Let’s Play Bank!

Now we all get to play bank. Well, it’s more like playing PayDay Lender, since the feds decided in their infinite wisdom yesterday to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. As a taxpayer, you now own pieces of bad mortgages all across the country.

When you spread the pain out over so many people it doesn’t hurt so bad, right? More socialism, more burden for tax payers, and (maybe worst of all) now the federal government has the lion’s share of the mortgage market.

Of course, this (it’s not a) bailout is only temporary. Right.

Fed Plans to Meddle…Again

Because further regulating lending is the best way to protect consumers from predatory lenders who are in danger of not being paid.  Who are they trying to protect again?  Sure some people may lose their homes, but they are still free to go rent.  Last time I checked there were still plenty of houses and apartments for rent, and there’s nothing in the Constitution that guarantees us home ownership.

The real losers in this situation should be the institutional lenders who were handing out money like it was popcorn.  The people running these companies are supposedly educated and able to assess risk.  Of course, there really isn’t a need to assess your own risk if you know the tax payers are going forced to assume it for you courtesy of your old college classmates and buddies in the gov’ment.

Washington is so afraid that Wall Street may have to suffer through a bump in the road that they are willing to sell us down the river to keep it from happening.

Hell, why not take over the FICO and every other credit rating system while you’re at it?  You could tie it to income tax returns, making sure that only people who filed taxes had the opportunity to even rent.  And why not handle payroll for every company in the country while you’re doing that so that you can make sure that everyone’s being paid fairly?

More regulation=more expense for the consumer.  Thanks gov’ment!  You’ve effectively made yet another thing more expensive.

Mortgage Aid is a Waste of Money

$300,000,000,000.00 in funds for mortgage aid.  I hope this doesn’t get passed for several reasons.  First of all, it’s such an obvious attempt by both Democrats and Republicans to pander.  This probably wouldn’t be happening were this not an election year.

And why does the gov’ment need to do this?  Can’t financial institutions (who are in trouble if they don’t get paid) work this out with borrowers (who are in trouble if they can’t pay) on their own?  They got on this boat together, both knowing its hull was full of holes.  Why should everyone else have to come to their rescue now?

The mortgage aid plan would let the Federal Housing Administration back $300 billion in new, cheaper home loans for an estimated 400,000 distressed borrowers who otherwise would be considered too financially risky to qualify for government-insured, fixed-rate loans.

Does this mean I can look forward to being offered aid when I make a bad financial decision as well?  What  about the guy who started piling up cash years ago when people were getting interest only and adjustable rate loans because he knew there would be an opportunity to buy foreclosed property cheap in a few years for cash?  Why isn’t that person, who made a good financial decision, being rewarded?