Discussion

• below_mason_dixon :

  Socialism. Government should take over the housing industry and minimal livable housing should be a univeral right of mankind.

  Or, maybe one of the nice little politically correct "radical centrist" and "pragmatic" plans that are sure to follow...

  Posted on January 14, 2008 2:23 PM

• TJ Colatrella :

  I have been writing of this simple solution to the sub prime mortgage crisis everywhere and a formal letter went to Brookings Institute and also Peter Orszag at his blog site address among many others..

  All we have to do is peg the sub prime mortgages at 2% above Prime..and forgive all penalties to date 1/2 of which really are illegal the rest highly unethical..

  This will save most of these millions of families from foreclosure and the trauma of eviction and also save the negative effect the downward pressure will create on the already inflated and seriously limited rental market who can least afford it..

  This will prevent the American Tax Payer from paying to bail out these lending institutions and then pay interest on top of it to banks for the billions the banks will issue to themselves through the Federal Reserve system..

  Those who are against any aspect of "Socialism" which I am not, will have to agree that Bush's plan for a bail out, is in fact Socialism and welfare for the richest corporations at the expense of the average American tax payer..

  Peg these mortgages at 2% above prime and forgive all penalties to date..

  That is the only fair equitable solution..

  Simple as that..

  
  TJ..

  Posted on January 14, 2008 3:28 PM

• below_mason_dixon :

  Thanks for the proposal. I think that what you were saying about socialism is that conservatives who criticize socialism are hypocrites because they support socialism for rich people. Point taken. But I just want want to make things very clear, regardless of your intentions.

  I just want to clarify so that Bush's plan is corporate welfare on behalf of rich people, an aspect of CAPITALISM and conservatism, NOT socialism/leftism. Socialism/leftism suggests the gov't should just take over the whole mother effer ON BEHALF OH THE PEOPLE. Just cause gov't gets involved does not really make something socialist.

  Time and time again I have to tell people: leftism/socialism is NOT about having big gov't/bureaucracy/spending. It is about having a governement of, by, and for the people that controls aspects of the economy in a democratic fashion. The size of the government is irrelevant, and only as large as is necessary to accomplish the aformentioned democratic goals of socialism. Integral to socialism is HOW government is used; socialism believes in pro-people government. Thus, something that involves government is NOT inherently socialist.

  Posted on January 14, 2008 7:53 PM

• robert beal :

  Hmmm, state-level advocacy for foreclosure moratorium -- and I just heard Hillary (Friday, L.A., IBEW) come out with a "rein in Wall Street lending abuses" package that includes a moratorium.

  Posted on January 14, 2008 8:16 PM

• waltc :

  Not sub-prime - but "Liars loans" is the correct term. Because thats what the industry called these fraudulent mortgages.

  The lending industry which created this bubble needs to die. No one should bail out these firms or lower credit to keep them afloat.

  The housing bubble itself needs to be deflated and real-estate prices slashed dramatically to bring back normalcy to the housing market.

  Yeah slashed, the market is way over valued. $500,000 gets you 50 year old hovel in a gang infested area of Los Angeles. A $100,000 gets you a shack 100 miles east in the Mojave Desert.

  Unsustainable as hell.

  BTW about 25% of houses are owned by flippers - greedy little speculators who were responsible for pushing prices into the stratosphere. It disgusts me that liberals and progressives are going to bail these people out.

  These people deserve to go bankrupt.

  Another group that deserves no sympathy are those who lied on their loan applications in regards to their income and savings, who grasped at the liar-loans given out by the mortgage industry. Those clowns deserve to go back to apartment living.

  In regards to the states. They are run by stupid fucks who don't understand that what comes up must come down - market cycles anyone? They based their taxation and spending on a unsustainable housing bubble anyone with a IQ over 100 could see.

  Most state politicians ought be shot dead for criminal malfeasance and lying to the public.

  As for 400,000 workers losing their jobs, its inevitable given the massive overbuilding and over pricing of the housing market. Those who have been in the housing trade for a decade or more do understand the market is cyclical. Its not perpetual growth.

  Posted on January 14, 2008 9:40 PM

• below_mason_dixon :

  waltc, you said:

  "BTW about 25% of houses are owned by flippers - greedy little speculators who were responsible for pushing prices into the stratosphere. It disgusts me that liberals and progressives are going to bail these people out."

  What liberals and progressives? As far as I know there are very few either in government of running.

  Actually, if the government controlled the industry, none of these market problems would exist. The government should have controlled the whole thing from the outset; then, these flippers, as well as people who get screwed over, would not have existed at all. Socialism/gov't involvement is portrayed at its worst when there is a hybrid of the two, particularly when the gov't is controlled by conservatives and only wants to help the poorest as well as irresponsible business people. But I, for one, do not believe that leftism can be acurately portrayed and analyzed based on the faking of it by conservatives.

  Posted on January 15, 2008 11:21 AM