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I don't care who ya' are, this is some funny sh*t....picture Bernanke channeling Nicholson.....

While we wanted to be able to report on the final outcome of the bailout bill, it looks our leaders
need a little more time to yell at each other. We are not sure, but we think we heard FOMC Chair
Ben Bernanke lose his cool and give the following speech the other day at his Congressional testimony
when CNBC went to a commercial break:

"Senators, we live in a world that has bonds and bad construction loans and those assets need to be bought by men and women with balance sheets. Who's going to do it - you, Chairman Dodd? You, Senator Schumer? I have a greater responsibility than you can’t possibly fathom. You weep for Bear Sterns and curse the banks just trying to get their collateral; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Lehman's bankruptcy, while tragic, probably saved firms and that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves markets.

You don't want the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me buying assets - you need me buying assets. We use words like “foreclosure,” “Discount Window” and “TARP.” We use them as the backbone of a life trying to defend something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a group of media hungry politicians who rise and sleep under the blanket of the very liquidity I provide and then question the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that you purchase a defaulted option arm and pay par.

Either way, I don't give a dang what you think the American taxpayer is entitled to."


Yes, we can handle the truth and we do need answers. Ladies and gentlemen of Congress, please reach an agreement, at this point, any agreement….you are starting to scare us. DOW futures are down 200 and quarter-end is near.

I've gotta admit I'm concerned...I'm right there at the point in my life that I've socked away some money after the kids and college are paid for...and now I don't know what's happening with my future that I thought just weeks ago was in pretty good shape...

I'm sitting here wondering did the BGFs (Big Government Folks...Liberals and Neo-Cons) let this get to this point so they could offer up a fix, which grows the government closer to socialism...did the true conservatives not speak up loud enough so the crisis would hit and they could make their point about smaller government...

I don't really know as this is not my area of expertise...All I know is I am becoming scared...and some of the fixes I've heard scare me more...

AZGrizFan wrote:I don't care who ya' are, this is some funny sh*t....picture Bernanke channeling Nicholson.....

While we wanted to be able to report on the final outcome of the bailout bill, it looks our leaders
need a little more time to yell at each other. We are not sure, but we think we heard FOMC Chair
Ben Bernanke lose his cool and give the following speech the other day at his Congressional testimony
when CNBC went to a commercial break:

"Senators, we live in a world that has bonds and bad construction loans and those assets need to be bought by men and women with balance sheets. Who's going to do it - you, Chairman Dodd? You, Senator Schumer? I have a greater responsibility than you can’t possibly fathom. You weep for Bear Sterns and curse the banks just trying to get their collateral; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not
knowing what I know: that Lehman's bankruptcy, while tragic, probably saved firms and that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves markets.

You don't want the truth, because deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me buying assets - you need me buying assets. We use words like “foreclosure,” “Discount Window” and “TARP.” We use them as the backbone of a life trying to defend something. You use them as a punch line.
I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a group of media hungry politicians who rise and sleep under the blanket of the very liquidity I provide and then question the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you," and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that you
purchase a defaulted option arm and pay par.

Either way, I don't give a dang what you think the American taxpayer is entitled to."


Yes, we can handle the truth and we do need answers. Ladies and gentlemen of Congress, please reach an agreement, at this point, any agreement….you are starting to scare us. DOW futures are down 200 and quarter-end is near.

Sounds like we need him on that Wall......Street.

The housing boom was an artificially created demand caused by the Community Reinvestment Act, unwise government intervention, and runaway agencies like Freddie MAc and Fannie Mae. By coercing lenders into lowering loan qualification standards, even to the point of threatened law suits, the lenders were then told that they not only had to make these risky loans, but that the government would back them. Jimmy Carter began with the original legislation in 1977. Bill Clinton added even more teeth to it in 1995, and Barney Frank tooted the whistle all through the last eight years, shouting down anyone who dared imply that Fannie MAe or Freddie Mac were headed for trouble. To be fair, Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson and yes, GW Bush did not do enough to stop the problem before it came to this. Alan Greenspan was telling us six years ago or more that the housing bubble would be a huge economic hit if allowed to continue unabated. Guess what... he was right. Government intervention led us into this mess, but I doubt more government regulation will get us out. Without the government guaranteeing the loans in the first place, they could never have been sold as high yield, high quality securities. Without the Comminuty Reinvestment Act, the banks would never have made the risky loans to begin with. It's the slippery slope. the CRV was a well intentioned attempt to "help those in scut jobs and substandard living conditions". unfortunately, the bill is now due.

AZGrizFan wrote:The housing boom was an artificially created demand caused by the Community Reinvestment Act, unwise government intervention, and runaway agencies like Freddie MAc and Fannie Mae. By coercing lenders into lowering loan qualification standards, even to the point of threatened law suits, the lenders were then told that they not only had to make these risky loans, but that the government would back them. Jimmy Carter began with the original legislation in 1977. Bill Clinton added even more teeth to it in 1995, and Barney Frank tooted the whistle all through the last eight years, shouting down anyone who dared imply that Fannie MAe or Freddie Mac were headed for trouble. To be fair, Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson and yes, GW Bush did not do enough to stop the problem before it came to this. Alan Greenspan was telling us six years ago or more that the housing bubble would be a huge economic hit if allowed to continue unabated. Guess what... he was right. Government intervention led us into this mess, but I doubt more government regulation will get us out. Without the government guaranteeing the loans in the first place, they could never have been sold as high yield, high quality securities. Without the Comminuty Reinvestment Act, the banks would never have made the risky loans to begin with. It's the slippery slope. the CRV was a well intentioned attempt to "help those in scut jobs and substandard living conditions". unfortunately, the bill is now due.

Joy to the world!

A rare balanced poli post from Brother Z!!!

Rejoice!!!!

Cap'n Cat wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:The housing boom was an artificially created demand caused by the Community Reinvestment Act, unwise government intervention, and runaway agencies like Freddie MAc and Fannie Mae. By coercing lenders into lowering loan qualification standards, even to the point of threatened law suits, the lenders were then told that they not only had to make these risky loans, but that the government would back them. Jimmy Carter began with the original legislation in 1977. Bill Clinton added even more teeth to it in 1995, and Barney Frank tooted the whistle all through the last eight years, shouting down anyone who dared imply that Fannie MAe or Freddie Mac were headed for trouble. To be fair, Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson and yes, GW Bush did not do enough to stop the problem before it came to this. Alan Greenspan was telling us six years ago or more that the housing bubble would be a huge economic hit if allowed to continue unabated. Guess what... he was right. Government intervention led us into this mess, but I doubt more government regulation will get us out. Without the government guaranteeing the loans in the first place, they could never have been sold as high yield, high quality securities. Without the Comminuty Reinvestment Act, the banks would never have made the risky loans to begin with. It's the slippery slope. the CRV was a well intentioned attempt to "help those in scut jobs and substandard living conditions". unfortunately, the bill is now due.

Joy to the world!

A rare balanced poli post from Brother Z!!!

Rejoice!!!!

Don't worry, it won't happen again.

AZGrizFan wrote:

Cap'n Cat wrote:
Joy to the world!

A rare balanced poli post from Brother Z!!!

Rejoice!!!!

Don't worry, it won't happen again.

Yes it will. You're a closet moderate, you old buzzard.

Cap'n Cat wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote: Don't worry, it won't happen again.

Yes it will. You're a closet moderate, you old buzzard.

The interesting thing about this particular issue is that there is PLENTY of blame to go around, both liberal and conserevative, Democrat and Republican. I don't agree with all of the Republicans, and I agree with some of the Democrats on how to fix the problem. While liberal politicians promoted it as a populist idea to get votes, conservatives and liberals benefited from big contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But what really caused the tidal wave of bad mortgages was the government backing, and the packaging of the debt as govt. backed securities for sale to domestic foreign investors. There was waaayyyy too much money to be made in the short term to worry about long-term consequences. So it was ther perfect storm of Liberal politics, Conservative complacency, Wall Street greed and Regulatory incompetence. So, here we are. Everbody has mud on them, so finger pointing is not as helpful as one would hope. It's now time to act, and act correctly.

I'm just not sure THIS bailout plan is correct.

AZGrizFan wrote:

Cap'n Cat wrote:


Yes it will. You're a closet moderate, you old buzzard.

The interesting thing about this particular issue is that there is PLENTY of blame to go around, both liberal and conserevative, Democrat and Republican. I don't agree with all of the Republicans, and I agree with some of the Democrats on how to fix the problem. While liberal politicians promoted it as a populist idea to get votes, conservatives and liberals benefited from big contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But what really caused the tidal wave of bad mortgages was the government backing, and the packaging of the debt as govt. backed securities for sale to domestic foreign investors. There was waaayyyy too much money to be made in the short term to worry about long-term consequences. So it was ther perfect storm of Liberal politics, Conservative complacency, Wall Street greed and Regulatory incompetence. So, here we are. Everbody has mud on them, so finger pointing is not as helpful as one would hope. It's now time to act, and act correctly.

I'm just not sure THIS bailout plan is correct.

Agree with you nearly 100%, Z. It underscorws, too, to me, though, that there is some oversight needed on our institutions. And, it ain't unfettered capitalism that is on trial or which needs that oversight, it's unfettered human impulse that needs it.

Capitalism, like communism (the latter of which I am not a proponent) are both, as it is said, "good on paper". When human beings enter the picture, regardless of philosphy, variablity is introduced into the process and it will wander from its original intent.

AZGrizFan wrote:The housing boom was an artificially created demand caused by the Community Reinvestment Act, unwise government intervention, and runaway agencies like Freddie MAc and Fannie Mae. By coercing lenders into lowering loan qualification standards, even to the point of threatened law suits, the lenders were then told that they not only had to make these risky loans, but that the government would back them. Jimmy Carter began with the original legislation in 1977. Bill Clinton added even more teeth to it in 1995, and Barney Frank tooted the whistle all through the last eight years, shouting down anyone who dared imply that Fannie MAe or Freddie Mac were headed for trouble. To be fair, Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson and yes, GW Bush did not do enough to stop the problem before it came to this. Alan Greenspan was telling us six years ago or more that the housing bubble would be a huge economic hit if allowed to continue unabated. Guess what... he was right. Government intervention led us into this mess, but I doubt more government regulation will get us out. Without the government guaranteeing the loans in the first place, they could never have been sold as high yield, high quality securities. Without the Comminuty Reinvestment Act, the banks would never have made the risky loans to begin with. It's the slippery slope. the CRV was a well intentioned attempt to "help those in scut jobs and substandard living conditions". unfortunately, the bill is now due.

VERY well said!

Cap'n Cat wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote: The interesting thing about this particular issue is that there is PLENTY of blame to go around, both liberal and conserevative, Democrat and Republican. I don't agree with all of the Republicans, and I agree with some of the Democrats on how to fix the problem. While liberal politicians promoted it as a populist idea to get votes, conservatives and liberals benefited from big contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But what really caused the tidal wave of bad mortgages was the government backing, and the packaging of the debt as govt. backed securities for sale to domestic foreign investors. There was waaayyyy too much money to be made in the short term to worry about long-term consequences. So it was ther perfect storm of Liberal politics, Conservative complacency, Wall Street greed and Regulatory incompetence. So, here we are. Everbody has mud on them, so finger pointing is not as helpful as one would hope. It's now time to act, and act correctly.

I'm just not sure THIS bailout plan is correct.

Agree with you nearly 100%, Z. It underscorws, too, to me, though, that there is some oversight needed on our institutions. And, it ain't unfettered capitalism that is on trial or which needs that oversight, it's unfettered human impulse that needs it.

Capitalism, like communism (the latter of which I am not a proponent) are both, as it is said, "good on paper". When human beings enter the picture, regardless of philosphy, variablity is introduced into the process and it will wander from its original intent.

And yet, Obama continues to blame this on "Bush's failed policies"....THAT'S what gets me....

AZGrizFan wrote:
And yet, Obama continues to blame this on "Bush's failed policies"....THAT'S what gets me....

Um, ever consider he might be at least a little right?

Cap'n Cat wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
And yet, Obama continues to blame this on "Bush's failed policies"....THAT'S what gets me....

Um, ever consider he might be at least a little right?

Cap'n, AZ's statement:

The interesting thing about this particular issue is that there is PLENTY of blame to go around, both liberal and conserevative, Democrat and Republican. I don't agree with all of the Republicans, and I agree with some of the Democrats on how to fix the problem. While liberal politicians promoted it as a populist idea to get votes, conservatives and liberals benefited from big contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But what really caused the tidal wave of bad mortgages was the government backing, and the packaging of the debt as govt. backed securities for sale to domestic foreign investors. There was waaayyyy too much money to be made in the short term to worry about long-term consequences. So it was ther perfect storm of Liberal politics, Conservative complacency, Wall Street greed and Regulatory incompetence. So, here we are. Everbody has mud on them, so finger pointing is not as helpful as one would hope. It's now time to act, and act correctly.

I'm just not sure THIS bailout plan is correct.

Is one of the most epiphenally correct observations AZ's ever posted. Read it carefully. As the bloodhounds tree the culprits, and they're brought to justice, don't be surprised to see faces from both parties, and especially some of the N.E. old Donk bullies, being dragged into court to spend some time in the Dock. Word is that some of the Fannie & Freddie folks are already putting the finger on the Dems. And to reiterate what I said several months back...Paulson would turn out to be one of the worst Sec. Treas. in our country's history.

Just watch...

BTW, I saw the news report about all the foreclosures hitting Minneapolis...

What was that you were saying a couple of months ago about the "crisis" being a fabrication in my mind?

Not happy to say I told you so, but maybe next time you'll listen.

Damn i'm glad I can proudly say i'm DEBT FREE. The house and all the cars are paid for.

coastal89 wrote:Damn i'm glad I can proudly say i'm DEBT FREE. The house and all the cars are paid for.

The ramifications go way, WAY past a person with a mortgage. Was just talking to someone tonight about a retired couple in a very nice neighborhood, with a very nice house, who had "banked" on selling their home and using the equity to buy an assisted living condo in a retirement community...their neighbor's place was foreclosed back in March, and is still vacant, and three houses a block away are foreclosed, thus, not only driving down their value the 40% hit from market regression, but another 18% from 'comparables' sales in their neighborhood. They cannot afford to make the move, and in the past couple of months alone, the husband's had to call 9-11 for routine medical issues effecting his wife. It's beyond frustrating for them.

I've had virtually every client I've worked with in the past 4 months tell me they are changing the scope of their target market as a result of shifting funding sources. Many have had "key employee" layoffs, and those who have not permanently layed-off staff, are cutting corners by laying off senior employees and re-hiring entry-level caliber employees to hold them over until the economy recovers. This is pretty serious and will take at least another 1 1/2 to 2 years before there's a turn-around. Quote me.

...and BTW, the 84 yr old gentleman I mentioned above was a Dean at a local community college for many years, hence, it's not like he didn't "plan" or prepare for their retirement.

travelinman67 wrote:

coastal89 wrote:Damn i'm glad I can proudly say i'm DEBT FREE. The house and all the cars are paid for.

The ramifications go way, WAY past a person with a mortgage. Was just talking to someone tonight about a retired couple in a very nice neighborhood, with a very nice house, who had "banked" on selling their home and using the equity to buy an assisted living condo in a retirement community...their neighbor's place was foreclosed back in March, and is still vacant, and three houses a block away are foreclosed, thus, not only driving down their value the 40% hit from market regression, but another 18% from 'comparables' sales in their neighborhood. They cannot afford to make the move, and in the past couple of months alone, the husband's had to call 9-11 for routine medical issues effecting his wife. It's beyond frustrating for them.

I've had virtually every client I've worked with in the past 4 months tell me they are changing the scope of their target market as a result of shifting funding sources. Many have had "key employee" layoffs, and those who have not permanently layed-off staff, are cutting corners by laying off senior employees and re-hiring entry-level caliber employees to hold them over until the economy recovers. This is pretty serious and will take at least another 1 1/2 to 2 years before there's a turn-around. Quote me.

...and BTW, the 84 yr old gentleman I mentioned above was a Dean at a local community college for many years, hence, it's not like he didn't "plan" or prepare for their retirement.

Although not 84, I find myself in the same basic position as your friend, T-Man...

We bought our home in 2004 when I was transfered to the DC area...retired in 2006...

Our plan was to stay for a little while, then move to our final home, work in an easy, maybe part-time job, and use the military retirement for basics...

Now, I have to stay in the DC area, working as a contractor...

Yea, I'm doing OK, as long as I'm working...we can make the house payments very easy...

But, I've lost all equity in the house plus...can't sell it even at a loss right now...I'm stuck right here...

I thought I had a good plan...

Cap'n Cat wrote:

AZGrizFan wrote:
And yet, Obama continues to blame this on "Bush's failed policies"....THAT'S what gets me....

Um, ever consider he might be at least a little right?

So, you really didn't READ my first post, did you?