http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3756665n
If you have investments you owe it to yourself to watch this is you haven't already.
If you have investments you owe it to yourself to watch this is you haven't already.
The American Mortgage Mess. 60 Minutes
- Thread starter MadCow
- Start date
Like the morals of the bankers and the investment firms who thought up this whole debacle??????
imo they (the money lenders) did it to themselves. (because of greed).
One of the first principles of sound monetary lending practises is the clients ability to repay.
I mean its common sense if you lend your friend $10,000 and he has a crappy job and high debt don't be expecting him to repay you anytime soon.
In fact I'd tell you to write off the debt, because the chances of you seeing the money any time soon - are not very good.
Yeah, the lenders aren't to blame at all. They were completely honest, above-board, and responsible.
Shouldn't you be outside, telling the street guys to "get a job" or something?
Good time to buy
Its a great time to invest. There are foreclosures in Seattle and Tacoma I found, but few in Northern Washington State (think summer vacation home). I've put an offer in on a place at $175,000 – original sale price was $310,000. There are ways for Canadians to purchase American property and then rent it out. I'll know this weekend.
Its a great time to invest. There are foreclosures in Seattle and Tacoma I found, but few in Northern Washington State (think summer vacation home). I've put an offer in on a place at $175,000 – original sale price was $310,000. There are ways for Canadians to purchase American property and then rent it out. I'll know this weekend.
This sounds like a variation of the old Groucho Marx line, "I would not join any club that would have someone like me for a member."Yeah, the lenders aren't to blame at all. They were completely honest, above-board, and responsible.
Shouldn't you be outside, telling the street guys to "get a job" or something?
So these homeowners should think "I refuse to pay back anyone who was stupid enough to lend me money?"
OK - Jim Rogers thinks we should all go out and become farmers and miners?
Someone please explain that one to me.
Your explanation makes sense, but I wish people like him would say what they mean.
Sometimes (like tonight, I'm tired) I don't want to have to use my secret decoder ring.
Truth be told there is fault on both sides with this issue.Yeah, the lenders aren't to blame at all. They were completely honest, above-board, and responsible.
Shouldn't you be outside, telling the street guys to "get a job" or something?
Lenders were undoubtedly unethical in their practices but just shy of being illegal.
The buyers on the other hand are victims of their own greed & ignorance.
Such is the case in life, the the smart, wealthy people, will have the resources to ride out the down turn in the market while those who willingly risked their security & equity on pursuit of more wealth or vain desires will suffer.
As a general rule you should never risk more than 35% of your equity on any venture.
If you do not have it to lose don't gamble it.
There's some weird conspiracy theories out there about this mess. Someone told me the moneylenders are all Jewish and they manufactured this mortgage mess to provide cheap housing for new Jewish immigrants. A bunch of details missing here obviously, but I just
A gross oversimplification and convenient ignorance of exactly what went down.
Lenders, in some cases, deliberately targetted people and conveniently withheld the idea that in a few years the loans would reset at crushingly high rates. These high-risk mortgages were then sold, through outright deception, as blue-chip investments over and over - with each seller, most notably the original mortgage broker, taking a nice profit for themselves.
Yes, ultimately, no one was holding a gun to these peoples' heads. But this is a perfect example of why dependence on the free market does not work. And, at the same time, how governments neglecting their duties for short-term gain can inadvertently shoot themselves in the foot.
Truth is, we're both oversimplifying things. There's enough blame to go around for the buyers, the financial institutions, and the government in pretty much equal parts. My original comment was directed at the couple in the 60 Minutes video, who clearly didn't (to me) look like they were unable to pay, but rather chose not to pay. I still fail to see a moral justification for that.
okay, so Japan (and China) is a nation of 'savers' so their economy
has pretty much ground to a halt for how many years now?
they have so much money sitting in banks that they get 0% interest
on their savings ...
The real problem in the USA is simply that its all based on 'get rich
today!!!!' not tomorrow, not next week, but TODAY!!!!
so import shit from china and sell, sell, sell ... don't care if you need it,
or if it works or if its safe or if it costs jobs here, just give me my
million and shut up already ...
Basic problem identified by Marx over 100 years ago: Capitalism requires
an ever-expanding market and if there aren't more people with money,
then 'create' more people with money through cheap credit.
People don't even have jobs anymore, but they still get credit if they
promise to get a job ... don't have the money to pay off what you owe?
Borrow more to 'consolidate it' and have more to spend again ...
And how does the US government react? Print more money ...
Yeah, the gold standard ... dream on ...
