Jim, this was funny at first...but now? I dunno...

You've got a good grasp on things. Accourding to Case-Schiller data, homes have on average cost about 2.7 x median income. This reached upwards of 5.5 x income in 2006. Currently the number stands at about 3.5x. This would indicate housing is still overvalued by about 20%. In my opinion the mortgage bailout will continue to artificially inflate housing values, setting us up for a bigger fall when they eventually deflate.

"Robert Shiller, teaches economics at Yale University, has calculated that housing prices have remained remarkably constant from 1890 through 1998, rising only 13 percent when adjusted for inflation -- through world wars, the automobile, and the rise of the two-income family. When the dot-com bubble burst, money flowed into real estate, encouraged by the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates more than prudence allowed."

Well Paul, you guys could keep politics on PARF instead of the main OT forum. ;)

Does part of this stick-it-to-us package include some kind of tax rebate or credit for first time homebuyers? If it does, I'm wondering if my wife can qualify on her own income for our next house, as she's never held title before and I still do.

And you can just turn the channel.

I'm not sure if ANYBODY has read it all yet, but definitely worth your doing some research.

Just found it. I'm SOL because a married first time home buyer is subject to their spouse's status as a homeowner too and I still own a place in VA. Otherwise, it's good for $8k. Damn!

I kind of look at this whole thing as punisment for those who played by the rules...

Completely.

And also a reward for those who bent/broke them.

Think of it on billboards all across the fruited plain...

The Mortgage Bailout
Brought to you by the same geniuses who thought Affirmative Action and the Community Reinvestment Act were good ideas

I agree with Paul. Grow up, Jim.

Best,
Tom

I already figured out I am one of "THEM" And who can I thank for it...why Citi, AIG, Lehman, Goldman and all the others...those are the Boyz who are sinking me..so I have no compunction to use whatever means to stay afloat. I am going to be among the first in the hand out line...

To PARF?

Thanks Tom. The point of PARF was to keep the bile separate. Clearly many of you do not support the separation and chose to disrespect those that do.

A discussion of the current economic situation is neither "politics" nor "religion" necessarily.

The constant "snow tires" comments are annoying and only serve to quash some of the rare intelligent discussion that pops up around here.

That said, I do get EXTREMELY sick and tired of hearing tabs' (and others') constant b1tching and complaining and endless impassioned rants about how the end of the world is nigh and we're all going to be standing in bread lines before the end of the year. STFU. I'm tired of hearing that. It ain't gonna' happen. Yes, things are tough, but as with anything else in our history that's tough, there will be plenty of opportunity for those willing to make it for themselves.

We're confronted with a choice in these tough times - we can either (1) wallow around in self-misery, lamenting the "good old days" and obsessed with what we DON'T have or (2) try to become part of the SOLUTION rather than the problem, being grateful for that which we DO have.

Remember, even during the days of the Great Depression (which this isn't, not by a longshot) we lived better than 99% of the world. Think about that for a minute. For every single man, woman and child in America whose biggest gripe in life is that their plasma TV screen isn't as big as their neighbors, or that the gas prices are too high, or that their 401k has fallen in value - there are roughly 10,000 people elsewhere in the world that are living in crushing poverty, barely able to eke out a subsistence lifestyle, on the brink of starvation, who can barely afford food and some rags for clothes, much less healthcare, cars, toys, televisions and $500,000 houses. Think about that before b1tching about how tough we have it "just because".

There are some people out there who would complain and b1tch if you handed them a million dollars, "just because" it wasn't two million. Learn to start counting your blessings people. Yes - things are tough by OUR traditional, expected standards of living right now - but we've still got it AWFULLY damn good. Go travel overseas and see how the ROW lives. Then you might have the right to get on the Internet (another luxury that 99% of the world doesn't enjoy, incidentally) and p1ss and whine about how hard things are because you could only stuff your face at the buffet 4 out of 7 days last week, instead of 6.

Perspective. Learn it.

Jeff - Well said!

Thanks,

Tom

the whole "bailout" is bs imo......it's not going to help me or millions of others like me who's household makes less than 100k a year combined (i'm WAY down on income as my wife has been out of work for almost 9 months) so we aren't in any position to even think about buying a house to take advantage of a tax credit......add in the crappy economy, hours getting cut at work, etc.....already had to sell my 911...........

snow tires........i'm with jim........

The worst is yet to come. The economy isn't done tanking but that isn't the worst of it.
This bailout is gonna happen. With the "populist" politicians in charge that is a given.

The federal gubbmint is borrowing money to pay for this.....just like any financial expert tells *you* not to do.
Anyone here who lived thru the mid 70s hyper-inflation can tell you what happens next....in the mid/late70s the bill for the Vietnam war came due.....that was big time borrowed money, not "normal" borrowed money. Couple the present situation and the Iraq war this round of borrowing....3, 5 & 10 year notes come due. The baby boomers will want to do Social Security.....This is gonna make the 70s look like a walk in the park.

Me? I'm gonna work till I drop dead......been doin' it for 45 years, what the hell.:rolleyes:

Jeff, I agree with your first sentence, except that some of the posters here felt compelled to inject their politics into the discussion. Re-read the posts. It's obvious. As to the snow tires, etc. comments. No worries. I'll immediately give up on this passive-aggressive technique to get those that don't give a sh t about the rest of us to stop and redirect their political rants to PARF. I was hoping to make it light-hearted, and not trouble the mods with post reports. I'll still refrain from bothering the mods. You guys win...PPOT is whatever you choose make it.

The whole thing makes me want to puke. Today's headline says that 20% of the local population is getting some financial assistance. 1 in 5 ?? Does anyone work?

I'm really fed up with the whole mess. I have a lot of contempt building up.