Fix Congress's Housing Fix

Housing Fix

Where were you all when Bear Stears got rescued? What is our alternative to housing foreclosure crisis - "let them all sink because they should have been smarter"? That would have effected everyone - owners of homes and the economy.

Sec of Treasury, Paulson has endorsed this effort. George Junior is signing it. A tough pill but necessary.

Re: Could someone with common sense prevail?

You bring up a good point, but you will still be paying for this with tax dollars when the government steps in and bails out all of the "other players" in this mortgage mess. To blame just the buyer is absurd. You know it started with the banks, mortgage brokers, investors and the like. Remember that the homeowner was the final recipient of the proceeds. So it passed through many corrput hands before ever getting there. I too bought a house that I can afford, and I am not in trouble. But to think that this is just the homeowner or "renter" is narrow-minded.

bail outs

Our system has worked well for ages without government interference. Some people suceed, some people fail; some businesses suceed, some fail. It's called the American way! Get used to it! Government - stay out of the way!

Could someone with common sense prevail?

This idiocy of bailing out people who took out mortgages they could not afford must be stopped.

Even if you dropped out of school in the fifth grade, you can still use a paper and pencil and figure out that buying a 350,000 dollar house on a 40K a year salary was impossible. Any "buyer" doing that was really renting it, because actually owning it was never going to happen. When someone doesn't pay their rent in an apartment, do you cry for them when they don't pay? No, you make them move.

I'm one of the millions who bought a house I could afford, put down a real downpayment, paid points for an interest rate that was locked, and used a bank with decades of experience. And now I'm going to be bailing out morons and speculators with tax dollar instead of paying for my kid's college educations?

any congressperson who sponsors that is as dumb as the people they are purporting to help.

Could someone with common sense prevail?

This idiocy of bailing out people who took out mortgages they could not afford must be stopped.

Even if you dropped out of school in the fifth grade, you can still use a paper and pencil and figure out that buying a 350,000 dollar house on a 40K a year salary was impossible. Any "buyer" doing that was really renting it, because actually owning it was never going to happen. When someone doesn't pay their rent in an apartment, do you cry for them when they don't pay? No, you make them move.

I'm one of the millions who bought a house I could afford, put down a real downpayment, paid points for an interest rate that was locked, and used a bank with decades of experience. And now I'm going to be bailing out morons and speculators with tax dollar instead of paying for my kid's college educations?

any congressperson who sponsors that is as dumb as the people they are purporting to help.

Correct Problem, Wrong Solultion

Mr. Zuckerman points out correctly that bad loans are the cause of the current problem. His "cure" is a bailout of the irresponsible profiteers to some degree. This is no cure; it is more disease.

The correct cure is to do nothing and let the jerks reap what they have sewn. Everyone will be much wiser if that is the "cure". Any action to "bail these common dogs out" is a bad plan that punishes all for the misdeeds of a few. Those few ate their cavier, now they need to eat their beans and rice like others they so don't want to be like.

Rational actors

Mr. Zuckerman states that home buyers "acted rationally" when they believed prices would always rise. Well again, no. There is nothing rational in thinking any market or asset class will always do anything; rise, fall or remain static, in perpetuity. Again, Mortimer has an agenda, and facts be damned, he will make his point of view seem to make sense. It doesn't, but given his economic commentary of the last couple of weeks it is ideology that matters not reality. Mort, you need a long, long vacation.

We The People, Screwed Again

Thank you for your honest reporting.

We should demand that Congress remove any element of the Bill that bails out the Banks and other lenders. The Bill being proposed is almost identicial the suggested bill submitted by Bank of America. As everyone knows, B&A just bought out Countrywide and apparently wants the law enacted so it can dump all of Countrywide's bad mortages onto to the tax payers and start making fast profits.

Say No!

Mr. Zuckerman,

It is not easy to be honest this days. Thank you for your article.

My heart is sinking. Any one out there I can trust this republic

with? Or it is too late?

Housing Mess

Investigate Senator(s) Dodd, and Conrad and their involvement w/ Countrywide and at least exempt them from any oversight in the housing legislation.