$700 billion bailout hard sell on Main Street

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BY KEITH BENMAN
kbenman@nwitimes.com
219.933.3326 | Friday, September 26, 2008 | (66 comment(s))

"The U.S. government's possible Wall Street bailout may have cheered markets Thursday, but some ordinary region residents are feeling anything but cheery at the prospect of ponying up the $700 billion it will take to finance it."

"I think there is a problem that no matter how much Congress bails them out, the inherent selfishness of some people will always ruin everything," said Christy Klippel, of Hammond.

Klippel, 29, said she has seen the value of her 401(k) retirement account drop by 20 percent in the past six months. A staff member for the nonprofit Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, she still has student loans and a mortgage to pay every month.

She was taking some time out at Wicker Park in Highland earlier this week, reading her Bible. She had heard the media talk about the "worst economic crisis" since the Great Depression but said she has no way of really knowing if that is true.

"Whoever has the money makes the money," she said.

Thursday, President Bush announced he had an agreement in principle with Congress on the bailout. That sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 197 points, after losing 563 points in the week's first three days of trading.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers agreed Thursday to the outlines of a $700 billion bailout for the financial industry that made several substantial changes to Bush's initial request. Key Republicans still were resisting the emerging agreement.

For some people, the plan to give Wall Street firms and banks up to $700 billion in taxpayer money strikes even closer to home.

"The big investors, like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, they get bailed out," said Winfield resident Debbie Medved. "My home is in foreclosure, and no one is bailing me out."

Medved's townhome was slated for a sheriff's sale in August. Wells Fargo foreclosed on her for failing to make her $1,100 monthly mortgage payment.

Despite congressional demands for help for foreclosed homeowners, there was little information Thursday on what the bailout package will do for them. Bush said precious little on the subject in his speech to the nation Wednesday night.

Having a component to the bailout to help struggling homeowners would both help sell the plan and do some real good, said Bala Arshanapalli, a professor of finance at Indiana University Northwest in Gary.

"Helping out homeowners would go a long way because it gives them a structured way to pay back, rather than just defaulting," Arshanapalli said.

Day-to-day lending among banks dried up late last week because of uncertainty about the mortgage mess, which means depositors could have quickly found it difficult to withdraw their money, Arshanapalli said.

Firm action like this week's bailout proposal was needed, but he realizes it can be a hard sell for the common person.

"People might think we're bailing out those rich, crooked CEOs who made so much money," Arshanapalli said. "But if we don't do something, we will be in bad shape."

Even investors with some experience and sophistication had their world rocked this week by the size of the bailout and the thought they would pay for it.

Miki Katz, of Munster, said she and her fellow investment club members had the same fears and anxieties as other small investors.

"What came out over the weekend is a pretty good indication of how fragile our economy is and that the Congress and both political parties no longer serve the American people, or they never would have stood by and allowed this to happen," Katz said.

Katz, an interior designer and artist based in Munster, is a member of Women Investors 2000, founded in 1993. The women, mainly professionals in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, pool money and invest in stocks as a group after careful research and discussion.

They hold stock in major companies like Bank of America, BP, Wells Fargo and Harley Davidson. Many of their stocks have taken a beating along with the broader market in the past several months, while some have held their value, she said.

"We are very diversified," Katz said. "Thank God we learned that lesson in 2002."

Bailout basics:
Price tag: $700 billion
Where the money goes: Banks and financial firms
Where it comes from: U.S. taxpayers
Quid-pro-quo: Limits on CEO pay

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to Heres an Idea wrote on Oct 2, 2008 10:54 PM:

" OUR COUNTRY IS BANKRUPT. Where do you think your '$200,000 for each family' is going to come from? Your comment '...citizens are able to invest & make purchases THEY OTHERWISE COULDN'T MAKE'...ok, HERE'S A GIFT CARD FOR YOU. I took it from YOUR wallet & handed it to YOU. Now, go buy something you don't need with money you don't have. IDIOT! Congrats to you for making your house payments. Now tell me why you think you should be REWARDED for something you SIGNED A CONTRACT TO DO??? I paid off my house and car....send me my reward!! "

Buy Buy Buy wrote on Oct 2, 2008 1:03 PM:

" I don't know about y'all, but I've been saving and waiting for an opportunity like this. As soon as things hit rock-bottom, I'm buying stocks, funds, and a house. This will be my ticket to financial independence. Might as well take advantage of other people's misfortunes. Call me greedy if you wish, but I will not apologize because I live below my means, thus saving money instead of buying all the latest-and-greatest garbage, like iPhones. When it comes to money, patience is a virtue. "

Rocket Scientist wrote on Oct 2, 2008 9:34 AM:

" I don't know about you people, but I'm not to crazy about my tax dollars going toward bailing out ANY private company. If I owned my own business, made bad financial choices that got me into a jam, the government would laugh at the idea of helping me out, and even if they did, my surrounding community would be outraged. Just because it's a bigger corporation does not make it right. The government should let these guys go down in flames without a single cent of taxpayer help. Maybe that will prompt others to run their companies more wisely with CUSTOMERS in mind, not their own greed. "

NWI wrote on Oct 2, 2008 8:30 AM:

" Hmm ... Switzerland, eh? Sounds like you're headed right back where you came from. Like usual, running from everythig. "

re Mark wrote on Sep 30, 2008 11:54 AM:

" I would be happy to pack your bags!!!!!! "

mark tyler wrote on Sep 30, 2008 11:31 AM:

" what amess this country is in,we are all the blame because we are greedy americans.no one wants to work anymore,they want everthing for free.i hate the american mentality anymore espicially northwest indiana people,glad i moved to vegas.now i think ill move to switzerland. "

I just dont care wrote on Sep 30, 2008 11:28 AM:

" Simple minded, to an extent... Jealous of fat cats, NEVER... Able to pay my mortgage despite being laid off, ALWAYS. I have FOUR small business I started. I am against the bailout despite all of you who say only lazy dems in default are. I am against it because I have not heard enough DETAILS on how it will help or hurt EVERYONE, just wallstreet brokers and financial corps. What kind of standard are we setting for future failing corporations? Will everyone now expect bailouts? Will not bailing out these corporations stop inflation? Will bailing them out increase it? These are questions I am currently researching. So stop classifying all republicans as greedy fat cats and all democrats as stupid blue collars in these forums! It makes ALL of you sound stupid and ignorant. I prefer neither party. I think MOST politicians are snakes, both dems and reps. "

hey debbie wrote on Sep 29, 2008 8:11 PM:

" you are the problem "

Future Retirement wrote on Sep 29, 2008 6:43 PM:

" My company froze our retirement funds several years back and we were forced to start 401(k)s to save for our retirement or have nothing. Now because of the subprime mortgage mess middle class Americans that were forced into 401(k)s are going to get whacked. Either give me $700 billion or lose your retirement. They really have us right where they want us. Bush also wanted at one point to play the Social Security fund on the stock market. "

Homeowner wrote on Sep 29, 2008 6:37 PM:

" A few years back I couldn't believe how inflated the home prices were getting. I was wondering how my son would ever be able to afford a home with the way the prices were going up and why. No one questioned this overinflation - just make huge profits. Did no one ever think this was going to stop and readjust itself? "

CRA wrote on Sep 29, 2008 8:39 AM:

" is to blame! I worked for a bank and was responsible for compiling the CRA/HMDA report for the bank to submit to the government. The government forced the banks into making these high risk loans. Also community organizations in the targeted areas would strong arm the bank and threaten protests, etc (pretty much blackmailed them) if these loans weren't made. The bank's had to lower their credit standards to get these loans through and knew these loans would go bad but had no choice! You can thank your government for this and believe me this started WAY before Bush. The liberal democrats wanted to give the American Dream to people who weren't willing to work for it but wanted it handed to them. "

Jimmy wrote on Sep 29, 2008 8:33 AM:

" To Tiretrax and the rest of you simple minded people. You just axe the bailout. It's to hard to explain in 200 words or less, I ask you to do some research on your own. In summary, if you don't put together some sort of bailout plan, everything else crumbles also. Including the place you work and then your job goes by by. Careful what you wish for. "

Simple wrote on Sep 29, 2008 7:19 AM:

" Blame those that are greedy on the top (taking the risk of offering loans to high risk people) and on the bottom (those that lied about their financials in order to buy their McMansion while earning a minimum wage. But mostly blame the CRA! The Community Reinvestment Act, signed by Carter (1977) and expanded exponentially by Clinton (1995); and blame congress who doesn't have a clue - and you trust these dolts to solve the problem??? "

You are all wrong... wrote on Sep 28, 2008 9:56 PM:

" It is simply amazing...all of you blue collar knuckle heads who have been jealous of so-called "fat cats" your entire lives, now have what you think is a legitmate claim that those rich people on Wall Street are getting some sort of welfare. I won't bother to explain what is really happening here, you wouldn't get it anyway. All of you crying "greed" are the same defaulting on your loans and are the most jealous malcontents this country has ever known. Stop complaing, save more money than you spend and get a life. Also, sorry to say it for all you true blue commie union hacks who want to hang this on Bush, as usual your bitterness is only trumped by how stupid and wrong you are. All of this is as a result of liberal Democrats forcing the banks to make loans to people like you who had no intention of paying them back. You all make me sick and all of this "outsourcing" is a result of your never ending greed, not the corporations, it's not a convenient fact, but the truth hurts. "

GROW UP AGAIN wrote on Sep 27, 2008 2:27 PM:

" No more thing...when I meant a bailout for the homeowner, I meant someone who purchased a house that wasn't 300K and up. If you want a home that expensive, then it's your problem you can't afford it. Don't post back to me saying it's your money, you worked hard for it, blah, blah, blah. I've heard that before, and will hear it again. I could care less. If you were that stupid to buy a home that expensive, using an ARM or subprime loan, it's all based on your own stupidity for not investigating that type of loan. Sorry! I'm sure there are plenty of apts. that will rent to those who's credit just went down the toilet! Then you can show them that fancy dream home you once had, because you wanted to show off to friends and family!! And before you say I'm jealous, please don't! Can't be jealous of you when I still have the brains to know not to go above and beyond my means! "

GROW UP wrote on Sep 27, 2008 2:19 PM:

" BLAME THIS ONE ON BUSH, NOT ON CARTER!! What the heck is wrong with you? The last time I checked, Bush was in office. If you can't figure that out, as your Psych nurse what year it is. I BLAME THE REST OF YOU FOR WHINING THAT THE U.S. IS IN THE PITS, AND THEN YOU VOTED AGAIN FOR BUSH! Then most of you lost your jobs. Instead of Pres. Bush offering 700 Billion in assistance to all you morons who decided to go out and buy the biggest house YOU CAN'T AFFORD, and used two incomes, instead of basing affordability on one, he's offering it to bail out companies that will only continue to offer themselves million dollar bonuses and screw the little people. I remember working for a local bank, while the yearly financials came out, we drooled at their bonuses, while the rest of us, had to accept 8 or 10 cent raises. Another problem? Are those that wanted to get into a house so bad, that signed mortgages with adjustable rates or subprime loans. Blame yourselves for that idiotic move. Didn't you read the fine print, do the math? Now we're all going to pay!! "

Resident wrote on Sep 27, 2008 11:25 AM:

" The sad part of this, is these corporations have sent all the jobs overseas. We are not the self supporting country we used to be. We rely on others for everything. Virtually nothing is made here. We import more than we export. We need jobs. People need to be more realistic when purchasing these homes. Corporate America wants the profits, but it is done with contractors, they do not want to pay benefits anymore.

We all have mortgages, we are all watching our investments go down the drain. the difference is she has a long time to save some don't. they maybe close to retirement.

When we bail out all these companies, who are helping. I would like to know how many jobs they have shipped overseas, but they still want American money tho. "

Tiretrax wrote on Sep 27, 2008 8:27 AM:

" No Bail out for Politicians and Wall Street fat cats. Let it all come tumbling down, it's a house of cards.
Recind Capital Gains taxes, Reduce Corporate Taxes and Drill Here, Drill Now, and Drill everywhere in this country and watch the economy soar.
Quit adding the tinkers and thieves on Wall Street and in Congress. "

toobadforthebanks wrote on Sep 27, 2008 12:34 AM:

" look, the banks took a risk putting out all this mortgages that they knew would default. they knew full well what they were doing, and they ought to fold. if i go to the casino and risk my money, when i lose i'm not going to get my money back, it's a risk. "

Republican Fools wrote on Sep 27, 2008 12:11 AM:

" Does anyone remember Neil Bush (George's brother) and the "Savings and Loan Disaster" of the 1990's? Stupidity and greed run in the family. Republican fools. Look at the mess you've made. "

we are all on the losing end wrote on Sep 26, 2008 11:30 PM:

" Bush made the mess along with his supporters(which includes McCain). He should TAKE responsibility and clean up his own mess, after all he made it. That's like dumping on the ground and expecting everyone else to clean up after you. NO SIR! Americans are tired of it, and we certainly are not that stupid! Here in Indiana we have other issues, like rocket fuel in our drinking water. Lets not waste time, we need to get congress to act, amend the constitution so that another "Bush" can't do to this country what he has done. Make him pay it back also. "

Working for something wrote on Sep 26, 2008 11:25 PM:

" To Home Owner, I am one two. So what is your stance on the bailout except for everyone to work for something? The financial institutions should have worked for something! If you start a business and it fails, it's YOUR loss, not mine. If the government truly has this bailout burning a hole in their pocket then I agree 100% that it should go to homeowners in trouble and not fat cat corporations who put small businesses out of business and have annual conferences on how to screw us consumers even more! But personally I don't think anyone should get a bailout, you made your bed everyone (lenders/borrowers)... now lay in it. The only people who care about passing the bailout are people who have lots of money invested in these troubled firms. I myself recently discovered that my 401k portfolio funds are invested in these firms, I moved my money to different mutual funds. You should do the same, it's not our problem, it's theirs. "

On The Loosing End wrote on Sep 26, 2008 7:31 PM:

" "Our Lame Duck President is opening the wallets of the United States tax payer to help the people who don't even care about you. You got your stimulus check a couple of months ago and now the financial district will get theirs. With 700 Billion Dollars a lot of jobs could have been created in this country. Jobs stimulate the economy not Wall Street bailouts. I have worked thirty eight years and lost my first job and pension to Regan's Trickle Down economics. I presently work a job for the last fifteen years and have a 401K savings plan that constantly looses money because of the junk funds offered by the company. I am mandatory forced to contribute 4% into the fund and it's tied to the stock market. Paulson is twisting the the governments arm with fear tactics. It's not our fault the banks made bad loans. " "

Bailout or Hostile Takeover wrote on Sep 26, 2008 7:19 PM:

" The "Bailout Basics" at the end of the story are misleading. Where does the money come from? It comes from anyone buying treasuries. If they cut out all of the little add-ons that both parties are trying throw into the deal and just pass the basics, the government will PROFIT immensely. It will save taxpayers money, not cost them.

Stop blaming Bush and Clinton. The blame can be spread to the lenders, the borrowers, the rating agencies, etc. Party liners that say "my party is good and your party is evil" are the reason we keep electing buttheads.

Spain and the U.K. are in the same mess. Blame LBJ? "

It seems... wrote on Sep 26, 2008 7:16 PM:

" the person that put together that Youtube piece did their research. It cites actual newspaper articles. "

2ND MR PAINE wrote on Sep 26, 2008 4:58 PM:

" ONE LAST COMMENT IF THESE WALL STREET BUSINESS'S WANT ARE TAX DOLLARS, LET THEM FILL OUT A LOAN APPLICATION.
REMEMBER IF YOU HAVE BAD CREDIT THEY GIVE YOU A HIGHER INTEREST RATE.

700 BILLION BAILOUT. NO WAY
LOAN IT TOO THEM AND THE USA GOVERNMENT CAN USE THE INTEREST TO PAY SOME OF OUR HUGE MASSIVE DEBT

CAPITAL GAINS REDUCTION WHAT DO THEY NEED THAT FOR, IF THEY ARE ALL BROKE
THEY DON'T HAVE AN INCOME SO THEY ARE NOT GOING TO PAY TAXES ANYWAY.. "

2nd MR PAINE wrote on Sep 26, 2008 4:49 PM:

" FHA CAME OUT WITH LOANS THAT ALLOWED BUYERS TO GO IN WITH 2500 FOR CLOSING COST, ESCROW, & DOWN PAYMENTS.

THEN BANKS DECIDED TO TRY AND GET THEM TO REFI. SOME BANKS EVEN HAD THERE OWN APPRAISERS WHO WORKED FOR THE BANK AND
WOULD VALUE THE HOME FOR A GREATER AMOUNT. THEN YOU THE CONSUMER THINK YOU HAVE 10,000 OF EQUITY TO PAY OFF A CAR LOAN OR VISA BILL.

SO YOU REFINANCE.

THEN THE SAME BANK WILL COME TO YOU A 3RD TIME OR EVEN A COMPETING BANK WILL SEND YOU 10 OFFERS A MONTH TO REFI AT A LOWER RATE. I KNOW SOME PEOPLE WHO DID IT 3 TIMES. BELIEVE ME THE LOAN OFFICERS KEEP MARKETING YOU OVER AND OVER AGAIN. CONV LOANS USED TO BE 20% DOWN. IN THE 60'S PEOPLE BOUGHT PROPERTY ON LAND CONTRACTS FROM THE OWNERS. AND THE OWNER WOULD CHARGE
INTEREST. YOU JUST GET A LAWYER AND DO IT YOURSELF. THE BANKS CAN STICK IT. "

re Watch this for some facts wrote on Sep 26, 2008 3:42 PM:

" Don't believe everything you see on youtube. Try doing some real reasearch yourself instead of accepting anything placed under your nose as cold hard facts. "

Not being foreclosed on wrote on Sep 26, 2008 3:33 PM:

" I'm not being foreclosed on and I didn't buy a risky mortgage with a too good to be true rate/down payment. Where are my perks? "

Region Voice wrote on Sep 26, 2008 3:30 PM:

" To: Too Late Now. No liberal ever has the facts, it's amazing. There was no 7 trillion dollars when Bush took office. There was a recession starting the last quarter of the Clinton administration. The numbers you heard regarding a surplus were all "projected". It never happened because of a recession. It's one thing to debate issues but facts are facts. The liberals are always trying to re-write history. Even Clinton stated this week that it was the Dems who resisted efforts during his administration to avoid this mess. "

Cold Dead Hands wrote on Sep 26, 2008 2:21 PM:

" let me get this right. we will give 700 billions dollars to the same wall street financial institutions who got us into this mess. while the rest of us who live within our mean and pay our bills on time have to bail them out. "

Not my Problem wrote on Sep 26, 2008 2:11 PM:

" I understand that we are not bailing out the CEO's but bailing out the investors that were falsley informed to what type of invetment they were making. However isn't it called "playing" the stock market? This is no different than bailing out all those losers that "play" the slots with there checks instead of feeding there families. Maybe we should have government officials standing at the exits to all the boats and handing out checks to the folks that don't understand it's called GAMBLING! "

to Debbie Medved wrote on Sep 26, 2008 1:53 PM:

" This started when President Carter was in office. Google Community Reinvestment Act. and grew under Clinton in 1995. So no we do not need him or another Dem in office.
f you don't want to read that then go to utub for a quick video Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis? "

watch this for some facts wrote on Sep 26, 2008 1:46 PM:

" go to youtube and look for Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

Why isn't the New Papers telling us this? It's easy to research. "

To All wrote on Sep 26, 2008 1:45 PM:

" You people need jobs...If anyone out there has a true grasp of the severity of the situation and what is involved, I would love to hear it! "

Duh wrote on Sep 26, 2008 1:39 PM:

" Who signed and expanded the Community Redevelopment Act? Who has been supposedly providing the oversight in the Senate Banking Committee for years?

Dig deeper - there is more to it . . . "

NObama wrote on Sep 26, 2008 1:36 PM:

" Lets see -

The government wants to BUY debt, in which the owners will most likely default
or
The government wants to own and control a HUGE sector of the finance industry, because politicians can do it better.

Something sounds fishy to me.

Who wants to give one appointed person power to put every man, woman and child in this country on the hook for over $3000. "

TOO LATE NOW wrote on Sep 26, 2008 1:26 PM:

" I'm sure George wishes he still had the 7 TRILLION DOLLAR SURPLUS he had when he took office. He could have paid cash for His "OIL WAR" and had money to fix this crisis, BUT HE SPENT IT.. ALONG WITH ANOTHER 9.7 TRILLION DOLLARS. "

betty wrote on Sep 26, 2008 1:05 PM:

" Hey Debbie Medved: Nipsco is hiring, go apply. "

Re Confused wrote on Sep 26, 2008 12:59 PM:

" You don't know what your talking about the Republicans are the cause of all this. They have been in charge for 8 years and their failed policies are to blame. Bush even wants the bail out bill to have no limits concerning how much Executives can collect from their Golden Parachute payouts. MCCon wanted to run back to Washington to take charge of the Bailout because his friends including some members of his campaign were affected. And if The Bush Republicans wouldn't of let all the Good jobs that people had under the Clinton Administration had go to Foreign countries for their Millionaire friends profits we would of never had this problem. And where did the Budget Surplus go? It was all squanderd under the Republicans!They are a failure and will always be a failure! They have Bankrupted America and they are a Bankrupt Party moraly,spiritually and economically!Their record speaks for itself! "

MR Paine wrote on Sep 26, 2008 12:49 PM:

" the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act).
It was a bi partisan vote.
It passed both the bodies of legislation.

IT WAS A BIPARTISAN STUPIDITY.
BOTH REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT POLITICIANS VOTED FOR THIS STUPIDITY.

EVERYONE VOTED YES FOR THIS STUPID BILL. "

betty wrote on Sep 26, 2008 12:38 PM:

" Ah the Clinton Legacy......just keeps givin and givin. "

To To to Dems Try wrote on Sep 26, 2008 12:33 PM:

" Pearls before swine. "

steelmaker wrote on Sep 26, 2008 12:19 PM:

" I think the CEOs should only make $40,000 a year and see if they can make ends meet. Where are their guide lines to pay the money back? If we did not pay our mortgages, the banks would take everything we owned! "

Bawny Fwanks wrote on Sep 26, 2008 12:16 PM:

" Bawny Fwanks,, I like that "

To Debbie Medved wrote on Sep 26, 2008 12:13 PM:

" Who knows who actually wrote senseless and stupid comment your failure as employee, borrower or what ever that caused you not to pay your mortgage has zero to do with politicians. Perhaps you should have been living in subsidized housing and on welfare all along. I have a mortgage like everyone else and if my income stopped today, you can darn well bet I'd find a way to keep paying it...only liberals and Democrats blame others... "

Say NO wrote on Sep 26, 2008 12:08 PM:

" Let those banks/mortgage companies that got into trouble fold. They were irresponsible thinking someone who should not have a home could afford one. There are other banks and mortgage companies left that will still keep us going. When I get into money trouble I get a second job. I say NO to bailout anyone who was stupid enough to get into this mess. The only exception would be to those who lost everything due to unforeseen medical bills. We need to vote them all out. "

To to dems try... wrote on Sep 26, 2008 11:54 AM:

" You put a lot of words in that comment, but didn't acutally say anything...classic move of an unintelligent person trying to sound literate...sorry, you'll need to try again. "

Confused Democrats wrote on Sep 26, 2008 11:52 AM:

" As a card carrying conservative, seeing Democrat morons react to this is hilarious. They want to put this bailout on Bush, but it doesn't have Republican support and only loser Dems on Congress want it to pass. Too bad Barak has no clue what's going on, McCain is playing his foolishness and ignorance like a fiddle. As for the poor lady who's losing her house. All do respect, your foreclosure is no more my problem than mine would or should be yours. "

rustcity wrote on Sep 26, 2008 11:26 AM:

" This may sound harsh, but statements like the following show a lack of one's own responsibility, ""The big investors, ....., they get bailed out," said Winfield resident Debbie Medved. "My home is in foreclosure, and no one is bailing me out.""

Freddie and Fannie Mac investors were not bailed out. Their stock became worthless. For the most part, it was the holders of Freddie and Fannie Mac mortage-backed securities that got bailed out. Those holders included foreign entities, pension plans, insurance companies, and money market funds. The bailout aimed to increase market liquidity and ease credit so common people could still keep and to obtain loans.

It was when those who obtained the easy credit loans failed to meet their obligations that the system failed. Many believed houses were a super investment and they were not. Is it the Democrats or the Republicans who are to blame? Maybe it is neither. Both lenders and borrowers should have been more deligent. This is a strict lessen for the future.

Was Bear Stearns a bailout? Stakeholders got ten cents on the dollar because of no liquidity. "

To Dems Try.. wrote on Sep 26, 2008 10:50 AM:

" Your repetition of unfactual, irrelevant blather is typical of the politically biased, yet woefully uneducated mind-set that, for whatever reason, must latch onto some sort of vehemence in order to justify its existence. I am an independent real estate professional with no bias toward republicans or democrats (they're all useless), and I can say uniquivically that neither the Clinton nor Bush administration is entirely at fault. The fault lies in a combination of greed and illusion conceived and perpetrated by arrogant wall street brokers and CEOs bolstered by weak-kneed yet card-holding politicians who abetted them by looking away from sheer theivery. Please, people, if you would, cease such silly, irrelevant, and ultimately unproductive polical bickering in the face of a genuine crisis wherein we must all try to learn what is at stake, how we can deal with it, and how we can possibly prevent it from happening again. "

Debbie Medved wrote on Sep 26, 2008 10:39 AM:

" This is the worst plan in history. We need President Clinton back in office. And I need a job. The unemployment in Indiana is at an all time high and the White House is worried about companies that make billions of dollars? What about the middle class that will be responsible to bailout the CEO's making millions in salaries. What about us? "

Dems try to slip this in wrote on Sep 26, 2008 9:59 AM:

" Dems seek a further $56 billion on top of the 700 billion. The plan includes a $7.5 billion down payment on $25 billion in loans for the struggling auto industry.
While the keep saying it's the Republicans bail out.

to Its on the middle class.
It is clintion and teh Dems fault. Clintion era pushed for loans to people who should not have gotten them. Dems blocked a bill to stop Fanny and Freddie from holding bad loans which would have prevented the current problem. So accept the facts. i know that's hard because Dems only see facts as somethign that keeps getting in the way of what they want. "

Untrue wrote on Sep 26, 2008 9:55 AM:

" To Heres an Idea President Bush pass the law in 2005 to give low income subprime mortgages and that is the mess we are dealing with, also this is just another Enron mess how quickly we forget this is a trickle affect and believe it or not all of us who are not earning seven figures we are screwed. "

Home Owner wrote on Sep 26, 2008 9:16 AM:

" Hey, the posting from “HERES AN IDEA” was classic. He/She said “why not give $200,000 per family to pay off their current mortgage”. I could pay off mine and have money left over for that big-screen TV I have wanted. Naturally I would suggest giving the money to the people who had the sense to get a mortgage they could afford and are currently making payments rather than giving the money to people who were irresponsible enough to purchase more home than they could afford. Do they want us to pay their credit card bills too? Whatever happened to RESPONSIBILITY?

Let’s make sure that those in congress who PUSHED the government to offer loans to people who could not afford them don’t get re-elected. Do the homework and find out who they are. My first house was not in the greatest neighborhood, was only about 1500 sq feet with a one car garage. Not fancy, but I was able to make the payments. I am tired of hearing people who feel they are ENTITLED to the best right now and who do not see the value of working for something. "

to Heres an idea wrote on Sep 26, 2008 8:22 AM:

" the 700 billion does not add up to 200,000 for each person. it's only about 5K if given to people that filed a tax return.

to Tom Paine Jr - it was not Glass-Steagall Act taht caused this but the Dems failure to pass the act McCain and Repbulicans put together to limit Freddi and Fanny from holding loans along with Clintion and the Dems push for low income people to get loans for houoses they sould not afford. But your right in thaking Pete for that. "

To Heres An Idea wrote on Sep 26, 2008 8:21 AM:

" Pure genius! If you're a candidate you've got my vote! "

reality bites wrote on Sep 26, 2008 8:21 AM:

" Unfortunately, I believe the democrats are using this to win an election. Why have we not heard from Sen. Dodd and Bawny Fwanks? As the chairman of Banking and Housing, they should have been the first ones to see that there was a problem. Of course, in January 2007, Franks stood and talked about his vision for congress with respect to housing and he talked about how he wanted to loosen lending standards to make housing affordable to low income families. I guess he got what he was shooting for. I keep hearing that any part of the bailout should either loosen lending standards or let families keep properties that were foreclosed on. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That is exactly why we have this problem. Congress won't investigate, because they either pushed the conditions that caused this mess, or stood idly by. What happened to all the Dems we voted in, in 2006? They should have told us they couldn't change anything. "

Its on the middle class wrote on Sep 26, 2008 8:16 AM:

" Let's face it the middle class will be bailing out these greedy pigs. With Bush/McCains tax breaks on the top 2% the rest of us will be paying for this. While their rich buddys walk away.

Stop putting blaim on Clinton. Bush and the Republican Senate had the first four years to change things, and Bush had another 4 to propose a change. "

Bailout or Hostile Takeover wrote on Sep 26, 2008 7:38 AM:

" So the government is going to borrow money at 3% to buy assets that are yielding 7%-15% because there's not enough liquidity in the system to absorb all of the paper for sale. $700 billion (assuming they spend it all) times 4%-%12% per year is a staggering amount of money. The government is going to make a fortune. Paulson is a genius. "

JOKER wrote on Sep 26, 2008 7:17 AM:

" The beauty of the Bush bailout plan is that if it fails, the country will be in bankruptcy for sure.

These are the same clowns that got into the Iraq war with a bunch of lies.

Kill the bailout now. Lets the
weak / broke banks fail.

If you don,t have a job, you can,t get a loan anyway. "

Paul wrote on Sep 26, 2008 6:47 AM:

" Another caveat of Gramm-Leach Bliley Act, something President Clinton insisted on, was that banks with a poor record of making loans to disadvantaged individuals would not be allowed to benefit from this Act.
Therefore, if banks wanted to expand into insurance or securitities, they had to take on more risk as well.

To Heres an idea, Good Idea! "

Gus Jones wrote on Sep 26, 2008 5:58 AM:

" Here's an idea is axactly right. Another option would be to make the greatest infrastructure investment the world has ever known.

Key being "investment" "

DEEP THINKER wrote on Sep 26, 2008 5:00 AM:

" WHY NOT "LOAN" THE MONEY TO THESE INSTITUTIONS....THE SAME WAY THEY LOAN US MONEY????

PROBABLY BECAUSE THIS MAKES TOO MUCH SENSE! "

Heres an idea wrote on Sep 26, 2008 12:46 AM:

" Instead of giving the money to the banks, why not give $200,000 per family to pay off their current mortgages. That way the common person reduces their debt, the banks receive cash, and citizens are able to invest and make purchases they otherwise couldn't make. I pay my mortgage, why not reward me and the banks? Giving the money to the banks just allows them to make more poor investments without consequences! "

Tom Paine Jr wrote on Sep 26, 2008 12:34 AM:

" Visclosky voted for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act (the Gramm-Leach Bliley Act). Check it out. He voted "aye" on November 4, 1999. Clinton signed the bill into law eight days later.

This allowed commercial and investment banks to merge and contributed to the marketing of the mortgage backed securities that are causing most of our headaches today.

Hey, thanks Pete. You and your 534 colleagues are idiots. "

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