Good morning Congressmen, Senators and members of the Bush Administration. We're the honest and prudent people of America, and we have a message for you as it pertains to Federal involvement in bailing out housing gamblers, mortgage fraudsters and failed flippers:
WE'RE PISSED OFF, WE VOTE, AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT!!!!!
Those Who Avoided Risk Call Plan A Raw Deal
The agreement has sparked bitterness and anger among those who either sat out the housing boom or endured friends' snickers when they stuck with a traditional mortgage and a smaller house. To some who watched prices rise out of their reach or who moved to cheaper cities, the agreement looks like a penalty for those who didn't gamble.
The resentment is apparent on blogs that chronicle the mortgage crisis. It has some Republican lawmakers worried about a backlash.
At the blog HousingPanic, the agreement is equated to the attempt in 2005 to save Terri Schiavo, a woman who was in a vegetative state. "Washington politicians thought intervening in the Terri Schiavo affair would be good politics, too. Housing Gambler Bailout is the new Terri Schiavo," the site proclaims.
Then there is the name-calling and hostility: It is a plan to help the "greedy" who "squeal like stuck pigs" when the market turns bad, said one post on HousingPanic. Another declared: "If I only had been stupid or greedy instead then Uncle Sam would have my back."
December 07, 2007
HousingPANIC makes the Washington Post (along with a bunch of pissed off HP'ers!).
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72 comments:
http://tinyurl.com/2yvuab
Great comments at the Post article - add yours too HP'ers.
Politicians will hear us or they'll be shown the door.
Watch a GOP or independent candidate come out strongly against any government invervention - it's a winning position, meanwhile Hillary has made a poor, poor choice.
Poor choice?!?
It's an election year, and though they're burning through cash rapidly, the big banks will find a way to fund someone sympathetic to their needs. That person gets sworn in, goes behind the closed doors with a lobbyist, and a miracle conversion occurs! All to help out the homeowner of course...
One term??? Then you get a consultant position on the company payroll.
Hey, how much did Chuck Prince pocket for running Citibank into the ground???
How great is it HP gets some big publicity and visitors who read the comments will see Richard's "Enjoy the die off"?
Richard, you need to be waterboarded.
Now we're talking!
Let them have their so called bailout.
Let them try and jump through the stupid hoops.
If they wanted to buy more house than they can afford and then refi for the H3, and then deal with the $2300 monthly mortgage and $300 power bill, and all the stress that comes with it, they can have it!
Now in addition to everything else, they are a slave to their overpriced depreciating asset.
All on their $60K income; thats not rich, thats stupid.
I was a hero to my friends, A Saint to the forgiving. Why not to the cold heartless deeds of the average? Where did I go wrong in your eyes? How can I redeem the lost world of nothing that I gave to Hope?
Never to be found again? Where did I lose you?
I seem to find hope in the solace of a McDonald's double Cheeseburger of HOPE AND DREAMS!!!!
It's a sad day, Keith - you're becoming part of the MSM!
I voted for Bill. I went to Bill and Hillary's book signings. I have a Hillary t-shirt. My spouse even worked at the White House during Bill's administration.
I sent Hillary an e-mail Thursday a.m. I advised her that we sold our home in the middle of the RE Bubble and that that if she did not take a 180 degree turn on bailing out those who were either greedy or idiots, I would not vote for her, PERIOD!
One vote may not matter, but as the WaPo article shows, I think there are many of us who do not think there should be a bail out.
Don't worry about me going mainstream
I turn down all interviews and call the MSM a bunch of lazy incompetent idiots who have blood on their hands
But they can quote the blog or HP'ers any day. I'd like to see a few "FU*K's" thrown into the quotes next time though, and some "REIC" mentions next time
First they ignore you,
then they ridicule you,
then they fight you,
then you win
Oooops.
How on Earth Did the MSM find HousingPANIC?
Whoever wrote that article is probably going to lose their job letting the failed flippers see that there is a whole lot of us on the sidelines NOT waiting to get in at their greed driven prices.
Let's wait for the fictitious job report figures that were manipulated to create another fake rally.
It seems that nobody built or remodeled those zillion homes, don't you think?
How convenient that those millions of illegals working in housing never count in the job numbers.
I voted for Bill. I went to Bill and Hillary's book signings. I have a Hillary t-shirt. My spouse even worked at the White House during Bill's administration.
Nice trolling, evil GOP bootlicker.
It would all be too funny if it wasn't so sad
The Worst President Ever folks. The Worst President Ever.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071207/mortgage_crisis.html
Be Prepared to Wait for Chance to Benefit From Interest Rate Freeze on Subprime Mortgages
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Be ready to wait if you want to get information from a toll-free hot line about freezing the interest rate on your subprime mortgage.
Minutes after President Bush outlined a plan to help strapped homeowners, callers were told to have patience until a counselor could answer their questions and "devote as much time to you as necessary."
But, once they do get through, homeowners may not find the answers they sought.
One caller to the hot line (1-888-995-HOPE) was told there would be "lots of hoops to jump through" to obtain the five-year freeze. The rate hold goes to the heart of the relief effort for people with subprime mortgages, which are loans offered to borrowers with tarnished credit or low incomes.
Even President Bush acknowledged the plan is "no perfect solution." Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said it was not a "silver bullet."
Only a fraction of the homeowners who face huge jumps in their mortgage payments appear likely to be helped by the plan, negotiated by the Bush administration, to freeze the low introductory rates on their subprime loans for five years. After that, they could be in the same position again.
Homeowners dialing up their mortgage company to get their current rate frozen could be disappointed. The White House plan does not force mortgage companies to give eligible homeowners a break. It is voluntary.
Congrats Keith!!!
Oh, as I mentioned during my live blog watching Bush yesterday, the idiot gave out the wrong phone number and Paulson didn't bother to correct him
Funny. But remember this guy controls our nuclear weapons.
What a snake oil salesman!
Bush's Bad Mortgage Medicine
The Bush Administration's plan to rescue the housing market and keep the economy from slipping into recession took flak yesterday for freezing interest rate hikes for a mere fraction of subprime, adjustable-rate borrowers. But there's a bigger risk: It could deepen and lengthen the credit crisis.
According to analysis by Barclays Capital, the "freezer-teaser" plan applies to just 240,000 subprime loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports the number of subprime adjustable rate mortgages at 2.9 million.
It also won't help the 16% of subprime borrowers who are already delinquent or in default, and it won't help millions of other homeowners who either will be deemed able to pay the higher rates when they adjust, starting in January, or who have the unhappy circumstance of having a house worth less than their mortgage or a loan that has already reset to the higher rates.
http://www.forbes.com/home/wallstreet/2007/12/06/bush-mortgage-subprime-biz-wall-cx_lm_1207subprime.html
more:
The expected backlash to the plan started immediately after the Administration announced it. Housing advocates said it leaves millions of struggling borrowers at risk of foreclosure. Others decried it as a shameful bailout of irresponsible lenders and borrowers.
"President Bush's plan may make good politics, but it is terrible economics," said Edward Ketz, an accounting professor at Penn State University. "It punishes those who have acted prudently and rewards bad decisions by homeowners who bought what they could not afford. It gives incentives for future homebuyers to act rashly, because they may believe Washington will rescue them from error and greed."
Perhaps more significantly, Ketz and others warn the plan could further choke off the credit markets and result in higher mortgage rates in the long run.
"The resentment is apparent on blogs that chronicle the mortgage crisis. It has some Republican lawmakers worried about a backlash."
I think some Dems should be worried as well.
"then deal with the $2300 monthly mortgage and $300 power bill,"
$300? I wish. My power bill is closeto $500 in the summer and about $400 in winter.
I rent but I made the mistake of renting an old "charming"house. By charming I mean shit ass windows and practically no insulation. Can't wait for the lease to be over.
Let this be a lesson to potential renters...check these kinds of things out when looking around.
Bush has done something few people can do. He has angered the left and the right on the same issue.
I can't believe at one time I supported this imbecile.
Good job, but why it took so long?
I looked out my window this morning, and was expecting news crews, cameras, flashbulbs - all just to talk to me about us HP'ers. All I saw was just some old dog pissin' on a fire hydrant. I'm goin back to bed. BUT, HP'ers RULE!!!
You know what's scary? If Hillary gets elected, then it'd be the TAXPAYERS bailing out mortgage fraudsters and failed flippers.
The Democrats are even worse than the Republicans on this issue.
Meanwhile, if the GOP candidates would pull their heads out of their asses, they'd know they just had a winning issue fall in their laps - NO BAILOUTS AND LET THE FREE MARKET CLEANSE THE SYSTEM OF ITS MISDEEDS
Keith,
Instead of bragging how you won't go mainstream, how about putting some permanent links on your home page to some of the devastating charts and all-time best threads for the bump in newcomers you are likely to see?
The MSM has caught on months ago. HP is mainstream. I think what you mean is that you won't sell out. Part of the information lag results from strictures of good journalism practices (I'm also frustrated with the copious bad reportage, even in the good old WAPO, to which I subscribe).
Your Shiavo analogy summarizes the political tin ears, short-term thinking, and insincerity of this grossly belated "help". Help would have been to put the brakes on the housing bubble. Instead it was allowed - encouraged - to keep growing until it played itself out.
I was tempted to include the MSM, but in truth, you can find old articles that contain not-so-subtle warnings. (Recall anything like "Joe and Jane are buying this house on the assumption that it will continue to grow in value"?)
congrats! think I saw WSJ link to HP not too long ago as well.
The comparison in the story to those left to lick their wounds after the stock bubble is particularly apt.
My first job after grad school in 1999 was for $28K. I scratched and clawed $2K for a Roth contribution for both '99 and '00, put it into a Janus fund that lost more than half its value before recovering a little before I sold in '04.
I fessed up and realized I didn't know too much about investing and that I wasn't going to get rich in stocks. I bought a target fund, some other value oriented stock funds, and one share of BRK-B. I now might be about even with where I might have been had I not been stupid, and no one in the federal government gave me a special break.
I learned a hard lesson about risk and have diversified and continued to rent since I wasn't sure I could pay for a house.
I wasn't expecting to pick up a house for free at the firesale, but I did expect that my peers' carelessness wouldn't be rewarded.
I feel like this is just the trial balloon and there will be a cascade of programs to save the economy (or the banks, anyway). I listened for years to people who told me about tax benefits of owning, and now they're going to get more tax benefits (tax-free loan foregiveness) to bail them out. *#*&%!!
I don't know if I've ever felt more alienated. I can't seem to find a politician I have a chance to vote for who sees this as a rotten policy decision.
I think I'd be willing to hold my nose on a lot of things for a presidential candidate who says that people and companies have to accept the consequences of bad investments. I don't expect one to pop up, but Paul seems like maybe he's eccentric enough to say it--too bad he's crazy in so many other ways.
Anyway, that's my two cents.
You guys are still determined to blow this all way out of proportion.
They had Paulson on the Lehrer News Hour last night along with some guy representing a bond investor group and a guy representing a comsumer advocacy group. I thought he answered the questions pretty well. This is a private sector plan, not a government plan, no matter how much the shrub tries to claim credit. Paulson claims up to 1.2 million will be helped but the other two say the number will be less than 200,000 modified mortgages. The banks are doing this not out of charity but to mitigate losses. All three agreed that a taxpayer bailout would be bad. All three agreed that the VAST majority of subprime forclosures happen before the rate even resets. People seem to think that "low teaser rate" means something like 2% or less. In the subprime world, 8 or 9% is a low teaser rate, and that will reset to 11 or 12. Most people with any fixed rate mortgage are doing much better. All three agreed that this was a step in the right direction for the banks but it is just a drop in a bucket in the grand scheme of things.
Nice work Keith!!
Congrats Keith and fellow HPers on the WP quotes! Good to see that a bloc of sane Americans is being heard by some of the masses out there.
What has happened to personal responsibility?
President Bush has never taken personal responsibility for anything he has ever done.
From his young adult years to this very day. So why would anyone think he would do so now?
I think that WE the voting public should hold our politians to the same standards that WE adhere to.
If I am caught speeding, I pay the consequences. If I am caught stealing, I pay the consequences.
It's time for the people in our government to be responsible for thier actions.
Meanwhile, if the GOP candidates would pull their heads out of their asses, they'd know they just had a winning issue fall in their laps - NO BAILOUTS AND LET THE FREE MARKET CLEANSE THE SYSTEM OF ITS MISDEEDS
December 07, 2007 1:29 PM
==============================
Keith, you all are absolutely brain dead on this issue of free markets. There is no such f-cking thing as a Free Market. The free markets are always "rigged".
Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and FDR all used the power of the government to "regulate" our economy against free trade thieves.
The USA is not based on Adam Smith's idea of Free Trade.
And there is no possible bailout in sight for $700 trillion worth of derivatives contracts.
They'll either "freeze" the system and wipe off all illegitimate debt, or we'll fall into a dark age.
There is no in between.
>> I voted for Bill. I went to Bill and Hillary's book signings. I have a Hillary t-shirt. My spouse even worked at the White House during Bill's administration.
When you were younger, did you ever think that one day you'd vote for a devout Marxist? Please look in a mirror - and then put in gun in your mouth.
I can certainly see the issue of not letting all these houses go into foreclosure, however, we're going to have to go through the pain someday. It may as well be now. It's a huge mistake to have the government get involved in a mess caused by speculators, banks and mortgage lenders. Let them figure it out.
And, don't be surprised, when this "limited" help becomes much more. Once you open the gates you can no longer control who barges in.
Those maggots have been sticking it to the working class for thirty years, nothing changes. Old maggots turn into flies, new maggots are born. The beat goes on.
The stupid DemoCrap sheeple will vote for Hillary no matter what. She could propose to full taxpayer funded bailout of Wall Street and those kool-aid drinking idiots would still back her. Leftists are brainwashed retards. Look at Venezuela where 49.3% of them voted to have Hugo Chavez as dictator for life.
Now you just need to ban the weirdo richard and other crackhead liberals from posting their Dailykook rantings or else they'll keep laughing at you
I am telling everyone I know that the economic issues on this blog are key to their future - more important than any other issue.
Politicians who support government intervention on this topic will lose 100% of the time.
Governments can't originate remotely the quantity of private-sector debt that's required to have a functioning economy, but don't tell that to Hillary - if she wants it to happen, it will! Sounds like someone else we can't wait to kick out of power, doesn't it?
When will peter schiff and rick santelli get the props they're due? They're the only people worth watching on that excrementory channel also known as CNBC.
Keith,
I know it's not like the msm ever gave us much love, but it is not seemly to act like an attention starved puppy either. Those media clowns are horning into the internetz tubz with their spin and someday they will muscle you out. Try not to act like a whore when you talk to them, they are just using you.
Just watch the role of the NGOs and other pseudo-government entities- that is how it will be done.
You mean 'NU cler' dont ya? Bush would never mispropnounce an important word....
Bush the s*itbird. How about a poll:
How many people HATE George Bush?
"Oh, as I mentioned during my live blog watching Bush yesterday, the idiot gave out the wrong phone number and Paulson didn't bother to correct him
Funny. But remember this guy controls our nuclear weapons."
The Terri Schiavo analogy is a poor one. There, the govt intervened in a single citizen's personal affairs due to members of Congress wanting to press their own ideological positions. They tried to enact legislation that would apply only to this one person, and overroad states' rights in doing so.
In this case, however, the govt is taking action that will affect a large population and that may forestall an economic disaster on the country as a whole.
I'm not saying that I agree with the govt. I'm just pointing out that the comparison with the Terri Schiavo case is absurd and totally without merit.
Speaking of the MSM...I do have to give huge props to Al Lewis of the Denver Post. That guy has been on the housing/economy issue for over a year now. He has generally nailed it every time. His reporting is one of the reasons why we still get the newspaper. If anybody wants to read an example you need look no further than today's column about the latest bailout announcement.
"Bush Bailout Rewards the Cheaters" (title says it all)
http://tinyurl.com/yuc6s8
Edgar - you missed the earlier point - I don't do interviews. Period.
As to the Terry Schiavo thing - go back and read what was happening back then. That wasn't a states rights issue - that was about politicians misreading the will of the people and trying to use a dying woman to win votes. Now politicians have again misread the people and think doing a bailout for mortgage fraudsters will win them votes.
It'll lose them elections instead. And yes, Hillary is 100,000 times worse than Bush on this. Dangerous as a matter of fact.
The correct position for any politician: "I feel your pain" but government is not your daddy. People who committed mortgage fraud or "bought" homes they couldn't afford should not be in those homes. Period. They'll be better off renting (and not suffering the declining values) or buying a home they can afford with their income.
Why is this so f*cking tough for politicians to understand? This one's easy.
Anonymous said...
I voted for Bill. I went to Bill and Hillary's book signings. I have a Hillary t-shirt. My spouse even worked at the White House during Bill's administration.
Nice trolling, evil GOP bootlicker.
Maybe it was a troll but the program that Hillery is pushing is just insane. It would bail out everybody including flippers, speculators and people who bought hummers with their cash out refi's. It would also bring about a total collapse of the banking system. Plus, she wants to spend billions of taxpayer money to help them out. She's getting some very bad advice. I can't believe this will not cause a net loss of votes for her.
What has happened to personal responsibility?
i have no sympathy for those that chose not to read the documents for the biggest purchase/gamble of their lives. i suppose at the roulette table there is no fine print.
but are we really to believe these people skimmed over the ARM documentation like it was a 'terms of service' for signing up for an email account or something?
quote: Paulson claims up to 1.2 million will be helped but the other two say the number will be less than 200,000 modified
The question is: Who do you believe?
Did you say that we HP'ers were blowing this "way out of proportion". You said that all three of the people being interviewed (including Paulson), said that this plan was A "drop in a bucket." Right? Well, when we HP'ers think of a "drop in a bucket", we don't see the bucket as being quite half-full. Pardon our sarcasm for thinking that.
"You know what's scary? If Hillary gets elected, then it'd be the TAXPAYERS bailing out mortgage fraudsters and failed flippers"
Up till now, I was pretty sure Hillary was going to get in...but if she keeps harping on this bailout, I think she's toast.
Which is wonderful...that puts Ron Paul in a much better position. The only serious competition he has is:
Mitt the Mormon Wonder Boy
Rudy-VoteForMeOrTheTerroristsWillKillYouAll-Guliani
John-KeatingFive-McCain
The correct position for any politician: "I feel your pain" but government is not your daddy. People who committed mortgage fraud or "bought" homes they couldn't afford should not be in those homes. Period. They'll be better off renting (and not suffering the declining values) or buying a home they can afford with their income.
Why is this so f*cking tough for politicians to understand? This one's easy.
----------------------------------
I would go further and say that in a lot of cases, the FBs should be counseled to turn their keys in and walk away. If you bought a 400k house with zero down and financed the closing costs and the house is now worth 300k, you should walk away and start over.
I can't believe this will not cause a net loss of votes for her.
Hillary is already your next president. Can't you guys see it? Just let it go.
I could not agree more. The politicians who voted for this should not be in office during the next election cycle.
Who stands in the way of such an effort?
Investors in mortgages and mortgage-backed securities. If homeowners are going to pay less on their mortgages than originally planned, then somebody is going to lose money. These aren't just fat cats on Wall Street—although many such firms have invested in these securities—they're also pension funds for teachers, firemen, and police, as well as mutual funds whose clients include all sorts of individual investors. They probably even include homeowners who are facing the prospect of higher payments on their adjustable-rate mortgages.
http://finance.yahoo.com/loans/article/103997/What-the-Mortgage-Bailout-Means-for-You
Maybe it was a troll but the program that Hillery is pushing is just insane. It would bail out everybody including flippers, speculators and people who bought hummers with their cash out refi's. It would also bring about a total collapse of the banking system. Plus, she wants to spend billions of taxpayer money to help them out. She's getting some very bad advice. I can't believe this will not cause a net loss of votes for her.
Hitlary is only interested in bailing out her Wall Street money base. She is getting her advice from Wall Street. When will the DemoCrap sheeple get it? Then again, I don't expect much from a group that was outsmarted by butterfly ballots.
This is a private sector plan, not a government plan
Then why is the government planning to give $120,000,000 to HopeNow?
I didn't miss your point keith, I been following your rants for years. I talk about how the msm can't be trusted and you turn it into a rant about bush and billary? Do you think I don't know what kind of maggots are running this country? Why are you playing spin doctor yourself now? We all know you are friends with that CNBC tramp.
BTW - Good for you on no interviews, they would only spin what you say in a crappy way anyhow.
mrbill, don't confuse 'em with the facts. ;)
Plenty of people on this board still don't want to believe that there are people buying houses who put down 20% (or more), got a fixed rate mortgage with payments they can afford for a house in an affordable city.
There is no message here for those home buyers. So how can they learn from there mistakes .There has to be consequences for your actions to learn the lesson.
We must be the laughing stock of the world.
I just lost $600 on the roulette tables at Vegas. Now I cant afford food. Can I have a bailout too?
Mr. Bill,
Finally, I have found you, and where is your yellow dog Spot?
Nevermind, I will get him later.
Let me smash you now.
Blow it way out of proportion?
The only thing that will be blown out of proportion is your silly looking head.
This IS a government plan. They are just opening up the door for further "relief".
This is not enough for a reason, like smashing you with an anvil never seems to be enough.
I squash you like the soft clay you are, but you continue to "come back".
Just like this problem.
Bigger and better squashing is ahead.
Teaser rates are all over the 1-8 percent range, like the radius of your head when I am finished smashing it.
Most people with fixed rates are yet to be seen...
like your dog Spot...
Where is that yellow bastard anyway?
I'm not the brightest star in the sky, but I've been asking the same question for years... where is all this money coming from?
Nice job on your Blog. I'm going to click a few links for you now... go get yourself a nice cold beer with the profit :-)
I looked out my window this morning, and was expecting news crews, cameras, flashbulbs
FLASHBULBS??? How old are you?
a phone call campaign similar to the successful blocking of the amnesty bill
Congratulations Keith and HPer's!!
Hey Keith have you considered selling HousingPanic (HP) t-shirts or stickers? I would buy one. Just so that I could have a momento of this moment in time...
Anonymous said...
>>FLASHBULBS??? How old are you?
December 08, 2007 3:26 AM
That's funny I didn't even catch that... and I'm thirty-something. I remember flashbulbs....
geez, now you have me thinking about the other things like vinyl, cassettes, pong, atari LOL ;)
Mr. Sluggo said...
>>Mr. Bill,
Finally, I have found you, and where is your yellow dog Spot?
Nevermind, I will get him later.
Let me smash you now.
December 08, 2007 3:07 AM
OMG! You had me FLMAO... Thanks!
I will buy an x-large shirt and help spread the word.
HP'ers are like the kids in the movie Red Dawn. Keith can be Patrick Swayzee.
Sell bandanas and shirts!!!!
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