tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post8597049160627623265..comments2023-11-05T04:34:10.303-05:00Comments on The Naked City: CRA to blame? No wayUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-80307091345644975162009-04-30T08:24:00.000-04:002009-04-30T08:24:00.000-04:00"Giving money and power to government is like givi..."Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys" P.J. O'RourkeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-67512220324940782502009-04-29T22:53:00.000-04:002009-04-29T22:53:00.000-04:00The CRA was just one piece of a many spoked wheel ...The CRA was just one piece of a many spoked wheel that caused all this.<br /><br />The CRA and the liberal motivations behind it that big banks are evil and that the poor "deserve" to own homes just as much as those who can actually afford them provided the momentum from the left.<br /><br />Deregulation and the belief that big business is <I>always</I> good provided the momentum from the right.<br /><br />Having bond rating agencies rate bonds for corporate mortgage lender customers who were paying them and who depended on high ratings to sell those bonds created a conflict of interest. If the bonds weren't rated high enough, then those corporate customers couldn't sell the bonds and become repeat customers.<br /><br />Corporate greed, shareholder greed, and homeowner greed <I>all</I> played their part and crossed <I>all</I> income and educational levels. It wasn't just the poor, uneducated, jobless guy who was "tricked" into buying a $200K house. It was the fact that <I>every</I> house in major cities in Florida, California and Nevada were outrageously overpriced. Watch some of those HGTV shows sometime and see what $500k would get you in California. There are whole series on flipping houses to make a quick buck. A very small percentage of people make enough to support a $500k mortgage as a first time home buyer who's puting a downpayment out of their savings. But everyone seemed to be buying them. To say every one of those people didn't know they were doing something crazey is dishonest. They knew. They did it anyway, and now we're paying their mortgage.<br /><br />Then there are the suburban foreclosure neighborhoods that Mary loves to hate. Where did those people come from do you think? Could it be some came from closed public housing complexes? I'm sure the gentrification of neighborhoods close to town to make way for mixed use developments, trains, and "cool" neighborhoods populated by the "creative class" had nothing to do with it. All the people who can no longer afford to live there, moved somewhere didn't they?<br /><br />Finally, I saw somewhere recently that the average household has $10,000 in credit card debt. If you're rich, that's just stupid. If you are middle class or poor, that's suicidal.<br /> <br />No it wasn't <I>just</I> the CRA - a red herring statement designed to absolve the liberals behind it of any responsibility. It was a lot of things - most of them dealing with americans wanting something they hadn't earned.Ricknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-63457447118873821892009-04-29T17:19:00.000-04:002009-04-29T17:19:00.000-04:00All this whining is making me sick. If you can't ...All this whining is making me sick. If you can't afford a home don't buy one. If you bought one and it's foreclosed rent an apartment until you save money to buy another house. If you can't rent an apartment go live with friends or family. If you don't either live at a shelter. Get real. People should be ashamed of themselves for being such pathetic whiners.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-86341524690652008122009-04-29T16:34:00.000-04:002009-04-29T16:34:00.000-04:00Really, Mary – This is kind of shallow – Most time...Really, Mary – This is kind of shallow – Most times life is complicated and there are more then one faults in a situation – it’s the simple minded that try to find the one thing to blame over the other. Where in each should bare their own weight. Did the avoidable fire kill the people or chain locked door? Both hold equal weight. Was CRA to blame yes, not partially but equally. It was a bad and irresponsible program built in flawed theories that owning a house is a right not a privilege. <br /><br />Don’t play politics – and don’t throw rocks just to stir people up – you should be beyond that. <br /><br />And you are sourcing Wikipedia?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19601020.post-82221333212701885772009-04-29T16:08:00.000-04:002009-04-29T16:08:00.000-04:00It wasn't CRA lending to previously unserved marke...It wasn't CRA lending to previously unserved markets that caused this -- it was lending at loan shark rates!! Why is it these folks were a "risk" at a fair market mortgage, but not at 10,12 and even 15%? And for those who say" they should have known what they were getting into"? I say, And just how would they? If you never owned a home, or knew anyone who owned a home, and some "educated" suit-wearing banker assurred you you could refi b4 the mortgage went up, wouldn't you believe him? Quit blaming the victim. And no matter how savvy and forward thinking you are, only the most wealthy among us can still pay the mortgage for extended period without a job.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com