Hmmm . . . Obama signed a measure allowing mortgage companies and banks to restructure loans for millions of American families facing foreclosure. This is like bandaid that won't stick to the wound! What good is this going to do?
I am so bumfuddled as to the lack of common knowledge of cause and effect within our government. Are they really this stupid?
Why? Why are MOST American's facing foreclosure today?
I keep hearing that people shouldn't have applied for mortgages they couldn't afford. Okay. But that is just the scum on the top of the pond of problems. Most people who lose their jobs can't afford ANY mortgage. How many of those people had income before they had a job? Is anyone paying attention?
How many of our jobs have gone over seas? How many manufacturing jobs? How many food processing plants? How many clothing and textile mills got handed over to foreign countries?
The people who fell for the "adjustable mortgage" play were fractional in comparison to those who are losing their homes. Banks got the bailout money, taxpayers got the shaft. We are still getting the shaft.
Maybe we can all get jobs in the Environmental Protection Agency, the unions or the military, because after the bailouts and the payoffs, there will be no other private sector jobs . . . unless you want to start investing in real estate in Taiwan.
I don't see the rescue package doing much good unless we can somehow materialize some 13 million jobs back to the U.S. of A.
The loan modification program wasn't designed as an "across-the-board" fix.
It is just one of many things developed to stimulate the housing market portion of the economy.
And the loan modification program will work for certiain individuals in certain financial situations, not for everyone.
You know, I wouldn't be so critical. Our last administration didn't do JACK. At least this administration is taking an active role in bringing it back.
We can fix the huge mess our last administration created overnight.
Bonnie -
Good Politics, but no real solution! My guess is, however, the Administration will not, cannot stop here.
The real problem?
Let's use an analogy!
You go into a bar - you know the bartender. His name?
Mr. Bank of America! The Bar Manager - Ms. Wells Fargo.
They keep serving you drink after drink, without remorse. Eventually, of course, you will feel the real impact of your imbibing so heavily.
Angry, they pick up your drunken carcass off the barroom floor, and through you out, cursing you under their breath, and wondering how you got so plastered! What kind of people would dare drink so much.
Well, it seems . . . most of us did!
Thanks for the share!
DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
Short and sweet and right on point. Bandaid that won't stick to the wound is right.
Dean Moss's comment should be a post.
Bonnie..yes..they are that stupid!Glad to see you are someone else who didn't drink the Koolaid!
One of the many reasons is that banks are using the STIMULUS money in acquiring other banks so they can get bigger and more profitable after this mess is over. . .they forgot that the STIMULUS Money was supposed to be for these homeowners.
Dean, thanks for the laugh and very good way to explain a good point.
Bonnie, Add to that trying to find products made in America. Good Luck.
Bonnie, you're not alone. The home owner rescue program seems to be doing more for the banks and lenders than home owners.
"starting?"
LOL I think I started months ago.
It will not stop until the gov't gets its hands out of the banks.
Hmmm...and the solution is what ? The mess didn't happen over night...not likely to disappear that fast...government is "bulky" at best...we all have to work with what there is...do what we can and solve what we are able..
Hi Bonnie -- I think you make some good points. That said, if a lot of these jobs remained in the US for the typs of work you described, much of this work would most likely be filled by illegal aliens who aren't paying taxes as as there will either be slimy corporations out there looking to make more money and/or a % of the workforce who won't work for peanuts in order to remain competitive with imports, as USA consumers will by something less expensive, all things equal, and we can't drive wages low enough in this country to produce these types of jobs. I think the real solution needs to come from innovation and education, which will help us evolve as a society in order to compete in a truly global society.
I think the banks were not only negligent, but many were criminal. I also think the government completely fell down, and we also don't have a financially literate society enough to make wise choices either, there is plenty of blame to go around in all directions.
I think long-term solutions will be as vexing as the problem.
I do wonder if say, three trillion dollars were given to the people most affected by this crisis, how the tide would have been stemmed.
I agree with Ralph that the loan modification program was never designed as an "across-the-board" fix for everybody......and the loan modification program will work for certain individuals in certain financial situations.
......I also can see Sally& Davis point, the mess did not happen over night and there is no quick fix. The World economy is changing and the US is not the only on the in a Real Estate mess....how to fix it....I really don't know.
Bettina
Bonnie...
Real job creation by expanding the economy rather than fake government jobs that drain the treasury dry ... that's what is needed. Good post.
What would be a better short term solution to fix the problem? It seems that something has to be done and finding the biggest band aid as you put it is a solution to a short term problem. If you don't have a job obviously you cant pay any mortgage, but something has to be done.
Bonnie,
We are the sum of the decisions we make. And as a country, over the past few decades, we have made a lot of bad decisions.
Financial deregulation and shipping jobs overseas while PAYING big-wig execs big money for doing both are just two of the calamitous ones which have led us to this point.
There are no easy fixes here. We are paying for the thoughtless decisions based upon greed which have brought us to this point.
And, as always, it is the average hardworking citizen who ends up getting the shaft.
Will that ever change? I hope so. But it's gonna hurt and it's only gonna happen if we put our big boy and big girl pants on and commit to working together to change it.
The program outlined would do some good (not the cure by no means) if the banks would do the modifications and refinances. By the time they lay their guidelines on top and change them every time you get close to meeting them. Nothing gets done.
I feel the banks do just enough to divert the public focus off their BS. No real desire by the banks to be part of the solution.
When a manufacturing plant closes you can bet foreclosuresgo up in that neighborhood. Without a job you cannot afford a mortgage and if you have one it won't be long before that house hits the market adding to the mess. If you are lucky enough to have your home fully paid for and the taxes keep going up too, some might have to move because they are also over taxed to pay for all of this.
The loan mod program was simply to make people feel cozy thinking they have a chance. This is all by design when you do the research. I have, and it is amazing what is going to happen in this country if the people don't start speaking out.
Have any of you read the Fair Tax measure? Jobs would come streaning back to the US under this tax plan. Do you know the US is the ONLY country that does not have a consumption pased tax? Do you know that this tax woul eleminate the lower earning folks from paying ANY taxes, social security or medicaid?
Do you know that all the taxes would be eliminated from our products overseas? Do you realize how much more competative this would make us in the world markets?
Corporate taxes are already built in to the products we buy. The people who cheat on their taxes would be brought into the system which would make us revenue neutral.
And none of us would have to file Federal taxes again.
Do a bit of reading. You might be surprised.
I agree with Lenn that Dean's comment it right on and should be a post!
Patricia Aulson/Portsmouth NH Real Estate
Thousands of homes in Las Vegas are too far underwater to qualify for the rescue plan. President Obama and Senate majority leader Reid were here last week, and not a word was said about it. Instead, they focused on a solar power project at Nellis AFB. With our local unemployment rate hovering around 10%, it's going to be a long hot summer.
I don't know what the solution is but at least there is an effort being put forth.
Don't you love the way bill-paying home owners who made conservative decisions (not in the political sense but the dictionary sense) completely get the shaf... have to eat any of their losses.
I believe in time we will begin to see the healing from an overflow of bleeding. No one solution is going to resolve the depth of flood, but what I can appreciate is the effort being put into place rather than the blinders that have been placed over our eyes.
Agreed Bonnie. Most people in Washington don't understand cause-and-effect. They're career politicians who've never had any other career, yet insist on telling businesses how they should operate.
I know unemployment is definitely our #1 concern here in Metro Detroit. Everything is tied to the auto industry and this GM bankruptcy won't help.
Norma, you're 100% right about corporate taxes. It's a shame more people don't realize corporations don't pay corporate taxes. (They're passed on to consumers.)
Us too, John. Anyone in Metro Detroit who bought this decade is more than 5% underwater--even if they put 20% down. We'll see if the loan mods work. They make more sense for banks than foreclosures and maybe even short sales--but that's assuming banks are logical.
It's all likely to hit just as hard on the back end, and we'll be looking for a bigger band-aid and another temporary fix until the pack of band-aids runs out and we're left with those little ones that don't fit over any wound.
I still believe that things are going to have to run their course to some degree, and we are going to have to suck it up.
That being said. I agree with a lot that has been said.
Good post, Bonnie, and many well-said comments from your readers. I tend to agree with you. Any little bit of good these programs may do will not even come close to solving the underlying problems - such as, our economy no longer really has a foundation. You real estate professionals should understand the value of a solid foundation.
For too long, our economy has been 'consumer-based'. Fine, if we had a solid means of income to justify the consuming. But we don't. The Clinton economy was propped up by a false tech bubble. The Bush economy by an overheating real estate bubble. Beneath the surface, the sound of crickets.
The Obama administration seems to be trying to restart the Bush economy. What it should be doing is adjusting its practices to allow and encourage Americans to compete in the global marketplace, today's reality. Unfortunately, I don't see any signs of intent from this administration to do any work on the foundation.
Maybe the solution is to make it that much more difficult for businesses... raise their taxes, add in cap & trade, pop in new taxes to cover health benefits...
Does that seem like a good idea? It seems to be a good idea according to the administration.
Let's see, buyer interest at all time high with historic low rates, prices and the first time buyer tax credit. They are doing rent backs for tenants, approving short sales and loan mods. We have a ton of delayed inventory out there. I fear it isn't coming out!
Hi Ralph . . . The last administration didn't do JACK . . . would this be Barney Frank? Chris Dodd? SENATOR Barak Obama? Pelosi? THAT administration? Because those are the very people that thought it would help those poor people if they pused banks to lower lending standards. I am absolutely going to be critical . . . Not that I am particularly enamored with the job Bush did to contribute to this mess, but Obama is certainly not helping. For the tax dollars that just got spent on banks, maybe THOSE billions would have been better spent going to the people who were directly harmed by the policies social loan programs?
Dean Moss . . . LOVE the analogy! Better than my bandaid one, LOL!
Lenn, Brien and Patricia, Yes, I agree. I loved Dean's response. Had me giggling too!
BLRGUY - Yeah, I did drink a bit and it was lemon . . won't do that again!
Sally & David Hanson - I agree this didn't happen overnight, I also agree it won't be repaired overnight. I seriously doubt that any hand the government play's in it will do anything but delay a recovery.
Chris Olsen - I agree that the banks were criminal . . . and the complicitors were the fellow members in congress lying to us about the viability of Fannie and Freddie (remember those two?) and pushing for sub-prime loans while fighting like hell to make sure no American business can produce a product without first increasing their costs 20 fold to appease the ever-evolving black hole of the EPA. And as far as innovation and education being an answer? Where is that supposed to come from? Our illustrious school system? Their idea of innovation is creepy new ways to teach sex ed.
Richard Weisser - Thank you! Thank you so much! Someone else who sees that the more government gets involved, the more convoluted and screwed up this eco-system called the U.S. becomes.
Norma Brandsberg - Actually I have done some reading into the fair tax measure. I agree with it. I makes a lot of sense, it will save the government a TON of money, and we can get back to being a PRODUCING nation. I am all over this. But alas . . . I live in Maryland and my guy didn't even make the top two.
Patrick Scott - Great Post! I loved your summary of our history over the last almost twenty years.
Everyone, thank you for your comments . . . even those of you who don't agree with me. I didn't expect this big a response, but I am really glad people are paying attention and watching what those jokers in Washington are doing to this country and the people who built it.
We hear all the help is out there.. Would love to see it work for people who need it the most.. It is sad to see people loosing their homes. Some can't help that they lost their jobs or had a reduction in pay.. Yes some just don't care.. but what about the ones who really are trying
Let me just say that I have had several clients go through the loan modification program successfully and they are very happy it was available for them. As has been pointed out by others, the loan modification program was never meant to be a cure all for all. If Realtors were expecting that to happen then they simply didn't read and understand the program.
It's time to stop putting blame on President Obama, Congressman Barney Frank, Senator Dodd and Speaker Pelosi. They were the minority party when this crap hit the fan. We are as much to blame for what the housing market is experiencing as any. How many Agents/Realtors stood up and looked at the Lender and said, "How can you make this Stated Income loan to this Buyer? He works part-time at Hamburger Shack!"
Agents/Realtors need to stand up and look at themselves in a big mirror and ask themselves are they angry for their clients situations or are they angry because the big commission checks stopped flowing in like before? We need to ask ourselves what role we acted out in this housing market meltdown. And we need to ask ourselves what role will we play in correcting this mess. Will we Monday Morning Quarterback or will we stay abreast of the new laws and regulations...take the time to research them and understand them? Will we be a bonafide resource for prospects and clients or will we grab another cold one and bemoan the fact that not all the attempts coming from Washington will be an instant panacea?
We are real estate professionals. We need to stop moaning, bitching, complaining, blaming name-calling, and looking for easy answers to some horrific finanacial probllems in this country. The real estate market has changed in ways we may not truly understand for several more years. We were a big part of what caused all this housing mess and we must accept that, own it and now prepare ourselves for moving forward.
Sorry, just one more thing. "Those jokers in Washington..." Folks, those jokers in Washington were voted on and voted in to office by the few of us willing to get off our collective butt and go vote. In 2008 the majority of voters voted in a different Administration and Congress. Now you may not like the results of that vote, but when you call them "jokers" you are really calling the majority of voters "jokers." You are implying that we (the majority of voters) didn't take it seriously, didn't really care about our vote, didn't really take the time to study the issues.
And the term "scum" was used, too. I just recently closed escrow on a short sale and it was very, very emotional to see the scum have to move out of their home and in to a one bedroom apartment. It was especially hard to watch two "scum" kids cry because they had lost their own bedroom and backyard tree house.
Perhaps we all need to do ssome self-editing in our blog entries. We are dealing with people...not scum at the top or the bottom.
Scott,
I see we are going to blast me and misinterpret my words for whatever your purpose is. Why you would assume that I used the term "scum" in reference to people is BEYOND me. Re-read that paragraph . . . the "scum" was in reference to the EXCUSES these politicians have used for the bank failures and the half-a**** attempts to cover their bailout of corporate banks and insurance conglomerates at the expense of the very people losing their homes.
The congress that got "voted in" in 2008 is the SAME congress that got voted in in 2006. Barney, Chris and Kennedy have been in their since the dinosaurs left the earth with very little to show for it but a billion or so in earmarks (Oh, and let's not forget Specter, LOL! and MURTHA).
Scott, I am not going to fight with you about my opinion. I'll just rest in comfort knowing that I am not alone in my opinions.
I will agree with you though, that there were MANY complicit in what went on. Continuing to reward those people is what is TICKING ME OFF. I am not mourning lost commission checks, I was working on the other side of the housing market at the time these jokers were playing "let's hose main street investors". I was one of those wives who watched her husband's company lose a division and my husband lose his job that he had for over 18 years.
Keep in mind, Scott, that despite how voraciously you defend these people, you will also be paying through the nose for their mistakes. Let's see how this plays out before any editing of blog entries takes place.
Roland,
I agree with you and feel that most agents are trying. Most people are trying. I even agree with Scott and Ralph that we are eventually going to have to put on the brakes in the blaming. It's just that I see the Washington throwing more money at the same companies and the people are not getting help. GM failed. So what are they going to do? Make it even more difficult for people to afford to buy cars with rediculous requirements . . . cap and trade all businesses and manufacturing, regulate farmers as food processing facilities. How many more businesses can we chase over to China? We're already getting our eggs and other "produce" from them. (Just ask Walmart!)
How is this administration going to create jobs? (private sector jobs . . . not psuedo prosperity government jobs. Obama, during one interview said we are already out of money. So . . . . I guess we'll all be learning to speak and write Mandarin?
Bonnie,
First, I didn't blast you in my response to your comment. Listed below is the full paragraph from your initial entry. Where did I misinterpret your words? Your entire paragraph referenced people with mortgages...no mention was made of any other group...not government leaders, not lenders, not members of Congress,,,not politicians.
"I keep hearing that people shouldn't have applied for mortgages they couldn't afford. Okay. But that is just the scumon the top of the pond of problems. Most people who lose their jobs can't afford ANY mortgage. How many of those people had income before they had a job? Is anyone paying attention?"
Second, if I had wanted to blast you I would have written that your comments sounded like the transcripts from a Fox News Program, or Russ Limbaugh radio show.
On one thing we do agree: the number of manufacturing job losses in this country is staggering and ill-advised. However, I disagree with your statement of "How many more businesses can we chase over to China?". They were never chased overseas. They were sent willingly. They were packed up and moved to China, Southeast Asia, Mexico and other countries because company shareholders demanded greater and greater dividends each Quarter. Shareholder focus is myopic and short-term and they don't care about anything or anyone else. They don't care than American workers are without jobs and they don't care that their greed helped this entire financial mess to happen. It is all about that quarterly dividend check.
Every President since Ronald Reagan has made this migration of manufacturing jobs easier, It isn't a Republican or Democratic problem. It is a very serious national problem.
I appreciate your frustration and anger with the situation. I would just encourage you to look at the big picture of responsibility. It was never my intent to do battle with you. I will, however, make comments to blog entries that I feel are one-sided, factually incorrect and come across with an agenda beyond that of real estate issues.
Bonnie, I have read your various comments and I will not respond further. I will simply read your next comment and wait with great anticipation for all your answers to the problems you have articulated. If what the current administration is doing isn't working, what do you suggestion in their place? What would Bonnie do?
Forgot my name on my last comment and just want to be sure you know who responded.
Scott,
Your comments are also one sided and not factual. Jobs went willingly over to China? (Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, Mexico, etc, etc, etc...) No. Government regulation, the E.P.A. and the Unions made it impossible for companies to compete with countries our government doesn't regulate. That is the big picture of responsibility. These problems go much, much deeper than Obama, Bush, Carter or even FDR and the New Deal. None of the stocks I have ever owned ever paid a dividend. Dividends did not drive businesses over seas. Puh-lease.
It's funny how those that don't agree with the liberal agenda start throwing Fox News in our faces to deflect from the issues. I don't even listen to Rush . . . I don't get his radio station where I live. And judging by what I do see on CNN and MSNBC? They aren't exactly epitomies of open journalism. They are the last sources I would get my information from.
If I had all the answers to our problems, I would be president. Because I'm not does not mean I am not allowed to have an opinion or point out that every time our Government gets involved in something that used to be individually decided, it gets screwed up, blown up, beauracracized into a billion + dollar entity and makes it increasingly expensive to be an American Citizen. I'm tired of paying for everyone else's mistakes . . . aren't you?
I thank you for this opportunity to discuss our different views. You would probably agree that this isn't as productive as actually doing something about what we disagree with, so with your blessing I would like to put this to rest and move on to more postive things.
Thanks again.
Let me add an example of the hypocrisy of our current administration (not that the previous one didn't have their own):
Yesterday, during Obama's speech, he defended the Iranian's right to nuclear energy (not, nuclear weapons).
Now . . . aside from wanting to appease Iran, which he will not accomplish, I want to know why it is so hard for America to build new nuclear power plants to become more energy soverign, yet it is okay for Iran to have nuclear energy? Be careful . . . you MAY have also heard this on Fox News . . . but it's a very good point and an excellent example of the reason I think this president is full of crap.