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Subscribe to RSSGovernment-controlled mortgage giant Freddie Mac has requested $6 billion in additional aid after posting a wider loss in the third quarter.
Freddie Mac said Thursday that it lost $6 billion, or $1.86 per share, in the July-September quarter. That compares with a loss of $4.1 billion, or $1.25 a share, in the same quarter of 2010.
This quarter's $6 billion request from taxpayers is the largest since April 2010.
Freddie's losses are increasing mainly for two reasons: Many homeowners are paying less interest because they are able to refinance at lower mortgage rates. And failing and bankrupt mortgage insurers are not paying out as much money when homeowners default.
The government rescued McLean, Va.-based Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae in September 2008 after massive losses on risky mortgages threatened to topple them. Since then, a federal regulator has controlled their financial decisions.
Taxpayers have spent about $169 billion to rescue Fannie and Freddie, the most expensive bailout of the 2008 financial crisis. The government estimates it will cost at least $51 billion more to support the companies through 2014, and as much as $142 billion in the most extreme case.
Freddie and Washington-based Fannie own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages, or nearly 31 million home loans worth more than $5 trillion. Along with other federal agencies, they backed nearly 90 percent of new mortgages over the past year.
Charles E. Haldeman Jr., Freddie's chief executive, said many homeowners are refinancing at lower mortgage rates or are shortening the terms of their mortgage. While that saves homeowners money, it is pushing Freddie deeper into the red.
"In fact, borrowers we helped to refinance will save an average of $2,500 in interest payments during the next year," he said.
For Freddie, those losses are temporary because interest rates will remain low for the foreseeable future, said Jim Vogel, an interest-rate specialist at FTN Financial.
Still, many homeowners are still defaulting on their mortgages. Unemployment remains stubbornly high at 9.1 percent. The percentage of those who are late by 90 days or more on their monthly mortgage payments was virtually unchanged at 3.51 percent in the July-September quarter.
Hey middle class, tell us about yourselves
Another reason Freddie needs more aid is because it has received less money from mortgage insurers.
Many riskier mortgage loans require insurance, which is meant to protect lenders and investors from losses if a homeowner defaults and the lender doesn't recoup costs through foreclosure. The borrower pays a monthly premium for the insurance, typically a set percentage of the total mortgage loan. But when those mortgage insurers fail, they pay out less in claims.
For example, the main subsidiary of private mortgage insurer PMI Group was seized by Arizona insurance regulators last month. That followed heavy losses the group incurred after the housing market collapsed. PMI is now paying claims at just 50 percent.
As a result, the amount that Freddie has set aside for losses increased from $2 billion in the January-March quarter to $3.6 billion in the July-September quarter.
Fannie and Freddie buy home loans from banks and other lenders, package them into bonds with a guarantee against default, and then sell them to investors around the world. When property values drop, homeowners default — either because they are unable to afford the payments or because they owe more than the property is worth. Because of the guarantees, Fannie and Freddie must pay for the losses.
Fewer foreclosures and delays in foreclosure processing because of a yearlong government investigation into mortgage lending practices have reduced the companies' projected losses.
Fannie and Freddie are required to pay 10 percent dividends on the government money they receive. Freddie paid $1.6 billion in dividends to the Treasury Department in the July-September quarter.
Pressure continues on the government to eliminate Fannie and Freddie and reduce taxpayers' exposure to risk. The Treasury Department put forward a plan in February to slowly dissolve Fannie and Freddie, although that process could take years. Abolishing Fannie and Freddie would transform how homes are bought and redefine who can afford them.
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JUST SAY NO!!!!!!!!!!
You took the words right out of my mouth.
Where are the prosecutions of the reckless leaders of Fannie and Freddie...They don't need bigger paychecks or bonuses they need jail time.
Let a private firm bid on it and buy them out, we as Tax payer would suffer in the short term but in the long term be winners. No Goverment involvement at all would be great!!!!!!!
more money down a rat hole.
They need to be cut off. If they go bankrupt, so be it. I'm sure the CEO's and executives are still making millions in bonuses still too.
John...they can't go bankrupt because our left leaning legislators will not allow that...Frank, Dodd etc. Fannie and Freddie have immunity because they have a FEDERAL GUARANTEE that they have managed to use and abuse over and over and over again. This is why we need prosecutions...at least we can get back the hundreds of millions that the CEO's and principals of these companies have taken from the US. When Jim Johnson implemented his design of Fannie and Freddies, he created nothing more than a ponsi scheme backed by the United States of America. If they had been forced to go private early in this millennium, as the conservatives in Government wanted we would not have the devastation that we have now.
The best thing the Government could do and should do is to listen to Roger above...sell their assets to a private firm and let the chips fall where they may with no FEDERAL BACKING.
Not only no but HE## NO. I am tired of hearing this to big to fail crap. We sure don't need more corporate (even government run) welfare.
This is not just a situation with Freddy and Fanny...every bank is in this..they all have contributed to the problems this country is going through today. The bought and paid for deregulation of the finncial industry as a whole started all this..and no politican has the backbone to admit they made a huge mistake. But then at least two mistakes were made...first, they took that money from banking lobbyist..then they voted to drop the deregulation of those services..and then on top of all that..they bailed them out and allowed them then to buy up smaller banks...and create even more problems..and so far..they get no blame at all. But then why would they...every politican has his or her hand out and accepting money from all lobbyist. And our economy shows it all. Thanks to the trade deals and offshore outsourcing of our jobs by a bought and paid for congress...over 6 million jobs are now gone.
If we just "say no"; then what? They hold half of the mortgages in the country. Would you really rather have Freddie and Fannie going under and having B of A or other lenders always at the ready to foreclose on your home taking over your loan? Just asking.
txmom...It is Not "left leaning" legislators Re Read the article...they were Bailed Out In Sept 2008
t hat would have been Right leaning BUSH and Co.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/11/01/republican-senator-calls-on-obama-to-cancel-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-bonuses/
We're still funding their enormous bonuses. Coulda swore all the Obots were swearing up and down that Fannie and Freddie were part of Wall street reform, but as you can read, that's just not the case....
PS - Praysalot......Congress was controlled by the Democrats. At least have half a clue before you open your mouth and let what's left of your brain dribble out.
Only the beginning... I say let Barny bail them out...
Hey I'd like $1M in aid cause my retirement has tanked. Does that count too?
Get ready for healthcare providers to be next. Anytime the governments decides what the latest "rights" are it always comes with a hefty price to pay for taxpayers and corporations. It's a right to own a home, just be sure to blame the banks when it fails. It's a right to have health insurance, just be sure to blame the healthcare providers when it fails. Notice how congress never blame themselves. This must be the term for sequals. Bush was part 1, Obama is part 2. Yawn. Next.
You people are seeing what happens when our government gets involved in private business they have no business getting involved in. This disgrace brought about by BARNEY FRANKS and CRIS DODD is the exact reason we are in the housing disaster. If you want to look for a reason your home value has dropped off the cliff, look no further than FRANKS, DODD, AND OBAMA. IF this is not stopped, and stopped soon, this will never go away. Can't wait for OBAMACARE TO KICK IN! What a disgraceful lot!
Praysalot...It was indeed the left leaning legislators who obstructed the calls for Fannie and Freddie to give up their Federal Financial cushion....Bush did what he had to do because it was the law...It was the law for the Federal Government to back all of the resources that Fannie and Freddie purchased. Bush and the Conservatives in Government tried to change the law before the fall.
Try reading about a topic....The Government has always been on the Hook for fannie and freddie and when they tried in the early 2000's to cut them loose and revoke the Federal guarantees the Democrats obstructed. This failure is firmly on the shoulders of all who cried we needed change in this country without really outline the change they wished for was a complete failure of the American Government.
Can we review the bonuses of the uneducated managers of this gaggle.
This is just Gov't in action.
"Taxpayers have spent about $169 billion to rescue Fannie and Freddie, the most expensive bailout of the 2008 financial crisis."
While the private banks have been paying back their bailout funds.
We are destroying the future of our country for what?
We will end up like Greece - with a massive Gov't running everything into the ground and debts beyond repayment to pay for that massive Gov't.
Gov't is a necessary evil,obviously you want as little evil as necessary.
It's time to starve the beast before it eats us all.
SEVENTEEN TIMES in just his last year as President, Bush begged Dodd and Franks to do some sort of reform, and they kept passing the buck. When the crash happened, what does Dodd and Franks say? "I don't know how THEY let it get like this!", like it wasn't their fault, and they were gonna hold someone responsible! Those two are the biggest idiots on the planet.
Freddie Mac, all I can say is................awwwwww darn. Hurts don't it? So now that your not collecting billions of dollars from home owners, because most people can not afford to buy homes today, your in painville now financially? Welcome to the real world Freddie. Freddie, get prepared to join other government programs who will be going the way of the Doo Doo. Can you say, the money fountain has dried up?
Oh, and one more thing Freddie, get this through your head, that like your parent government, don't get it in your head that big daddy government is going to squeeze the money out of the people to give to you. There is no more money. Government can't print anymore of it, because the rest of the world is done with the corrupt fiat system the Central Banks are running, and they won't buy anymore of their junk bonds. And the people are not going to take getting raped financially like we have in the past for these bailouts. I hope you understand Freddie, that yes, you are going to fail, and we the people are not going to save you.
Is this like welfare for the rich? How do I get in on this? I'm not rich so I don't need as much. Just give me a measly million and I'll be happy....unless I mismanage and squander it all then I might have to come back for another million or two. Do you think I might have a shot in he!!?
I believe Barney threatened war if Bush touched Freddie or Fannie.
Nice post Gharms. Unfortunately, our politicians in this country would rather act like children and fuss, fight, whine, be unruly, and throw blame around as if there were no other alternative. Sadly, I think it's time for our politicians to absorb some of the responsibility for their lack of action in the health of our nation, seeing as how the US seems to be limping along right now. (Btw, I'm pretty sure Obamacare isn't going to cure that limp...).
As for Freddie Mac, and its apparent inability to find some stability with its own financial issues, I'm sorry, but they need to take a good hard look at what they're doing to America. Americans, as individuals, aren't being bailed out, but they're being pulled in and ruined at this point due to the lack of responsibility by this company. Our country is running broke, our people are running broke, and a company that should be EXTREMELY FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE wants someone to help them?? Their job is money management and loan operation - they should have given each aspect in question thought, and failed to do that? Well I don't quite see where the rest of us really should give a damn. Fact is, your day-to-day American is making their money work and stretch far beyond its means and having difficulty themselves, why can't these institutions do the same? Whilst they handle trillions as opposed to maybe the thousands that each American holds? (if that even).
Even worse, Fannie was in the news a few days ago bragging about their ability to see profits, and how they were going to give bonuses their CEO's. Obama's reaction to this was something along the lines of "Well, good for them" - in Lamens terms. How pathetic, sick, rude, and unjustified. First of all, Fannie, payoff your bailout, then discuss your damn bonuses you're going to hand your CEO's. It is truly a slap in the face to each hard-working individual to hear crap like this from a corporation that was crying WOLF and is still crying WOLF. It's no wonder people are pissed off.
If they get bailed out again there's going to be some furniture moving around this mofo!
Awww... come on Obama... give it to them... you can take your cut, and nobody will know, and then turn around and run for reelection and get some more... come on boy... dig in and get yours like the other presidents have...
Look at Bush... he laughed all the time while in office while he was taking his... you can do it... you aren't any different... you're a politician first and foremost... it's your duty as a politician to be corrupt....
da-yammm Gharms, how do you track all that? who are you? oh, and thanks.
"Government-controlled mortgage giant Freddie Mac has requested $6 billion in additional aid after posting a wider loss in the third quarter. Freddie Mac said Thursday that it lost $6 billion, or $1.86 per share, in the July-September quarter. That compares with a loss of $4.1 billion, or $1.25 a share, in the same quarter of 2010. This quarter's $6 billion request from taxpayers is the largest since April 2010."
This is a prime example of how the government can't manage anything and shouldn't be in business. Hey, we're only $6 billion in the red this quarter... That's not as bad as last quarter, right?? Just imagine how you'd be dealt with if you walked into your boss' office and said "oops, I made a little mistake that lost a 1/4 of the company's value". You wouldn't keep getting opportunites not to let it happen again. CLOSE DOWN FREDDIE AND FANNIE- and NO, I don't care what Barney Frank thinks!
It's funny but not one person on here is against Obama flying around the country campaigning using Air Force One which is fueled by tax dollars...! Wonder why...?
I guess that's okay to most of the sheep who are in denial... just like to defects on wall street ...
you know those dolts... the ones who are protesting the product instead of the manufacturer....!!!
Meanwhile... the criminals in the white house are taking money out the back door.... they even tell the people that they are going to do it and how much they are going to take... before they do it...!
Now it's another $6 billion... and there's nothing anybody can do about it... because the people are stupid and they "WON"T" do anything about it....!!!
OMG...! This is better than reality TV... !!!
And Obama just signed a bill last week that forces them to take bank-modified mortgages from underwater borrowers.... or as he called it "taxpayer funded vote-buying plan #2549".
Look at the timing of this request - $6 billion is just about enough to pay for the end-of-year executive bonuses at Fannie and Freddie. That is where every penny of it will go. If the companies that insured the mortgages go under and cannot pay, then Fannie and Freddy are off the hook for guarantees they made. The taxpayers are not on the hook legally for any of these losses. This is all about the administration protecting the rich investors who purchased the risky bonds because the interest rate were so high. The bond-holders should suffer the risk, but the administration is taking care of their largest donors, voluntarily coughing up taxpayer money. And the sad thing is that it enables Fannie and Freddy to hold onto foreclosed properties, instead of having to sell them and clear the market. Housing will not begin to recover until this enormous backlog of houses is sold off, at whatever price the market will bear. Till then we are all just living in lala land and paying huge executive bonuses to do nothing.
Gnarms doesn't understand how "THEY" let it get like this .... ????
Well.. let's see... 300 million people voted for one thing...
Another reason is that 300 million people sat on their thumbs and allowed it to happen when they could have stormed Washington and demanded the government be removed as it states in the Declaration of Independence... but no... it's much easier to log onto MSN and make clever remarks and seek a "thumbs up" for writing something.... LOL
Another reason is that Washington see's that it can fleece as much as it wants... and has been raping billions from the people, and it is primarily a goal in politics to do so... and the reason is....
300 million people see that this is happening, and allow it... !!!
300 million people think they are going somewhere.... yeah... nowhere...!
300 million people think that things will get better..... yeah... sure they will.... LOL .... this country is seriously hanging by a string..... staring default in the eye.....!
The people who have houses are barely hanging onto their houses, and being led around to believe that they have a secure roof over their heads.... yeah... for now...!
Yup... the people are stupid alright...! Don't forget to vote for a new criminal in 2012...!
Free market let them fail.
AC,
300 Million? There are 512 House members, yes, we all voted for them, but it was their responsibility to do something, they did nothing.
I agree that we need to call them to an accounting. Vote EVERY Damn one of them out next term and see if they get the message. There is no guarantee that the incombant will have an advantage next election.
No more soup for you!
Tarp Nazi! Good one!
Too big to fail is too big to exist.
Maybe he'll give some of his $900,000 salary or maybe some of his $3.2 million dollar Obama approved bonus back.
namdoc23 maybe you could get a brain and go help them out..:)
NF-
You aren't getting much support here. You might want to try a more liberal friendly page. Is there a free handout page for losers who can't think for themselves?
namdoc Again It was the rep./Bush who OK'd the Bailout in Fall 2008....get your facts straight dude
You need to get your facts straight Knucklehead! This mess was done while the dummycrats had control of both the house and senate. Course, I will say that Bush shouldn't have signed this mess along with the UNIONS, GM, Chrysler, Cash for clunkers, SOLYNDRA, TESLA, FISKER and the other HUNDRED green failed socialist programs they have wasted BILLIONS OF TAX DOLLARS ON!
Thank you John,
The libs refuse to go to school!!
And who is approving these obscene raises for execs at Freddie and Fannie? Or have you not read about them yet?
NF - you are 1% here.
Praysalot- it was already timelined by Gharms. I think you don't have the truth on your side. I am not sure who you are praying to alot.
NF-630075, namdoc23, John-3638231, you're each suspended for a day for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
Some housing experts predict that housing values in some area's of the country will fall another 5 to 7 percent in the comingyear, what then. If many people can't make payments now, why would they even stay in the home. More losses for Freddie!!!!
And this is the group that just gave out huge bonuses to the management of this broken firm, already taken over by Osama Obama and his merry band of thieves in the Whitehouse in order to avoid a complete collapse. The group should be thrown into bankruptcy immediately to prevent any additional taxpayer losses.
How much has the US taxpayer contributed to this corrupt agency already at the urging of Dodd and Frank? Far too much, that is for sure.
No more bailouts for Osama buddies.
Yeah, and send the bill to "we're not in trouble" Barney Frank. Bunch of jackwagons!
In fairness, I think you will find it was the previous administration that was forced to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2008. Throwing both companies into bankruptcy would be the fair thing to do, but it is far from clear this would save the government any money. Private shareholders would be wiped out, as would the government's stake of around 90%. Home values and the economy would take a further hit, which among other things would reduce Federal tax revenue (already at a 61-year low relative to the economy) and increase Federal spending (more bank failures with Federally-insured deposits, more unemployed, etc). Just saying there are no easy answers.
For those who insist on a partisan spin, it would be fair to credit those Republicans who warned about FNMA and FMAC and sought to reduce their size. But it also should be pointed out that FNMA and FMAC, bad as they were, didn't cause the mortgage crisis, because they essentially owned or guaranteed the good half of the mortgage loans. Almost all of the really nutty stuff-- pick-a-payment loans, subprime option ARMs, CDO's, structured investment vehicles, and the other alphabet-soup lunacy-- was dreamed up by Wall Street and private lenders in a deregulated market, and Wall Street firms were allowed to double their leverage when SEC regulations were weakened during the previous administration. This other half of the mortgage market had far higher default rates, far earlier than Fannie or Freddie-- a point the mainstream media never tells us.
Cookykamp
You could have not said it better!!!!!!!!!! I hate that Lying sack of crap !! Barney Frank is nothing but a lie.
every time he opens his mouth it is a lie.
Hardhat,
They threw them bailout money to keep them, and the other mismanaged corporations from filing Bankruptcy, that would have been a quick fall and forced recovery. Bush pushed the Bailout, and now we are experiencing the slow fall...there still hasn't been a streamline of the program.
I paid $3500 a month in Mortgage Insurance on two separate properties, so, what happened to the insurance money that should have been paid to the mortgage companies when most of these properties defaulted? I don't recall hearing anything about that in 2007...
Military Man,
In 2007, total debt in the U.S. was more than four times the size of the economy. Counting derivative exposures, it could have been something like five times. Most of this wasn't consumer debt or government debt or normal business debt-- most of it was financial debt, borrowed by banks and hedge funds and all the crazy stuff they created (even with government debt way up, we're in better shape than we were then). Most of the banks had been allowed to owe huge sums to each other, for the first time I know of. To make matters even more insane, no one was even keeping track of who owed what to who. The bailouts of 2008 occurred when, after Lehman went belly-up, the government realized that if one more big bank went under, they all would--and us with them.
In 1929 we had a financial crisis, followed by a depression, when total debt had been something more like twice the size of the economy. So we could have had a quick fall and a forced recovery, but only after the kind of drop in our economy that few nations have survived. I'm no fan of bailouts (and the biggest parts of the 08 bailouts, Fed loans and guarantees outside the TARP, have been ignored by the media), but maybe figuring out how to avoid situations where bailouts are even considered is the bigger issue.
Some of the mortgage insures went bankrupt. Some of those still limping along are suing Wall Street, claiming they were given false information about some of the complicated mortgage products they insured.
Obama needs to fund his campaign...
Steve841...you need to take a much closer look at every republican now running for the office of president..and please tell me one who is not taking any money from lobbyist or their reps? MAtter of fact..look at every politican in our congress..they all have had their hands out longer than Obama has even been around.
I'm referring more to all the tax payer dollars going out to "friends" of Obama .... whether Solyndra or whoever .... I believe those tax payer dollars are being funneled back to Obama.
I believe that if some investigative reporter followed the trail ... we the people are funding Obama 2012 would be discovered.
Steve...and the Moon is made of green cheese...no really...Wisconsin cheese Faux told me so it MUST be true...really......get with it stevie
Sorry guys, gotta go with Steve on this one. Latest loan by Obama of $737 million to a solar energy firm called Tonopah. Located in Harry Reid's state of Nevada, and the #2 man in charge is Nancy Pelosi's brother-in-law. You can bet a lot of that $$$ will be funneled back to Obama's campaign one way or another. As far as getting on Steve's case, maybe you should get your heads out of the sand. This stuff has been going on for EONS!!!!
Get it from the LOAN SHARKS that caused this mess..... We are tired of backing BANKS that are ripping us off..... What was the BONUS Amounts payed recently...?????
Tell mellon head Barney Frank to loan them the $$. Barnyard said there was nothing wrong with them.
Soupy55
You paid attention to what was going on. You are not to do that. You are also not to use facts either. We are to use feeeeeliings just feeeeliiings.
Obama will bail them out or he might lose a vote or two.
Get the government out of our houses, this is rediculous. Close fannie and freddie, let the free market decide.
I wonder if you own your home already. Closing fannie and freddie would drive the cost of buying a home way up. If you bought a home in the last 80 years or so, the GSEs helped keep that cost low. So now that you've benefitted from the program, you want to shut it down.
You sound like a baby boomer. You're not in school anymore, so why should your tax dollars pay for schools? You don't need unemployment insurance right now, so why should pay for it? Oh, but when it comes to Medicare and Social Security, we can't touch that. You deserve that, right?
Matt, I think you're missing the point. Too much government intervention in the free market is not a good thing. If the cost of buying a home goes way up, then fine rent an apartment until you are financially stable enough to purchase a house. For far too long, people have been pushed by the banks to borrow more and more money that they know they couldn't pay back all in the name of this farce known as "The American Dream". NO MORE OF TAXPAYER'S MONEY WORKED THROUGH BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS TO THE CORPORATE FAT CATS SO THEY CAN LINE THEIR POCKETS WITH GOLD!
MATT, I agree with part of your thought. Without the government lending money for home loans, what is to stop the other private lenders from increasing their rates to a degree most people couldn't afford? The problem with banks and most other large corporations in this country at this time is a little thing called collusion. This used to be fought against in this country. Now it's simply the normal way of doing business. Now when a bank raises it's rates, so do the others. The same with insurance and oil companies. There was a time when someone would raise their prices and the others would lower theirs to crush the offender. Not any more.
We need Freddie and Fannie. It helps control the industry and provides much needed income to keep our country solvent.
You mean who???? what free market???? Chas BOA Wells????WHO
Praying is good but you need to read to be relevant before you open your mouth. Just a suggestion.
Closing fannie and freddie would drive the cost of buying a home way up.
-------------------------------
Wrong. It would do the opposite. Lower prices would = better affordability.
no more money. enough is enough. let them all go under.
I agree, half the time they will not even work with owners who in fact may not have walked away from their homes if the lenders would have restructured their loans. They reap what they sow.
I've got a better idea, just let them go down and get rid of the Government hands in the housing business. That is one of the biggest causes of our current economic situation. Take note of the vote on giving Freddie Mac anymore money. HE who votes for Freddie getting any more tax dollars will find the votes against him or her in the next election over whelming.!!! Take Fannie with them. They backed the very mortages they knew were bad just to give "everyone a house". This is NOT going to happen.
If Obama does one of his illegal executive orders to give them tax dollars IMPEACH him!
You have to be f*ing kidding me....
The money should come from the pockets of Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. Nuf said.
I agree... great point maybe have Barney's boyfriend chip in a little and smoke less pot!!!!!!!!!!!
How about the money come from the CEOs and shareholders of mortgage companies that got rich(er) by selling toxic subprime mortgages doomed to fail and then packaged and sold them as mortgage-backed securities? How about the money come from the ratings agencies that were paid by the banks to give these securities high ratings? How about the money come from the people who, when noticing the danger these machinations posed, instead of raising the alarm and telling the government that something had to be done to safeguard the economy, instead made billions by shorting these securities?
Matt...many of those toxic mortgages, that are covered by Freddie and Fannie were from Countrywide Mortgage. Freddie and Fannie had a deal with Countrywide brokered by Jim Johnson of Fannie MAE. The paper trail goes straight back to the DNC politics for profit machine....Their machine really screwed the world along with the United States: borrowers, competent lenders, investors and yes the Untied States tax payer.
There were alarms raised...there were loud voices screaming that there were problems but the powers in Congress that could have averted this painful episode in our economic history and were able to gloss over the facts and kept the freight train screaming to a fiery crash. This tragic and expensive episode is strongly on the shoulders of Democrat lawmakers who for some absurd reason keep getting re-elected.
It is time to really repair lending laws without Barney Frank or Chris Dodd involved. It is time to prosecute those who derailed the train for their own personal gains.
Nicely laid out reply to, unfortunately, fall on the deaf, dumb and the blind.
I wander if OWS will protest outside the houses of those democrats who refused to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
what? Cheney said himself that "no one could have seen this coming"
If you are right and I doubt it, then Cheney is the only republican who did not see it coming. But then again I am sure you are wrong because you want to give away $6 billion (on top of $165 billion already given to them in 2008) of our hard earned money to them. But I see why they are asking for this, they need to donate big money to DNC for Obama's reelection. Fannie and Freddie are big time contributors to DNC. I bet the administration will give them what they are asking.
In an interview Thursday 1/11/2009 with the AP, Vice President Cheney neatly summarized the failed Bush presidency. Comparing the financial meltdown and implosion of the American economy with the 9/11 attacks, Cheney insisted, "I don’t think anybody saw it coming." As it turns out, from 9/11, sectarian conflict in Iraq and the election of Hamas to the Bush recession and the drowning of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina, the leading lights of the Bush administration claimed they never saw it coming. Call it the "Nobody Could've Predicted Presidency."
As ThinkProgress detailed, Cheney deflected blame for the calamity on Wall Street and the deepening recession by declaring, "nobody anywhere was smart enough to figure that out" and "I don’t know that anybody did."
Nice try CS, nice try. Try spinning some more maybe you will get so dizzy you will find out the truth. I think the only people that believe your post would be you and few liberals hanging around this forum. I am not sure why you have to mesh-mash events and draw your own conclusion to blame Bush which is old, if I may add. Don't think I did not watch the interview. I know exactly what you are talking about. Bush presidency was not a failure. He has more class, integrity and a lot smarter than the one sitting in the WH right now.
W,
I am not a liberal and what CS said was absolutely accurate. You seem to be the one, amoung many, who for some unknown reason, believe that the Bush administration is not responsible for all of that, and Cheney actually said, time will show that this was a much more successful administration than it appears...WTF! It was a dismal failure!
Bush got up in front of the US and the COALITION and stated that the profits from Iraqi oil contracts would PAY for the damn WAR there! Now, we are $2 Trillion in debt and the US has NONE of the contracts Bush said would PAY for over 4000 lives!!! The economic collapse and Mortgage failure is just another failure to put in the Bush Administration's Chief's headdress!
BUSH, CHENEY and RUMSFELD should be on trial for Treason and the wrongful deaths of those 4000 Americans! IF that is the example of a SUCCESSFUL presidency, I am SOOO glad we weren't exposed to a failure!
It appears that Bush trying to push Congress into action on the Fannie/Freddie debaucle was about the only thing he attempted to do for the economy.
And the top executives keep getting millions in bonus, what is wrong with this picture?
Do not be fooled, this is not about homeowners losing their homes. This is about election, the only way DNC will get big donations from Fannie and Freddie is to give them $6 billion dollars in the form of "federal financial rescue".
There should be no more bailouts for the banks; the ones that need bailing out are the homeowners. We need a system in place to loan homeowners that are in or near foreclosure money to pay off their existing mortgage at 0% interest instead of giving it to the banks.
It's a win, win situation for everyone. The homeowner gets to keep their home with a 0% mortgage; they in turn pay back the original mortgage from the bank and the banks now have billions of dollars they can loan
elsewhere.
I'd rather see a system that placed a moratorium on mortgage payments for those who were well-qualified for their mortgages and then ended up unemployed. Simply giving a benefit to homeowners of a 0% rate isn't going to help ease the principal payment that will be needed. Mortgage rates have been at historic lows for long enough already and people still can't stay ahead of them. And I'd really object to giving yet another boost to people who had no right entering into a mortgage contract they couldn't afford in the first place.
Mal,
Don't you get it, 0% for the homeowner will help the homeowner but they are NOT in business to help the homeowner. The Fed is only interested in protecting the profits of big banks. Why doesn't the Fed lend to the US Treasury directly at 0% but will lend money to the banks at 0% and in return the banks will lend the US Treasury at higher interest rates and make a killing. THE BAILOUTS CONTINUE ON FOR THE BANKS.
Voter-in-LA
You stated that you, "…really object to giving yet another boost to people who had no right entering into a mortgage contract they couldn't afford in the first place..."
Keep in mind; that the average homebuyer seeking a mortgage depended on these financial institutions to evaluate how much of a mortgage they could afford when originally looking to purchase a house.
Simply put, the banks and their appraisers deceptively inflated property values so the bank would make more money!
Mal'achi, sure a bank told them how much they could afford, but by the same token these homeowners were gambling on increases in values (never guaranteed) and using balloon, deferred interest, adjustable mortgages without considering the possible negatives. Some common sense has to apply too. Like I said if someone took out a mortgage they could afford, I've got no issues. But there are numerous documented cases of people on under $50K income taking out $750K mortgages. At that point, who's kidding who?
As for deceptively inflating property values, give me a break. Who forced anyone to sign a note or to pay an asked value? If anyone was inflating values it was those who had bought in earlier into the hyped up real estate flip-your-house economy and were trying to get out before the collapse. Done with the help of real estate agents and dubious inspectors/assessors if anything they conned the banks along with the person taking out the loan.
Enough of this. Now, not only does the taxpayer get to essentially bail out the delinquent (in more ways than one) homeowner, we now get to pay the doofus clowns at Freddie and Fannie for the privilege. An end to this nonsense. Maybe Romney was right - let the foreclosures continue unabated until this mess is cleaned up - and then abolish both Freddie and Fannie. Quite frankly, the "po' is me" homeowners are becoming little better than the jackals on wall street. Stop these incessant bailouts. People make fun of the "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you" refrain. Well, in looking at this unmitigated cesspool of irresponsibility, do you wonder why people want government slashed at every level? There is no limit to their incompetence, and when you start bailing out everyone but the taxpayer for stupidity, all you get is stupidity squared.
While I agree with many of your comments, if the US government stopped supporting Fannie/Freddie the housing market would collapse and at best we would be in another recession.
This isn't about bailing out a company. This is about protecting every homeowner from massive declines in property value and the prevention of a potential Depression. If they tried to break them apart now companies would only want the good pieces and we would still be stuck with the trash.
lol let it crash, because by letting it crash people will remember that that have to be smart and will be held accountable for dumb decisions...where one company falls it opens the air for others to grow..just like a old tree in the forest...it falls and opens the sun to feed up and coming sprouts...screw bad businesses let them fall
Is that what you have been told, Kingofzed? You wouldn't
know propaganda if you stepped on it. Screw bad businesses, let them die a
natural death from their folly, so the next generation can learn from their predecessors
mistakes, or also fail from ignoring the past.
Great Point!!!!!!
In due time the American people will have to learn moderation and not to indulge yourself in the luxurious lifestyle when you know you can't afford it. I don't think these banks care very much about the "average" American home owner, as much as they care about keeping their big salaries and bonuses
This is the same doom/gloom predictions we heard before. After we gave them the money in 2008, what did they do to it? They distributed the wealth to their top executives as bonuses days after they got the bailout. These people are well connected to DNC.
It will crash - just when is question. Let's get it over with.
It will crash - just when is question. Let's get it over with.
Yep. It would be nice if this particualr form was subject to the rules and regs of dodd-frank, but...
BTB, they are also raising the limit on the size of the mortgage they'll accept.
Simple answer should be no. If they offer these losers any more money I have no faith in the United States anymore. Let them fail and let them find a lower paying job for people who aren't capable of running a successful company like themselves.
The bucket is empty..No more money to throw after bad with the tax payer picking up the bill.
Is this a f-ing joke to them? NO! Where the hell is 6 billion more going to come from? Close their doors.
No more bailouts!
ya well i want 6 billion in aid to
the only thing is
im not cheating anyone out of money
give them $0.00
We should not have ever started bailing out businesses because now they know they can take risk and if it turns out bad they will be bailed out by the tax payer. Also the CEO's know they will continue to get big bonuses even if the tax payer has to pay it. I know there are regulations to prevent this from happening again, but as long as bail outs continue, big business know they can take the risks.