Posted By: Ecor  on Wednesday, September 10, 2008

This says it all; MS. Gloom & Doom Liberal.

©2008 Martha Randolph Carr. Martha’s column is distributed exclusively by Cagle Cartoons Inc. newspaper syndicate

Posted By: New Hampshire thinker  on Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Most people buy a house as a long term investment.  The scenario presented was one of a flipper.  Those investors got out of the market 2 years ago.  When the Savings and Loans went under in the 80's, we didn't all live to work, we stayed in our houses, paid our fixed mortgages and did just fine, thank you.

Cheers from New Hampshire

Posted By: Barb  on Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Just one comment...that VISA ad is for the VISA check card not the credit card..you know the one which subtracts from your checking account.

Posted By: Glen Scutt  on Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Ah, those gloom and doom liberals, at it again!  Sticks and stones will ne'er break my bones and Freddie Mac and Susie Mae are just words.  Palin will pray, and the sun will come out tomorrow.  How do I know?  The bible tells me so.



The fall of Athenian democracy, the destruction of the Republic of Rome.  They can tell no one anything about the virtues of self indulgence, of military adventures abroad.  Why?  Because we are no nation left behind, the Yew benighted states, under GAWD with a plastic Geezuss on evry dashbored.  Halleuyall!  George is mah keepah an I shall not want!

Posted By: Michael  on Thursday, September 11, 2008

Uhm Glen is *Fannie* Mae and Freddie Mac, not that the name really makes a whole lot of difference.



Anyway here is my take, the structural problems created by the last oh, 20 years or so of horribly incompetent banking law (well lets be honest, not horribly incompetent, just law written by bankers for bankers with help from very expensive K street lobbiests) is finally comming home to roost. As long ago as 1996 (or was it 94?) I recall reading in the Atlantic Monthly articles decrying the HUGE consumer debt in the US and things only got worse.



Meanwhile instead of trying to arrest a bad situation Republican congress and then a Republican President kept telling us to spend, Spend, SPEND!!! Frankly, 'Ecor' Gloom & Doom does not begin to describe the economic situation of the United States, I think a better description can be found in the title of a book by Edward Gibbon, "A History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire". The similarites between Pax Americana and Pax Romana are frightful and the thought that China or Russia could be the up and comming World super power, countires that are not exactly vibrant democracies, does little to comfort.

Posted By: LM  on Thursday, September 11, 2008

And to think it only took Son of George and Wasilly  Sarah less than 3  of Gawd's days to "reinvent" themselves!  

The accidentally famous. . . may write books, appear on talk shows, and, in so doing, attract even greater public attention. This type of celebrity status, of course, is brittle and evanescent.

-- Lawrence M. Friedman, The Horizontal Society   -- New Hampshire thinker got it right.

Posted By: leecaroline whitmer  on Thursday, September 11, 2008

How convenient that none of the Democrats seem to remember that it was Bill Clinton who wanted (and got) deregulation of the mortgage industry allowing this recklessness on the part of that industry.  Shades of that mortgage scandal of Hilary's in Arkansas?  Bill Clinton has the responsibility of this housing disaster squarely on his shoulders.  Bush should not be blamed for this one.

Posted By: S.O.  on Thursday, September 11, 2008

New Hampshire thinker got it partially right -  "we stayed in our houses, paid our fixed mortgages and did just fine, thank you."  The key word is "fixed".  These days thanks to the sense of entitlement and instant gratification so many people have in this country, ARM loans abound, and credit card debt is at an all time high.  At some point that has to end - people can't continue to commit more in paymnents than they bring home in income.  

Posted By: LYLE WITHERELL  on Thursday, September 11, 2008

THE SCUMBAGS WHO RAN THESE TWO ENTITIES SHOULD BE THROWN UNDER THE JAIL AND ALL THEIR POSESSIONS SOLD TO REPAY PART OF THE LOSS. BUT THEY WILL PROBABLY GET BIG BONUS CHECKS AND NEW HIGH PAYING JOBS IN THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION.8D8DR

Posted By: Rugly  on Thursday, September 11, 2008

I haven't had a chance to research Ms. Whitmer's statements to verify their accuracy.  Nevertheless, assuming what she says to be true, I am left wonder what has been done to fix the problem he left.  Blame Clinton all you want, but the Bush administration has held the White House for the past eight years and Republicans have controlled the legislature for five of those eight.  It seems to me they have had time to recognize the problem and rectify it, or at least take steps to try to rectify it.  Maybe you can't blame Bush for the root problem, but you can blame him for mess that it has sprouted.

Posted By: clw4freedom  on Thursday, September 11, 2008

Several partial rights and some holier than thous.  However, the public seems to have a rather short memory.  Mid-80s and the Reagan Revolution started the decline of the middle class, or don't you remember the mantra "Gov is not the answer, gov is the problem" all we need is non-regulated Free Market Economy and everybody gets rich.

Doesn't anyone remember the bail-outs for the banks, S&Ls (Neil Bush, McCain-Keating 5), the airlines, securities market, dot.com, etc., which were unregulated and under scrutinezed?  In almost every case, the big shots got away and the public lost their life savings!!  The Republicans have managed to privative profits (via lobbists, etc) while (the S word) SOCIALIZING losses .. and guess who has had to pay for all of those losses?

BTW, I should have been smarter also: wanted to pay my 20% for a fixed rate loan, instead the morgtage broker (a former friend no less) convinced me that a variable would be "much better" leaving me with more $ to spiff up the place; and I was no speculator.  Found out later that she got an extra $5,000 for that variable.  Yep, one of the dumb ones.  In defence of others, who should know better?  Someone who buys a house every 7- 10 years, or someone who is selling 10 - 30 a month?  

Posted By: jack sprat  on Thursday, September 11, 2008

I think the stellar career of the guy who's claim to fame was to write two books about himself will fix everything, after all his new go-fer Chris Dodd (best home rates allowed by Homeside) wrote the law that let Paulsen "nationalize" the loan debt for the 5% of us that are in default. Smirkey can take the blame for what he's done, so can the Dem's.

So when are we going to throw Dodd's under the bus?

Posted By: Steve Stevens...  on Thursday, September 11, 2008

Boneheads...  Consume Mass Quantites... That is the banner under which these greedy people work and live. What The United States has come down to is I want it now and I want alot of it... But rather stand around and stomp their feet until someone gives them what they want, what happens is that they just get another credit card to max out... I used to get laughed at when I put part of my meager earnings into a savings account, now those that laughed at me earlier are laughing again because now I have to pay the bill to bail the "Consume Mass Quantities" crowd out... Sheeesh... I really thought I was doing the right thing... Well, my children are now savers so that they can help bail out the next group of "Consumers"... sign me and my family off as either nice guys, or fools...

Posted By: E.F. Cunningham  on Thursday, September 11, 2008

My grand-daughter and her soon-to-be husband bought a house in GA last year. I think it was a "Flip this House' sort of thing". No $ down, how nice, not a significant income, 2 little tykes with another on the way. For some unknown reason, they thought they could pay the $900 or so mortgage payment. Guess what? They got the house!! About 10-11 months they were dealt with foreclosure. Fancy that happening. There was surely something wrong with the picture from the very beginning. I don't imagine that their case was all that uncommon. Who all take the blame here, in addition to the 2 young people that just 'didn't get it'? The bank for sure and the staff that let that loan go through. Not much wonder the housing situation is in an uproar. IMHO

Posted By: Mike Hundley  on Friday, September 12, 2008

If it's one thing coorperate America has shown us is that they can't be trusted to conduct bussiness fairly and honestly. They will pillage and loot the American people for profit down to last penny. From Enron, to the savings and loan debacle the list of thievery is endless. Any time an industry has been deregulated, what follows is endless scams. Like little children they need to be constantly watched. Hard regulation and enforcement is in order. Unfortunately, a lot of them have our elected officials in their back pockets.