xsuddensam

There's Nothing to Fear But Fearmongers Themselves

The author says:

"Want to be socially responsible, buy your family a fuel efficient car, furnace, or solar something or other. "

Are you nuts? You'll never make up the cost of the new car with the money you save on fuel. This has always been one of the dumbest arguments for buying a new car. Besides, what are you going to get for your old car? Nothing!

You should apply for a job on CNBC; you'd fit right in with all those blowhard idiots like Kudlow, Gasperino, Bartolomo and Cramer who only see a rosy picture. These people are responsible for raising investor hopes while riding the market and the economy down the toilet. They have been calling the bottom for months encouraging people to buy, buy, buy.

What are you buying?

Fannie and Freddie Did Not Cause This Crisis

BryanB says:

In a speech on the senate floor May 25, 2006, John McCain said:

"For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market...the GSEs need to be reformed without delay."

May 25, 2006? Sorry, the damage had already been done; as usual, too little too late.

If McCain had been so concerned for so many years, why didn't he raise the red flag during his campaign in 2000? Since he's been in the Senate for 26 years and if he felt so strongly about the GSE's, he certainly has had many opportunities to bring up the importance of reform.

McCain, like Obama, is just another self serving opportunist who will say anything to further his ambitions.

Fannie and Freddie Did Not Cause This Crisis

This article is nothing more than a bunch of execuses on behalf of the bankers and the politicians in their pocket. The author is a joke!

Why don't you call it like it is--cheap money, greedy lenders, crooked investment bankers and dishonest rating agencies all operating with the blessing of the criminals in Washington, including McCain and Obama.

Moody's: GSE Bailout Lowers Mortgage Rates, Stabilizes Housing [Housing Tracker]

Mark Zandi says:

" Mortgage credit should become more available [and] Fannie and Freddie will be more aggressive in extending credit… [Recent] events… signal the beginning of the end of this painful crisis… I think we've seen the worst of it now and through early next year.”

What is this guy smoking? He doesn't have a clue. This is the beginning of a disaster. Which shoe will drop next--credit card defaults, auto loans.....? How about commercial real estate loans? Drive around your neighborhood and count the for lease signs.

The U.S. on the Precipice

Chris B,

You are absolutely correct; our government is a reflection of our intellect. It is also a manifestation of our thinking, of our desires and of our ethics and morality. We have no one to blame but ourselves because we, as a group, have created the government and therefore we deserve everything we get.

The U.S. on the Precipice

Jimbo:

There's no difference between a Republican and a Democrat. They both spend what's not their's and they both enrich their friends in high places. The "two party" system is the all time great con game. Americans have swallowed it hook, line and sinker. Now we are choking on it.

Rethinking Fannie, Freddie and Mortgages

The government should not be intervening to avoid "systemic risk " The market needs to wash out all the players who created this mess in the first place. Saving a flawed financial system, which inevitably will fail, is madness. It's time to take the hit, pay the piper and rebuild.

We need to rid ourselves of the Greenspans, Bernankes and Paulsons. We need to restore sanity to our monetary and banking systems by throwing out the Federal Reserve and by reasonably regulating the banks.

Most importantly, perpetrators of financial fraud should be harshly punished by asset confiscations and long prison terms. There should be laws passed for crimes against the public interest. There is no excuse to give these criminals a pass or a slap on the wrist when they are harming millions and millions of people.

It may be painful, but we are a resiliant people who have often risen in the face of adversity and we have triumphed.

The Fannie/Freddie Bailout: Consequences to the U.S. Taxpayer

Mr. Quinn, you're absolutely right. The bankers are scrambling to prop up an inevitable collapsing financial system. Using taxpayer money, paper trades and derivatives, bankers are manipulating the declining price of gold and silver as well as manipulating the climbing dollar. These are desperate actions by desperate people.

Forget the Moral Outrage: Just Restore the Mortgage Markets

Alan Borstein says:

"Dude, you need to cover your shorts and get a bit more balanced view. Where were you a year ago? It is NOT 1929, sorry ".

Even the phony (low) government unemployment numbers are pointing to more credit problems. As more and more people lose their jobs, there will be an increase in auto loan and credit card defaults. And even worse, commercial real estate defaults are imminent. Take a drive around your town and count the lease signs.

Chrysler was a $50M bailout; it was just a drop in the bucket compared to the exposure the taxpayer is going to incur with this GSE nonsense.
You can massage all the numbers you want to paint a rosy picture, but the bottom line is that government involvement, especially when it comes to money, is almost always disasterous for the taxpayer.

Mr. Borstein, you need to get grip on some balance yourself. You are turning a blind eye to the obvious corruption of the financial system. As I have previously posted regarding the mortgage mess, there had to be a concerted effort to hide material facts by mortgage originators, mortgage companies, rating agencies, investment bankers and brokers. This fraudulent behavior thrived in a climate of unregulated greed fostered by the neglect of our politicians many of whom received contributions from these criminals. How can we solve the current problems when the same players are still running the game?

Forget the Moral Outrage: Just Restore the Mortgage Markets

Mr. Borchstein:

A reasonable person can see that a financial disaster may be just around the corner. These bailouts and guarantees are nothing but a bandaid to help prop up a failing financial system--a system based on uncontrolled borrowing made possible by printing more and more fiat currency.

The model is terribly flawed. The mounting debt, both public and private, is no longer sustainable. It is like an individual who needs to borrow from one credit card to make monthly payments on other credit cards which are over the limit. Eventually, one runs out of credit and defaults. "Capitalization", a euphemism for unfettered borrowing, is just sending us down a one way street to failure.

If there is a real solution to our financial problems, I would certainly like to hear it. It seems to me that the system needs to wash out the corruption before it can be viable again.

Forget the Moral Outrage: Just Restore the Mortgage Markets

This article makes me sick. Forget the moral outrage?

This author doesn't get it. It's the lack of moral and ethical standards that has gotten us into this mess. We are in this as a society? Well, we should all bite the bullet and suffer the consequences of not keeping our eye on the crooked politicians and bankers.

The government involvement in "saving" the GSE's is ridiculous. Are we saving the GSE's or preserving the wealth of those who have vested interests in the banking and financial industry? The GSE's should be allowed to fail in this so called "free market" and let the chips fall were they may.

If this were allowed to happen, the ensuing pain would create a well deserved and well needed moral outrage within our society. Maybe then, we would insist on serious investigations into the fraudulent behavior of the bankers, mortgage companies, rating agencies and brokers.

Don't Buy These Bonds - Cramer's Stop Trading! (9/4/08)

oops......

all this trash

Don't Buy These Bonds - Cramer's Stop Trading! (9/4/08)

What this idiot Cramer fails to say is that it will be you and me that are going to be on the hook for all trash.

The Fed better keep the printing presses rolling.

The Risk Of A Run On The Banking System

If there is a run on the banks, Larry Kudlow (CNBC) will have to change his mantra from "DRILL, DRILL,DRILL" to "PRINT, PRINT, PRINT"

The End of U.S. Financial Domination

notsosmart:

"my grand father threw over 50lbs. of gold into the main river in germany so he would not be killed for it.you cant eat gold & you dont ned a roof over you after your ded."

As they say, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.