Like a moth drawn to a flame I find I must enter this thread. To start with, the magic number is 60. Under a recent rule, a bill in the Senate must have 60 votes to make it to the floor to be voted on. This means several senators, in the current senate must vote in a bipartisan manner. Attempts to draft a bill increasing oversight of the lending industry have failed because of a lack of sixty votes.
Why were loans given to individuals who never could afford them in the first place, that's what the congress wanted. And, with the good times rolling in the home loan industry, and the "bright young 'B School Grads,' thinking up new ways to loan money and to account for the money.... you could afford the $1000 bottle of wine and to make nice contributions to your elected official. This plan to put everyone into their own home has been around for quite a while. Primarily a Democrat program, at least 59 of our elected officials seem to have decided the money was too good to pass up ..... certainly you could not get a vote for oversight. Let's not overlook the fact that it was not only low income individuals who got these loans, but quite a few individuals with good incomes who bought the "big house," or the "summer home," or slapped a little paint on a house to flip. Why the price was going to rise forever. I feel certain that everyone on this site got that pre-approved offer from a lending agency telling them they were able to get a home equity loan for 125% of their home value. It was "summertime and the living was easy."
I am afraid that if we want to know what the problem is, we, as a country need only to look in the mirror. I AM QUILTY. Oh, I vote in every election, but I enjoyed watching my retirement accounts go up, wondered about people moving into homes but having no furniture, and was too lazy to sit down and hand write a note to my Senators and Congressman letting them know when I was concerned or unhappy with a policy. I don't believe it was on this site, but I once read a thread that stated, "I only have 60 days to hunt ducks, I'm not going to waste time to vote."
Now the press is in this up to their necks. Anyone ever read an article saying "something smells in Denmark," referring to the home loan industry. How about an article about dumb or clueless any politician was. I can't think of any, but I keep seeing overly made up blonds with their tatas hanging out, breathlessly telling me Governor Palin is an idiot, the sky is falling, and that a hurricane is a bad thing and you should evacuate. Should any of us give a shit what they think.
As for Governor Palin, she did get elected to the job. That's quite a feat and a lot more than I have done. Do I care how much she knows about foreign affairs, HELL NO. If I am reading this thread correctly, none of us are happy with any of the fuzz nuts. I see nothing that really makes me feel warm a fuzzy about their grasp of foreign policy. Oh, yes, before signing off and getting a stiff Bourbon with a splash of bitters, If I remember my history correctly, Harry Truman was not seen as being the brightest bulb, and many wondered if FDR knew what he was doing. History has shown that he did one hell of a job.
I hope you will all write your elected officials and that you vote them out of office in November. Best to you all, and be safe in your hunting this season. R.Bell