Tony Rand

'The Change We Need' Is in Economic Direction

First things, first. Is it just me, or are there a lot of negative ratings assigned to the comments posted by users? It has always been my understanding that correct and truthful comments should receive positive ratings and incorrect or false comments, negative ones.

Interesting how you put all of this together, Steve. Yes, it is odd that the United States, having moved from capitalism and toward socialism, suddenly seems to be lowering its self-installed blinders - only to be surprised to catch themselves viewing the ground from their midway dive off one of the worst economic cliffs seen on the globe. This is an act of the People and we should take responsibility for the act.

For some reason WE the People think that we can blame our elected Government for our problems today. Our elected officials and all of their subsequent act(s) are only as good as our voting power can afford us. Well, I'm sorry to say that we, the People, got cheep and greedy. Agreed - All of the options laid out thus far seem to be further blinding the People, all of whom are living with the worst of all fears - the fear that they have no control over their destiny - including that they no longer seem to understand their own comprehension of "destiny".

If our nation is going to survive, we need to rethink how we are to proceed forward - ignoring all that has taken place in the past other than to make a checklist of what not to do in the future. We need to focus on promoting infrastructure and education, with education being the most important. Math, science and ingenuity driven from critical thinking will drive the future of this planet. If America does not get on board, we'll be left in the dust (literally). Although our new President hasn't said so, I believe he understands the fundamentals needed to help lead us, all Americans, back up the global ladder.

We do need a new economic and financial direction. I don't know if I would equate it to a "religion", but I do understand where you went with this. Religious faith is very strong and requires complete trust in the beliefs drawn from it...a blind faith so to speak. I have both my sight and my faith. What about the rest of you, America?

Is the U.S. Banking System Safe?

Great job - sound advise - outstanding analytics. There is no way that the housing market can begin to correct until we hit bottom. We can't hit the bottom until the affordability index corrects, consumer and investor confidence stabilizes, and the existing bad loans improve in performance - which is not likely unless more aggressive attempts are made toward modifications.

Look for hedge funds that are investing in non-performing mortgage paper to continue their large profit margins so long as they concentrate on keeping consumers in their homes. Increased foreclosures will only impede recovery if inventories continue to increase.

What I don't understand is that banks and servicers should just take this position on their own. It doesn't make any sense to see a non-performing pool of mortgages sell at 50 cents on the dollar when they can write off 30 cents, modify the asset and improve their balance sheets. Since fear follows the repercussions of greed, I do understand why they've lost all common sense at this juncture.