He finally says something reasonable, and I can't tell whether he's serious or trying to be cute.

What, you WANT to have a fight? You can't leave it alone, huh? Seems like you've got to pick it until the reaction you need comes.

Occasionally, just occasionally all of us wingnuts here on OT agree with one of the other wingnuts. But don't push it:D

I wonder if I have any receipts left over from all those trips I made to Las Vegas in the 80's

Talk about on the button...I plan on stealing that:)

Sigh, someone will have to pay the cost and it won't be the brain-dead morons who borrowed money they couldn't pay back.
Either the government will have to pay it back or the rest of us will but one way or the other, the responsible and successful portion of our society will have to carry the other portion.
if we do nothing the loans will default, the companies will go bankrupt, and John Q. Public will take it in the shorts.
What the government should do it throw the loan executives who made all those riduculous loans in jail to make an example out of them.

Most subprime lenders are already out of business. I don't know what else we could do to punish them, since lending to idiots wasn't criminal then and is not likely to become so in the future.

And here I thought this thread was going to be a planning session for a modern day "tea party". I am so disappointed!

Well, thank you.

Good ole Supe, card carrying member of the "it's not really your fault, society should help pick you up each time you make a mistake..." club.

In this vein, I recommend that:

1. We all provide drugs for those who are addicted to them. It isn't their fault and they shouldn't have to suffer.

2. Murderers should not spend time in jail. It isn't their fault, they are just a product of the evil society we live in and we should all bear the brunt. Make the rich people spend a day in jail instead.

3. Those deeply in debt shouldn't have to pay back anything. The credit card companies should instead pay off their debt and then send them compensation in the form of monthly checks for leading them astray.

Man, I feel more and more like Michael Moore each day...

I was sort of looking forward to the RE market crashing a little. I missed the boat last time, won't happen again...

Desperate times Rick. I saw a guy at the Vienna Metro this morning handing out some mortgage re-fi fliers. :rolleyes: This guy probably was rollin' a couple of months ago.

I hope the gov't does bail these idiots out. I'm doing well with MY mortgage...but I will roll down to Porsche of Arlington and buy me a couple of new 997s. They can bail me out for that ;)

Ooo, I think you're on to something, Steve. I think I will head downtown and buy a new 997, then pick up a nice Ferrari or two. When the payment comes...well, I'll just call the gubmint! It ain't my fault, the company should have never financed me, right?

Hmmmmm! Da Superman do be da thinkin' man, askin' da big question.....uhh.....

Yeah! Bail the bstaards out and keep the economy growing!

It ain't Bernanke's job to coddle Wall St. His job is to juggle the balls to keep inflation at bay, which I predict he'll do by dropping the interest rate.

It's just to bad that after juggling the balls of the greedy batasdrs that caused this mess, he can't drop-kick them into next fiscal year.

I do believe there are times when assistance may be advisable. How about those who lose their pensions/investments because of inept management of a corporation (Enron, Global Crossings to name a couple)? How about some kind of catastrophic medical coverage like the $250,000 or more a doctor's "error" would have cost me if I weren't fortunate enough to have BC/BS through my former employer? (Brings up a question...In the case of a doctor caused "negative outcome", who should pay? The medical insurance provider? The Doctor's malpractice insurance? BC/BS is going after the Doctor for reimbursement)

I do not believe in a free ride for opportunists who risk it all on inadvisable schemes, but there are those events that can happen that are completely out of the control of the individual. And, private charities, despite what some of you think, cannot carry the full load....I think of Dicken's famous lines showing how little human nature has changed since the 19th century: "Are there not workhouses? Are there not prisons?"

To both Ricks.....never generalize. There is too much of that from our armchair experts on God, New Orleans and other sensitive subjects for which there are no easy answers, only opinions.

Since I worked in the A-paper and subprime businesses, I think I know the issue well enough to not be generalizing. If you're old enough to sign loan docs, you are old enough to edumacate yourself about the loan terms and understand what you can and can't afford. Those subprime saps will always be poor, no matter who keeps bailing them out. Take all the money in the world and divide it evenly among people and in a few years we'd be right back to where we started. A fool and his money were lucky to get together in the first place. It ain't my job to keep them together.

Supe already stated that he didn't actually believe the opinion he in his first post, but that he was "trying it out". Do I get a gold star for accurately predicting that?

Interesting and predictable. I can say I was most likely arranging mortgages and selling real estate before most of you were in three corner pants. Not once did I not work with the "buyer" to make sure they totally understood the options available and possible pitfalls. How many of these foreclosures will result in family breakups? A very common side effect in severe financial crises. Maybe I was an anomoly. I would rather lose a customer than sell something to someone they could not afford in the long run. There are so many ripples caused by every action. Perhaps the entire industry needs to police itself better. Sometimes I think of some mortgage brokers in the same category as "payday loan officers". Not the most flattering comparison.

I can't disagree with this statement. The problem is that so many people flooded into the real estate and lending sides of the picture thinking they had tapped into an unlimited ATM. I'd say that many weren't capable of thinking past their next bonus.

Hell, a guy I went to high school with, whom took 3 years after college to get his GED, and got kicked out of three community colleges (that I know of), was a subprime loan officer in Florida until the gravy train stopped. He hadn't held a job--any job--for longer than six months prior to becoming a loan officer. He'd been fired as a dishwasher and a waiter, a house painter and a cashier...yet he somehow held a job as at a subprime lender for a year and a half.

Chris:

Agreed. Too many people saw RE as a way to get rich. Unfortunately, they were less than professional and saw no reason to go beyond the absolute minimum. None of us would accept that behaviour from a carpenter or auto mechanic. The rules for becoming a mortgage broker are so lax that Forrest Gump would be accepted. It really is not a profession, any more than being a car salesman. I belong to three financial planning associations and two certifications. In order to keep my certifications I have to accrue 40 hours of home study a year. Even real estate (NAREB) requires annual coursework. What are the annual training requirements for a mortgage broker?

I was reasonably successful by providing service that made people comfortable. Word of mouth is the best path to business success.

Supe? With all due respect, you make a poor Devil's advocate...