A Few Questions For President Obama
Rick Santelli told it like it is from the trading floor at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. I can’t think of anyone that WANTS to pay for someone else’s mortgage. That is simply NOT the job of the government to bail people out of their mortgages. And the traders on the floor vocalized what we all feel (except the far left who WANTS the government to run our lives).
In response to Mr. Santelli, the Obama Administration did what it seems to do best – attack the American people. Robert Gibbs told reporters that be basically shouldn’t listen to the traders because they are bad Americans.
“I think we left a few months ago the adage that if it was good for a derivatives trader that it was good for Main Street. I think the verdict is in on that,” the press secretary said, poking directly at the cable journalist, who reports from the trading floor at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
When he doesn’t like what Limbaugh has to say, he directly attacks him. When he doesn’t like what Joe the Plumber has to say, he directly attacks him. When Sean Hannity says something, he directly attacks him. When Santelli says something he doesn’t like, he directly attacks him. President Obama has directly attacked more free Americans than any President in recent memory.
What gets me is Gibbs’ response to Santelli at the White House. Gibbs brandished a copy of a fact sheet about Obama’s plan. “Download it, hit print, and begin to read it,” he said. In all, Gibbs used Santelli’s name six times. Well, I did just that and I didn’t learn a damn thing. The problem with Gibbs’ direct attack on an American reporter (that happens to disagree with him, mind you) is that he directly lied to the American people. He says this plan will help everyone. But the fact sheet doesn’t say anything. Here’s what this “fact sheet” DOES say:
He laid out the four key elements of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan:
1. refinancing help for four to five million homeowners who receive their mortgages through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
2. new incentives for lenders to modify the terms of sub-prime loans at risk of default and foreclosure
3. steps to keep mortgage rates low for millions of middle class families looking to secure new mortgages
4. additional reforms designed to help families stay in their homes“The plan I’m announcing focuses on rescuing families who have played by the rules and acted responsibly,” the President said, “by refinancing loans for millions of families in traditional mortgages who are underwater or close to it; by modifying loans for families stuck in sub-prime mortgages they can’t afford as a result of skyrocketing interest rates or personal misfortune; and by taking broader steps to keep mortgage rates low so that families can secure loans with affordable monthly payments.”
So I have a few more questions for the administration:
1. Exactly what kind of “help” are we going to give the 3-4 million homeowners who got their mortgages through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, something the GOVERNMENT forced the companies to do?
2. Exactly what incentives are we going to give to lenders who agree to modify sub-prime loans to homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure or default?
3. Is there any circumstance of such a homeowner that the government will NOT help? What is the criteria?
4. Why are we subsidizing middle class homeowners who want to secure new loans? What makes the administration think it is the federal government’s job to use MY money for that purpose? Are going to subsidize their loans even if they aren’t trying to sell? If so, what’s the point?
5. Exactly what reforms are being sought to “keep families in their homes?” Will the government force these people to rent a home a they can’t afford?
6. What does “playing by the rules” mean?
A home isn’t worth ANYTHING if it’s not up for sale. So this “home value” argument is empty. I have friends who have been directly affected by this. They are great Americans who have done everything possible to meet their obligations. They worked multiple jobs to pay their mortgage when he was laid off. When they moved to another location where he could find work, he found himself unable to sell his home. For months, they struggled to pay the two mortgages while trying to sell the old home. I’m deeply sympathetic to these people.
I happen to own two homes. One is rented out at a previous duty station where I was. I live in the other. If times got tough and I couldn’t pay for my home (or homes), I wouldn’t expect the government to bail me out. My circumstances are different than my buddy’s, understandably. My situation is voluntary, theirs is forced upon them.
The fact is that we have to get out of this mentality that it’s the government job to prevent disasters and every bad episode in our lives. What I think SHOULD happen is that non-profit organizations should pick up this burden. Obviously, there is a need for such organizations and that is why we have them. If more people started these types of organizations to help these REAL American who have “played by the rules” the government won’t have to feel like it’s their job. If the government doesn’t intervene and spend trillions of dollars fixing a problem it’s unconstitutional to fix, then our tax burden will be lower. If our tax burden is lower, we’ll have more money in our hands. If we have more money in our hands, we can donate more to companies helping Americans avoid foreclosure and default.
It kills me to say because, like I said, I have very good friends getting screwed by the economy. I also think it’s kind of interesting how this all started in California! The Liberal Republican governor in the most populated state in the country began this domino effect with his system of government interference and taxation.
To summarize, it simply is NOT the function of the federal government to use MY tax money to subsidize people who can’t pay their mortgages. I’d be happy to donate to an organization whose job it IS to help these homeowners, but I don’t want to be forced into it by a Socialist government out of control. Better yet, I’m going to simply directly contribute to helping my friends at a time when they need. Perhaps if those of us that could did the same, the government wouldn’t feel empowered to do it for us.
Posted on February 21st, 2009 by CJ
Filed under: Uncategorized
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This posting, and Rick Santelli’s rant, is an example of ideology taking over reality. Reality is your homes will suffer dramatically if there is a huge uptick in foreclosures. Reality is that you will pay far more in decreased value of your homes than the $5K they are going to help people with.
I ideologically support the fact that the Government should not be paying people for making bad mistakes. Just like I ideologically support the fact that we should go back to the founding fathers and dissolve this large standing army we have right now.
But, then there is reality. Reality is I have to put up with the incredible incompetence of the Pentagon and the Army because I have to take that to get the defense I need.
Reality is also that it is far better for you and I to have less and less people, by any means, stay in their homes.
Rick and you make the same mistake Bush made: Your ideology overrides your common sense.
Just a few more comments: First, how do you come to the conclusion that this “all started in California”? Florida is an unmitigated disaster as well as Arizona. Coincidence does not equate to correlation.
Second, I think, as a Government employee, you may be living a bit insulated. You have a pension which will never go away, for all intents and purposes, you can never be fired or laid off, you have GOVERNMENT medical care etc.
The economy is teetering on a replay of the great depression. Banks are failing at an astounding rate, homes are being closed up and people are walking away, unemployment will be over 10% soon headed to 20% due to the “paradox of thrift”.
I agree that deficits will be a problem but right now the patient is dying on the operating room table. When the heart stops, you don’t worry too much at that moment about the “side effects” of busting open the chest and doing a hand massage of the heart.
I remember when McCain was telling us there really was no problem and the economy was “strong”. Bush, as late as the beginning of the summer was telling us the economy was OK even though we now know we were in recession as early as December 2007.
How we got here is an argument for a different day; I would love to have a non ideological debate on this but for right now, we are sinking fast.
My recommendation to bring down the deficit. Cut the defense budget by 2/3s. Bring all the troops home and downsize it dramatically. Use that money to reduce fossil fuel use by 3/4s in 5 years. This will make the “terrorist” countries far more impotent than we ever will with troops in their country and it will be far cheaper in the long run. Hard to be a terrorist when you have to use every bit of energy just to get enough food to eat.
Kudos on the new blog!
My suggestion is much simpler: if the dot.gov wants to blow billions of bucks, why don’t they just buy up the foreclosed houses, have HUD refurbish them, and rent them out, WITH A/D MILITARY AND VETERANS AT THE TOP OF THEIR PRIORITY LIST. That way, they get solid, stable families in the houses, and the principal of those families is PAID by the dot.gov, so they have ultimate control over the rent getting paid promptly.
The Feds would own the properties, and when the real estate values in those markets pick back up, they can sell the houses on the open market, to INDIVIDUALS who PROPERLY qualify for a federally-secured mortgage.
Kevin, you’re a bright one, since I’ve already mentioned my “protected” status as a Soldier. Interesting how being a Soldier was such a liability until the economy tanked, but I’ll take it. We’re still hiring if you’re really worried. I didn’t join the Army hoping one day there would be an economic collapse so I could point fingers, but hey – what can I say? Patriotism pays off, I guess.
You really have no credibility with me, or probably many people, when you say we should dissolve the Army. It’s an ignorant statement in today’s climate of terrorism, rogue nations, and such. But, you are probably one of those nuts that thinks America is responsible for all that anyway.
Good blog CJ!! Obviously Kevin does not appreciate his freedom so maybe he should join the military so he can learn HOW his freedom to speak and such came about.