March 03, 2008

A generation lived through the Roaring 20's and the Great Depression, and then told their kids and grandkids about it. What stories will we have?




I've got a feeling we'll be telling HousingPANIC stories for years and years and years to come, until we kick the bucket.

"Tell me about SIV's granddaddy! Tell me about CDO's! Tell me about Angelo Mozilo, and Bob Toll and that idiot George Bush!

Tell us about the credit cards and wild parties! Tell us about Paris Hilton! Tell me how Senator Serin got his start!

Tell me about the dollar before they got rid of it! Tell me about that ghost-town, Chandler, Arizona! Tell me about those condos they bulldozed in Miami!"

Oh, the stories we will tell...

55 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tell us about the the birth of the Americano

Anonymous said...

Oh yes Keith, that picture brings back memories of simpler times, when a hummer was a....well...before it was a Hummer.

Anonymous said...

OMG! Those are great pictures for the article. People rolling around in $50k vehicles, and they are in between jobs. Where I work I see this happen all the time.

Anonymous said...

Tell me how Senator Serin got
his start!


______

Ha ha ha!

Good one!

Anonymous said...

Tell Me about SUZANNE!

Did she really geld Grandpa and break up the marriage and cause Grandpa to slit Grandmas throat while she slept peacefully and set the family house on fire to collect the insurance and get out from under the Countrywide toxic mortgage they fell for?

or was that because of the Bushco extended family and their willing accomplices....

Maybe they ran out of tinfoil at a critical time...

AndrewHac said...

OK, Snapper Turtle and all other tortoise-like creepers out there,

Listen and listen hard:

A house is a place to sleep in, eat your meal, do your homeworks, make kids, smoke a doobie, etc... Not every turtle is entitled to own a house. Owning a house is a privilege, not a right, not an endowment from God or Uncle Bushie.

Most Americano believe that it is their God-given right to own a house. That is incorrect. It is also stupid to heed that belief. If you are poor, ignorant, illiterate, dumb, uneducated, buckteeth, harelip, fat, obese, or just plain WACKO then you do not have the right, the mean or the privilege to own a house. No BUT, IF, HOW, WHEN ,WHY, WHAT, etc...

The game of survival is simple. You are strong then you will survive and prosper. Joe6Pack is like a gazelle in the African Segenreti plain, his destiny is to be hunted down, chased after, devoured by the lions, the leopards, the hyenas, etc... Joe6Pack does not simply possess any right or privilege to own a house in the land of the Americano AKA the land of the Turkey.

Got it, Turtle ???

Anonymous said...

funny but true, very insightfull ha. ha. we lost our minds some how. were exactly i dont know.

Anonymous said...

Tell us about Mozillo's live TV suicide again!

Anonymous said...

Grand Son Says:
Tell me about Dopes Great GrandPa. Please!!!

Was he a real blogger or someone just made up by Housing Panic? Was Dopes really that dumb too?

Great GrandPa Speaks:
My Grand Son, Dopes was truly a real living idiot blogger. He was called Dopes for a reason my son.

Grand Son Speaks:
Great GrandPa what ever happen to Dopes at the end?

Great GrandPa Speaks:
Son that last we ever heard of Dopes in Housing Panic was when the soup lines and homeless shelters began to prop up all over America. It is believed Dopes eventually past away in a shelter with a bowl of soup next to his side. It is believe that his shameful postings that he regretted so much posting were to much for his pride and that eventually led to his passing.

Grand Son Speaks:
Thank you Great Grandpa. Wow Dopes sure was an idiot poor fellow.

Great GrandPa Speaks:
Indeed my son, indeed!

Anonymous said...

I am a poor boomer. Just chose to be downwardly mobile all my life. I'm an artist, so all the 'new' anything never impressed me much. The 50's were a dream to me, perfect. And you didn't have 50 of everything, just one, and it was great. Life was so much simpler, you can see if the old photographs, people's eyes were very calm. The anxiety that has riddled this society since then, has not been what I consider progress. Just young people (my generation included) with energy and want to invent new stuff and more new stuff and more new stuff and more new stuff. I can't even sleep anymore.
If I just had a time machine to go back there...the peace and calm were unreal. That is a heaven that will never come again. Just three TV stations and 5 digit phone numbers. Never thought it would change into this world.

Anonymous said...

That truck is worse than the monster truck one of my neighbors has - and his has vanity plates that say OBNOXS!

Anonymous said...

tell me how you made $500K in 5 years on the sale of your house while renting idiots spanked themselves silly

Anonymous said...

Is that you DZUNG?

Remember when you used to cook and yell through the window, "Why yuh sew fahht, rady. You no more nee foo, you fat enouh!"

Good times, reh a rant, reh a rant. (red ant, red ant)

Frank R said...

Classic!

Anonymous said...

OH MY WHAT A DEPRESSION!!

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - Mercedes-Benz USA, a unit of Germany's Daimler AG, said Monday its February U.S. sales rose, led by strong demand for light trucks.

Mercedes sold 18,564 vehicles, up 7.3 percent from 17,304 in the same month of 2007. Adjusted for one additional selling day in this month compared with last, Mercedes sales rose 4 percent.

Anonymous said...

Tell us about Burrito @ Dirty Scottsdale, grandpa!!

Anonymous said...

Stories?

"Well son, believe it or not, California at one time belonged to the United States before it was invaded by illegal invaders from Mexico. Now that it is a part of Mexico and the whole state has gone to crap, the Mexican government wants a bailout from the Indian Casinos.

Also, there was a time in America when single families lived in homes, when people cared for the upkeep of their neighborhoods and people took pride in civic duty.

Now, son, thats all a thing of the past. We've got multiple families living in a home, people parking their trucks on the front lawn, streets litered with graffitii, and our once proud neighborhoods fallen to decay."

"Really, Dad, I find that hard to believe. You mean people actually took pride in speaking English, homes were purchased with 30 year loans, and people lived within their means"

"Yes, that was a long time ago, son, when America at least had the semblance of law and order. When tv didnt have all the crap it has today, and you could actually dance to the music."

"Wow, you dont say."

"Yep, thats the way it was, but why dont you and I get out of the house and go see a movie?"

"Okay, I heard Rocky 9 comes out today. Stallone goes the distance one more time, he knocks out Godzilla in 15 rounds."

Anonymous said...

PaPa ....Please tell us again how that movie called "Water-World" played out in real life except it was actually "Oil World" and people could no longer find fuel for their $50K SUV's and those things called tractor trailers that used so much of it could but not carry food because there was none left which caused the great famine of 2012....Tell us Pa ...Remember the President who never addressed the issue while in office and let it spiral out of control??? Tell us again....Pleaseeeee

Anonymous said...

Ecoterrorism eyed as luxury homes burn
http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/03/seattle.fire/index.html
http://tinyurl.com/2kpx8g

Anonymous said...

Nothing screams "I'm an ASSHOLE" quite like a Hummer.

Anonymous said...

BREMERTON, Wash. -- Bremerton police said four banks were vandalized early Thursday, with each incident involving windows broken with pieces of concrete that had notes taped to them, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.

The banks involved were a US Bank at 2020 Sixth St., a Key Bank at 3750 Wheaton Way, a Bank of America at 1000 Sixth St. and a Kitsap Bank at 3425 Wheaton Way.

According to police, the vandals did not go in any of the banks.

“No entry was gained and nothing was taken, so it appears this was the delivery of some kind of message by the perpetrators,” Andy Oakley with Bremerton police said.

Police said the content of the notes were all the same and read as follows:

“Directions: Attach to brick and throw through window”

“Here is your brick back."

"Recognize it? You should.”

“It is part of the wall that you, as one of the elite upper class, have helped to build between the minority ruling class, and the majority working class throughout history. By flaunting your decadence, you have made yourself a target.”

“Get used to it!”

“Social youth chaos-f___ s___ up!”

The pieces of concrete and notes will be forensically examined, and bank surveillance tapes will be reviewed, police said.

“We’ve also contacted the FBI because of the apparent political nature of the note to see if we can get some information there. We have not seen this activity prior in the city,” Oakley said.

Anonymous said...

We will also tell them about the other prohibition. The War on Drugs has been just about as successful as The Great Experiment. Come to think of it drugs are about the only things that have not gone up in price.

Anonymous said...

``People are calling it financial Ebola,'' Ed Steffelin, a senior managing director at GSC Group in New York

Anonymous said...

Grandma that is a big house I am gonna live in one big like that one day. Well kids let me tell you about living in a big house, back in 2007 long before you were born, well even before that there were TV show like "lifestyles of the rich and famous" and then there was "MTV Cribs" and then there was "pimp my ride" and then there was a tv station called Home and Garden TV that made people think that home ownership was a joke and the worst show was "flip that house" man there were so many tv shows and then there was bling, 150 dollar tennis shoes, and 200 dollar designer jeans that fabric is still 3 dollars a yard and most pants only need 2 yards. Well to make a long story short people actually believed if they lived like the stars people would think of them as stars and someone to look up to so they made 50,000 a year but bought houses that cost 500,000 they only make 1500 every two weeks but the mortgage went from a teaser rate of 1800 a month to 4000a month and the people couldn't afford it so they walked away from those big houses and moved to 2 bedroom apartments. The moral of the story kids is don't buy more than you afford and beware of wolves in sheep clothing. I mean beware of lying real estate agents telling you you can afford it, if they say that run away fast and far. Now if you go to school and become a big financial wizard and make millions of dollars buy what you want but there was this guy named Donald Trump who filed bankruptcy so many times people lost count. I tell you there are just too many stories to tell. Wake me up later and I will tell you more. Also watch what stocks you buy. Snore.

Anonymous said...

A lot of them that were born in a Depression will now die in one.

They should have taught their kids that selfishness was wrong.

Too late.

Anonymous said...

Can you tell me that story about Blackwater pulling you out of your foreclosed house and taking you to that FEMA camp, where you lived for the next 10 years? Please, grandma, I want to hear that story one more time...

Anonymous said...

I love Andrew Hac! Best commenter ever! Needs his own blog.

Anonymous said...

While 92 per cent of us thoroughly check the prices of household appliances before parting with our cash, only 42 per cent do the same with property, researchers claim.

One in four housebuyers does no research on the current value of homes before making an offer.

And 71 per cent admit they don't check a property's previous sale price before signing.

Fifty-one per cent do not use the internet to check property prices, while 40 per cent are unaware that previous sold prices, what the neighbours paid and current values are easily accessible online.

One in three say they did no research into the local area before moving in, and only 10 per cent asked a neighbour what the community was like before committing to purchase.

http://tinyurl.com/3cxvvq

Anonymous said...

"sales rose, led by strong demand for light trucks."

Mercedes? Light trucks???

So were Ford/GM trucks up a similar amount, or were they down? you didn't say.

Anonymous said...

"Andy Oakley with Bremerton police said."

You're shitting me. ANDY OAKLEY?

Get a new name dork.

Anonymous said...

Tell me the story about the great U.S. civil war of 2024 between the evil axis of bankers, politicians, and corporations versus middle America, and how the battle was won.

Anonymous said...

Was there really a ramen shortage, Grandpa? Who was Suzanne, Grandpa? Grandma seems angry about her.

Anonymous said...

"And tell me about food daddy"! I hate Ramen!

Anonymous said...

This is the last story I'm going to tell you about the GREATEST DEPRESSION (better know as a mild recession to the Economists of that era ).

America was a great place with many jobs and the prospect of getting ahead in life with hard work .People could actually retire and travel and live large , and not go to the old peoples tent cities like today .

We didn't have people standing in the PEOPLES FOOD KITCHEN line ,like we do today . In fact many people went to restaurants and fast food places to get their meals .

When you needed some medical work you went to a Doctor of choice ,not like today when we wait for 4 month s to get a appointment with the American Clinic OF Health Services .

Around 2012 ,the government officials could no longer hide the fact that the loss from the great housing crash had compromised the entire financial system as we had know it . At that point people accepted the EMERGENCY NEW LAWS that came into existence . The powers at the time said the laws would only be around for a short time ,and now 30 years later ,they are still here .

About 20 years ago when I was assigned my job by the government, called the Central Planning Division ,I was happy that I was also issued a converted Mc Mansion and only had to live with 4 other families . I feel sorry for the tent people during the winter because I never had to go to one of those places .
As long as you have a productive skill ,you can avoid the tent city .I hear that they are issuing apartments to people who know how to work on the solar cells being installed in New Mexico .The government vowed to never allow another black out like the one that occurred in 2020.
I really don't like to talk about the way it use to be in America before the great change ,but it was a grand place where you could do what you wanted in your own best interest ,before the Lenders and commissioned sales people ruined it for all . This was all before the Great takeover by the government that started the "each according to his ability and each according to his need "government we have today .People actually use to own things ,rather than have them issued like today . Forget it ,I don't want to talk about it anymore .

Anonymous said...

Don't know if this has been posted yet, but Warren Buffett says the US is in a recession:

http://calculatedrisk.blogspot.com/2008/03/buffett-interview-on-cnbc.html

Not that it takes a genius to figure that out, but it is nice to hear a genius like Buffett refute some of the BS coming from Bernanke and Wall Street about there being no recession.

Anonymous said...

Hey Hp'ers, keep dreaming of a Great Depression. For some odd reason, you folks are actually rooting for another Great Depression. Don't you guys get it that if such an event does occur, then YOU TOO WILL BE SCREWED. I know you folks think you know it all, but if such an event occurs, then you too will be eating ramen noodles.

Anonymous said...

Andrew Hac is a dimwit, a homo, an un-American, jealous of American's wealth. On every single post, he calls us Americans stupid, snapper turtles, white trash, etc... Who the hell is this asshole to say such a thing about us? He is just a loser who makes himself feel good by putting other people down.

Anonymous said...

My dad and his brother use to race their '58 Vette with a 427 in the 60's. He would tell me that they filled the gas tank with the change in their pockets.

I used to race my '87 Grand National with a tank full of 100 octane racing gas. 1 gal of 100 oct. used to cost me $2.70!

Now I dive a 4 banger Nissan and 87 oct cost me $3.20 / gal.

Ugh....

Anonymous said...

Well, no, most people don't grasp sh.t of what happened in 1929 except for a stock market collapse and poverty, that is, the consequences.

Lost Cause said...

Little Sally gets off of Grandpa's knee, and looks out the window of her tiny apartment, stunned in disbelief.

"You mean, all of these big apartment buildings used to be Mc Mansions?"

Anonymous said...

Why is life so hard daddy? Well son, Amerika used to be a land where if you played by the rules and worked hard you could buy a home and support your family. That all changed as the local, state and federal governments got so big , corrupt and powerful that they taxed the corporations and citizens well beyond their ability to pay. They used the tax mostly to pay benefits to tens of millions of retired government workers while we working folks held two jobs at 75 years old to survive. In 2039 the millions of poor homeless people finally rioted across the country and destroyed all the government agencies and bureaucrats that created the situation. Amerika became a third world country but the people survived by working hard and working together. Now hitch up the horse son. We got to collect some firewood before it gets dark.

Anonymous said...

Differences: In 1920 there were still a lot of people involved in community and church. No churches will be there to serve you clothing and soup this time, you closed them all with neglect. In the case of Catholic churches, better find some priests fast! They are all old and going down. I went to a scheduled hour of Confession last week, no priests were available. At least 15 old people were turned away.
#2 Credit- This time we have a very different situation. Credit was almost unknown in the 30s.
#3 Lifestyle- Many back then were farmers who owned their own farms. (50%) of all Americans. How many can say that now and with Monsanto, Tyson, etc. running 95% of the Chicken market and most of the land for growing.
I don't think we will be surviving this one.

Anonymous said...

My father always told me that in the depression they would say "tighten your belt" if you couldn't afford something. As in, you're not so fat anymore and you won't be again soon, so just tighten your belt and keep moving.

Of course with the american obesity crisis can't see that phrase catching on again.

Mammoth said...

"Tell me how Senator Serin got his start!"
-------------------
Good one Keith.

Laughed so hard at that line, I blew snot out of my trunk!

Anonymous said...

JUST WHAT I THOUHJT. FATE CAN BE CRUEL... SENATOR SERIN.

Anonymous said...

"In the case of Catholic churches, better find some priests fast! They are all old and going down."

That's for sure. They are GOING DOWN alright. Too bad they are going down on their young charges who trust them... Read the papers about lawsuit awards against priests.

I was raised Catholic and mistakenly visited a local parish lately.

Mass was a sad, bad joke presided over by an old out-of-touch geezer that would make George Bush look contemporary and smart.

The mass itself was frequently interrupted by begging and pasing the hat for numerous charities, none of which were remotely local.

On the way out of church, my fellow parishoners were so in a hurry to return home to internet porn, masturbation and NASCAR, I was almost run over and killed by an irate female driving a monster SUV by herself in the church parking lot.

The Catholic church exists today to fleece-the-flock out of hard-earned coin. It ius a fe and a fraud IMHO.

Who wold aspire to become a Catholic priest except a convicted felon looking to revive a way to steal from the public... Sounds like a politician to me now that uou mention it.

Amen, Brother. Pass the Bullets.

Anonymous said...

To borrow a Soprano's line, the H2 is the Hummer with panties.

Anonymous said...

Tell me what DOPES was like before getting committed.

Tell me what SUZANNE was like before she started turning tricks on lunch break at the fast food joint.

Tell me what the clueless economists on Faux Snooze believed before beginning their current career as birthday party clowns.

Anonymous said...

You want a look at the future of this country?

the future USA

The chapter describiong how government will treat the homeless/unemployed is not far away HPers.

Anonymous said...

.


Vanity of Vanities all is Vanity!


.

Anonymous said...

Nobody wants a Great Depression . If this happens it will be beyond the control of people's wishes .

Do you think people wanted the Depression that started in 1929?
Rather than blame this Blog for opinions on possible economic outcomes from this housing meltdown ,start preparing for the worst.

To think that a Nation of Law and Order like America ignored one of the greatest crime waves in history (the housing boom) is beyond acceptance.

You can live in a fog and not see the writing on the wall ,or you can prepare . If the economic situation turns out better than expected ,than it will be wonderful .As it stands now ,something unexpected would have to happen to change the course this baby is going.

Anonymous said...

.

The window say's "work injury specialist",

With a San Diego area code,

Great a F**king lawyer with an ego go figure!

Anonymous said...

“How long have we owned our farm daddy?” “ Well Jimmy, believe it or not this land was not always a farm. A long time ago my father came up here to Detroit and bought 50 acres of old houses from the government for $5000 dollars. These houses were lined up street by street and block by block just like you see in the history books. Your granddad picked out the house that was in the best shape and used parts of the other houses to make it a good place to live. Dad used the remaining houses for fire fuel just like we do today with the few that are left on the south 20. As the streets gradually became brittle and cracked open, dad cleared the land and created the fields we grow our food on.”

“Wow, my granddad was sure lucky to be able come up here and do all that.” “Well Jimmy, it really wasn’t luck. You see, dad spent a lot of time on what was called the internet back then and he got this idea from reading the works of a gentlemen named….I think it was…HP. He told me that HP convinced him to pull up stakes and start a new beginning. Unfortunately, your grandmaw refused to leave a town called Philadelphia and it was later learned that she was killed in the government riots. Ok Jimmy, let’s go get some supper.”

Anonymous said...

I would lean down and whisper in his ear:

"Now son, you know the government has forbid us to talk about things like that. I tell ya what though. After we do our daily swipe at the Homeland Security Machine, how about we drop off our ID's so we can't be tracked and maybe take a walk out into the big field where they buried the waste. I don't think they can hear there and I'll tell you what I can."

Son to father:

"No way you big old spy.....I'm going to text my teacher and tell her RIGHT NOW!"

Anonymous said...

Hey Lady Di......

"...Blackwater pulling you out"


Perfect, just perfect!

You should have labeled your post "not safe while drinking."