Wamu-biggest Bank To Fail In Us History!

[Gina]

I don't think we are heading for good news if Congress doesn't vote on giving the bailout money. It is a shame that greed is what brought us to this point, but like Warren Buffet said the other day, you can't fill one part of the tub with hot water and the other part with cold, its got to be a mix. We are all going to be affected by this one way or the other. So I think they should give the money.

This country has been living in sort of a fantasy world, purchasing stuff we really can't afford. Years ago our parents didn't believe in credit cards if you didn't have the money you just didn't buy it. We have become a very materialistic country. Greed has come into play here and this is why we are in this position. Next is fear and fear begets fear in this crisis.

I can talk from the real estate end people were given sub prime mortgages with no money down, no doc mortgages, interests rates only, it was crazy but the lenders allowed this, it eventually had to start crumbling down and it will snow ball into the rest of the ecomony. People losing jobs, business closing, student loans , purchasing cars etc. This bailout is to help the banks, not the people defaulting they will still lose their homes regardless.

I see it in my business it is going to be tough getting a mortgage, you will need good credit and a good downpayment. Like it was back when.. Deals are going south because of this mess. It will spiral..

I can go on and on but looks like no one wants to voice their opinions and of course this IMO.. But we are all mature people who have an opinion and should voice it..

[2tiredmom]

I"m tired of the the government bailing out all the banks. If they didn't pay their CEO's so much they might have been ok. But that's just my opinion.
I work in County government and have been seeing alot of forclosures coming in.
I live in a small community of 10,000. In July we had over 40 come in.
Not a good sign.

Go back to the 20% down. It also amazes me that the young people just starting out think they have to have the best at the beginning without having towork for it.
It's really depressing. To much GREED.

[Janet]

I just don't voice my opinion because it doesnt' do any good. I just feel like I'm whining about it and I don't want to whine, won't help, gov't won't listen anyway. The whole country, from local level all the way to the top is corrupt in both parties and really knew this would/could happen and waited.

I wanted to be happy, but everything is going downhill and no one really gives a crap anymore. Guess it's just coming down to one worrying about themselves...it's all anyone can do.

Sorry I'm so negative this evening but you all know why. Just take my stupid opinion with a grain of salt...the rain will wash it away.

[gja1000]

A friend of mine sent this along - something to think about

The Common Sense Fix

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three- step Common Sense Plan.

I. INSURANCE
a. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance.
Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the
world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.

b. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a
6% fixed-rate mortgage

a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the
balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a
chance to keep their homes.

b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or
the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of
foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable
for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that
encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and
ruined lives.

2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and
executive team members as long as the company holds these
government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming
executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.
c. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.

II. MARK TO MARKET
a. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III
bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down
bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.
b. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on
failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.

III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX
a. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

b. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down.

This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

I am just happy I can buy some stock at a really low price

[HALEY]

im glad i got some responses, see i don't believe we should bail the banks out of this problem there the ones that got "greedy", so they should bail themselves out, i totally agree with the government, and i'm also glad they put the credit crunch in effect, there giving out loans to people that can't make the payments and this is why "i believe" were in this situation in the first place, now if the stocks should crash maybe it will drive these high prices they have on everything down to what the "working people" could affort and stop making the rich richer, and give the working class people a break !

[HALEY]

The Common Sense Fix
Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country,
but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support
any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following threestep
Common Sense Plan.
I. INSURANCE
a. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance.
Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the
world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.
b. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two
things:
1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a
6% fixed-rate mortgage.
a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the
balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a
chance to keep their homes.
b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or
the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of
foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable
for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that
encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and
ruined lives.
2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and
executive team members as long as the company holds these
government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming
executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.
c. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.
II. MARK TO MARKET
a. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III
bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down
bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.
b. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on
failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.
III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX
a. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock
market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in
the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.
b. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping
the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the
economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement
investments that go up instead of down.
This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to
stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

[HALEY]

Originally Posted by gja1000

A friend of mine sent this along - something to think about

The Common Sense Fix

Years of bad decisions and stupid mistakes have created an economic nightmare in this country, but $700 billion in new debt is not the answer. As a tax-paying American citizen, I will not support any congressperson who votes to implement such a policy. Instead, I submit the following three- step Common Sense Plan.

I. INSURANCE
a. Insure the subprime bonds/mortgages with an underlying FHA-type insurance.
Government-insured and backed loans would have an instant market all over the
world, creating immediate and needed liquidity.

b. In order for a company to accept the government-backed insurance, they must do two things:

1. Rewrite any mortgage that is more than three months delinquent to a
6% fixed-rate mortgage

a. Roll all back payments with no late fees or legal costs into the
balance. This brings homeowners current and allows them a
chance to keep their homes.

b. Cancel all prepayment penalties to encourage refinancing or
the sale of the property to pay off the bad loan. In the event of
foreclosure or short sale, the borrower will not be held liable
for any deficit balance. FHA does this now, and that
encourages mortgage companies to go the extra mile while
working with the borrower—again limiting foreclosures and
ruined lives.

2. Cancel ALL golden parachutes of EXISTING and FUTURE CEOs and
executive team members as long as the company holds these
government-insured bonds/mortgages. This keeps underperforming
executives from being paid when they don’t do their jobs.
c. This backstop will cost less than $50 billion—a small fraction of the current proposal.

II. MARK TO MARKET
a. Remove mark to market accounting rules for two years on only subprime Tier III
bonds/mortgages. This keeps companies from being forced to artificially mark down
bonds/mortgages below the value of the underlying mortgages and real estate.
b. This move creates patience in the market and has an immediate stabilizing effect on
failing and ailing banks—and it costs the taxpayer nothing.

III. CAPITAL GAINS TAX
a. Remove the capital gains tax completely. Investors will flood the real estate and stock market in search of tax-free profits, creating tremendous—and immediate—liquidity in the markets. Again, this costs the taxpayer nothing.

b. This move will be seen as a lightning rod politically because many will say it is helping the rich. The truth is the rich will benefit, but it will be their money that stimulates the economy. This will enable all Americans to have more stable jobs and retirement investments that go up instead of down.

This is not a time for envy, and it’s not a time for politics. It’s time for all of us, as Americans, to stand up, speak out, and fix this mess.

Im sorry Gayle i didn't know this was the same one that i posted !!

[Ponyup]

I blame my generation. I have friends that couldn't make a house payment up & moved & got another loan for another house & thought that is okay. They have over 200,000 in credit card debt. I'm just so happy that I married a wonderful man that knew what he was doing. We buy everything with credit card, but pay it off at the end of the month. We use the credit cards money for free while our money makes interest in a saving account. He has excellent credit, I'm building mine slowly. We put 30% down on our first house....which was a small, inexpensive starter home. I don't understand how people can get loans for these giant houses they are building. My husband told me that your house payment should only be 15-20% of your monthly wage. I'm sure these houses I see are way more than that. I just don't understand why banks give these kinds of loans. It's like you're preying on people. You know quite well they can't afford those payments, but they don't care....they just want your money. I agree it was the greed of these large banks that did us in. I've never been so happy to be from a small town & how my mortgage with a small locally owned bank that actually cares about people.

[HALEY]

It's because the banks got greedy and gave out way to may loans to people that didn't have good credit with hardly no money down, and your right your total income should only be a small percentage for your house payment.
I don't believe it's totally your generations, we have guys here at work in the 50's losing there houses, believe me they have a good job and could afford there house payments, but they had to have nice new cars for there wive's to drive ( and most of there wive's don't work mind you) they needed boats, motorcycles, quads, more toys that they can't afford.. oh the list goes on. they wanted to be the Jones living next door.. we'll i think they should sell there "toys" and get out of dept. No i don't feel sorry for these guys at all. there the ones that made there mess by getting loans on top of loans and borrowing against there houses for these "toys"..