The Banks Keep Stealing - Why Should You Keep Paying?
Editorial submitted by Dylan Ratigan.
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The dire straits of the middle class of America has made it near impossible for our politicians to keep up the pretense that our current government truly works for the "people." Between the multiple overt and secretive bailouts, the massive bonuses and the circular use of our tax money to lobby for these continued handouts, you can no longer hide from the evidence.
When Senator Durbin said "The banks... frankly own this place," you realize it was not in jest.
Couple this with recent protections handed by the Supreme Court to corporations to directly influence elections and it can make things seem hopeless for those not on Wall Street or their chosen politicians. Favored CEOs and now even foreign countries get all the printed money they need, leaving us paying both our bills and theirs.
And now nearly a quarter of all Americans are currently underwater in their mortgage because of that steadfast honor.
If you are one of them, chances are you didn't do anything wrong. Almost all of you were not subprime borrowers or speculators, but merely people buying a house that they thought they could afford at the time. You were just unlucky in that you bought a house during a time when an outdated Wall Street and their complicit politicians decided to use housing to regain the income they lost due to the Schwabs and Etrades of the internet age.
You didn't cause this mess. They did.
Now you are struggling to make the same payments on this mortgage on your now overpriced home even in light of a crashing economy and massive deflation, all while the government does everything in its power to help Wall St. keep the bonuses coming.
Well, it is becoming time to take matters into your own hands... I suggest that you call your lender and tell them if they don't lower you mortgage by at least 20%, you are walking away. And if they don't agree, you need to consider walking away.
It probably doesn't feel right to you.
That is because you probably are a good person. But your mortgage is a business deal, and it is not immoral to walk away from a business deal unless you went in to the deal with the intention of defaulting.
But somehow, even though the corporations are pumped to exercise their new rights, former bankers like Henry Paulson, current ones like Jamie Dimon and -- get this -- now even Fannie Mae execs want to keep you from exercising your rights.
But before you let them (or anyone commenting below) force you into paying that $500k mortgage on a $300k house, ask them if they'll push Jerry Speyer into "honoring his obligation" by breaking into his $2 billion personal piggy-bank to keep paying for Stuyvesant Town?
Or how about asking Hank and Jamie to lecture fellow bailed-out CEO John Mack about how "you're supposed to meet your obligations, not run from them"? Maybe make him use some of his $50+ million for those buildings he bought in San Francisco?
And before shaming and punishing American homeowners, did they nag Steve Feinberg about helping "teach the American people...not to run away" by writing a check out of his billion-dollar pocket to cover all the stiffed landlords and vendors at Mervyn's? After all, at least you aren't single-handedly putting 1,100 employees out of work when you walk on your mortgage.
As part of the deal for your house, your mortgage holder gets interest payments from you and they also use the note to your house for their capital reserves. In return, they take the risk of a foreclosure. In many states, you paid extra to have a non-recourse loan where the lender just gets the house back if you stop paying -- your interest rate would've been much lower if you were held personally liable like a student loan. But if you still feel bad, then donate the money saved to charity instead of to their bonuses. And when someone tries telling you why it is so wrong, here are some answers:
- Yes, it might seem selfish, but you are actually going to help fix our country the right way, through the use of pure capitalism. There are 3 parties involved in your mortgage -- the mortgage holders, the servicing bank and you. You probably want to stay in your house. Most of the people who actually own your mortgage also want you to stay in your house, preferring a mortgage reduction that you keep paying instead of the total loss of a foreclosure. But the major banks (BofA, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan, Citi, etc.) that underwrite and service the loans don't care about either of you. They (with the aid of their government) just care about hiding their true financial condition for long as possible so they can continue to bonus themselves outrageously. The credible threat of you walking away from your mortgage en masse is the only market-based solution that will force these banks to work with the mortgage holders on your behalf.
- No, you will not "hurt" your neighbors -- certainly not near the scale of the banksters. Chances are someone just as nice will you will move in and (unlike you) pay a fair, non-inflated price for the house. Encourage your neighbors to fight back against the banks and ask for their own mortgage reductions as well.
- Yes, it might make getting a loan harder for everyone. Considering the spate 0% down NINJA loans over the past decade, that probably isn't a bad thing.
- Yes, it might hurt your credit. But with time, people bounce back from having foreclosures on their record. Search online and then talk to a lawyer about the repercussions, which vary by state.
- No, the banks won't necessarily pass the losses on to customers. They already make a lot of money. If costs are passed on to every consumer without banks competing on price, that's a sign of illegal collusion or a monopoly. Let's fix that instead of just letting banks ruin our lives. They might, however, not all make $145 billion in bonuses next year doing something fundamentally so easy that it is an unpaid job in Monopoly.
Meanwhile, our captured government has made it clear that they want to further reward these banksters because there are clearly better ways to "save" the economy without rewarding those most responsible for the damage.
Instead of claw backs for the past theft and strong financial reform for the future, they choose to cover-up the gross misuse of our tax money, making our country worse by helping the criminals on the backs of the most honest.
But thankfully, in this country we still have the tools to fight back and regain our country. Our vote, our voice, our laws and what we choose to do with every penny we have that doesn't go to taxes are the benefits of our hard-fought freedom, and in this battle we must use them all to fight back. It's time for the citizens to once again own this place.
Jul 25, 2011 at 2:57 PM
Reader Comments (18)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/24/disclose-act-house-passes_n_624698.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jun/24/greece-islands-sale-save-economy
This is not a joke...
The grey-haired, bespectacled driver was hustled away by police after they stopped his car because it was topped with a large homemade steel container, a police spokesman said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100624/wl_canada_afp/economyfinanceg20g8arrests;_ylt=AhDoAz6qSD1c.iXy47dZNm39xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTNndm5iaXMxBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDEwMDYyNC9lY29ub215ZmluYW5jZWcyMGc4YXJyZXN0cwRjY29kZQNtb3N0cG9wdWxhcgRjcG9zAzUEcG9zAzUEc2VjA3luX3RvcF9zdG9yaWVzBHNsawNjYW5hZGFwb2xpY2U-
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100624/wl_time/08599199897500;_ylt=ApZ2reEqMS1yKnwllw7M.139xg8F;_ylu=X3oDMTM1azljNzlwBGFzc2V0A3RpbWUvMjAxMDA2MjQvMDg1OTkxOTk4OTc1MDAEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwM2BHBvcwM2BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcmllcwRzbGsDaXNnZXJtYW55Mzlz
The Resolution of Inquiry failed on a party-line vote in the House Judiciary Committee, 15-12, leaving Republicans with a diminishing set of options as they try to force a wider investigation into White House efforts to entice Democratic challengers out of two key Senate races.
http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_15362648?source=rss
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9GHU94O1&show_article=1
No summit, no sanctions, no weapons treaty. Yet they did strike a deal on chicken exports.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100624/ap_on_bi_ge/us_us_russia
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/24/mike-lee-nevada-senate-ca_n_622650.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/24/elena-kagan-confirmation_n_624681.html
Kinda too far. I'd much rather wait until California is forced to sell Catalina Island before making any bids.
Filthy mouth is loved by @DB and why?lol
@DB
Journalism unbiased can only unleash revolution not Biased one?lol
I leave you folks with this:
How to Win the Revolution Peacefully? Make it a Laughing Matter! - Part 2 of 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlLWHACzOb0&feature=player_embedded#
To Save America, Follow the Owner's Manual - Part 3 of 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG7zMiGALLU&feature=related
« George Carlin Video: The Truth About Wall Street And Washington »
George Carlin -"Who Really Controls America"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYIC0eZYEtI&feature=player_embedded
Those criminal, Zionist-owned s***stains might be "your" politicians, buddy, but they ain't mine!
"Our vote, our voice, our laws . . . "
If this guy thinks that voting is going to change anything to do with the big picture, he needs to stop smoking crack.
If the incandescent light bulb can be outlawed, anything can. Usury kills. Stop cheating yourself.
Tell the crooks we want the power to create money back from the usurpers or we'll perp walk them all down to sing sing.
Stop playing these silly games. We don't owe bankers squat. The problem is we don't have sovereign money.
These are all the programs that the new Republican House
has proposed cutting. Read to the end.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Subsidy. $445 million annual savings.
Save America 's Treasures Program. $25 million annual savings.
International Fund for Ireland . $17 million annual savings.
Legal Services Corporation. $420 million annual savings.
National Endowment for the Arts. $167.5 million annual savings.
National Endowment for the Humanities. $167.5 million annual savings.
Hope VI Program. $250 million annual savings.
Amtrak Subsidies. $1.565 billion annual savings.
Eliminate duplicative education programs. H.R. 2274 (in last Congress), authored by Rep. McKeon, eliminates 68 at a savings of $1.3 billion annually.
U.S. Trade Development Agency. $55 million annual savings.
Woodrow Wilson Center Subsidy. $20 million annual savings.
Cut in half funding for congressional printing and binding. $47 million annual savings.
John C. Stennis Center Subsidy. $430,000 annual savings.
Community Development Fund. $4.5 billion annual savings.
Heritage Area Grants and Statutory Aid. $24 million annual savings.
Cut Federal Travel Budget in Half. $7.5 billion annual savings
Trim Federal Vehicle Budget by 20%. $600 million annual savings.
Essential Air Service. $150 million annual savings.
Technology Innovation Program. $70 million annual savings.
Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Program. $125 million annual savings.
Department of Energy Grants to States for Weatherization. $530 million annual savings.
Beach Replenishment. $95 million annual savings.
New Starts Transit. $2 billion annual savings.
Exchange Programs for Alaska , Natives Native Hawaiians, and Their Historical Trading Partners in Massachusetts . $9 million annual savings
Intercity and High Speed Rail Grants. $2.5 billion annual savings.
Title X Family Planning. $318 million annual savings.
Appalachian Regional Commission. $76 million annual savings.
Economic Development Administration. $293 million annual savings.
Programs under the National and Community Services Act. $1.15 billion annual savings.
Applied Research at Department of Energy. $1.27 billion annual savings.
FreedomCAR and Fuel Partnership. $200 million annual savings.
Energy Star Program. $52 million annual savings.
Economic Assistance to Egypt . $250 million annually.
U.S. Agency for International Development. $1.39 billion annual savings.
General Assistance to District of Columbia . $210 million annual savings.
Subsidy for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. $150 million annual savings.
Presidential Campaign Fund. $775 million savings over ten years.
No funding for federal office space acquisition. $864 million annual savings.
End prohibitions on competitive sourcing of government services.
Repeal the Davis-Bacon Act. More than $1 billion annually.
IRS Direct Deposit: Require the IRS to deposit fees for some services it offers (such as processing payment plans for taxpayers) to the Treasury, instead of allowing it to remain as part of its budget. $1.8 billion savings over ten years.
Require collection of unpaid taxes by federal employees. $1 billion total savings.WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Prohibit taxpayer funded union activities by federal employees. $1.2 billion savings over ten years.
Sell excess federal properties the government does not make use of. $15 billion total savings.
Eliminate death gratuity for Members of Congress.
Eliminate Mohair Subsidies. $1 million annual savings.
Eliminate taxpayer subsidies to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. $12.5 million annual savings
Eliminate Market Access Program. $200 million annual savings.
USDA Sugar Program. $14 million annual savings.
Subsidy to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). $93 million annual savings.
Eliminate the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program. $56.2 million annual savings.
Eliminate fund for Obamacare administrative costs. $900 million savings.
Ready to Learn TV Program. $27 million savings..
HUD Ph.D. Program.
Deficit Reduction Check-Off Act.
TOTAL SAVINGS: $2.5 Trillion over Ten Years
READ AND ACT. IT IS TIME TO RECLAIM OUR COUNTRY
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Why shouldn't people face their bills? You want renters to now bailout home-owners? AGAIN?
I didn't see people complaining when their house prices were doubling. Did you?.
And errr.....who if *not* mortgage holders are responsible? Seriously - no-one was forced into taking a mortgage? People were desperate to do it.....to JOIN THE GRAVYTRAIN.
Where did everyone think all the money was coming from? Where did people imagine the rise in house price was coming from? Did they care? Did they care about pulling up the ladder, back then? Hardly.
I don't remember anyone imagining we were "all in it together" back in the "boom" when the goodies were inflating and there were taxes to be cut......
So now, those of us without mortgages - those of us who didn't benefit from the doubling in price - we're expected to help bailout the people who did benefit. Nevermind that we're now being asked to help bailout the very people whom helped put the price of housing beyond reach - mortgage holders.
No, I think I'll avoid that, thanks.