No, this is what they intended. Or “What they want to do is show they deserve this good deal from the government by helping out the average man.”
UPDATE: Massive Effort to Save Mortgages
John Taylor, chief executive of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, called it “a gutsy move on their part,” adding : “They are bending over backward to try to reach out to these people.” The coalition represents 600 community groups and has urged the government and industry to help homeowners.
It is worth noting that JP Morgan took on these loans voluntarily when it acquired failing banks. Since it took the good with the bad at the governments urging some help makes sense.
In a recent post Dave the Sage asked ‘Is this what they intended?’. He mused…
So much for helping the little guy and easing the credit crunch. What an embarrassment the bailout turned out to be.
In Dave’s populist rhetoric I assume the little guy means homeowners who are suffering due to the latest crisis. Dave quoted a NYT columnist of all people who said he heard this in a recent conference call…
“I think there are going to be some great opportunities for us to grow in this environment, and I think we have an opportunity to use that $25 billion in that way,” the executive said. He added that the money could also be used as a backstop in case “recession turns into depression or what happens in the future.”
There was not a word about lending — not to businesses or home buyers or car buyers or students or other consumers. Just the opposite. In response to another question, the executive said that the bank expected to continue to tighten credit.
Well I think he should he kept listening. I have kept reading, and look what I read…
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest U.S. bank by market value, said it won’t begin new foreclosureproceedings on some loans while it finds ways to make payments easier on $110 billion of problem mortgages. Within the next 90 days, the bank, which two weeks ago accepted a $25 billion cash infusion from the government, will examine loans and may agree to reduce interest rates or principal amounts, New York-based JPMorgan said today in a statement.
Congress has been urging financial-services companies to work with borrowers and avoid foreclosures, which rose to the highest on record in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp. said it will help more than 630,000 at-risk borrowers stay in their homes.
The JPMorgan program is expected to help 400,000 families with $70 billion in loans in the next two years, the bank said. An additional 250,000 families with $40 billion in mortgages have already been helped under existing loan-modification programs.
“We felt it is our responsibility to provide additional help to homeowners during these challenging times,” said Charlie Scharf, chief executive officer of retail financial services at JPMorgan Chase. “We will work with families who want to save their homes but are struggling to make their payments.”
Bank of America announced two plans this year to help reduce customers’ payments by as much as $11 billion and keep them in their homes, including Countrywide Financial Corp borrowers. In total, they will cover more than $120 billion in unpaid balances.
Countrywide, the mortgage lender acquired by Bank of America, agreed earlier this month to help about 400,000 customers facing foreclosure or having problems paying their loans as part of settlement with 11 states over fraud complaints.
Citigroup Inc. has modified loans to keep approximately four distressed borrowers in their homes for each completed foreclosure, the New York-based lender said today in a statement.
As a conservative I detest populism and class warfare.
That Dave guy sounds great. We sure would like to see and hear more from him, don’t ya think?
Dave the Sage
October 31, 2008 at 8:26 pm
He is a wonderful man. A bit of a reactionary, but lovable.
pg - your humble messenger
October 31, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Let us not mistake zealotry for reactionary. He may be a ‘true believer’ but he was born, bred and raised a conservative, Christian, and a champion of the little guy no matter what the cost and criticism. He only seeks the truth and everything else be damned. And he’s nice and polite to the opposition at the same time. What a remarkable, eccentric enigma.
Dave the Sage
October 31, 2008 at 8:38 pm
That ‘rest of the quote’ by JPMorgan was amazingly underwhelming. What a hedged statement. It sounded like what a politician would say to save face to a reporter. Just like Barack, it’s one thing in public and one thing (reread my post) in relative private. It’s all the same and we’ve seen it all before. Deeds, not words, will matter in the end.
As a conservative I detest exploitation and greed. As an American I detest the taxpayer having to bailout Big Business and incompetence. The auto makers are probably next, and New Jersey and New York are now asking for billions more in bailouts too. Sure, why not, the taxpayer won’t mind. Both Republicans and Democrats spend like drunken sailors. It’s amazing and nearly incomprehensible. I hope I am wrong and it makes a world of difference and really, truly helps the little guy. We’ll see. I hope I eat crow, I really do (but I won’t).
Dave the Sage
October 31, 2008 at 10:19 pm
You Have A Great Blog Keep Up The Good Work ..Cheers
pennyb22
November 1, 2008 at 2:34 am
I agree, why dont you guys have your own domain and blog?
Bill Wade
November 1, 2008 at 2:50 am
The despotic powers that be are supposedly working on getting a domain for the site. I guess they think teaching, working and taking care of their families are more important.
pg - your humble messenger
November 1, 2008 at 10:23 am
David you make accusations about greed and exploitation. You have never offered evidence. I have made a number of detailed posts about the situation outlining the specifics of it. I backed my observations up with facts. You proffer platitudes.
You setup an us against them situation. That is not the case all your accusations aside. One does not have to be a conservative to detest exploitation and greed. Even Liberals do that. You just can not be a conservative and a populist.
There is no big guy and little guy, there is us. To play devils advocate – Who paid 90% of the taxes that are going towards ‘the bailout’? The wealthy evil business men and evil big business is who.
Finally no one is profiting from this. Vast amounts of wealth have been lost. Our financial industry followed the forced lead of government down this path. Which for some reason you what to call collusion.
There are down turns in markets, just as there are in an individual’s financial life. You want a scapegoat? Fine Sage, try this shoe on – What if I do not have a mortgage. Why should I care about the one you should not have signed when you used a type of financing that was above the level of risk you could handle so you could buy more house than you could afford, and you knew it? What if it would profit me greatly if people like you lost homes and I used my capital to buy them up so I could resell them back to you at a large profit when the market turned around? What if I did not want my tax dollars going to prop up financial institutions so they could help out the ‘little guys’ who greedily exploited the system to get more house than they should have? Why should I bail you out when you colluded with the banks and the government to buy your house backed by my full faith and credit?
I believe in limited government and a fiscally conservative approach. This country has never practiced those principles, ever. For you to stomp your foot and demand that is done because there is crisis you do not understand, and due to that lack of understanding believe that somebody is getting away with something is reactionary. It is terrible unrealistic also. You are not alone though. You have plenty of company.
pg - your humble messenger
November 1, 2008 at 10:24 am
The Sage made a plea with E the wise to snag a particular domain name while it was still available. His request was pooh-poohed and tabled until the formal meeting of the Grand Triune at the next Conclub Conclave which will be shortly occur on the day before Thanksgiving. At that time it will be thoroughly vented and debated.
The Sage will throw a temper tantrum of unparalleled dimensions, while hurling wild accusations and scurrilous attacks on everyone in the general vicinity, if he doesn’t get his way on this one.
The Sage will also take the time and opportunity to force feed The Scribe two overflowing buckets of Halloween candy for daring to criticize the Sage’s explanation on trick or treating. That is, unless the Scribe is picking up the tab at which time his post and viewpoint will be labeled as a respectable and well thought out opinion concerning the changing cultural traditions of the day that is obviously worthy of much praise and admiration.
Dave the Sage
November 1, 2008 at 11:35 pm
I’ve got lots of company, from Gingrich to Malkin to Buchanan and many, many others. There is something very unsettling about watching the government ‘bailing out’ private business to the toon of hundreds of billions of dollars due to the failings, greed, and mistakes of others. When a truly severe crisis hits (it is coming but not here yet), everyone from state governments to car makers to airlines and all the rest will be clamoring for a taxpayer handout and bailout. We the taxpayers are already responsible for close to a trillion dollars in potential bad debt from this latest panic, and I am the reactionary? Good grief. At worst, I am just a soft, comfortable and quiet voice of caution as the herd stampedes in a clous of panic, bad decisions, poor policy, unwise choices and financial greed by nearly everyone involved.
In the very end handing over the reigns of free enterprise to the bloated and ever power hungry government is extreme folly in the long run (even though it looks good in the short run) and will contribute to the continued concentration of power in the hands of government. As we continue to cheerlead the blurring of the lines between the private and public sector the rush of the lemmings off the cliff seems prudent, popular and worthy of praise. But the implications of such policies remain to be seen and are probably detrimental in the long run. Time will tell, but there is the distinctive and probable development of Pandora’s box being opened in melee.
We had some friends over this evening and, with some prodding, I outlined my insights into the coming serious economic crisis (between 2015 and 2017 mark my words) and the results, main centers of concentration, the likelihood of seriousness in our locality and the long term effects in regards to concentration of government power and influence with rare eloquence and passion. We should havee had some ‘tape’ rolling. For some twenty minutes I was in rare form, eloquent and utterly convincing. I love it when you truly acheive a ‘moment of clarity’ and just cut through the b.s. while getting to the core and the truth of things. Tonight we managed to get to that point and it was well worth it.
By the way PGW, if you’ve read up on this crisis, greed is the one underlying factor that pervaded the entire massive and collective borrowing and lending far beyond their means philosophy and practices by the banks and mortgage companies who created this crisis. Proof? Pick up any newspaper and it’s all over the financial section from screaming headlines to last paragraph print. Everyone with so much as a hint of financial understanding is appalled at the absolutely pathetic lending and borrowing policies of those now clamoring for a bailout or threatened with financial ruin due to their own shorsightedness or misguided practices.
Understand it? Unfortunately, I understand it all too well.
Dave the Sage
November 1, 2008 at 11:46 pm
I continue to read about it Dave, I already wrote about it in detail. I cited sources and walked the reader through what happened. I showed where the lending practices originated and how they undermined things. I guess you were to busy reading Malkin to care about was really happening. Seriously – before you condescend try writing a thoughtful piece on it. There are many details you lack. (When you do decide to read more on this subject read more on what Gingrich said. I know people like Malkin and that racist Buchannan agree with you. They are populists Dave. That you read them is telling.)
I presented my grasp of the situation for all to see and comment on here. You throw out platitudes. You insult me by your ignorance of what I wrote. I did not celebrate the blurring of public and private. You make a fool of yourself when you pontificate on it to me. You certainly do not owe me the courtesy of reading what I write. You do run the risk of looking like an ass by commenting on it without reading it. You continually throw out statements of generality on a particular problem or subject thinking your readers impressed. My experience is you generally miss the mark. You have done this here. So pardon me if I question the validity of your epiphany last night.
BTW – I asked a number of specific questions. They weren’t rhetorical. You didn’t answer. Why should I want to bail you out? I mean I am a free market capitalist. Why not have the banks go under and you out on the street too?
OH yeah, all this “GREED!” talk reminds me of William Jennings Bryan. He was a Democrat and a Progressive. Read up on him because he was also a populist, protectionist, trust-buster, anti big business, fundamentalist (old school Princeton Theological Seminary one), Evangelical, socially conservative Christian. He had some ideas on immigration and he…, well you get the idea.
Your prophesy of doom was fine David. It just had nothing to do with what I was talking about. It was your continual unsupported protestations of greed and collusion that I was addressing. I asked for some evidence and I got more populist doom rhetoric. That this crisis may get worse, there might be another coming, or the rest is fine. It is just not what I was talking about. You keep acting as if I just love this situation, I don’t.
I think most would agree the conservative movement and the Republican Party are going through changes. Please do not assume I acknowledge your credentials unquestionably. There is a battle going on in the nation over this. There is far less commonality within these groups than most people think. Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoy it, the exchange. Well not the responses that show the lack of courtesy of reading what you are commenting on.
Finally I am going to make a declaration! This is the last time respond to comments that show the commentator did not read what I said and just threw out ideological slogans or set up strawmen that are diametrically opposed to what I advocating. Tit for tat! It is impossible to have a discussion with an ideologue. These things always devolve into you decrying the fact that I am accusing you of being something untoward. That is not what I am doing.
pg - your humble messenger
November 2, 2008 at 1:51 pm
I don’t know, I thought my comment was pretty good. (: Not to mention thoughtful. It is important to look at such developments from many different viewpoints including whether empowering an already far too powerful government while rewarding ineptitude and poor business practices with taxpayer bailouts. It is interesting that PGW thinks I am incapable of reading his comments or posts or whatever. I step back and address serious questions in a philosophical and objectional way at times. I am sorry if that seems to cause difficulty for our resident cranky one.
Dave the Sage
November 2, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I am also often addressing the post itself or the overall subject matter, not always the specifics of the comment that appears right before mine it that makes things clearer for PGW. And I don’t buy it for one second that we’d all be out in the streets and the banks all closed if the government didn’t decide to throw $700 billion at the banks. In their own eyes, this just gives them some good liquidity to buy up some other banks. Thank goodness for the bailout, what was I thinking?
Dave the Sage
November 2, 2008 at 6:50 pm
(When you do decide to read more on this subject read more on what Gingrich said. I know people like Malkin and that racist Buchannan agree with you. They are populists Dave. That you read them is telling.)
That at least made me smile tonight. Let’s just say that there are more than a couple Conclub bloggers who were ‘peasants with a pitchfork’ back in the day. And I kind of grudgingly admire Malin. Just because ‘they’ agree with me on something doesn’t mean we agree on everything. Gingrich has some moral isues, I disagree vehemently with Buchanan on Israel, and Malkin, well, she gets a bit excited at times. But I have a bit of love in my heart for them all. You love your family in spite of their faults I guess.
Dave the Sage
November 2, 2008 at 10:11 pm
Who knows, maybe I might even would have “reluctantly and sadly” supported the $700 billion Wall Street bailout bill as well if I were in office. It’s hard to say and I might be persuaded. I have qualified my opposition to it on occasion. My suspicion of it is based more on conservative principles and ideology than specifics of this, one, particular bill.
It’s like every frickin’ tax I vote against on the ballot. Each one is ‘desperately needed’ and somehow vital for the survival of the Republic or some poor, marginalized group is going to starve if I don’t support it or all the bridges are going to collapse tomorrow etc. etc….
But I vote against them anyway. Every single one. That, my contrarian friends, is voting principle.
Dave the Sage
November 2, 2008 at 10:17 pm