Is anyone else disappointed in last night’s Presidents address? It may have been enough for folks who answer the pollsters that Democrats are better on Economic issues, but from what I can tell, it lacked essentials for the more fiscally astute.
I couldn’t bear to watch last night. But Glenn Beck was saying that W gripped the podium very tightly, indicating that he may have been struggling to conceal the full extent of the crisis.
As serious as this is, I would think that his words were the most carefully chosen of his entire Presidency. A misstatement could have meant disaster.
I thought he kept it simple, informative, and purposefully vague.
You are right! It definitely was not for the fiscally astute.
Funny you should say that. There were a few sentences Bush said during his address that made if much more clear to me. Suddenly I understood the dilemma quite clearly and, in fact, came up with a scenario of my own which differs from thatg presented by Bush.
When Bush said that only the Federal Government is "patient" enough to sit and wait for these assets to grow in value as they surely will once the housing market settles down. I paraphrase but I do think I heard the word "patient".
Then it made sense. Just because a buyer couldn't meet a $3,000 a month mortgage doesn't mean the property purchased is worth nothing. Suppose that buyer was short the monthly payment by only about $500 a month?
Small banks and the big investment firms with those handsome bundles of joy stocked full of subprime loans simply couldn't sit and wait for this to settle. They've got too much of these things on their books, the pipeline's clogged.
But the federal government can purchase these mortgages, ostensibly foreclose as appropriate, then sell the property and could, indeed make money from it.
In principle this makes sense but the idea is so absurd. The federal gubmint as big mortgagor? My mind boggles.
Still and so, it's not a bad idea. We have a bunch of assets that no one knows what they're worth but common sense is that a half million house did not suddenly become worth ten thousand bucks with what is essentially a small downturn in housing.
I say that instead of all those dire things Bush predicted that some foreign nation, maybe Saudi Arabia, maybe a consortium of countries...Russia, Syria, Iraq...like that...I say someone like this would buy up those mortgages in a minute. This way our enemy would be right here, in America, in the neighborhoods, infused in our economy. These foreign nations would have "patience" as well.
I suspect that Bush is as concerned about this eventuality as all that he said outright but this assumes my above scenario is right and hey, it's just speculation.