The Housing Bubble

Not sure if people saw it, but Barron’s cover this weekend was on housing. Prices heading up, calling this rebound for real, etc….

Still no commentary about what happens if judicial states begin to foreclose faster.

A bit after 3 a.m. in Tucson, and I guess the incoming weather must have awakened me. Right now, it’s raining to beat the band.

We need the rain here. Oh, do we ever.

Go, rain, go!

Most people have integrity……just sayin’ it gor fun and to get the first post!

Black or White

CATASTROPHE OR CRIME?

Mary Jo White, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, adheres mostly to the view that the financial crisis was a catastrophe, but not a crime. Now a prominent defense attorney at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, White said she thinks calls from some quarters for more criminal prosecutions are unwarranted

William Black, a law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a prominent former bank regulator, is in the camp that thinks prosecutors have missed a massive opportunity.

“They don’t get the whole concept of looting,” he said.

Black, who worked with prosecutors to develop some of the 1,100 criminal cases that emerged from the Savings & Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, said that Wall Street accounting fraud flows from a simple recipe: grow by buying high-interest loans, leverage the business by borrowing lots of money and keep next to nothing in reserve against losses.

“You are mathematically guaranteed to report record profits,” he said.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/08/criminal-charges-wall-street_n_1857926.html

Late in the afternoon, in a thread about wall street (finally) downsizing,

“Comment by Darrell in Phoenix
all crashing. Except linkin. I don’t get that one.”

The LNKD story is only two people regularly visit LNKD…

1) Unemployed people hoping against reality to network with other unemployed people to get a job. Ignore the politically “adjusted” unemployment rate, and pay attention to the “labor force participation rate”. Tens of millions of Americans are unemployed (although statistically manipulated to not be counted as “unemployed”) so that’s tens of millions of visitors. You’d think they can’t make money advertising to the unemployed, but money can be made off them, until they stop living in housing and stop eating and stop wearing clothes, etc. When they stop living in housing and eating, it doesn’t matter anymore because thats when the riots start. Therefore until the revolution, LNKD is a great place to advertise. Why there’s more unemployed people every month, and that trend it not reversing anytime soon, just look at the labor force participation graphs…

2) Companies rich enough to hire recruiters to hire people. Well, that money optimistically for someones salary is blood in the water for the advertisers. Here’s a self selected population of mid to high level spending authorized corporate people trying to find a way to spend money… advertisers start to drool.

As for the others circling the bowl as the web 2.0 bubble gets flushed:

Groupon, could never find a better stereotype of try once never return. Also they offer nothing but services that are dramatically overpriced and useless to most people. Lets see… massage. Well I don’t want one and I feel it would be awkward even for free, but I feel a fair price for me to ask would be as much as $10/hr to give someone one, at least if there’s no happy ending involved… Oh they regularly charge $100/hr (at that price I’m thinking happy ending must be involved? See that’s the awkward part I’m talking about, should I be expecting that based on the price signals they’re sending or not?) but have a groupon amazing deal for an astounding fantastic 50% off. Hmm still $50/hr LOL this just isn’t happening. I signed up for GRPN when it was new, laughed at the first 20 or so offers, bye bye. I haven’t seen a groupon offer that isn’t of the “overcharge 10x for a service, then cut the price in half” variety. Car detailing, pet grooming ($75 to wash a dog, what the…), massage, aromatherapy, yoga and other trendy exercising classes, etc.

Facebook, you can’t monetize pre-teen schoolyard drama (thats what it is, even if the participants are mostly middle aged women), the visitors are mentally too wound up with who’s dating who and who said what about who and look at the cute pictures. Too wound up about drama means can’t get wound up about the BMW banner ad so why bother buying one, eh who cares about some car if X heard that Y said that Z saw that A dumped B and C might be pregnant. Its the same scenario where XXX videos aren’t shown on free TV, (aside from the crazy fundies whining) although viewership would be extremely high, the advertisers aren’t interested. The most popular bar in town can go out of business if the crowd doesn’t buy any drinks and there’s no cover charge.

I finally installed Office 2002 (I still had all the disks, etc) on my Windows 7 machine. Outlook seems fine. Word opens but won’t read old files that have been transferred. Open Office seems to be having trouble as well.

Am I going to be able to move the .pst file for Outlook? Is there anything I can do to make the Word docs readable? I’m worried that there are some issues with the 64 bit vs. 32 bit machine stuff.

Is it safe to assume these worst-case Eurozone scenarios aren’t going to happen?

Euro zone may collapse if states reject reforms: German trade association
Gernot Heller Reuters
7:01 a.m. CDT, September 10, 2012

BERLIN (Reuters) - The euro zone could break up if people living in crisis-stricken southern European countries do not accept structural reforms in the coming years, the head of Germany’s BGA trade association said on Monday.

Anton Boerner also dismissed concerns that Germany, Europe’s largest economy, could sink into recession in 2012 and said he expected German exports to increase both this year and next.

“If people do not say yes (to structural reforms), then the euro will not be able to exist in its current form,” Boerner told Reuters in an interview.

“If the southern European states say yes, we accept the challenges … then the euro will be stronger than ever before,” he added.
…

Goldman says now is the time to buy Eurozone stocks.

Global shares slip as euro zone faces week of decisions
By Marc Jones
LONDON | Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:51am EDT

(Reuters) - Global stocks and the euro dipped on Monday as investors cashed in some of last week’s sharp gains ahead of a German ruling on the euro zone’s new bailout fund, Dutch elections and potential new stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The European Central Bank’s statement last week that it was prepared to buy an unlimited amount of strained euro zone government bonds pushed European shares to a 13-month high and the euro to a four-month peak on hopes it could mark a turning point in the bloc’s 2-1/2 year crisis.

Investors started the week by taking some of that profit off the table. The MSCI index of top global shares was down 0.1 ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street, with the euro and stock markets in London, Paris and Frankfurt all slightly lower.

U.S. stock index futures also pointed to a lower open on Wall Street, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 all down just over 0.2 percent.

Europe faces another testing week, with Dutch voters going to the polls and Germany’s constitutional court set to rule on new powers for the European Stability Mechanism, the euro zone’s new bailout fund, both on Wednesday.

Since ECB President Mario Draghi first mooted the ECB’s new crisis plan on July 26, world stocks have rallied more than 8 percent, euro zone blue chips have jumped almost 20 percent and the euro has risen more than 4 percent. Analysts are wondering whether the gains can continue.

“The Draghi effect obviously helped the markets hugely, so people are likely to be a bit more hesitant this week,” said Hans Peterson, global head of investment strategy at SEB private banking.

“Risk appetite is likely to be on the way up, but we have to clear some hurdles, and the things in Europe have to go according to plan. The key issue this week is the approval of the ESM by the German constitutional court.”

Strategists at Goldman Sachs also issued an upbeat note on equities, saying that while there were worries over China’s wobbling growth, the brighter European news and signs of gradual improvement in the U.S. were both positives.

“There is still room for market rallying,” they said, citing their target for the Eurostoxx 50 to hit 2,700 points in the next 12 months. “From current levels, however, we expect further gains through to year-end, but at a slower pace,” they added.
…

China’s imports shrink in sign slump worsening; president warns growth could slow further

Andy Wong/Associated Press - Workers load goods on a truck near a wholesale market for fashion clothing in Beijing Monday, Sept. 10, 2012. China’s imports shrank unexpectedly in August in a sign its economic slump is worsening and the Chinese president warned growth could slow further, prompting expectations of possible new stimulus spending.

By Associated Press, Published: September 9 | Updated: Monday, September 10, 3:58 AM

BEIJING — China’s imports shrank unexpectedly in August in a sign its economic slump is worsening and the Chinese president warned growth could slow further, prompting expectations of possible new stimulus spending.

Imports declined 2.6 percent from a year earlier, below analysts’ expectations of growth in low single digits, data showed Monday. That came on top of August’s decline in factory output to a three-year low and other signs growth is still decelerating despite repeated stimulus efforts.

The weakness in China’s demand for imports is bad news for exporters in Southeast Asia, Australia, Brazil and elsewhere that are counting on its appetite for oil, iron ore, industrial components and other goods to offset anemic Western markets.

Analysts expect Chinese growth that fell to a three-year low of 7.6 percent in the latest quarter to rebound late this year or in early 2013. But they say it likely will be too weak to drive a global recovery without improvement in the United States, which is struggling with a sluggish recovery, and debt-crippled Europe.

President Hu Jintao cited slack exports and unbalanced domestic growth as challenges for a Chinese recovery.

“Pressure for economic growth to slow is obvious,” Hu said at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Vladivostok, Russia, according to a text released by the Chinese government.
…

In the Nashville area residents are whining about “smaller” homes being built in their neighborhoods. But at least one subdivision appears to be happy it is no longer a ghost town.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20120910/WILLIAMSON05/309100024/In-Williamson-County-new-homes-smaller-cheaper?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp&nclick_check=1

250K and this baby can be yours (not 395)

http://www.cnyhomes.com/Listing/Search/info.cgi?mlnum=S278943

People from the ugly states aren’t you jealous

I missed yesteday’s discussion about mal-adjustment. But here is one aspect of it. If development stays low, we are going to have housing shortages in this country — even as millions of homes remain empty due to their location or ownership status.

The True History of Simpson-Bowles

The political myth is that Mr. Ryan was the spoiler because he’s an anti-tax purist. His real objection at the time was that the Simpson-Bowles Democrats refused to offer an equal trade on spending. Their non-negotiable demand was that ObamaCare was off the table and there could be no structural reforms in Medicare and Medicaid.

Ultimately three Republicans including Mr. Ryan voted no, and four Democrats voted no, with 11 members in favor.

So in fact Democrats quashed the necessary supermajority even after they first vetoed any serious reform of Medicare. And Mr. Ryan is the “rigid” one?

In any case, even if the deficit commission had reached a consensus, all that would have happened is a fast-track vote in Congress. The bipartisan duo of Jim Cooper and Steve LaTourette later codified Simpson-Bowles, and it bombed on the House floor this April, 382 to 38.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443864204577623332790836376.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Average Chicago Teacher makes $75,000/year for 9 months of work

Almost free health care.

Insane pensions

But they are professionals and are doing this for the children.

Did I mention they are some of the largest campaign contributors? Yeah - it all goes to democrats.

——————————-

Chicago teachers strike for first time in 25 years; contingency sites ready, charters remain open
Chicago Sun-Times | September 10, 2012 | ROSALIND ROSSI

Chicago teachers began walking the picket line for the first time in 25 years Monday morning, leaving parents to scramble for alternatives for their children.

…..Vitale said the contract amounted to a 16 percent raise over four years for the average teacher when factoring other increases. And the raises could not be rescinded for lack of funds — which is what happened this past school year, angering teachers and helping to set the stage for Monday’s strike.

“This is not a small commitment we’re making at a time when your fiscal situation is really challenged,” Vitale said. A $1 billion deficit awaits the system at the end of this school year, officials have estimated. And the district drained its reserve funds to plug this year’s budget……

Ruh-roh…dollar is rallying today.

Not to worry, as the stage is now set for QE3.

Euro bulls take a breather

Dollar recovers lost ground after falling to its lowest level in three months against the euro last week.

At what point does pushing on a string lose all heft?

ABREAST OF THE MARKET
Updated September 9, 2012, 7:47 p.m. ET

Investors Corner Fed
Expectations for Action Drive Rally, but Upside Is Unclear
By MATT PHILLIPS

For some investors, bad news is good news.

The U.S. economy added 96,000 jobs last month, the government said on Friday. That is fewer than Wall Street analysts were expecting and the latest sign of a sluggish recovery, some economists said.

Yet the prices of everything from stocks and gold to Treasury and mortgage debt rose. The rallies reflect near certainty among investors that the Fed will announce additional monetary easing as soon as Thursday, when a scheduled two-day policy meeting ends.

The reaction shows how markets have come to depend on central bank stimulus since the financial crisis, and underscores the high stakes for the Fed and its chairman, Ben Bernanke.

Some analysts and investors say the Fed must announce a big stimulus plan quickly or risk disappointing the market, potentially setting the stage for a broad selloff. The European Central Bank last week spurred a sharp stock-market rally by announcing a bond-buying program that will make it easier for troubled countries to issue new bonds.

Yet a new round of Fed bond-buying would be controversial. The presidential election looms in November and many observers are asking whether central-bank actions are reaching a point of diminishing returns.

“It’s pretty clear that some of the rally that we’ve seen over the summer has been driven by the expectation that the Fed will announce another round of quantitative easing,” says John Higgins, senior markets economist with Capital Economics, a London-based research firm. “I think the question is whether there will continue to be a positive impact when the Fed announces it.”
…

Apparently the U.S. isn’t the only place in the global economic landscape with piles of bad real estate loans.

BUSINESS
September 9, 2012, 11:14 a.m. ET

Loan Rollovers Mount in China
By LINGLING WEI

BEIJING—Greentown China Holdings Ltd. has a problem. The property developer has to repay nearly $3 billion in debt in the next 12 months, but it had only $1.2 billion in cash and bank deposits as of the end of June, according to its latest regulatory filing.

To stay afloat, Greentown, based in the wealthy eastern province of Zhejiang, is counting on its banks rolling over loans.

Suntech is one of several Chinese firms intending to roll over credits.

“There is no problem for us to get the loan extensions,” said Simon Fung, Greentown’s chief financial officer. Mr. Fung pointed to a coup the company pulled off last year: Even as Beijing moved to tame the housing market, which hurt the company’s profits, Greentown managed to get its banks to stretch out the maturities of all its loans that came due, totaling about 20 billion yuan ($3.2 billion).

Greentown isn’t alone in counting on banks’ willingness not to ask for their money back when it is due.

Although Chinese lenders don’t disclose how many loans they extend or modify, the practice is becoming increasingly popular, according to companies and banking executives. The strategy—called “extend and pretend” by critics—is raising alarms among analysts and bank investors. They warn that it could add to banks’ increasing piles of bad loans and may restrict banks’ ability to lend to bolster the slowing economy.
…

Listing #12588043
$450,000 (LP)

Price/SqFt: 157.56
Moorpark, CA 93021 Active
Beds: 5 Baths: 3 (0 0 0 0) (FTHQ) Sq Ft: 2856 Lot Sz: 7730sqft
Area: NMP Yr:
Remarks
Short sale subject to lender’s approval. UNFINISHED POOL and UNFINISHED back yard. Please do not go to the backyard due to safety hazard. Engineer structural report available upon acceptance with estimate of $165,000 + $3500 of work needed. Buyer to do their own investigations and inspections. Please email the listing agent to arrange showing. Agents please check private remarks.Monthly association fee is an approximate and will up date the system when know the exact amount, 2 different HOA dues. Property is located in Melo Roos community.

” $165,000 + $3500 of work needed” I don’t even know what this means ? 168,500 of work needed for a pool !!

I remember these homes. back in ‘05 I went to open house and saw a circus of people including a group of young yuppie looking folks eating McDonalds at the open house dinning table and calling ” brokers” to buy as many as possible. The very young realtor had a sheepish look on his face saying most were all sold out on the first day of open house. Now look at them half finished wrecks with melo Roos and 2 HOA’s hahaha

I was in Monterey on Friday and went into Whole Foods to buy some rice as they have quite a variety. While there I checked out the meat and got sticker shock. Beef prices have doubled. Checked out other local markets and found beef pricing had also taken a jump.

On the housing front: have two friends who bought a second home recently for quote retirement. One in Cambria, one in Palm Springs. Neither needed a remodel but the first thing both did was to pull the kitchen counters and install stone, second thing was to put in hardwood flooring.

http://www.lpsvcs.com/LPSCorporateInformation/CommunicationCenter/DataReports/MortgageMonitor/201207MortgageMonitor/MortgageMonitorAugust2012.pdf

New mortgage monitor out from LPS today.

Page 5 is telling…showing how much progress non-judicial states have been making in clearing non-current loans, and how little judicial states have been making.

Furthermore, page 8 shows the effect of all that clearing of distress on home prices (as evidenced by lots of underwater borrowers). This is less the case in judicial states.

Again I ask, which judicial state is going to be the first to open the floodgates on their foreclosure processing? That state will experience a significant leg down in home prices.

“… forced to compete in an incredibly viscous global market place”.

A quip just heard from a flapping head on CNBC. But why? Why are we forced to compete with the rest of the world?

And what does that mean? $2 an hour wages?

Sure, if we want them to buy our exports we have to be better or cheaper… but what if we just wanted to stop buying their exports?

Is there something, anything we can do other than lowering the standard of living to that of the 3rd world?

http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/20120904phoenix-suns-gorilla-new-hire.html

Lucky Ducky jobs for everyone….

“The responsibilities and qualifications are extensive: The ideal candidate needs to have a college degree and two years’ experience in a similar job, the ability to work with children and adults, some computer savvy and a level of fitness that goes well beyond what most people can achieve.

Broken legs, separated shoulders and pulled hamstrings? Threats, insults, even assaults? All part of the job.”

“The list of responsibilities has 12 items, from entertaining at games to developing new routines to maintaining the website, Facebook page and Twitter account. Not to mention the more than 300 personal appearances a year.

The list of qualifications is even longer. It includes the ability to handle extended hours and extreme heat, and to perform on your feet for three hours and run up and down the arena steps numerous times during those three hours. All while entertaining a crowd.”

“the job pays $40,000 a year”

Whither the black swan?

From California with its eminent domain proposals? From Europe with its increasing economic strains? From a modern day Princip? Or from a direction completely unguessed? The last would the most fitting entrance for the swan.

France’s richest man Bernard Arnault sues over ‘rich idiot’ headline

France’s richest man, Bernard Arnault, said on Monday he would sue a newspaper over a front-page headline – “Get lost, you rich idiot!” - which came after he said he was applying for Belgian nationality.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/9534119/Frances-richest-man-Bernard-Arnault-sues-over-rich-idiot-headline.html

At least it makes it easier to answer the question “Name ten famous Belgium’s”.

Posted: 4:55 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10, 2012

Nearly 700 Florida foreclosures sold in bulk to private investor

By Kimberly Miller

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

A San Diego company bought 699 Florida foreclosures Thursday in a bulk deal with the Federal Housing Finance Agency that included $12.3 million in cash.

The sale to Pacifica Companies is the first in a new program aimed at reducing the so-called shadow inventory of foreclosed homes by offering blocks of properties to private investors. The investors are expected to hold the homes as rentals for an unrevealed period of time before they can be sold.

Florida had three tranches of homes, including 376 in Southeast Florida, which had been repossessed and were owned by federal mortgage backer Fannie Mae.

In addition to the $12.3 million in cash, Fannie Mae will receive 90 percent of the proceeds from the homes until it collects $49.3 million, according to a transaction summary released Monday. After that, Fannie Mae and Pacifica Companies will split the proceeds. Pacifica will also receive 20 percent of all gross rental income as a management fee for overseeing daily operations of the rentals. The estimated transaction value for Fannie Mae is $78.1 million.

“The transaction is designed to promote home price stability, improve quality of housing stock and enhance rental inventory of markets by utilizing a rent-and-hold strategy,” according to the summary.

Nationwide, about 2,490 Fannie Mae-owned homes were being offered in bulk sales to investors. There were no acceptable bids on 541 Atlanta-area homes, according to a Federal Housing Finance Agency announcement Monday. The other properties are in Illinois, Arizona, California and Nevada.

A source familiar with the sales said the Atlanta homes will either be repackaged or sold individually through the government’s traditional foreclosure process or the website http://www.homepath.com.

The program has faced opposition from the National Realtors Association for taking away inventory in high-interest areas where the supply of homes has dried up.

“Florida is one of the hottest markets in the U.S. and there’s absolutely no reason to sell those homes in bulk,” said Dean Hooker, owner of Pompano Beach-based Southeast REO, which specializes in bank-owned homes. “People are knocking down the doors for properties.”

In Palm Beach County, 6,788 single-family homes were on the market in July, 43 percent fewer than last year during the same time and 50 percent fewer than in 2010.

Statewide, there were 100,657 single-family homes for sale last month. That’s about a five-month supply and 41 percent below last year.

But others believe private investors are better equipped to handle the distressed properties.

“They are more capable of managing the properties, getting them in the right condition and putting them on the market for rent or sale,” Boca Raton-based Realtor Tim Kinzler said last month. “It’s about finding a balance.”

Pacifica Companies said it was not prepared to comment Monday. Founded in 1978, Pacifica is a real estate development firm that owns and manages hotels and housing communities in the U.S., Mexico and India.

Updated: 3:52 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10, 2012 | Posted: 3:37 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10, 2012

Police identify driver that hit Jupiter officer on Obama motorcade

By Cynthia Roldan

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Authorities have released the identity of the driver who crashed into a Jupiter Police officer Sunday as he tried controlling traffic for the presidential motorcade on Interstate 95.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigators say Susan Holloway, 56, of West Palm Beach, was driving on the 45th Street on-ramp to I-95 when she began accelerating to merge into traffic.

Meanwhile, President Obama’s motorcade was travelling south on I-95 on its way to his campaign stop at the convention center in West Palm Beach.

Jupiter Police Officer Bruce Edwin St. Laurent was heading southbound on a motorcycle as part of the motorcade when he pulled in front of Holloway in an attempt to stop traffic, the report said. That’s when Holloway crashed into Laurent’s motorcycle, which threw him off.

Laurent was rushed to St. Mary’s Medical Center, where he was declared dead.

Laurent’s motorcycle was caught underneath Holloway’s truck. Investigators say she tried to avoid the crash by “making a heavy brake application.”

Authorities said no arrests have been made in the case, as it is still being investigated.

Average Florida mortgage reduction tops $114,000

Posted: 4:18 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10, 2012

By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

More than 1,000 Florida homeowners have seen an average debt reduction of $114,015 on their primary mortgage since the February approval of the settlement between leading lenders and state attorneys general.

The hefty discount meant to save struggling borrowers from foreclosure was mentioned by U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan in remarks Monday previewing his appearance today at Florida Housing Coalition’s annual conference in Orlando.

Nearly 500 Florida homeowners have seen an average of $65,896 in second mortgage debt disappear as a result of the $25 billion National Mortgage Settlement, according to a progress report released last week.

Donovan said about one in six of homeowners nationwide who have benefitted from the settlement live in Florida.

“We require the lenders when they are doing principal reductions to create a payment and a situation for homeowners that will ensure they will be able to stay in their homes,” said Donovan, who praised Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi for her work on the settlement.

Between March 1 and June 30, a total of $1.7 billion in loan help was distributed in Florida through mortgage principal reductions, refinances, short sale approvals and activities such as providing moving assistance for people who can’t stay in their homes.

Nationally, $10.5 billion in mortgage relief, including $1.3 billion in debt reduction, was meted out by banks, according to the report issued by the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight and independent monitor Joseph Smith.

The banks included in the settlement are JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Bank of America and Ally Financial, formerly GMAC. Loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not included.

Until recently, principal reductions on home loans were almost unheard of. But in May, Bank of America said it was offering about 200,000 underwater homeowners nationwide mortgage reductions that for the first 5,000 people approved had averaged $145,000 per borrower.

According to the progress report, about $115 million in primary mortgage debt in Florida was eliminated since March. JPMorgan Chase offered the most in principal reductions on primary loans at $76 million.

Donovan said he was generally pleased with the report.

“The key is whether they continue to deliver on those results and we will be watching them like hawks to ensure they live up to their promises,” he said. “Certainly, banks expect homeowners to live up to their obligations each month and we should expect the same from the banks.”

Lenders have until Feb. 28, 2015 to meet the settlement requirements.

2 Comment(s)

Posted by Samster at 4:53 p.m. Sep. 10, 2012 Report Abuse

Wow, I respect the plan to give struggling home owners a way to stay in their properties, but it really seems unfair to the rest of us who scrimp and budget to pay our mortgages (regardless of what our homes are worth). I’d sure love to receive a mortgage principal reduction. Instead, I’m paying $5000 to refinance my home.

Posted by jaccam at 5:15 p.m. Sep. 10, 2012 Report Abuse

i agree with it being unfair to those that are paying oon thiers with good faith and struggling. there is a woman in our subdivision that hasn’t paid one mortgage payment in 4 years and foreclosed in Feb. of this year ans still living in her home. Guess we who are paying are the dumbies in this nation.

Kunstler on Obama (a lot of the same stuff we’ve covered here):

In office, then, Mr. Obama quickly proved to be a different breed of porpoise than the voters bargained for. He let the Wall Street privateers run amuck another four years, aided with colossal infusions of conjured-out-of-nothing “money” from the Federal Reserve. He let loose the demons of a high-tech totalitarian “security” state with every sort of electronic surveillance, citizen data-mining, and drone spying that innovation allowed. He stood silent like a Banana Republic store mannequin after the supreme court decided that corporations could buy elections (he could have pushed loudly for legislation or even a constitutional amendment to redefine corporate “personhood”). And of course, he continued to prosecute the absurd war in Afghanistan where, after nine years, US forces are unable to accomplish the only aims of being there: to control the terrain and to moderate the behavior of the people who live there.

http://kunstler.com/blog/2012/09/zeitgeist-failure.html