The Economic Populist
Speak Your Mind 2 Cents at a Time
Most Popular
User login
Recent comments
Poll
The Golden Rule
- 1826130 reads
Will the NY Attorney General Bring Doomsday Charges Against Wall Street? If So, How Long Will He Survive?
- 1216022 reads
New York Post Claims Census Falsifies Unemployment Figures
- 949153 reads
How Many Jobs Are Needed to Keep Up with Population Growth?
- 361610 reads
VAT or Value Added Tax is Getting a Look in D.C.
- 345176 reads
U3 and U6 Unemployment during the Great Depression
- 320798 reads
The war on the middle class
- 314796 reads
House discusses 401k/IRA confiscation
- 313951 reads
Tax Cuts for the Rich Do Not Generate Jobs
- 279580 reads
.
The bottom line is we did not get a cost effective way to clean up the financial system, in spite of the many expert level recommendations and a great example, Sweden, on how to do so.
We did not get any reforms on trade policy. We cannot even get confrontation on China's currency manipulation.
Our educational system went from an ethical, Academic study to yet another institution which makes products, that being graduates.
They ripped asunder retirement, replaced pensions with gambling on the stock market through 401ks.
And we got an ineffective Stimulus, which sent money offshore to foreign companies and even to China, scattershot, no direct jobs program.
Lest we forget two very expensive wars as if America can afford to be the global police.
Going to space is just a symbol. Being able to drive across a bridge and fear it will fall down is our new reality. We live near levies, playing Russian roulette with the possibility they will break. Even worse, state and local governments are escalating privatization. It's all the same conclusion, we're heading to a Banana Republic.
Now we have faux paus movements, generated by cable noise which are glorified promotions of corporate lobbyists interests. We even have cable noise fake "issues", even "issue du jour", while the theft of our nation goes unreported.
Meanwhile the real people, the U.S. middle class, when it comes to us, this government can only consider enabling yet another short sighted corporate lobbyist agenda which tries to suck even more money from our pockets.
" NACA has agreements with many lenders to make your mortgage affordable " what does this mean? Lenders have contracted with NACA? NACA is receiving compensation from lenders? Where is this information? - somebody dig!
Years ago, a class action suit was litigated (victoriously) over the "fixed" closing costs -- it was an anti-trust action. After that, there had to be competition and closing costs could be shopped and negotiated. Now, many of us "underwater" folks are current and could qualify for refinancing, but why pay for title insurance (all over again) and why pay mortgage origination points and taxes (all over again), just to get a lower interest rate? Banks are not willing to negotiate if they know you will pay the juicy 6 percent year in and year out. Yes, we can pay down principal, but what's the point -- unless we can make the math work? If the Fed bails out the banksters, why should they and Treasury not give the middle class a break and pass some of the cheap money to the rst of us?
I would hope the Fed folks read this (they aren't too far from Rosslyn). Whose government is this anyway?
You do not have an account and are a registered user. Also, you almost seem to be spamming this post and I have no idea on the specifics, any validity of the arguments.
But if you want to blast NACA, get an account and give evidence that can be traced.
Robert no one who's posting is anonymous, many have used NACA and are in short sales or have lost their homes (in which case they probably wouldn't be posting) Why wouldn't NACA want it's members to start an effective class action lawsuit? Let's anwser that question.
Excellent idea Frank, but the enemy is always looking for insurgency from the riff raff. Seriously, there are Corporations that watch for this online, and they are paid quite well. Rossyln, VA comes to mind.
and why all of the anonymous comments. For anyone looking for authoritative information on NACA, I suggest using Google and additional methods. I wrote up one story on this organization and am by no means an expert!
Why don't underwater homeowners organize and get a good real estate lawyer (or someone else who knows laws pertaining to foreclosure and asset protection) and approach lenders/ servicers collectively with proposals for interest rate reduction, penalty forgiveness, and principal reductions? Not case by case but "If we as a group don't get a reasonable settlement, we are ALL going to cease payment by a date certain, and to hell with FICO and to hell with HAMP -- we are all ready to become renters." If enough underwater homeowners did this lender-by-lender, the Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Suntrust, to mention a few, might wake up and start negotiating, to prevent their cash cows' running dry.
The author raises a compelling point - why no class action law suits against lenders? Instead we have an organization that has appeared to hijack borrower wrath. How similar is this to the baggers well funded hijack of populism and street protest. If even two borrowers, work together, within the court system, they have a much better chance of success. NACA has information on so many borrowers who are in the same situation, and what do they do? They have nearly worthless events.
Corporations frequently rely on consumers who lack information to increase profits. Taking advantage of an uneducated consumer is classic exploitation. Perhaps NACA is counting on desperate, but generally uninformed borrowers who really need access to good information, and good counsel, but instead are lining up for what is certainly false advertising.
Why doesn't NACA provide more information to homebuyers? Useful information to make worry-free, better decisions? Would they lose their headcount? Perhaps. It is tragic, and perhaps disgusting, to see people who have obviously been taken advantage of by lenders, celebrate in a display of total irrationality: thanking God, thanking Bank of America. Holding onto a money pit that the Bank may foreclose on anyway isn't something to get religious about.
This contradicts what Bruce Marks has said about his organization. What need then, is NACA supposedly fullfilling?
Why do we need an non-profit to determine the financial eligibility of a borrower? Isn't this something Banks are supposed to do? The bigger questions, that incidentally Marks never advocates for, is why Banks and Wall Street were able to revisit loan sharking, to a degree that this country has probably never seen before. Why doesn't Marks bring his caravan of t-shirted protestors to the Treasury Department?
Why doesn't Marks release hard data on what his organization's results are? NACA has received considerable public funding, yet very little oversight. This is a recipe for corruption.
People need a competent attorney, not what NACA offers. This is true in any real estate transaction. If housing is "unaffordable" for millions of Americans we have a signifigant social problem that won't be addressed by filling out spurious HAMP RMAs.
This contradicts what Bruce Marks has said about his organization. What need then, is NACA supposedly fullfilling?
Why do we need an non-profit to determine the financial eligibility of a borrower? Isn't this something Banks are supposed to do? The bigger questions, that incidentally Marks never advocates for, is why Banks and Wall Street were able to revisit loan sharking, to a degree that this country has probably never seen before. Why doesn't Marks bring his caravan of t-shirted protestors to the Treasury Department?
Why doesn't Marks release hard data on what his organization's results are? NACA has received considerable public funding, yet very little oversight. This is a recipe for corruption.
People need a competent attorney, not what NACA offers. This is true in any real estate transaction. If housing is "unaffordable" for millions of Americans we have a signifigant social problem that won't be addressed by filling out spurious HAMP RMAs.
NACA is hopelessly compromised, this is non-profit group that makes money off of the desperate. This is a fact.
Sourcewatch generally defines a front group as an organization that purports to represent one agenda while in reality it serves some other party or interest whose sponsorship is hidden or rarely mentioned. NACA seems proud to say that some of their funding was provided by some of the Countries largest banks. HAMP is a well known failure, yet that's all NACA has in it's arsenal to help homeowners.
NACA doesn't release any statistics about much of anything.
Refusing to pay anything, and walking away if they bank doesn't reduce principle are better tactics then allowing NACA to waste your time. If you think dealing with hostile collectors on behalf of your bank is uncomfortable, wait until a vicious NACA "negotiator" tears your head off.
Better yet, start your own HUD Certified Counseling non-profit, make some T-Shirts and make some money the way NACA does.
I seriously don't know the total, big picture on CA budget and the breakdown.
I just know their taxes are absurd and the cost of living is through the roof.
I also know illegals cost (last est.) $10.5 billion per year.
So, how much is the CA budget? How much goes to "administration overhead"? Seriously, I don't think it's the public employees, last hold outs for a decent living and retirement, but that money has to be going somewhere and I sure don't think it's toilet paper for public schools!
31,000 to 473,000, from last week's 500k. I'm not writing it up because there is so much noise in weeklies and you can bet they will be revised signficantly.
Bottom line, initial claims just ain't below 400k and really ain't below 330k, which is where we need it to be for some damn job growth.
Mark Twain wrote[History doesn't repeat itself,it just rymes].Sad but true,but I hope the sleeping giant awakes,and the Japanese were talking about the citizens of this nation when they uttered those words,I for one have HOPE.
The end is on its way and it will be ugly and painful. It's just a long slow process of erosion until the major collapse point is reached. Then it will start falling apart in ever larger chunks. When the pain is widespread enough, when the pain becomes shared across all socio-economic classes, you will get change. You will also get an enormous release of pent up rage, voices of reason will be drowned out, fingers will be pointed everywhere, and insanity, with possible violence, will rule the day. And we will pine for the days of wealth and affluence we now live in, but to no avail.
Eventually we will come to our senses, accept responsibility for our future, voices of reason and leadership will assert themselves and we will begin rebuilding a society that serves the best interest of the general public, "we the people".
Leastwise that's how I see it. Animal Farm in the U.S.S.R. Communism in the U.S.S.R fell without a shot because the government and political processes were too corrupt to serve it's citizenry, and the same thing has happened here. Animal Farm, American style. History repeats itself.
You make good points, but there are two other risks depending on how the bonds are bought.
1) if the buyer purchases them in a fund, then there is price risk because as far the buyer is concerned the bonds will never mature.
Also a vast majority of the Treasuries are not TIPS, so inflation is an ever present risk for almost all the buyers. Besides, the government is famous for understating inflation rates.
2) if the buyer is from another country, and a huge number of them are, then there is currency risk. A rapidly falling currency could cause hundreds of billions of dollars worth of Treasuries to get dumped on the market in a panic.
Normally this would mean a sovereign default, but as you point out, we print the cash that our debt is priced in, so a default will never happen. However, it does still mean high inflation and a collapsing currency.
Even if you dismiss all those scenarios, even if you have complete confidence in Treasuries, you can't ignore the fact that the current bond market has all the tells of a bubble. After a decade of bubbles and busts, I would think that Americans would be able to recognize them by now.
Sure there is always someone who can "prove" that it isn't a bubble. They "proved" that a New Economy existed in 1999, and that housing prices never fall in 2005. But common sense always wins in the end.
The whole sordid affair with the campaign,lobby and lets not forget the media industry that has grown that the movie industry should be jealous.I have been waiting since Ross Perot for this to come to a head.I have seen campaign laws to come to legislation in my state only to be voted down by the elected official's that according to them,are there for us.Media doesn't put in any time for Independent candidates as for the most part they have no money and the large part of reporting is the betting on which candidate is going to win by how much money either party has on hand.Of all the endorsement packets I have recieved in my bid for office 90 per cent asked if I would accept pac money or contributions and when I say no I never hear from them again.With the few that want to interveiw me for endorsement I tell them of my exempt status and can't spend more than 1000.00 dollars I never hear from them again.No way for them to influance me besides the reasoning behind their position.All of or problems stem from monatary influance.I had thought I knew it all till I got into this but didn't know it was this bad.I have no upper level schooling and just a little curiosity I can correlate bills with how much money is given by which corporation or special interest group.Sad in a way and hopeful in other way's by articles like this.I know one thing for sure I ain't quitin any time soon regardless if I win or not,it's almost a religious mission now.Frank Rutherford
watching the primaries is a joke. Voting in the same corrupt people, and worse, their opponents are corrupt or crazy too.
There is no choice! We need none of the above and maybe elections null and void if at least 70% of registered voters do not actually vote.
We have cable noise, every day, useless, mealy mouthed sound bytes that are not relevant. It's appropriate to repost something from 2007 because that's what this is like Groundhog Day.
Pages