Posted on 07/12/2008 5:43:39 AM PDT by Need4Truth
$376 Billion in Chinese Agency Bond Holdings Subject to Taxpayer Bailout Proposals According to FreedomWorks Analysts
WASHINGTON, Jul 11, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- As politicians call for taxpayer bailouts and a government takeover of troubled mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, FreedomWorks would like to point out that a bailout is a transfer of possibly hundreds of billions of U.S. tax dollars to sophisticated investors and governments overseas.
The top five foreign holders of Freddie and Fannie long-term debt are China, Japan, the Cayman Islands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. In total foreign investors hold over $1.3 trillion in these agency bonds, according to the U.S. Treasury's most recent "Report on Foreign Portfolio Holdings of U.S. Securities."
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Sure it is. There is a mechanism built in to "throw the bums out." It's called "elections".
It's been a long, long time since most of these jokers, Republican or Democrat, have worked for the people who pay taxes so they can pick up a paycheck. On the contrary, they work for themselves and their buddies that kick back campaign funds and who knows what else to them from the taxpayer $ received that their buddies vote for them.
There's no other explanation for someone spending a million+ bucks to get elected to a 2-yr. term with a salary of apprx. $ 330,000. That's the base salary, but the good part is these guys think they are entitled to anything they're able to steal above that. As long as their constituents keep electing them, they're right.
ping
Sounds like Bush wasn't paying attention either.
The Chinese are coming! The Chinese are coming!
Or they could want the yeild
The Chi-Coms may be tempted to simply go ahead and seize about $400 billion of American useful idiots’ investments in Red China. Why wait any longer? This is a good excuse from their perspective.
>Who manages the financial services regulatory agencies and answer to the President? Barney Frank and Ron Paul.<
Are you a comedian?
You’ll have to explain how China’s financial loss is harmful to the US for me to agree with you re .....economic sabotage.
The problem could be that wall of bonuses Ms Gorelick built when she had a top job at Fannie Mae. Maybe it blocked good management? Hid the shenanigans from honest people?
<< “The Chi-Coms may be tempted to simply go ahead and seize about $400 billion of American useful idiots investments in Red China” >>
good point.
The marvel of a market economy is that it is win-win. The downside is that it also happens to be lose-lose. Defaulting on those debt obligations will mean loss of investor and borrower confidence and failure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. What this means for the real estate market in the U.S. is a massive collapse which will be felt even a decade from now. Wiping out 370 billion of Chinese loans may warm the cockles of some hearts, it also means wiping out ten times as much in American homeowner equity.
To translate what this means for the individual homeowner, is that millions of Americans will suddenly find themselves owing much more money than their homes are worth. A textbook case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Not to mention that while China is the largest owner of U.S. debt, it is still a fraction of the total amount. I doubt Japan, Belgium, or private investor money funneled in from the Cayman islands are going to be any happier.
>To translate what this means for the individual homeowner, is that millions of Americans will suddenly find themselves owing much more money than their homes are worth. A textbook case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.<
I disagree with you on this point. I think homes were much overvalued prior to this mess and they are now coming down to their actual worth. Just because you paid too much for your home shouldn’t be your neighbors problem.
But buy them they did. I don’t think you will get many sympathetic ears from millions of American families who find themselves 200,000 in debt on 100,000 worth of equity. Not only is all that equity gone, but even what remains will be near impossible to sell without Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac providing loans. What this means is that people will have a hard time raising liquid capital from sunk and frozen assets.
In any case, I was pointing out how the torpedoing of the American real estate market by defaulting on loans to foreign countries is hardly such a great idea.
Defaulting on loans is never a good idea if you wish to maintain the respect of others. I don’t think our legislators give a damn about our national reputation anymore.
Well if Kervorkian gets elected to Congress, we'll really have "Term Limits" in Washington DC.
Just because you paid too much for your home shouldnt be your neighbors problem.
Yeah, but it kinda is...
Indeed- it’s a mess. But a layered mess, and each layer is gooier and sticker than the previous. The first layer prompts me to say- let the Macs and Maes fall under their own weight- that was built on junk food fat of people ill-equipped to purchase a house. But if Freddie and Fannie fall- who will pay? If we bail em out, who will pay? Then the layer of foreign investors...makes it a little stickier...and other layers I don’t even know much less understand.
A MESS.
Only if he’s buying or looking for an equity loan.
...or if he abandons the house or if the price of real estate drops to the point where very low income or section 8 folks come in...
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