Stop the Bailouts!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7MCohPgkXo
Type of Content: Video Please watch this new video that tells the truth about our "housing crisis" and what the bailout bill now before Congress really means for taxpayers. This housing bill not only provides hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars in the name of bailing out overextended mortgage borrowers and the banks that lent to them, but it also provides a BLANK CHECK to Treasury Secretary Paulson to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Although the Congressional Budget Office estimated earlier this week that the bailout of Fannie and Freddie could cost $25 billion, earlier estimates by Standard and Poor's put the cost of a Fannie and Freddie bailout at $1.4 TRILLION. (http://washingtontimes.com/news/2008/apr/15/sp-gauges-bailout-of-wall-st...) Do you feel comfortable giving Paulson a blank check? For those concerned with privacy issues, this bill also contains provisions such as a finger print registry for those involved in the mortgage market and a requirement for credit card transactions to be reported to the IRS. Also, please read this article from the Wall Street Journal this morning: NOW, IS THE TIME TO ACT! Please call your Senators TODAY to voice your opposition to the mortgage lender bailout bill (H.R. 3221). There is still time to stop this, but time is running out. Congress is expected to pass the bill and President Bush has said that he will sign it. Sens. Jim DeMint and Jim Bunning are threatening to filibuster, but that may only postpone the vote by a couple of days. Read »
Created 17 weeks 16 hours ago
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I just sent this via e-mail to comments@whitehouse.gov:
Mr. President,
I am writing to express my wishes in the strongest terms that you veto the housing bill that is likely to pass in the U.S. Senate tomorrow (Saturday July 26, 2008). This bill is an outright violation of the most basic property rights that our society is founded upon, redistributing tax monies paid by me and other citizens (who have no choice but to pay them) to those who either borrowed or lent in poor judgment. I am a homeowner that most likely paid too much for my own home, but would not consider using the force of government to extort “relief” from my fellow citizens. I deny their right to do likewise to me.
I have received a letter from U.S. Senator Mel Martinez stating that “we must use the resources of the federal government in a reasonable and responsible manner in order to mitigate future losses and put our housing market on the pathway to recovery.” I remind you, Mr. President, that those “federal funds” are nothing more than my property, paid in taxes for no other purpose than the protection of the rest of my property. My government, even by majority vote, does not have the right to dispose of my property to fund “grants for communities to purchase and renovate abandoned properties,” nor to “assist families facing foreclosure,” nor to prevent the bankruptcy of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, lending institutions that should never have been sponsored by government in the first place.
We were once a country where each individual was guaranteed unalienable rights. Now, it seems that our rights can be voted away whenever the legislature believes it will win favor with an uninformed electorate. I remind you of your oath to the Constitution, Mr. President, and beseech you as the last line of defense of my rights to veto this bill. Thank you for your time and kind consideration.
Best regards,
Tom Mullen
www.tommullen.net
www.myspace.com/skepticsongs
"Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear."
-Thomas Jefferson
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Senate is set to vote on the housing bill Saturday. That means that TODAY is the last day to call your Senators to oppose this bill.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080725/pl_nm/fannie_freddie_dc
Several Republicans on both sides of the House are trying to block the bill. 14 Representatives have written a letter to President Bush asking him to renew his veto threat. Let's support them in this!
Call and e-mail the White House TODAY! I think the lines are open from 9-5. Since the bill may pass on Saturday, it is imperative that we act today!
The phone numbers: 202-456-1414 and 202-456-1111
The email address: comments@whitehouse.gov
The message should be: "I am calling to ask you to veto the housing bailout bill H.R. 3221."
That these Congressmen are standing up and asking for a veto is encouraging news. The support for this bill was overwhelming just a few weeks ago. The tide is turning, lets keep calling!
Thanks again!
Laura
P.S. (I'll put this in as a separate post in Content also just in case people already called their Senators yesterday an don't check back.)
Called my Senators' office and it isn't looking good. Sam Brownbacks people don't have it on their radar and Pat Roberts person told me he would be supporting it. I asked if he realized that this is a tax on Americans for the misdeeds of a greater few? To which she attempted to transfer me to an expert with no success. I will be calling them back.
Went through the list of Reps in the State who voted yesterday, all but mine voted against the bill. Dennis Moore(D), elected because he was a "maverick" and didn't tow the party line. All he has done is approve everything bad from both sides. He is an uber Politician. The other Dem. from the State chose correctly.
Love to hear about other peoples calls to their Senators.
I got out of real estate spec in 04 because I saw this coming. When people were bailing out of real jobs to join in and "get in on it", you knew the bubble was about to burst...
As a builder, I can see the result of the bursts, and it looks like half built neighborhoods...
Arrest and jail every single mortgage broker who knowingly sold mortgages to those who could not afford them.
Then arrest and jail every single approver of such mortgages.
Then arrest and jail every single builder who utilezed such mortgage services.
Then arrest and jail every bank officer who offered such services.
Then arrest and jail every government auditer who did not alert the public.
Let me know where you found the tax dollars to take care of all of this.
And tell me where you found the shelters for the millions tossed out of their homes based on the above actions.
You're going to need to be more specific with your disagreements with holding people accountable for their actions, since I'm not entirely sure what your point is. Are you saying that we shouldn't hold companies accountable for their actions?
Of course, you don't punish every single person at every step of the home loan process, you punish the companies for having policies which they had regarding the granting of loans. One good start is not bailing them out, thereby taking their incentive away to do it again.
If you punish the companies, they will punish the employees for the misdeeds by firing them. No need for the police to raid branches and arrest all the employees there for fraud, since they were encouraged to do so by their company policies and by the Fed's low interest rates.
Maybe you could clarify your position?
Punish every single person who profited from any single loan that was made without the normal precautions and without advising the homeowner what they were actually getting into.
Jail time, significant fines. Enough to pay for the bail out. Even if it means bankrupting boiler room mortgage companies like Countrywide.
No need for the police? The employees knowing robbed the homeowners. This was more then misdeeds. And if it were through negligence, then it meets the definition of criminal negligence.
Do you need more clarity or have your glasses been shoved down your throat?
No need to get nasty now. Your previous statement sounded sarcastic, so I wanted to be sure of your position.
The way this whole subprime mortgage deal came about was through mutual negligence and fraud by both the lenders and the borrowers. How many lenders knew that their borrowers couldn't afford the payments? How many borrowers knew that? How many borrowers and lenders lied to get the loans? It would take a significant investigation, but there would be no point.
Why put people in jail, if instead we can let them stay out and simply lose their house or job?
Your argument is too one-sided; you ignore the culpability of the borrowers in the making of their own problems.
90% of borrowers lied about their incomes on stated income mortgages, known in the industry as "liar's loans'. Almost half the loans taken out in the most overpriced markets the last few years were stated income.
Read this article to help understand the extent of the problems we face and why this bailout will not help. It will only make the pain deeper for the average American.
http://www.slate.com/id/2189576/
"More than 90 of the applications overstated the borrower's income at least a little. More strikingly, more than three out of five overstated it by at least 50 percent. This isn't a few people fibbing a little. This was the whole system breaking down. "
"At the height of the mortgage boom, however, especially in pricey markets, the liar's loan became a routine way of doing business; for some lenders—both smaller ones like IndyMac and WMC as well as big ones like Countrywide and Washington Mutual—it was the main way. In 2006 in some parts of the country, these loans made up as much as half of new mortgages, for both subprime borrowers and for homebuyers with high credit scores."
I recently broke my arm and wound up with a lot of time for reading. Ive spent that time studying up on the inflation of Revolutionary France. That inflation was caused by the over-issue of "assignats". The assignats were basically mortgage-backed bonds. That is what our dollar is now. The big difference is that the old French assignats were backed by productive real estate, while all we get are a bunch of non-producing, CCC rated loans.
"NOW, IS THE TIME TO ACT! Please call your Senators TODAY to voice your opposition to the mortgage lender bailout bill (H.R. 3221). There is still time to stop this, but time is running out. Congress is expected to pass the bill and President Bush has said that he will sign it. Sens. Jim DeMint and Jim Bunning are threatening to filibuster, but that may only postpone the vote by a couple of days."
Although our efforts might seem futile, at least we are speaking up. If we sit back and do nothing, we are certain to accomplish nothing.