Quotes of the Day: George Will
From George Will's column today:
Suppose there had never been implicit government backing of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Better yet, suppose those two had never existed -- there was homeownership before them, just not at a level that the government thought proper. Absent Fannie and Freddie -- absent government manipulation of the housing market -- would there have developed the excessive diversion of capital into the housing stock?
The entitlement mentality fostered by the welfare state includes a felt entitlement to a standard of living untethered from savings.
10 Comments:
I may be a simpleton, but what ever happened to saving up enough money for a 20% down payment (see:EARNING) on a house? It seems crazy, but actually working for the things you want is a decent way to go through life.
I may be a simpleton but whatever happened to gaming the system to get what you want? It seems crazy but actually figuring out the loopholes and jumping through them is a decent way to go through life.
An ARM is no "loophole" it is rather a device to let folks keep up with the joneses who don't have the salary to keep up with the joneses.
> An ARM is no "loophole" it is rather a device to let folks keep up with the joneses who don't have the salary to keep up with the joneses.
So you're claiming that ARMs don't exist?
'Cause nobody keeps up wit' da Joneses!!
"Absent Fannie and Freddie -- absent government manipulation of the housing market -- would there have developed the excessive diversion of capital into the housing stock?"
absent george w bush and his penchant for eliminating/neglecting financial regulation would banks have become overextended in the derivitives market?
see how that works? since there is no way to know what would have happened, you can postulate any event as a cause for a result.
When I was debating buying a home in the late 90's, I had a friend who was a realtor. I said, "I want to buy a house but I don't want to use an ARM or variable rate mortgage to purchase it." He told me, "yea, but at the rate housing prices are rising, the rising cost of the home will outpace the rate at which you are able to save to get the 20%. Or at the very least, your 20% will buy you a lot less by the time you are able to purchase something "decent" to live in. Just get into the house and refinance later."
I didn't buy a house then, but I can see where some would be taken in by that advice. Back then, it seemed that if you didn't buy, you were making a poor financial decision. I'm sure this same logic from realtors and mortgage brokers worked on a lot of folks....folks without the benefit of econ or finance backgrounds to aid them in making a better decision.
Just my $.02.
Anon 1.15, real estate agents sell houses. That's their job...to sell houses, not give financial advice. For that, see a financial planner or CPA or someone.
Anyway, sounds like you made a wise choice in retrospect.
--"Absent Fannie and Freddie -- absent government manipulation of the housing market -- would there have developed the excessive diversion of capital into the housing stock?"
"absent george w bush and his penchant for eliminating/neglecting financial regulation would banks have become overextended in the derivitives market?"--
Absent Democrats in Congress who turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the warning signs from regulators about Fannie and Freddie would changes have been made that might have either averted the current crisis or at least made is more manageable?
"absent george w bush and his penchant for eliminating/neglecting financial regulation would banks have become overextended in the derivitives market?"...
Hmmm, nice try bobble but let's take a look at the real world instead...
"see how that works? since there is no way to know what would have happened, you can postulate any event as a cause for a result"....
Listen to these people postulate...LOL!
If you're going to slam Bush, please offer some facts to back up your rant. Otherwise you're just a troll.
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