Posts Tagged ‘Editorial’
Upon review the government Troubled Asset Recovery Program (TARP) falls short in many areas. Mr. Paulson bragged that President Bush never contested anything he (Paulson) said. Nothing proposed was overridden. What was not accomplished, however, says much about both men. There was no proposal to fund, help, or bail out retired or active duty military. There was no proposal to immediately assist the elderly, or said another way, those receiving social security benefits. No programs were created or funded to assist those retired from government service. No thought was given to those who supported, defended, and continue to support this country. Mission accomplished? I think not.
As we finish the last day of 2008 the reality of the matter is that 18 months have passed since red lights came on and warning sirens sounded in the summer of 2007. Letting the air out of the mortgage bubble, and subsequently starting the collapse of Wall Street, the summer of 2007 was only a prelude to bigger unthinkable things to come.
Competition is a never-ending race of everyone against everyone else. Everyone is a worker, but everyone is a consumer too. As we wrap up Mortgage Blues for another year 2008 has been chaos to some, but very predictable to others. When we told an investor group to dump Fannie and Freddie we were told our predictions could never happen.
I read the most outrageous headline “Citigroup’s $306 Billion Bailout Fueled by Pizza.” Citigroup has been in trouble for months. I compared my Citi statements and offerings to my Chase statements and concluded that Chase was in a stronger position. I didn’t comment on it because I am concerned speculation may contribute to Citi’s problem.
Mortgage brokers are out and direct lending is in. Many of the major mortgage lenders that brokers dealt with nationwide have either gone out of business, been acquired or pulled back. Some are under indictment for mortgage fraud, while others – both mortgage brokers and mortgage wholesalers – are telling about sex, drugs, parties, and a general attitude of “mortgage whores.” The degree to which that describes the industry is unknown, but local mortgage brokers in our area disappeared like Jimmy Hoffa. Federal and state prosecutors are picking through the industry’s wreckage in search of criminal activity.