Smoothseas

Reply to It's not easy being green in Building a home JoeUser Forums

[quote]I think a lot of these people who are saying we need to use renewable energy haven't actually seriously looked into this[/quote] Oh I think many of them have.....They are all very expensive still...That is most of the problem. Planning green from the start is the key. You have to plan from the get-go which options are best suited to the particular locality. IE. Solar panels are most efficient if the house is oriented properly and the roof is designed with particular solar panel

Reply to What caused the financial crisis? in Republican JoeUser Forums

[quote]the government required banks to make loans or face penalties[/quote] False [quote]forcing banks[/quote] False [quote]Obama sued Citibank on behalf of a client who claimed the bank was systematically discriminating against African Americans. Whether or not they could afford the loan didn't seem to be important.[/quote] False Case Summary Plaintiffs filed their class action lawsuit on July 6, 1994, alleging that Citi

Reply to Michael Moore Says... in Politics JoeUser Forums

If Michael sat down and spoke with someone who knows enough about what is really happening I think the list might end up being a lot shorter. [quote]Whatever money you need to stay afloat, if our government considers you a safe risk -- and necessary for the good of the country -- then you can get a loan, but we will own you. If you default, we will sell you. This is how the Swedish government did it and it worked.[/quote] He obviouly talked to someone who knows the deal but he

Reply to What I am really worried about is..... in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]That is why the bail out is bad. It will basically not teach the people who made the mistake a lesson, and make sure that those who did not make a mistake - have less to show for their good sense.[/quote] Unfortunately you do not understand the underlying crisis which far outweighs "printing new money". We are not "printing new money" to expand the money supply. We are "printing new money" to get one class of bad derivatives out of the market so that we have more time to deal

Reply to What caused the financial crisis? in Republican JoeUser Forums

[quote]After i watch the video I'll ask fact check about it and maybe they will track down some info on it, unless someone else wants to go ahead and do it.[/quote] No need to. The document you linked to already points out most of the falsehoods that the FOX edit tries to manipulate. Fact Check got most of it right. Theres only a few small points that I would consider potentially incorrect but only time will tell if they are or are not.

Reply to McCain Shows Leadership...Obama Shows Politics As Usual in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]You only point out where past practices have been the worst. [/quote] No these statistics were for the month of August this year and if you look further they are also the areas where ARMS resetting next year and and 2010 are most prominent. CRA is not the root of the problem as you try to claim because a vast majority of the problem is shown and known to be second and investment homes in mainly areas where the home values are well above what CRA, HUD and other govt programs all

Reply to So what exactly can happen if...? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Never said the situation was the same, just that I heard "the sky is falling" in 87 too.[/quote] This is much worse than what was happening in 87. The problem is that one party or the other is always saying the sky is falling during election season so the public really does know what to think sometimes. The derivatives market is the difference between 87 and now so if you really want to understand what is going on do some research not only on mbs's but also on CDS's Credit Defa

Reply to What's Wrong With Palin? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]nothin at all...for those of you who have no problem with elected officials pressuring librarians to remove books they find objectional from public library shelves as a test of said librarians' political loyalty to such officials[/quote] Personally I think it has nothing to do with those things. However she isn't even competant or self confident in an interview. Imagine how that plays out under real pressure or stressful situations. She is clueless about what is really going in

Reply to What caused the financial crisis? in Republican JoeUser Forums

[quote]Of course the housing market is key to the ecomony....owning a home is the American dream and a wonderful one when the government helped honestly and properly[/quote] No because growth in the housing market generally leads economic expansion. People build houses...jobs people buy houses....jobs people fill their houses, add on to their houses, and grow lawns outside their houses....jobs jobs jobs. That is why both parties have their hands all over the GSE's

Reply to To be or not to be, or in this case to approve or not to approve in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]The only difference is that it is not the government doing it[/quote] Theres a huge difference. AIG insures a lot of things INCLUDING mortgage backed securities, It also has a subsidiary that wrote insurance in the form of CDS's which basically insures losses on loans and debt. I believe these policies run to the tune of about 500 billion. This is what the Fed needed to keep solvent. The same goes for Bears Sterns. They are also in the business of selling insurance in the form

Reply to What caused the financial crisis? in Republican JoeUser Forums

[quote]Democrats covering for Fannie Mae's fraudulent dealings[/quote] Are you sure that they actually knew that the GSE's were engaging in fraudulent dealings before the information came out? I don't agree with what many of the Dems do and would actually like to see most of those who are closely tied to the GSE's go. Unfortunately they do not represent my state. I am more concerned with which republicans are involved because the Senator and Representative I voted for last time are re

Reply to To be or not to be, or in this case to approve or not to approve in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]The "funds" are just the reserves the banks are required to keep by law, not the property of the Fed. [/quote] I didn't say it was I said the BANKS ultimately control it, that is why credit is frozen and the fed has to come to the taxpayer for more. You would have realized that if you understood what I meant by saying "The Fed only control monetary policy" But as usual you once again jump the gun only to shoot yourself in the foot. [quote]The government is not there to

Reply to So what exactly can happen if...? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Just as it is a very different situation from the Great Depression (which was world wide).[/quote] This will be a worldwide downturn.... We import much more than we export. You have noticed how many foreign central banks have pumped liquidity into their economies recently have you not? Its gonna be tough. It looks like it may take a couple of years to get rid of the excess housing inventory so we will see what happens from there. I generally take my cues from the bigwigs in the

Reply to What caused the financial crisis? in Republican JoeUser Forums

[quote]Can you show this? Or are ya just saying it with out proof?[/quote] Its archived on the web simply google it. A lot of the old stuff links to library archives which you'll have to register with an remember that in prior years you have to look at PAC's since that was the main money trail. There is some really good info on Tom Delay's links since he was actually indicted for many of his various activities. Here's a decent article that shows some lobbyists that have moved

Reply to What I am really worried about is..... in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]Now, with dollar value decreasing, this may change the minds of oil nations and give chance to Euro and/or RMB as new basic currency.[/quote] More important factors are that we buy the most crude oil and also that the market price of certain other countries crude oil is calculated based on the price of Wet Texas Crude futures prices. In any case I wouldn't worry too much about the dollar value....It has to go down or we will never be able to reduce the tr

Reply to So what exactly can happen if...? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]But what you aren't seeing is that this entire problem has a relatively simple solution that doesn't involve a big government bailout (and notice I said relatively simple not just simple). The banks that made the bad sub-prime loans need to sit down with the people either in foreclosure or close to it and restructure the loans. [/quote] That is totally seperate from the bailout issue. The problem is that these mbs's are sliced and diced pieces of revenue streams from various m

Reply to So what exactly can happen if...? in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]The next decade is not going to be good,[/quote] [quote]I heard that same thing after Black Monday in 1987[/quote] Don't think so. It was a very different situation back then. Not to mention that this is something that has been tossed around well before the current credit crunch situation surfaced. And not from the political rhetoric but more from economists and the investment community. Never mind a 700 bill bailout....thats small potatoes compared to the fact that the

Reply to What caused the financial crisis? in Republican JoeUser Forums

[quote]Those warning of the impending failure were correct.[/quote] There were warnings along time ago. But the fact is its both parties.There is no question FNMA was cooking the books when Raines was CEO but if you look at who they lobbied and who they gave campaign contributions to it involves both parties. He was cooking the books between 1998- 2004 when the republicans controlled both houses as well as the committees that pertained to them. The most money went to who was in power

Reply to McCain Shows Leadership...Obama Shows Politics As Usual in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]follow the money[/quote] Follow where the foreclosure rates have risen and real estate values have dropped the most. Miami .Lauderdale, Orlando, Phoenix, Vegas, Palm Beach, Tampa, Then Califonia. Its the overdevelopment of condos condos condos just like back in the 80's. And California probably has a lot to do with the tech bubble bursting.

Reply to McCain Shows Leadership...Obama Shows Politics As Usual in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]We know the CRA was bad law[/quote] Is that why all the CRA banks in my area are solid? Im in a very rural area that is mostly small businesses. CRA serves this area a very republican area quite well. One of the reasons is because CRA home loans are for primary residences and it is the second and investment home markets that truly caused the blowout.

Reply to What caused the financial crisis? in Republican JoeUser Forums

[quote]The original question is what caused the financial crisis and this video shows who (the Democrats) suported it or helped cover for Fannie....[/quote] You should look for videos that aren't edited by partisan hacks. Then you will realize that there are people from both parties who carry some blame. One has to remember that Fannie and Freddie were mainly the secondary market for mortgages. It is other companies....mainly mortgage companies, that actually made the bad loans and th

Reply to What caused the financial crisis? in Republican JoeUser Forums

[quote]Congress quoted him out of context to back every position they wanted from tax cuts to large spending increases when throughout his career he preached paying off the debt as the first priority.[/quote] He didn't really preach paying off the debt. He believed in keeping it low, but stated that the there would be a large desire for treasuries when the boomers started to retire. And his stance on tax cuts is that they are good as long as spending is cut also. He very much

Reply to To be or not to be, or in this case to approve or not to approve in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]They may control some banks, but not the Feds[/quote] What do you think the Federal Reserve banks are? The Board of Govenors control monetary policy but that is it.The funds in the reserve banks are the reserve funds that private banks keep at their local Reserve Banks. And if you dont think they have ultimate control of this money then you are a fool. Like I said you better do some research on the history of not only The Federal Reserve,but also prior central and reser

Reply to Bush Tried to Overhaul Housing Finance Industry in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]So what you are saying is that both are failing and it would be better for them to be on the hook with more liability instead of less liability[/quote] No go read the bill that didn't pass. It mainly just moves oversight from one Govt agency to another. It also has several flaws in its regulatory provisions. It did not even properly address the main problem pointed out by the Fed and Treasury Dept. at that time: To reduce the size of its portfolios. If you look at the bil

Reply to To be or not to be, or in this case to approve or not to approve in Politics JoeUser Forums

[quote]I say let them burn.[/quote] What you don't understand is that it isnt a matter of letting them burn. The wealthiest will not burn one way or the other. The average american is the one who will burn. The bailout is not a bailout for Wall St. It is a bailout for the whole economy by recapitalizing the banks. Banks are what capitalism is based around.