leaverbiner wrote:Ikefromla wrote:Fair.
Definitely can relate to most of what you just said.
Not that there aren't major problems with our financial system and the lack of accountability on the part of the banks that knowingly created the housing bubble and got bailed out after the fact.
There are major problems with our financial system and with our political system. Agreed. The one thing I hope can come from this is a recognition that if yo uwant change you have to exercise the voice you have - VOTE and don't support companies who's practices and policies you don't agree with. There are far too many options in our economy to just mindlessly use your spending power to support a machine you don't agree with.
As for the housing bubble . . . there were MANY CAUSES . . . not the least of which is every single fuckin' idiot that signed a mortgage that they didn't understand or couldn't afford . .. oh and the U.S. Government that encourgaed, in fact demanded that the Banks relax their lending policies. And yes, I am pissed, I bought a house that I can afford but thanks to the fucks that couldn't and the resultant foreclosures and devestation to the market, my house isn't worth shit!
I will get off my soapbox now . . . sorry for the rant . . . wait this is b.com . .. FUCK YOU ALL
your house isn't worth shit BECAUSE of the banks .. not because of idiots who bought houses they couldn't afford. Banks bundled mortgages and sold pieces off to investors. And when they ran out of healthy mortgage candidates they went trolling for anyone who wanted a home. The Government did not ask them to relax a damn thing. They did all on their own. And when they approved high risk loans, they simply insured against a default through insurance companies like AIG, hence the fucking HUGE fall-out over that particular establishments absolute lack of responsibility in handling it's own affairs. The Gov bailed out AIG because not only american banks, but many European and British banks were HEAVILY insured by AIG. They held billions in retirement plans, pensions, etc. and they insured any shitbag mortgage that Goldman Sachs threw their way hoping that through defaults, they would make Billions in late fees.
But by lending to anyone and everyone, the low percentage rate mortgages from the Clinton era that caused the housing market to spike, disappeared along with property values and when people couldn't lend against the value of their devalued houses, they defaulted.
Leaver I know you are intelligent man, but you are placing too much of the blame on the wrong people. This isn't an issue where once again, we can take all the blame and simply pay more taxes to fix it. The government is going to have to go against the asshole who put them in office (big business) and get the amount of money they need from THEM, not from us.
