Stand up for what you stand for

[uprooted_kentuckian]

Ohio, while I agree that the practices within the sub-prime market of mortgages has caused that segment of the industry to be in "dire" straits, the industry as a whole is fairly stable. The next 6 months will tell the tale, and if mortgages move into a general decline, then we will quite likely be facing a recession. For now, the numbers have shown some uptick, but we'll have to wait and see. I don't believe in the need for a gold standard.

[nordicnacho]

Cramer is a smart guy. Just be ready for a correction. What ever goes up must come down.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_Tfw0u6HmEM

[prouddaddy]

What we have is an economy that is based on growth. I really think that is why we have not sealed the borders. The birth rate of native born Americans is not growing and is more than likely going down. Therefore, the only way we can grow is through folks coming to America. I am afraid there is no way we can continue to take in everyone that wants to come. Now I don't know if I'm right or everyone else on this forum is right, but for the most part we all agree we are in dire condition. We really can't do a thing about it period. I guess it helps us to debate it but we can't do a thing to change anything in this country. If the economy goes down the tubes I'm not sure we have enough people around that remember how to live in a local economy. I know around here we don't. My own kids wouldn't. I'm sure the first time they really got hungry they wouldn't know what they were experiencing. They're fast learners that pain in the tummy would be a good teacher. I just wonder..... never mind, what I wonder will help about as much as anything else posted which is zero. Living the Dash, prouddaddy

[bunkie]

i think that's what's slowly going on now pd. a good example of local economy is the support the farmers markets are receiving from their communities. people are becoming aware of fresh-local produce is better and safer than long-distance-shipped stuff. i also think a turn is happening with people becoming more interested in the local businesses rather than the big business. good sign, cause it'll protect them when/if the economy fails.

[Jennie_in_Iowa]

The Des Moines farmers market drew 30,000 people on it's opening weekend this summer. Now, our market doesn't have a distance restriction so we do get things like peaches from Alabama, but the numbers are still promising.

[bunkie]

that's terrific news jennie!

once again, another article explaining that it's not good and it's the fed's fault!

You Heard It Here First

http://www.lewrockwell.com/thornton/thornton38.html

......In contrast to what you hear on bubble vision (i.e. CNBC), Wall Street and the mainstream media, the housing bubble problem was not caused by unscrupulous lenders. It was caused by the Federal Reserve and its artificial injections of credit. When an abnormal amount of credit comes into the loan market, the interest rate falls and loans are given out to less credit-worthy borrowers. Don’t blame banks and lenders for all the bad investments. It was the Fed’s fault; with some blame going to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae which are also public-private partnership monsters created by the federal government.

We should also not believe that this is the "beginning of the end" of the housing bubble problem. I would suggest it is safer to view it as only the "end of the beginning." The correction will probably be longer and more painful than most people expect. For example, Alan Levenson, the chief economist at T. Rowe Price, wrote that the housing recession had just about run its course:......

[Jennie_in_Iowa]

NPR was saying this morning that the Feds plan is to let some of those loans go bad, and let "some people go belly up" and that the "credit squeeze wouldn't turn into a credit bust." *shrug* there's $.02 from NPR.

[uprooted_kentuckian]

Bunkie, I don't agree with that one either. Availability of funds does not dictate poor lending practices. The problem was not with funds, but policies within the industry. For example, the use of mortgage brokers allowed rules to be bent more easily and opened the door for bad loans to be written at a break neck pace. All mortgage brokers care about is the "sale" and thier fee, so they have every incentive to bend things when they can or even to put people into loans they know they can't afford. The overuse of ARM's, 125% home equity loans and the new interest only loans put borrowers in a bad position. ARM's should only be used for people who have plenty of assets to weather rate increases, but instead, they were used to get people into more home than they could afford with artificially low rates, and then rates went up and housing sales were flattening, a bad combination. There will be a large correction in the mortgage industry and credit standards will tighten significantly, but the effects should be fairly short-term.

[prouddaddy]

UK, man you almost hit the nail on the head, to blame the Feds. is to over look the two real foxes in this chicken house. Fox # 1 the folks that signed the loans. Many bought more house than they could ever pay for. Many have more car than can ever pay for. Many have more credit card than they could ever pay for. Many got loans with zero down payment. Why didn't they have any down payment? Could it be they couldn't manage their money? Did the Feds put a gun to their heads and make them sign the papers? Did the Feds make the morgage company make these loans? I don't think so, which brings me to Fox #2. the mortgage co. that made the loans. Sharks, snakes what ever you want to call them, crooks is probably best. They should be put in jail. If a radish grower in Ohio and a pulpwooder in Ga. could see that this junk wasn't going to work, I'm sure the guys making the loans knew it wasn't going to work too. They didn't care, they got theirs on the front side. They figured we(GOV.) would come and bail them out. Ain't going to happen. And it shouldn't.

[uprooted_kentuckian]

You're right, and we better not bail anyone out. Learn from the mistakes, put real policies in place and make sure they are followed.