I am f$%^%$g sick of Populism!!!

Anyone see that CNBC production last night? "House of Cards." Very interesting. Blame all around. If you didn't see it you should tivo it...I'm sure it'll be on again soon.
 
It eventually fell back to the mortragage originators. Once their loans started to blow up then guys like the OP were outta business.

At Wall Streets and the Governments urging they wrote everybody and everything. Once those loans went non-performing they got charged back on the originators.

When the originators were outta business the banks were forced to put the loans packages on the balance sheet as assets.

Nasty vicious cycle.



Quote from CaptainObvious:

You'll get no argument from me that the government has had as much of a part in this as anyone. maybe more so.
Yes, Barney, Dodd and their pals were pushing the lenders, and the lenders being smart people came up with creative ways to make it happen. NINJA loans come to mind. Repubs played their hand as well.
Now it all blows up, as all these "smart" people knew it would. The unwashed masses get the hose and the "smart" people keep their fortunes and move on.
We keep hearing about having to retain the "best and the brightest". It was the best and the brightest that came up with all the creative ways to satisfy the government, who are assumed to be the best people we the people can vote for. My question is this...at what point does integrity play a part? When does that banker stand up and say, Mr. Government, if I make loans to these people, I'll have to commit fraud to make it happen, and I'm not willing to do that. I'm smart enough to figure out a scam to make it happen, but I'm unwilling to do that.
At what point does our government say, you're right Mr. Banker, that kind of business we can't do? We have to figure out another way. At what point do we as a people say, I'm unwilling to fuck my fellow man just to make a buck.
As I re-read what I've just written, I'm saying to myself, now that is some really naive shit. But you know what? Until we bring some integrity back in to the mix, "smart" won't be enough to fix the problems we create for ourselves. I fear we're already there.
 
And while everyone watches various execs getting grilled by the politicians on t.v. - - - notice who Doesn't get grilled ? The very Fed central bankers and politicians who are actually the source of the mess to begin with.
If Greenspan didn't turn on the money valve after the dot.com bust and inflate the housing bubble none of this would have happened. If Congress didn't set up Fannie & Freddie to 'encourgage afforable housing' & write laws that required lending to people who wouldn't have qualified otherwise, this wouldn't have happened. - - There are Wall Street types (some of whom also rotate in and out of Washington D.C.) who are part of the blame - - - but they don't get the same treatment as the others.
 
Quote from Tigerjaw:

I think your statement is right on target for most people - - they recognize that they may have taken personal financial actions in the past that weren't too smart in retrospect - - but don't like the idea that it seems that others are playing by different rules now. How about Joe&Jane Lunchbucket who pays their bills but are struggling - - - while at the same time fat cats are getting bailouts and bonuses, and those who shouldn't have been approved for a loan in the first place may get 'government relief' that Joe&Jane will end up paying for ? - - -

"Personal responsibility" should apply to everyone equally. As a nation we went on a cheap money Fed induced and China financed spending/gambling spree and now we all have to pay for that.

Ralph Nader made an interesting point on election cycle....If you are not into politics, then politics will be into you!

Joe and Jane Middle are in a tough spot, but that is because they don't pay attention long enough. This stimulus bill is a fine example. People should be in the streets over this, but I believe the government has satisfactorily given the public sensory overload with all the reality tv, Wiis and web surfing. It's just too much drugdery to be politically aware.

So, now, we are France. Soon, we will be Sweden. :( :( :confused: :mad:
 
Quote from ARealGannTrader:

I presume this is the opening question in an argument you are about to present.

Let me cut straight the point. The job in our business is to make money. Do you worry about the trader that can't identify trend on a chart? Should you feel sorry that you took his money from him?

If a consumer comes to me and asks for a loan, and I have a mandate to give it to him, then that is my job. If this person works at WalMart, that is not my concern really. He heard that I was here and that is why he showed up in the first place.

He is here because he heard that he can get a loan. I am here because I can give it to him. I am not a financial role model.

Bear and Lehman went belly up. They knew the risk, it didn't work out. They should have hedged, but that would ultimately reduce their returns, and in the evironment that they were in that would have negative consequences to that conservative chicken little department head.

I get pissed off when people engage in high stakes and then want to blame someone.

Lehman knew that they were giving risky loans. But who wants to be harassed by the ACLU? The monkey on the other end knew damn well that they had no business on the side of town that they were on. If you work as a cashier at WalMart, you don't belong in the Hamptons.

Life aint fair, get over it. Get a real job, then go buy that million dollar house.

But don't blame me if you came to me for a loan and I gave it to you. I had to. You knew where you belonged. If you make a thousand a month, and your mortgage is 900 a month, then can you seriously make the case that it was my fault?

BS

I was your hero until you couldn"t make your payment.
:mad: :mad: :mad:


The people who took a loan they could not afford, and the lender who give the loan to someone who is subprime is very, very small compare to the swaps that were created to bet on those bundles. This is where the big loss came from. The big bets of the credit default swaps that were (unregulated) so they did not have to have the cash to cover the bet because no one was looking at them. This is what created billions of dollars that did not exist, and not the morgages that have default. It was the big bets on insurance. (Commoditites futures Modernization act)
 
If a consumer comes to me and asks for a loan, and I have a mandate to give it to him, then that is my job.
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It is an interesting mandate. (Community reinvestment act)

Oth, when the customer asks for another drink and the bartender refuses because of liability. They might hurt themselves or others but when it comes to money, there is no moral obligation?
 
I know this stuff about the CRA will just keep getting repeated & repeated with no factual evidence to back it up, and so this is like spitting into the wind; however, just because I'm tired & and don't really care how hopeless introducing facts to folks who care only about myths is, I present an actual study on the CRA with actual facts about how CRA loans actually performed in the real world:

Community Reinvestment Act May Have Deterred Risky Mortgage Lending

Out in the real world, the problem had to do with lots of things, none of them having anything to do with the CRA. Like, for instance, folks refinancing their homes like, as Ed Hart once observed, they were afraid their neighbors were going to do a leveraged buyout of their homes and kick 'em out.
Crazy shit like that. CRA, on the other hand, was actually an island of sanity in this sea of unbelievable greed & stupidity.
 
Finally saw house of cards today, and I have to say that it was a good show. Second best documentary about the finacial hubris I have seen.

I still think that borrowers and investors should have some responsibility. If the public really wants someones head on a pike, they should go after the rating agencies. Without their input none of this could have gone down.
 
The gentleman has a point.

No one here can deny that there was a ton of irresponsibility on the part of those taking out loans and such.

There was strong demand for what he may have been supplying.

Query: If we know that we are perpetuating financial destruction (or planting the seeds of financial wipe outs) with the products we are selling or methods we are using, are we absolved, on a moral/ethical basis, under the mantra 'I was only providing what the market demanded?'

Discuss.
 
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