"Wes" wrote in message
...
"Ed Huntress" wrote:


"Wes" wrote in message
...
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

I don't follow what you're saying here. People were making millions
flipping
all kinds of crap houses. As for ARMs, the idea is that you refinance at
a
fixed rate when the time is right. Only now you can't. It didn't look to
*anyone* that such a thing was likely to happen.


Enron once looked like a sure fire deal once upon a time. I just do not
see
why government should bail people or companies out for poor decisions.

Well, they shouldn't. The reason they are is that the rest of us will wind
up paying more if they don't. There's a good analysis of it in this week's
_The Economist_. They say that the bailout will cost about $300 billion,
and, if it works, will save the rest of us about $1.2 trillion.

Gee, wonder if the writer has ties to the banking industry? Just pointing
out that it may sound good but are you sure?

How sure do you want? Like the financial publications, _The Economist_ is
probably more frank, expert, and objective than any of the general press.
They're economically conservative, but they play it straight. Big money
doesn't like to be jerked around.

You'll find similar analyses from the other major financial and economics
sources, including Barron's and Bloomberg. I think that John Carroll or
someone who follows them will tell you that they're nothing like the general
press. Among the good ones are the reporting, but not the editorials, in the
Wall Street Journal, and the financial pages of the New York Times. BTW, the
Times has a very good analysis in tomorrow's (Sunday's) Business section,
titled "What created this monster?" It's free online.



That's why we're bailing them. But Congress, the Fed, and the Treasury
Dept.
are already working on new regulations for the unregulated part of the
finance industry, and, particulalry if we have Dems running the show next
year, they'll probably clamp down like there's no tomorrow. Likely they'll
clamp down *too* hard.


You seem to be endorsing the idea that we are NOT responisible for our
actions.

Jesus, Wes, don't turn into another one of those guys who can't
distinguish
a few facts from an entire ideology. We have enough of those around here
already.

Ed, there is right and there is wrong. You honor your obligations to the
best of your ablitity.

Of course. When it comes to things like the state of the economy, though,
it's time to put all that aside while you figure out what's going on, and
what the consequences will be.



Focus on the facts. Forget your philosophy. When you have all the facts
and
you're able to look at them objectively, you can cook up a philisophy
about
them if you're so disposed. Right now, all the philosophies have turned to
crap. It's not the time to commit suicide for the entire economy because
you're worried about "moral hazard." The time for that has passed.

I'm not tracking you. The banks with the bad loans should not be taking
the
keys, they should be working on ways to float the loans until better
times.
The borrowers should be paying as much as they can and we ride this
monster
trying to stay clear of the ditch.

The investment banks and various funds holding these securities just got
their margins called, and they can't sell this crap to cover them. There is
no time to work on ways to keep the loans afloat. And if they go down like
dominoes, the very real fear is that they'll take the whole economy with
them. We're talking about serious depression here.


It is like a renter that doesn't have the full payment for rent so he
doesn't pay anything instead of ponying up what he has. This whole thing
seems to have a trailer trash mentality on honoring obligations.

Wes

Welcome to the new economy. How do you think people get stinking rich in the
finance business today? They're pirates.

--
Ed Huntress