MrsObvious's Blog

I can't help but wonder what, exactly, is going on behind the closed doors of Washington DC as our elected leaders hammer out a 'plan' to rescue the overextended moguls of Wall Street. I've been trying to figure out who this 'bailout' is supposed to benefit, but so far, I can't make sense of it.

If I have my facts straight, it goes something like this: The lending industry, as well as the housing industry was under pressure to create more avenues for the average working American to own their own home. Credit rates remained low as housing values inflated with the demand. More and more homes were sold to people who truly couldn't afford them, but they were sold with ARM's at incredibly low rates to make it even more attractive.  In the meantime, those who had equity in their homes took out HELOC's (home equity loans or second and third mortgages, actually) to purchase additional real estate so they could participate in the housing boom.  The holders of the mortgages bundled them up and sold them as 'investments' to the Wall Street investment guys who figured the incoming loan repayment dollars would give them a sustainable revenue stream. Then, the jobs started to leave the country, no loans could be repaid, the mortgages went sour, the housing market deflated as demand withered and now people are stuck with mortgages that far exceed the true value of the real estate.

That's how I understand it, anyway. So....now Congress, led by Secretary Paulson and President Bush, is putting together a package that would BUY these bad mortgages? I'm just trying to understand this all....in essence..the US govt. would become the landlord of those teetering on becoming homeless and bankrupt? Are the Wall Street titans going to sign over the titles to the numerous properties involved, or keep the money and give Main Street, USA the finger as they pop a bottle of wine and dine upon truffles and moan about the 'little people'.?

Another concern: If the government is your landlord, isn't that a bit like socialism? Communism? Are we being steered away from democracy and more toward a socialist state? Alot of our right to privacy has been taken away already due to the 9/11 attacks, and I understand the necessity of keeping the country safe, but this latest move is confounding me.

The doors are closed. No one is talking about what's going on. No one is addressing the reporters questions of WHO this 'bailout' is supposed to benefit. It's OBVIOUS that things are not quite kosher, and that Congress is lost and confused and can't agree on how to help the citizens of this country. I can't lay the entire blame on George Bush, but he deserves most of it. His legacy will be one of ineptness, inefficiency, egotism, inablility to lead and the guy who crashed the economy.  The fact that Congress is milling about, unable to decide what to do is proof of ALL of them being inept.  Maybe it's a good thing that doors are closed so we can't see them at their worse.