$700B 'bandage' won't stop the bleeding
Letters to the Editor
By Inman News, Monday, September 29, 2008.Bookmarking Sites
Re: 'Bailout incites Grassroots Rage' (Sept. 26)
Dear Editor:
What a crock! Response to our leadership is falling on deaf ears. I have called and e-mailed hundreds of people asking them to call their Washington senators and representatives to say "absolutely no" to this bailout. I believe that any of our elected officials who have money in the stock market should abstain from voting. They certainly would have a vested interest in a bailout solution and putting this off on taxpayers! Who will bail me out if my real estate firm fails? Not Paulson or any other big shot in Washington, D.C. We certainly need to be more careful who we send to Washington, D.C. Ron Paul is certainly getting a lot of exposure lately. Is it possible that he was right all along? That would be a hoot, wouldn't it?
Why don't we just go ahead and get rid of the Federal Reserve -- it messes around too much in our free market. Let the bubble burst and let's start the healing process. A $700 billion-dollar bandage will not do the job.
Jonnie Cure
Southern Exposure Realty
Waynesville, N.C.
Dear Editor:
The $700 billion bailout is shocking to our industry. The makers of the Declaration of Independence agreed that the government was "for the people, by the people," not "for the corporations, by the corporations." Corporations must be responsible for the debt they created by making bad loans, just as citizens are responsible for the debt they created by making bad loans. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. If taxpayers are going to bail out corporations, an equal bailout should be given to individual, taxpaying citizens. The enormity of the problem does not end there. Government should have its limits.
Just like the oil spills that occur from time to time in our oceans, once a spill occurs the tanker owners should be held responsible for the cleanup. When they are allowed to pay a small fine and continue operations, another spill is likely to occur. If their license was suspended and the license holders were made to be accountable, the ocean would benefit.
No one ever thought that there would be a repeat of the failed savings and loans and yet here we are. I am just glad that the banking institutions were not permitted to enter the real estate market, and this is proof that they should learn to do a better job of managing finances before trying to enter another field.
Joan Baines
Prudential Fox & Roach Realtors
Cherry Hill, N.J.
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Submitted by Emmanuel Scanlan on September 29, 2008 - 1:59pm.
This is a long overdue correction in the economy! It is time to tighten the belt, ride it out and be grateful that your tax dollars did not go for even a partial Golden Parachute payouts for those that caused the problems! Now all we need is to get rid of the politicians that support any type of corporate welfare!!
When you go to the voting booth this November remember to vote your actual mind and not "The lesser of the two evils"!!
PS Inspection & Property Services LLC
www.psinspection.com
Knowledge is power, but sharing knowledge brings peace!
Submitted by Joe Hildebrand on September 29, 2008 - 2:16pm.
http://www.therightbailoutplan.wordpress.com
SAYS IT ALL!
Submitted by Wenceslao Fernandez Jr, Realtor(r), CDPE(r) on September 29, 2008 - 2:27pm.
I for one favor some sort of recovery plan, with the idea that the corporate AND government ying-yangs don't see a dime of it.
Unfortunately, it seems that Golden Parachutes were substituted by Camuflaged-chutes, according to some comments I heard in the news today, prompting so many to vote against it (among other things).
I believe this "bandage" can turn into "bondage" if not done carefully. However, I also beleive that something must be done as evidenced by world market reactions and the spill-over effects being felt by giants around the world, requiring a bailout.
These will create ripples that will reverberate back in our shores, driving the world into financial chaos the likes of which, those now asking our government not to pursue a bailout plan, may then be begging those same politians to accept some sort of truce.
Not doing something, will bond us to misery for what I believe would be a much longer period of time and into a deeper hole.
Accountability must be paramount as well as a controlled compensation package. Those who created this mess cannot be part of the solution nor receive compensation when we recover, since they greedily created the problem and enjoyed it while it lasted.
Instead, they must be investigated for possible wrongdoing, negligence, and even betrayal or treason since in my view, their selfish actions helped put our country in a major security risk position.
Bailing out homeowners is also a topic of divide for me as I know that many do not deserve a bailout because they may have acquired the property with ill intent and methods.
Thus, the good are paying for the sinners in Main Street just the same, and noone is talking about them.
Many folk however, went into the deal pursuing the American Dream and were talked into programs that were not benefitial for them.
Many of these folk have been fighting tooth and nail to keep their home because it is more than just a house for them. It is a place where they want(ed) to forge memories...and these are the memories they're getting!
Not doing anything will punish the good with the bad, just as much as now with the stand-still we have in our capital, except it would be magnified.
In my opinion, a well thoughout-out and executed recovery plan, would help mitigate the worst and therefore, we must agree to one THIS WEEK.
The problem remains not so much in the confidence of the markets to recover, but on the greed for power and gold (well...money and other compensation), of those who control them.
From corporate officers to public officers, who is left to be trusted?!
I heard someone comment that limiting compensation would create a flight to other international companies around the world. Well...let them try.
As the rest of the world also deals with this mess, I wonder if any country would favor unlimited compensation and/or lack of accountability to anyone who drives a company (and their country), to their knees or even to the ground.
www.MiamiRealEstateKing.com
Certified Distressed Property Expert
Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Submitted by Marc Rasmussen on October 4, 2008 - 4:52am.
I feel like we are "damned if we do and damned if we don't." We seem to be bailing out banks who made bad decisions and people who made bad decisions. However, this is a huge problem for the country and it is affecting those who didn't make a bad decision by buying a home they could not afford at elevated prices.
I agree with Wenceslao, "...the good are paying for the sinners in Main Street..." For the sake of country I don't think we have much of a choice but to have a bailout.
Sarasota Real Estate
Submitted by Glenn Ginsburg on October 6, 2008 - 2:16pm.
I have to question the recent $8.68 billion Countrywide settlement as it comes on the heels of the bailout legislation.
Is anyone wondering if the B of A (aka Countrywide) is using any of the bailout funds to pay for the settlement?
I too agree with Wencesiao that the good are paying for the sinners on Main Street.
Who is going to bail me out?
Glenn Ginsburg
A Delta Realty
Bonita Springs Florida
Submitted by Richard Soto on October 7, 2008 - 4:49pm.
Glen, I get my bail out check before you :) Its ridiculous how the good guy always gets the short end of the stick.
Dallas Real Estate
Houston Real Estate
San Antonio real estate
Submitted by Commercial Mortgage Loans - Privately Funded - MasterPlan Capital LLC on October 7, 2008 - 9:07pm.
No one wanted a “bail-out” but the magnitude of this particular problem demanded massive and swift action. The private sector was neither willing nor able to step in and recapitalize the banking system; you can’t force a private business to buy paper it does not want. Only the Government had the wherewithal to come in big with speed.
No one wanted a bail-out but, trust me, you didn’t want what was coming either.
MasterPlan Capital LLC - Simple, 1 Page Commercial Mortgage Application; Online at: www.masterplancapital.com