$700 Billion Bailout Bill

[Towntalk]

Senate Bailout bill clears Senate - - - Yea 74 --- Nay 25.

Both Obama and McCain votes YEA.

[Towntalk]

Just received my copy of the Bailout Bill theSenate will be voting on today. Its gone from 110 pages to nearly 500.

http://banking.senate.gov/public/_files/latestversionAYO08C32_xml.pdf

It has some good features in it such as an increase in the amount that FDIC will insure your bank account for.

QUICK BREAKDOWN OF BILL

Starting at page 1 – Bailout Provisions

Starting at page 113 Division B – ENERGY IMPROVEMENT AND EXTENSION ACT OF 2008

Starting at page 261 Division C – TAX EXTENDERS AND ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX RELIEF

Starting at page 310 – Mental Health and Addiction

Starting at page 344 – Other Provisions

Starting at page 352 – Federal Lands

Starting at page 387 – Funds For Counties

Starting at page 390 – Miscellaneous Provisions

Starting at page 394 – Disaster Relief

Starting at page 442 – Spending Reductions

[AllanY2525]

OK, I am going to risk a little (maybe a lot??) of ridicule and dissent by opening my big mouth
and expressing some of my own view and feelings about this whole debacle:

The banks (ie mortgage lenders) got THEMSELVES into this mess when, during the housing market boom,
they made TONS of bad [ie: Sub-prime] loans to people who should never have qualified for them in the
first place - either it was because they lacked sufficient good credit, or because they did not have the
income necessary to afford the payments, when many of their adjustable rate mortgages shot up to
sky-high levels after the so-called "introductory period" expired.  The apple looked great while it was
ripe on the tree, but now it is laying on the ground and getting rotten.

I bought my home 12 years ago, for $164,900.00.  In the twelve years that I have owned it, I have
seen the market price for houses in my neighborhood go from that range into the $500,000.00
PLUS zone !  Now, home prices in my neighborhood have lost over $125,000.00 to $150,000.00 - all
in less than two years.

Why should  WE, the taxpayers, be forced to have our tax dollars used to bail out (ie: reward and rescue)
bad decisions made by GREEDY lending institutions - who were so eager to originate these mortgages and
make some money, that they literally shot themselves in BOTH feet with a double barreled shot gun?  I
suspect that there were plenty of loan brokers out there that COOKED the numbers on many of the loan
applications due to their own GREED for that commission they made on the closing of those bad loan deals.
They reaped the PROFITS when times were good, and now they should reap the WHIRLWIND that they,
THEMSELVES created. 

Everyone is talking about using OUR dearly-paid tax dollars to bail these banks and lenders out for their
own greedy and foolish mistakes,  but no one seems to be talking about  alternative measures that could be taken
to quell the rapidly escalating rate of foreclosures all over the country and the resulting HAVOC that they
are wreaking on our economy. 

Why on God's green earth aren't the lending institutions and the government working together to
allow ALL home owners to RE-NEGOTIATE the terms of their [now SKY HIGH] interest rate mortgages,
thereby allowing them to KEEP their homes, at a LOWER, MORE AFFORDABLE monthly payment??
Given the current economic climate, this should be an all-out, NATIONAL CAMPAIGN.  There was a
program in my area called "NACA" (see: https://www.naca.com) that is helping victims of the
sub-prime crisis.  The website states that this is a non-profit group.

I have heard scattered stories here and there of banks who are voluntarily working to help their
customers in this fashion, but right now this is the exception, NOT the rule.  I have a mortgage
on my home at a rate of 6.675%, which is costing me  about $1,200.00 per month.  At a reduced rate
of 5.75 percent, my payment would go down by about $250 to $300 a month.  That would be
equivalent to getting a raise in my annual income of up to $3,600.00 - WHOA! Talk about
"economic stimulus" - what could YOU do with an extra $3,600 dollars a year, for the LIFE of
your fixed-rate mortgage (ie: up to THIRTY YEARS for some folks).  I have been forced to
rent three of the four bedrooms in my house, so that I can continue to make my mortgage
payments until my business picks up.  I am hoping that the lease agreements resulting
from the room rentals will provide sufficient, DOCUMENTABLE income to persuade the
banks to re-finance my home loan.

I have a STERLING credit rating and have paid off over TWELVE mortgages in the last ten years,
and I have NEVER had even ONE late payment on any of them - and yet the banks here are unwilling
to help me by allowing me to re-finance at a better rate and live a little easier from month to month. 

The so-called "Economic stimulus" package from our current legislators and the Bush
administration has been a DISMAL failure - and it was a temporary (ie: ONE TIME)
measure.  Lowering the interest rates for all home owners would be a lasting, LONG
term measure to help stimulate the economy and restore stability to it. 

By allowing businesses to re-negotiate the terms of their current, open loans it would make
it possible for them to increase their rate of investment and lower their operating costs,
thereby stimulating our ailing economy even FURTHER, on a LASTING basis.  This could
also help preserve JOBS for working Americans by reducing down-sizing and layoffs that
are inevitably coming if things continue to get worse.  Charging businesses high interest
rates on loans only encourages them to out-source jobs to other countries in order to
lower the cost of doing business - and people in INDIA do NOT pay taxes in this country !

By avoiding the defaults on home mortgages and keeping the home owners as customers in
GOOD standing, the banks could take a ONE TIME LOSS on their balance sheets, write it off,
take their medicine for their predatory lending practices, and then MOVE ON.  It would almost
certainly help to restore a modicum of consumer confidence in our financial institutions and ease
the turmoil on Wall Street and around the world.  We live in the age of the global economy and
our financial woes are already affecting markets all over the planet - it's a vicious cycle that will only
affect our own economy even further as things continue to deteriorate.

Are the lenders SO greedy that they would rather foreclose on these homes, RUIN the credit of the
homeowners involved for YEARS to come, and ultimately deprive themselves not only of the monthly
returns from the mortgage payments, but - even WORSE - incur huge losses on themselves by going
through with all of these foreclosures ??  What happens when consumers become so fearful of
impending bank failures that they decide to "make a run" on the banks, EN-MASSE ?  It could be
the beginning of the great depression of the twenty first century, folks - make NO mistake.

If the lenders would lower their interest rates to something REASONABLE, it would be a win-win
situation.  Home owners would be able to keep their homes and save their credit ratings from the
toilet, while keeping more of their hard-earned dollars every month/  The banks and lenders would
ultimately SAVE money in the long term by averting these foreclosures.  If their profits are reduced
by the lower rates, then tough SH*T !  They got what they had coming to them.  Instead of asking
the taxpayers to bail them out, they should be doing everything in their power to help clean up
the mess they've made for themselves, and for US.

Another thing that really doesn't help is the skyrocketing cost of CLOSING a loan in recent years.
Banks and settlement companies charge INSANE fees to go to settlement of a loan these days.
Many of these so-called "fees" are totally unnecessary and could be waived.  I had one loan
broker tell me that it would cost me FOUR THOUSAND dollars to re-finance my house - unbelievable.
I wasn't even asking to take any additional cash out at closing.  In the past, I've closed on loan
deals for as little as $500.00. 

The actual cost of filing the new title, deed stuff, etc is (in reality) only a few hundred dollars.
The rest of it is just financial "boiler-plate" that is tacked by the banks and brokers, on so that
someone gets a nice, FAT chunk of change for doing the deal.  Kind of like the practice of
"earmarking" that is running rampant on Capital Hill these days.

The Fed should lower the prime rate, to make things easier on the banks, and - ultimately -consumers
of loan products.  If our government is going to enter the business of finance and lending markets, then
it should FORCE the banks and lenders to bend over BACKWARDS to help these folks keep their homes,
get them BETTER and more affordable terms on their mortgage loans, and STOP the bleeding !  I don't
care if the Fed has to drop the prime rate all the way down to ZERO in the short term, it WOULD help
the economy and loosen our financial markets a bit.  Once things begin to get better, they Fed can always
raise the rates again.

Allowing our government to become so intertwined with the commercial banking and finances of
our country is basically violating the very tenants of our capitalist society.  It is also a BIG step
towards becoming a socialist form of government.  In an era of RECORD national deficits and debts
to foreign powers (like CHINA) the LAST thing our government needs to do is spend nearly ONE
TRILLION dollars on the stupidity and greed of the banks and lenders - monies that WE, the
TAX payers, will be forced to FORK OVER.

Politically, I consider myself an independent - and I blame BOTH political parties for allowing this whole
situation to deteriorate to the point where our economy is LITERALLY circling the proverbial DRAIN.
If this bailout goes through,  our government had better take a LONG, HARD look at some major
changes in the regulation of  lending practices in this country so that we NEVER get into this type
of situation again.

I welcome opposing views to anything and everything I have written in this posting, but PLEASE,
no personal attacks.  I do not claim to be a financial or economic expert, but I am a seasoned
veteran of the consumer loan industry, trust me.

That's my two cents worth - plus 6.675 percent interest and closing costs, of course.

[Towntalk]

The word out is that when Congress comes back Thursday that the following actions will take place:

[1] The Senate will bring their version of the Bailout bill to the floor.

[2] The House Committees of jurisdiction will meet to revise the House version adding provisions that the Republicans want, and there will be a re-vote.

[3] If the two versions pass, the two bills will go to Conference where the two sides will hammer out a final version, and this version will  come back to both houses for a vote.

[4] If the final version passes both houses the bill will go to the White House.

[5] Given the circumstances, the bill should reach the President's desk next Friday assuming that there is no holdup in Congress.

[Mary]

Taxpayers will be standing the in bread lines if something isn't done right now not weeks from now. Credit markets are already starting to freeze. Its just going to get worse with no plan of action.

[ytowner]

[R] Phil English of W.PA Voted Nay on this one.

I am happy this bill got shot down. We need a bill that benefits the taxpayers and Wall Street, not just Wall Street. Taxpayers were bearing the brunt of other's wrongdoings.

[Towntalk]

The House website is overwhelmed with traffic so here is how our Congressmen voted.

$700 Billion Bailout Bill

Charlie Wilson [YES]
Tim Ryan [YES]

TOTALS

YES
205

NO
228

Democrats

Yes [140]
No [95]

Republicans

Yes [65]
No [133]

Not Voting [1]