
to get the money to bail you out?
That's a simple question.
You cannot reply, can you?
We are 9 trillion dollars in debt. We are in the midst of 2 wars.
And YOU want money? LOL.
How stupid are you?
You bet. You lost. Grow the fuck up.
mr bigstuff @ 35:
A voice of reason that some of the visitors here missed.
Of course this is on the back-burner. Roberts is VERY busy with phase 2 of his 9-11 investigation.
How 'bout the photo accompanying this post showing W giving his best "Sieg Heil" salute?! His grandfather would be so proud!
miss kitty, financing roads and firefighters is a lot different than financing a giant house and two Mercedes. I don't mind the former; that's our civic duty. I don't even mind the latter, if that person can afford it to begin with. You should know the difference.
Left&Left, I feel successful because I didn't become a debt slave so I could feel rich. Am I actually rich? No. I would like to help anyone that truly isn't a victim of their own stupidity.
Ron, I didn't bail out Bear Stearns. What makes you think that I did? You presume that I don't know the difference between someone that really needs help and a taxpayer funded corporate welfare program.
dadams, please explain to me how I already support corporate welfare, because I really don't know. Then explain to how it is you don't, if I do.
P.D. Yes, corporate america and Bush dismantled bankruptcy protection for the little guy. That's a bad deal. And no, I don't support the gas tax holiday. Supply and demand suggests that the price of a gallon of gas will rise along...ahh forget it.
I'm surprised that a few people on this site assumed a lot about me, only because I disagreed with Logan Murphy's argument. Shameful.
Brad @ 11:
because your justice depT. works for the corp. now??
LibVet @ 40:
End the war and hand the Iraqis a bill for delivering freedom. They can pay us out of the oil revenues. Right? Huh? Wasn't that the plan?
Drew @ 44:
Aren't you assuming that we the taxpayers are bailing these homeowners out, when we haven't seen what's in the bill?
"End the war and hand the Iraqis a bill for delivering freedom. They can pay us out of the oil revenues. Right? Huh? Wasn’t that the plan?"
How stupid. If you want to assert a point, do so. If you are too chicken to refute, then you can wash my underwear.
Please address the point I made, stupid.
Oh, wait, you already lost so you had to change the subject.
Does this mean you are going to wash my clothes?
This isn't about helping the consumers. Every proposal I've seen helps the lenders more than the borrowers. It's all about keeping the bubble going. How many more times do we want this to happen?
There are so many vacant houses now, the market will re-adjust if we just leave it alone. The people losing houses now will be able to get cheaper houses soon enough.
We could all live a little more frugally. Let's change the "American Dream" for something more realistic to reflect the reality of the situation. Personally, I'd gladly take in somebody to my house - simply in return for help with the gardening.
Drew @ 44:
SHAMEFUL? Hey drew, we're talking about the expenditure of taxes. Corporate welfare, including the Bear Sterns bailout-tax money. You financed it, if you pay taxes in the US. Roads, police and fire, taxes. People needing aid after they've been stripped of their homes, you can bet some taxes will be involved there, if for no other reason, the homeless and people who have file bnky will not be paying any. More for you to pay, or less for you to benefit from.
The shameful parts of this is that you think people not seeing it your way is somehow a shameful thing, that you think EVERYONE in dire straights is there because of "financing a giant house and two Mercedes" and your inability to come to a logical conclusion, based on facts emanating from THE REAL WORLD.
Drew @ 44:
Hey, I kind of agree with most of what you said here, Drew. I could have hopped on a sub-prime mortgage deal 10 years ago (and a former workmate tried to sell me one of these things) and I stayed out.
And a lot of people like us and played it straight and sane will already be penalized by falling property values- why should I have to be double-dipped? There's got to be another way around this. I'd concede that the Bankruptcy Bill/Act has gotta go, but after that I'm a bit fuzzy.
BTW, I disagree with one thing: Shameful. It's the internet. People watch videos of guys fucking goats (Paulists all, I'll bet). That everyone at a certain website seem to be piling on you...not so shameful.
LibVet @ 48:
My point. You already proved it.
Homeownership is a privilege, not a right. Owning a house is not part of a minimum standard of living, however you choose to define that term. Distressed homeowners are not more worthy of our sympathy and support than the millions of Americans struggling in poverty. And certainly not on to the "helping those less fortunate than us" theory.
Relocation assistance for qualifying families facing foreclosure? Absolutely.
A government bailout to help people continue to live in homes that are beyond their means? Why?
Bailing out home owners is not a progressive policy.
Let me see if I understand this. A lot of people got in over their heads with easy to get mortgages. They stop paying, the banks foreclose, and people are evicted. The banks own the assets that people could not pay for. Then the banks can't pay their creditors because they are not generating income on the empty houses they own so Bush gives them taxpayer funds to cover their asses. Does the government get ownership of the assets, the empty houses?
Ron, I see your point. I haven't read the bill and I don't know what's in it. But where would the money come from otherwise?
Hey, and I agree with Drew too - maybe for the same and maybe some different reasons. In any case, he doesn't deserve the full-team body blow for things he never said!
"financing a giant house and two Mercedes" = Reagan's apocryphal stories about welfare queens driving Cadillacs.
Shameful
Drew @ 55:
It is my guess that the loans will be restructured but, let's wait and see.
"My point. You already proved it."
Are you 12 years old?
Believe me, I have seen many, many morons who have an internet connection and cannot prove their points. Children and morns. "My point. You already proved it."
If you had anything to back yourself up, you had the chance to put it forward. But, no...
Have a good life, [Deleted]. You put your family's financial future up for grabs and now you and [Deleted] hoping against hope for a bail out that will never happen. There is not enough money. It's simple. [Deleted]. There is not enough money, as I have previously described.
Who cares about the dishonest? Nobody. You have been disingenuous in this conversation (demonstrably so) and perhaps you were disingenuous on your mortgage application. Tell the truth now, you lied. Now you want the taxpayers to bail you out.
[Don't attack other posters. Going after the message is fine-Sitemonitor]
There is no money for you. We are 9 to 53 TRILLION in debt. We are in 2 wars. You lose. It's that simple. There is no money to bail you out.
and = are
YourMom @ 56:
Have you ever read any of his shit here? He's said it here, or in other posts. Drew's posts are a veritable crapfest based on lies and poor reasoning and
Reich-wingAyn Randian memesmiss kitty, you're doing it again, even after my clarification.
I don't mind if people don't agree. I mind that you assumed that I was something that I'm not AND that you're assuming that I don't think that some people honestly got ripped off.
I don't care about Drew.
Let's be grown ups here. This is not Jr. High.
Where is the Federal Government going to get the money to
bail out those who bought more than they could afford?
Answer that.
Drew @ 62:
"I’m surprised that a few people on this site assumed a lot about me, only because I disagreed with Logan Murphy’s argument. Shameful."
What do you call that?
miss_kitty @ 64:
Sorry, how is "Exactly Drew. And why should I help finance roads you drive on if your area can’t afford to build them outright? And why should I help with your police and firefighter costs? When you walk around in public, you should know you may be a victim of crime. Or when you move into a domicile, you should know it might catch on fire..." making an assumption about you?
kill the messenger! Kill the messenger!
Faster pussycat! Kill! Kill!
LOL!
Good-bye everyone. I have a day to do here.
But, good grief, get a grip on reality, morons.
You bet. You lost.
Grow up.
You bet. You lost.
Grow up.
You bet. You lost.
Grow up.
...and put Wall Street relief on the front burner.
Typical red state Republican charlatan who has conned his people into voting for a man who is "just like them" while he screws them over big time.
miss kitty, I may have posted once before to Crooks and Liars; maybe twice. I like the Ayn Rand comment, though.
Drew @ 69:
Then you're a different drew.
[Yes. He is a different Drew. Site Monitor]
LibVet @ 67:
"Grow up." You might want to take your own advice. Your mantra "You bet. You lost. Grow up" is hardly the stuff of big boy maturity and long pants.
miss_kitty @ 65:
BTW Drew...what's the answer to my question?
Oh man, I love it! I absolutely love it when people think that the government can sweep in and provide relief to the economy and everything will be okay. What I love more though is that when people actually stand up and point out that it's not feasible, but actually idiotic for the government to step in and try to fix things, that there are those that call them stupid, idiotic, and my personal favorite "out of touch".
Look folks, no matter what happens with this bill or any other kind of "relief", the only real outcome from it will be higher levels of inflation than we're already experiencing. We don't have the money to pay for the stuff we're already doing, and now we have to pay for these "economic stimulus checks" and possibly some kind of mortgage relief. We didn't even have the $30 billion to bail out Bear Stearns. The only way that something like this could be "paid" for (just like our stimulus checks) is by printing more money, which seems to be the Fed's solution for all our problems lately. It's absolutely ridiculous to think that there won't be any consequences to something like this.
AMERICA . . . all Republicans care about are corporations. They do not give a damn about you. Wake the hell up and get a clue.
miss kitty, you're doing a good job of answering your own posts. Oh...sorry...were you talking to me, or the other Drew?
"Sorry Sen. Roberts, but I've got the crystal meth simmerin' slow on the back burner.
Could ya'll move it up to the front?
If I don't get this batch cooked 'for mornin', them bankers gonna repo the trailer..."
Drew, I wouldn't waste your time arguing with someone like miss_kitty. She's one of the many uneducated sheep on this website that spout out the same crap over and over again. Some people will never change simply because they won't admit that they were wrong.
We should put Pat Roberts on the "back burner" and turn up the heat to fry him. He's a piece of sh!t.
It's about time that Kansans do us a favor and vote this idiot (along with Brownback the zealot) out of office.
Uh-huh... Kansan Pat Roberts wants to put the foreclosure relief bill for the little guy and gal on the back burner ehh.... Well, Kansas, balls in your court folks... This guy is evidently up for reelection this year... So waddaya gonna do??? Put this little fuck back in place to screw you folks a little longer... Or maybe elect someone with a... I don't know.. A SOUL maybe??? Think that sounds harsh? Maybe, but I bet this prick was first in line to sign off on bailing out the big financial institutions... Which incidentally, has a legion of lawyers whose big job is to, in fact, create all that hard to read, even harder to understand legal gibberish fine print...
I'm sick of the meme that average people who should have known better, took on more debt than they should have when it was 'all' the so-called econ experts up to and including Alan Greenspan right along with all these hi-falutin financial institutions this government just spent our tax money to bail out, who encouraged everyone and their pets to get in on the home ownership 'piece-o-the-American dream'. At the time, the meme was go into debt, the prices of homes will only go up... Get in and and buy your dream house now at these rates or join up and play the flipper game and get rich..It's so, easy, we'll help every step-o-the-way..
But now?? Its ma and pa Kettles fault they got hoodwinked and are floundering in a sea of debt... What bullshit!!! What a pack of lies!!!!! FUCK The mortgage industry, this is why I am a lifelong renter..... Can't trust the banks, can't trust the government, pretty much can't trust anyone but the person you're sleeping with and even then..... To quote the space marine in 'Aliens'... "We're in some pretty shit now".....JD
Drew @ 75:
Gee drew I don't know. Do you see a post on this thread made by someone called drew who is not you?
Still not answering my question....
Joshej @ 77:
When I'm wrong, I admit it. Who the hell are you anyway? No one with much posting history or cred...
As for 'uneducated' and 'sheep'-well I think that shows how much you know about me.
And if you find many of the people on this site 'uneducated sheep' wtf is your oh so superior self doing here, anyway?
Your post is very trolly.
Wow, this topic "offically" brings out the "morans" and knee-jerkers among the "progressive," doesn't it?
Sorry, but it is just BAD POLICY all around to bail out so-called "homeowners" who got in at the bottom of the housing Ponzi scheme.
It's not a partisan issue, as I can point to dozens of prominent non wingers, moderates or progressives (myself included, although I am not prominent) who support neither bailout, for Wall Street OR "Main Street."
Isn't this the very same Pat Roberts that was supposed to finish investigating the failures of the intelligence community in the run up to 9/11? And kinda never got around to it, I think America is still waiting for the results of that investigation -- WHERE EVER it might lead.
Gee folks, wonder what percentage of mortgage holders are in need of a govt. handout? Any of yall know? Maybe next time you folks will not kick, bawl and threaten to hold your collective breaths until someone is given a loan he/she is totally unqualified for.
If you look around a little bit you will find a profit motive in here somewhere.
Profit is the soul reason for the repiglican party!
Isn't it obvious what they are?
We, for some reason think that Fascism is a recent thing.
Homer saying 'dough.
Every dominant political (King/Pope/Shaman/Pharaoh/Alexander/ Parliament/Dictator/Congress/Stalin/Prime Minister/Ramses/Queen/Elected/Caesar/ Unelected/President) system... has always controlled the economy of its time.
Do you need to read that again?
Economic Alpha ALWAYS equals Military Alpha, there are no exceptions.
And Economic control is always the UpSideDown funnel.
You need to read that again.
I think volumes of empirical evidence should make this a very basic concept when teaching and writing text about history. You know, starting in the 4th or 5th grade.
I was going to make some nasty, stereo typed comment about KS and their repug representation. Guess I'll keep my "elitist remarks" to myself.
I wish America would open it's eyes and see what selfish, self centered representatives they have on their behalf. Is this really reflective of how they feel about their country?
This is sad.
I really am of multiple minds about this topic.
On the one hand, I have zero sympathy for people who bought big houses without reading the paperwork or attempting to understand what they were signing. When you sign a contract you are bound by the terms, and if you didn't understand the terms you shouldn't have signed it.
On the other hand, the collapse of the housing market is causing catastrophe. If you think that the fools who signed up for predatory mortgages are the only ones going to suffer, you are just as foolish. This is affecting not only our economy, but the global economy as well. The dollar was already in poor shape because of the Iraq occupation - this is not helping, to be charitable.
And so, my pragmatic side (saying that a homeowner bailout is necessary) is at war with the side of me that's saying that many of these folks are getting what they deserve.
Then, on the third hand, my parents are retiring this year and they bought a foreclosure in order to do so without a mortgage. Just to point out that not everybody is suffering - some people, like the 'rents, who scrimped and saved and sacrificed for 40-odd years, are making out pretty well.
Somehow I think there are a few fat cats in the mortgage industry who have been licking their chops over this outcome. Sure their corporation is tanking but they don't care. To let them collapse would, according to some, take us from recession to depression in a blink. The government doesn't want that. But to bail out the corporations that edged around (if not outright broke) the law to begin with would not be popular when it comes to re-election. Helping out all of those poor saps who were 'suckered' into those loans is the perfect solution for the corporation. They still get their money, or most of it, somehow. The politician looks good for helping the little guy. And the little guy gets his McMansion. Everyone wins?
What I have found lacking in any discussion of a solution to this cluster is accountability from the mortgage industry. Keep them from collapse but then what? Tighten up the laws to make it harder for them to pull this next time? They'll just find something else that people will trample each other to get to because of our society of greed. Jack Damage was right - I remember many features in the MSM at the height of the market urging people to buy, buy buy. CNN and Faux were particularly guilty of this. Yet within the same half hour you would hear another story about the tremendous amount of credit card debt the average American holds. Ironic; these are just the people who were urged to buy their dream houses 15 minutes ago. Mr. G and I would shake our heads over this and both agreed the eventual outcome couldn't be good.
So many contributed to this shithole of a mess it is now going to be impossible to put to right. Can't blame all of the little guys. The mortgage companies took advantage of Greenspan keeping interest rates too low for too long. I don't think we will ever see a good solution and I'm no fan of Roberts, but maybe he does have a brain cell or two if he has decided to put bailouts on hold.
Drew @ 3:
Well good for you. Because it's all about you, right Drew?
Thanks for nothin', and when the day comes that you need help, you can call ole Pat Roberts and the GOP for some of that "compassionate conservatism".
Bitter_Renter @ 19:
How about all those millions of people who had their jobs outsourced after buying their homes? Like several people I know.
Go fuck yourself!
miss_kitty @ 82:
He sounds like an imbecile to me miss kitty.
Yea, speaking of "back burners," did he ever finish that Phase II of the investigation into pre-war intelligence on Iraq, when he was chairman; hell no. Back burner for him means "kill."
Americans want GOP neocons behind bar!
If it were big business relief, I'm sure he'd rush to push it through.
Forget programming or building cars. This country needs to reinvigorate its tar and feathering industry.
Thanks for the shout-out!
Great piece.
-bb
Does he wear a flag pin? Because he's about as anti-American as they come. He is one of the biggest enablers of the Bush regime.
YourMom @ 49:
And what about the responsible people????? We bought a house we could actually afford (imagine that!) 12 years ago. We NEED to move, the sooner the better. My husband got a new job (thank God) and he's currently driving 1.5 hours each way. We have one 10 year old car and one new car which we bought only for the commute (before that we had a 17 year old car) so we're clearly not getting new cars every 2 years like a lot of people. Our house has been on the market since September, we have had 2 (count them 1, 2) lookers since then. Not one house like ours has sold in our neighborhood in nearly a year and a half (before that they wouldn't stay on the market more than a couple of days) even priced $30,000 less than 2 years ago. Now there is one priced $8,000 more than what we bought ours for 12 years ago. Where's my bailout? You idiots that got scammed and greedy have royally screwed me over. I didn't gamble, I still lost. IT SUCKS! So no, I'm with Drew. I have so sympathy for either the lenders or the borrowers in this situation. I'm just mad at the world now.
Login or Register to post comments.