by Roy » Fri 14 Nov 2008, 12:54:36
Specop007 wrote
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', ' ')Roy, I have a *real* hard time believing the article you linked to. You know what they say about statistics.....
You are right, those numbers are unbelievable. And alternet is a 'liberal' web site.
Like you, I believe the customer or in this case, the home-debtors, should be responsible for their decisions. Also, it seems pretty apparent that there was a lot of scamming going on by lenders, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, and appraisers.
After all, those folks had every incentive to cheat and the hapless borrowers were being convinced to believe that housing values always go up etc, not just by these lowlifes, but also by a bombardment of advertising and 'flip this house' shows on TV. I guess if they had ever read a book in their lives or had done any research on their own, they might have known that real estate price crashes are a cyclical phenomenon and happen frequently. Sadly many of our countrymen are content to get their news from their favorite TV network and are more concerned with making money and pop culture than their own financial well-being.
Its a big mess. If you aren't smart enough or literate enough to understand the terms of a loan then you probably ought not to sign it.
I don't support any sort of bail out. Perhaps soup kitchens would be a better investment.
And for that matter, if the government is going to bail out lending institutions, why not just declare 'jubilee' and let us all off the hook?