Democrats adding "bail out" irresponsible homeowners to financial bill.

How many have we had to bail out in the last couple of weeks? And yes we loaned them money but what if they can't pay the loans back who is going to bail us out. Like I said before we can't keep borrowing money from China. We keep digging a whole larger and larger when do you think we are going to be able to get out of this.
And as for the foreclosed properties how long will the government have to hold on to them before the value goes up. It could be ten years before we are out of this. So the government is holding onto to these properties loosing money on them or are they going to rent them to the people who used to own them. When did the US get into flipping houses?

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I HATE coconut. Not the flavor, but the consistency.---Tallahassee

bailing the struggling homeowners by putting them in to a fixed mortgage for them to pay would affect us homeowners not involved in this mess the MOST, along with our gvt, who now owns all of the foreclosed homes....we need the housing market to IMPROVE so that the gvt gets our money BACK when they sell the assets they just bought or nationalized!

the dems are absolutely RIGHT in insisting on this! in fact, they should have done this LONG ago, then the banks/insurance companies wouldn't have needed the major bailouts they're getting now....

I don't how many of you liberals on this board have ever had a mortgage loan, but it is very clear to me that you & others have no knowledge of how our markets work.

Lehman brothers--Merrill Lynch BUY existing mortgage loans from mortgage banks. That's why they collapsed. They bought a package of bad mortgage loans. They are investment firms & real estate is considered an investment.

In fact in one year, my existing mortgage loan was sold to 3 different companies. We have no control over who owns our mortgages. I may borrow the original loan at Wells Fargo, then they sell it to Country Wide, then Country Wide sells it to whomever.

This is the main problem. If Wells Fargo knows that they're stuck with me on a 30 year mortgage, as a creditor, & cannot sell my mortgage to another. Then they'll probably be very frugal about checking me out before they loan money to me or others.

THIS IS DUE to the deregulation that took place! and you are right, it's like a crap shoot on who will own your mortgage next and who is betting on you to fail and who is betting on you to win!

it's scarey...

I'm a realtor. I know a hell of a lot about mortgages.

The problem came in 2000 when Phil Gramm changed the laws and that took the risk out of risky lending. The mortgage companies would lend money to bad credit people and then sell the mortgage the day after closing. There was no risk to them at all. I was fortunate enough to only have one client who fit this description. He used a mortgage company that I knew was a ripoff, and I warned him not to use them, but he used them anyway. When we got to the closing, the lawyer told me the guy had two 40 year mortgages. I was floored! If he had discussed this with me, I would have told him to rent instead.

HELLO--LOWER fixed mortgage rates have been available forever to people struggling. Re-negotiating of loans have been offered. Most walked on the house instead of refinancing to a lower fixed rate

Think about it? If you don't have to put any money down on a home, or offer up any collateral--the home you just bought is more like a rental, you can no longer afford to stay in. It's very easy to walk out. This is exactly what has happened.

nooooooooooo oreo, they were refused conventional mortgages by the banks when the time came to refinance their adjustable mortgages....

DITTO-- I have a good friend that is a successful realtor in my town. She took this couple around for about two weeks, in homes that she believed they could afford. One day, they looked at this $450,000 dollar home, & she immediately said that according to their income, there was no way they could afford it.

They immediately fired her, went to some bank & was actually able to get the loan. Of course, 3 months later they were in foreclosure. I imagine too, that this bank immediately sold this mortgage to another so they wouldn't eat it.

this is when the pyramid scam of the banks and financial institutions fell like humpty dumpty...when mortgages were not avail to the adjustables....

as long as the adjustables were fixed and not adjusting upwards and as long as conventionals were avail to them for refinancing, nothing was wrong with the housing market.

but once the conventionals were not avail to them people started to default on their loans, which put more homes on to the market, which increased supply which then lowered the value of homes, which then made it even harder to refinance in to a conventional because they had no equity in their home which was needed to get the conventional, which then made the situation worse because more and more homes were being foreclosed which then lead the market for homes down even further, with the supply now much much more than demand, which then lead in to even lower drops in housing prices, which then made it even HARDER to refi in to a conventional because they held UPSIDE DOWN mortgages....they owed more than their houses were now WORTH in the market place, thus now making it IMPOSSIBLE to refi in to a conventional loan.

the pyramid fell.

it worked great when home prices were going up....

How about we just have the Demos and their swindlers that lined their pockets with the cash, pay back the money and then garnish their wages for the next century? Sounds like a plan to me. Why should I have to pay for this crap while they get away with FRAUD and live in mansions?

What a crock of shit.

The Republicans created the crisis, and they walked away with the money.

mindless partisan drivel....

No--what you mean to say, that these people could not "qualify" for the lower rate. Meaning that they bought a home that they could not afford in the first place. RIGHT?

The only one's who committed fraud and walked away with money are sitting advisors for Obama on economic issues.

Jim Johnson
From 1991 to 1998, he served as chairman and chief executive officer of the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the quasi-public organization that guarantees mortgages for millions of American homeowners. Previously, he was vice chairman of Fannie Mae (1990-1991) and a managing director with Lehman Brothers (1985-1990). An Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) report[1] from September 2004 found that, during Johnson's tenure as CEO, Fannie Mae had improperly deferred $200 million in expenses. This enabled top executives, including Johnson and his successor, Franklin Raines, to receive substantial bonuses in 1998.[2] A 2006 OFHEO report[3] found that Fannie Mae had substantially under-reported Johnson's compensation. Originally reported as $6-7 million, Johnson actually received approximately $21 million.

As of 2006, he is a vice chairman of the private banking firm Perseus LLC, a position he has held since 2001. He is also a board member at Goldman Sachs, Gannett Company, Inc., a media holding group, KB Home, a home construction firm, Target Corporation, Temple-Inland, and UnitedHealth Group.

Johnson has also served as chairman of both the Kennedy Center for the Arts (1996-2004) and the Brookings Institution (1994-2003). He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Friends of Bilderberg, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Trilateral Commission.

On May 22, 2008, Democratic Party officials confidentially divulged that Obama had asked Johnson "to lead the process" for selecting Obama's running mate.[4] On June 4, 2008, Obama announced the formation of a three person committee to vet vice presidential candidates, including Johnson.[5] However, Johnson soon became a source of controversy when it was reported that he had received loans directly from Angelo Mozilo, the CEO of Countrywide Financial, a company implicated in the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.[6] Although he was not accused of any wrongdoing and was initially defended by Obama on the grounds that he was simply an unpaid volunteer, Johnson announced he would step down from the vice-presidential vetting position on June 11, 2008 in order to avoid being a distraction to Obama's campaign. [7]

Johnson is a strong Obama supporter who has personally donated the maximum $4,600 to his 2008 Presidential campaign, as well as $1,000 to Obama's Senate campaign in 2004.[8] In addition to personal donations, Johnson is a bundler for the Obama campaign, raising between $200,000 and $500,000.[9
James A. Johnson (businessman - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Frank Raines
On December 21, 2004 Raines accepted what he called "early retirement" [2] from his position as CEO while U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigators continued to investigate alleged accounting irregularities. He is accused by The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO), the regulating body of Fannie Mae, of abetting widespread accounting errors, which included the shifting of losses so senior executives, such as himself, could earn large bonuses [3].

In 2006, the OFHEO announced a suit against Raines in order to recover some or all of the $50 million in payments made to Raines based on the overstated earnings [4] initially estimated to be $9 billion but have been announced as 6.3 billion.[2].

Civil charges were filed against Raines and two other former executives by the OFHEO in which the OFHEO sought $110 million in penalties and $115 million in returned bonuses from the three accused.[5] On April 18, 2008, the government announced a settlement with Raines together with J. Timothy Howard, Fannie's former chief financial officer, and Leanne G. Spencer, Fannie's former controller. The three executives agreed to pay fines totaling about $3 million, which will be paid by Fannie's insurance policies. Raines also agreed to donate the proceeds from the sale of $1.8 million of his Fannie stock and to give up stock options. The stock options however have no value. Raines also gave up an estimated $5.3 million of "other benefits" said to be related to his pension and forgone bonuses.[6]

An editorial in The Wall Street Journal called it a "paltry settlement" which allowed Raines and the other two executives to "keep the bulk of their riches." [7] In 2003 alone, Raines's compensation was over $20 million.[3]

A statement issued by Raines said of the consent order, "is consistent with my acceptance of accountability as the leader of Fannie Mae and with my strong denial of the allegations made against me by OFHEO."[4]

In a settlement with OFHEO and the Securities and Exchange Commission, Fannie paid a record $400 million civil fine. Fannie, which is the largest American financier and guarantor of home mortgages, also agreed to make changes in its corporate culture and accounting procedures and ways of managing risk. [8]

In June 2008 The Wall Street Journal reported that Franklin Raines was one of several public officials who received below market rates loans at Countrywide Financial because the corporation considered the officeholders "FOA's"--"Friends of Angelo" (Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo). He received loans for over $3 million while CEO of Fannie Mae. [5]

On July 16, 2008, The Washington Post reported that Franklin Raines had "taken calls from Barack Obama's presidential campaign seeking his advice on mortgage and housing policy matters." [6]. Also, in an editorial in August 27, 2008 titled "Tough Decision Coming", the Washington Post editorial staff claimed that "Two members of Mr. Obama's political circle, James A. Johnson and Franklin D. Raines, are former chief executives of Fannie Mae."[7]

On September 18, 2008 John McCain's Campaign, published a campaign ad that quoted the Washington Post's claim that Franklin Raines advises Barack Obama on economic matters. The ad also notes that "Raines made millions and then left Fannie Mae while it was under investigation for accounting irregularities".[8] Both Raines and the Obama Campaign claim that Raines is not an Obama advisor and has never advised Senator Obama. [9] When the claim that Reines was an Obama advisor appeared multiple times in the Washington Post (first July 16th) months before the McCain ad, the Obama campaign didn't seek a correction however they did seek a correction from the Post after the ad appeared. [10] [11]

Franklin Raines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

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No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session. -- Mark Twain

The Community Reinvestment Act (or CRA, Pub.L. 95-128, title VIII, 91 Stat. 1147, 12 U.S.C. § 2901 et seq.) is a United States federal law that requires banks and thrifts to offer credit throughout their entire market area and prohibits them from targeting only wealthier neighborhoods with their services, a practice known as "redlining." The purpose of the CRA is to provide credit, including home ownership opportunities to underserved populations and commercial loans to small businesses.

I've said this a million times, and I don't know who told me, which was a laughable comment, but never got around to answering it, but before you come back and tell me that the Savings and Loan Crisis made this meaningless, You may want to go and read a history book . This Law was put into effect by Jimmy Carter, then strengthened under the Clinton Administration. Who by the way, signed and praised the Gramm , banking bill. I think its quite hilarious for democrats to run about blaming republicans for this crisis when every single bill and and the top receivers of PAC money from these institutions are the democrats. Another, thing, you may want to look at too , is Goldman -Sachs is one of Obama's top supporters as well, not to mention the fact he was the number #2 man on the receiver list from Fannie/Freddie. However, to say that homeowners have no responsibility in this and to force people that are paying their mortgage's on time in a scheme to bail out those that have not is a farce. When someone takes out a mortgage be a ARM or a 30 year fix rate or whatever it is, they accept responsibility TO PAY IT!!! be it 2% or 200%. If they don't then their home gets foreclosed, no one forced them to buy their home, however, now we are being forced to bail them out. So what I am calling my congressman about tomorrow is that, if he does not proved a provision in that bill like a BIG CHECK to pay all those people who have been paying their mortgages on time, then to vote against ANY bail out period. This is the craziest thing I have ever seen in this country, now we are accepting irresponsibility as an excuse for the government to come to our rescue.

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