I wonder just how much of this fiasco do we really and fully understand? All we know for sure is that this has been coming for quite awhile, and that's it has been exacerbated by greed, tax breaks for the rich at a time when we were coerced into beginning an unwinnable war, greed, reps in both houses of Congress like John McSame and Nancy Pelosi...did I say greed?
[url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26890600]Readers weigh in on the financial mess
Want to join in the discussion on the financial crisis? Log on to Newsvine
[/url]
How about the rest of us that have sacrificed in order to pay our mortgages each month by working harder and scraping to get by, what do we get out of this except the fact that we will have to pay for other people's mortgages more or less?
— MBritt
There are a lot of msnbc.com readers who agree with you: Why should I have to pay for the mistakes made by my neighbor who borrowed too much money?
It's an absolutely fair question. Here are few things to keep in mind: Relatively few homeowners who borrowed too much — or who were tricked into loans the brokers knew were unsustainable — are getting off easy in this mess. Millions have already lost their homes; only a few hundred thousand have worked out modified loans with their lenders with more affordable terms.
The rise in foreclosures is at the heart of the current financial crisis. The reason mortgage backed securities aren't trading is that investors who buy them have no idea how many mortgages in that pool are good — and how many more will default. Until we can figure out how to stop foreclosures, all of this mortgage paper will continue to clog the financial system. Whoever is to blame, the risk to the wider economy is very real.
Think of it like a patient who has a clogged coronary artery. Unless he gets bypass surgery, he's at high risk of a heart attack. If we don't come up with a solution — quickly — we risk an economic heart attack that would seriously damage the economy. And we'd all get hurt — no matter how prudently we've handled our personal finances.
Read more at the link.
Also:
Quote:
Several Republican aides said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had torpedoed any spirit of bipartisanship that surrounded the bill with her scathing speech near the close of the debate that blamed Bush's policies for the economic turmoil.
Without mentioning her by name, Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Fla., No. 3 Republican, said: "The partisan tone at the end of the debate today I think did impact the votes on our side."
Putnam said lawmakers were working "to garner the necessary votes to avoid a financial collapse."
But the defeat was already causing a brutal round of finger-pointing.
"We could have gotten there today had it not been for the partisan speech that the speaker gave on the floor of the House," House Minority Leader John Boehner said. Pelosi's words, the Ohio Republican said, "poisoned our conference, caused a number of members that we thought we could get, to go south."
Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the whip, estimated that Pelosi's speech changed the minds of a dozen Republicans who might otherwise have supported the plan.
Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., scoffed at the explanation.
"Well if that stopped people from voting, then shame on them," he said. "If people's feelings were hurt because of a speech and that led them to vote differently than what they thought the national interest (requires), then they really don't belong here. They're not tough enough."
More than a repudiation of Democrats, Frank said, Republicans' refusal to vote for the bailout was a rejection of their own president.
"The Republicans don't trust the administration," he said. "It's a Republican revolt against George Bush and John McCain."
More on this story
Newsvine: What should Congress do next?
Click for full text of the Wall Street bailout plan (PDF)
In her speech, Pelosi had assailed Bush and his administration for reckless economic policies.
"They claim to be free market advocates when it's really an anything-goes mentality: No regulation, no supervision, no discipline. And if you fail, you will have a golden parachute and the taxpayer will bail you out. Those days are over. The party is over," Pelosi said.
"Democrats believe in a free market," she said. "But in this case, in its unbridled form, as encouraged, supported, by the Republicans — some in the Republican Party, not all — it has created not jobs, not capital. It has created chaos."
Several Republican aides said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., had torpedoed any spirit of bipartisanship that surrounded the bill with her scathing speech near the close of the debate that blamed Bush's policies for the economic turmoil.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26884523/page/2/
For once I agree with Pelosi. It's Bush's failures and his cronyism that have led to this...and John McSame votes with Bush over 90% of the time.
It shows just how devious these people are. 