This is why its good to have a thriving economy.
Disappearing Middle Class: Bilingual Ph.D. Accepts Rent Money From Church
Disappearing Middle Class: Bilingual Ph.D. Accepts Rent Money From Church
Jobs Bill
- Thread starter domtoni
- Start date
Read this and let me know if you are as pissed as I am...all this for the guys that drove the market to the brink of depression.
Pay czar: 17 bailed-out banks overpaid bonuses - Business - U.S. business - msnbc.com
Garry
Pay czar: 17 bailed-out banks overpaid bonuses - Business - U.S. business - msnbc.com
Garry
Stories like the one above don't paint the whole picture. It is not the economy's fault she can't find a job; I bet there is more the the story. Unfortunately she makes some bad decisions:
"She left her stable situation to take a chance on a new program she believed in, but the program folded due to budget cuts less than two years later in January 2009, right in the middle of the recession."
"Ortiz lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the unemployment rate is currently the highest in the country."
"...running through all $15,000 of her savings, exhausting all 99 weeks of unemployment benefits and eventually having to draw from Social Security and accept financial aid from her local church congregation to help pay the rent. Monday morning, on her 63rd birthday..."
She doesn't come across as too smart. Only 15K in savings at age 63, renting, giving up a career for a riskier job with no safety net, living in Vegas....sounds like she is a gambler to me.
By the way, I have a relative that just found a job on his third interview - everyone I know is employed - one recently got a raise.
Garry,
Yup. It's sick, really. Bonuses and excessive pay at companies that are only still around because tax payers bailed them out.....shocking. The compensation committees of these companies justify it by saying "but these are highly skilled and sought-after people, we have to give them such compensation otherwise they'll go else where!" Well, hello, these are the same people that drove the company into the ground in the first place - they should be leaving, the sooner the better!
Exec comp at public companies is way, way out of control. The bulk of the compensation is stock option compensation and the execs justify it by saying it's "performance pay." In other words, we're entitled to the stock compensation because the stock went up because of our efforts. That's BS in many situations because the truth of the matter is that these same companies (under the direction of these execs) are constantly manipulating the grant dates and strike prices to coincide with points when the market (and consequently the company stock price) is significantly down. In many cases the stock price rises because the market (and thus company stock price) inevitably surges periodically and then the execs are hugely in the money v. the strike price. Bottom line: stock price and the resulting huge pay days typically has very little, if anything, to do with executive "performance."
The Boards of Directors are no good at controlling this stuff either...why? Because guess what - the Board is comprised of CEO's of other companies, so, of course they like to see generous pay packages - it's just further psychological justification for their own package. Similarly, compensation committees are useless much of the time because the members are often these same Board members or, even worse, people from within the company who work FOR the people whose pay they are supposed to be reviewing!
It's a big sham and something needs to be done about it. We need some political leaders with some balls and some backbone.
Pat
Supporter
Look at what the government has done with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I don't think the government setting executive pay can ever work, there things always seems to end up politicized. (Hint, look at where the Fannie and Freddie execs that presided over the economic melt down came from and look at where they are today).
Having been on the comp committee at board level, the members there were first and foremost concerned about shareholder value as most were themselves shareholders. So I would caution lumping all public company comp in with the obscenities of Goldman, Merrill (or the NBA for that matter).
What needs to happen is greater shareholder outrage and action at the board level.
Having been on the comp committee at board level, the members there were first and foremost concerned about shareholder value as most were themselves shareholders. So I would caution lumping all public company comp in with the obscenities of Goldman, Merrill (or the NBA for that matter).
What needs to happen is greater shareholder outrage and action at the board level.
I think you would be surprised to find the high percentage of people in their 60s with considerably less than $15k saved for retirement. Americans are very much into instant gratification.
Is there anything in the massive 2000 + page consumer protection bill that just passed to regulate the main culprits of the meltdown, fannie & freddie? In 2003 Barney Frank said:
"I want to begin by saying that I am glad to consider the legislation, but I do not think we are facing any kind of a crisis. That is, in my view, the two government sponsored enterprises we are talking about here, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not in a crisis. We have recently had an accounting problem with Freddie Mac that has led to people being dismissed, as appears to be appropriate. I do not think at this point there is a problem with a threat to the Treasury."
This was when, if you were breathing and could sign your name, you could get a mortgage.
Frank and Dodd authored the new bill with no mention of freddie or fannie.
Pat
Supporter
Funny you should ask Al. Why on earth should the institution at ground zero of the financial crisis escape regulation? It turns out that when the housing finance melt down occurred, Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae were run by one Franklin Raines (Democrat Congressman), Barney Frank (Democrat Congressman) and Jamie Gerlach (Democrat Congressman). By the way, Gerlach & Raines are currently serving as Obama’s Finance Advisor’s. Also guess what, Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae funneled millions of dollars to re-election campaigns of numerous Senators & Congressmen. In fact, the 2nd highest recipient of these funds was Barack Obama who received $8 million over the past 4 years. Gerlach was the highest recipient and both Raines & Frank were among the top 10 recipients. 75% of recipients were Democrats. Why do you think Democrats aren’t calling for an investigation like they did with World Com (who’s CEO happened to have Republican ties)? You may also wonder how a quasi-government agency like Fannie/Freddie makes political contributions-but that's a story for a different day.
The government (both parties) wanted to court lower income potential homeowners so the Carter administration created the Community Reinvestment Act. Under Clinton (and later Bush), common sense lending practices such as verification of income and requiring proof of I.D. were deemed to create disparate impact on lower income and minority individuals. So under the auspices of the Community Reinvestment Act, Banks were aggressively encouraged to make these loans but were assured by Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae would purchase the loans from them. (What a deal!!! Lending with no risk!!!!!) Then greed took over. Mortgage lenders responded by charging fees to package weak loans that no longer bore the originating institutional risk of default since the government would fund them and indemnify any potential loss. Brokers repackaged the loans to generate fees and greedy investors trying to generate returns depressed by the prevailing low Fed, T-Bill and Bond rates gobbled these “at risk” portfolios up. Demand and prices soared to inflated prices, as everyone wanted to cash in on the booming Millennium housing investment market. Wave two saw massive home equity refinancing on ghost equity as boats, motor homes, big screen TVs jumped off the shelves. Home loans were being made a 110-120% of value because the real estate inflation was sure to catch up to it and it was the time of “free money”. The Clintons were happy, the new Democratic Congress was happy and even new President Bush was happy. Then the clouds came. New loans weren’t being paid. Bank balance sheets started to crumble. In response,
the Bush Administration brought 12 proposals before Congress & the Senate over to reign in Freddie & Fannie. The Democrats filibustered and shut down the proposals each time led by Gerlach, Raines, Frank, Pelosi, Reid & Schumer.
In 2003, while the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, Frank opposed a Bush administration proposal, in response to accounting scandals, for transferring oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from Congress and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to a new agency that would be created within the Treasury Department. The proposal, supported by the head of Fannie Mae, reflected the administration's belief that Congress "neither has the tools, nor the stature" for adequate oversight. Frank stated, "These two entities...are not facing any kind of financial crisis.... The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.
In 2006, McCain brought his own proposal to reign in Freddie & Fannie. He was met with the same results as Bush. At that time, McCain predicted where he thought the situation with these two Companies would lead us. His prediction was unfortunately for the taxpayer-prophetic.
Somehow through all this, we remain bereft of mainstream media congressional scrutiny and apparently additional Fannie/Freddie regulations.
IMHO, it's time for a congressional turnover (both parties) term limits, true Fannie/Freddie external non-partisan oversight and overall smaller government. (Like health care, home financing, student lending, automotive manufacture, the governmental solutions tend to balkanize the population to create winners and losers and a genuine mess for everybody).
The government (both parties) wanted to court lower income potential homeowners so the Carter administration created the Community Reinvestment Act. Under Clinton (and later Bush), common sense lending practices such as verification of income and requiring proof of I.D. were deemed to create disparate impact on lower income and minority individuals. So under the auspices of the Community Reinvestment Act, Banks were aggressively encouraged to make these loans but were assured by Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae would purchase the loans from them. (What a deal!!! Lending with no risk!!!!!) Then greed took over. Mortgage lenders responded by charging fees to package weak loans that no longer bore the originating institutional risk of default since the government would fund them and indemnify any potential loss. Brokers repackaged the loans to generate fees and greedy investors trying to generate returns depressed by the prevailing low Fed, T-Bill and Bond rates gobbled these “at risk” portfolios up. Demand and prices soared to inflated prices, as everyone wanted to cash in on the booming Millennium housing investment market. Wave two saw massive home equity refinancing on ghost equity as boats, motor homes, big screen TVs jumped off the shelves. Home loans were being made a 110-120% of value because the real estate inflation was sure to catch up to it and it was the time of “free money”. The Clintons were happy, the new Democratic Congress was happy and even new President Bush was happy. Then the clouds came. New loans weren’t being paid. Bank balance sheets started to crumble. In response,
the Bush Administration brought 12 proposals before Congress & the Senate over to reign in Freddie & Fannie. The Democrats filibustered and shut down the proposals each time led by Gerlach, Raines, Frank, Pelosi, Reid & Schumer.
In 2003, while the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, Frank opposed a Bush administration proposal, in response to accounting scandals, for transferring oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from Congress and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to a new agency that would be created within the Treasury Department. The proposal, supported by the head of Fannie Mae, reflected the administration's belief that Congress "neither has the tools, nor the stature" for adequate oversight. Frank stated, "These two entities...are not facing any kind of financial crisis.... The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.
In 2006, McCain brought his own proposal to reign in Freddie & Fannie. He was met with the same results as Bush. At that time, McCain predicted where he thought the situation with these two Companies would lead us. His prediction was unfortunately for the taxpayer-prophetic.
Somehow through all this, we remain bereft of mainstream media congressional scrutiny and apparently additional Fannie/Freddie regulations.
IMHO, it's time for a congressional turnover (both parties) term limits, true Fannie/Freddie external non-partisan oversight and overall smaller government. (Like health care, home financing, student lending, automotive manufacture, the governmental solutions tend to balkanize the population to create winners and losers and a genuine mess for everybody).
That is a very sad fact.
In the past 10-15 years, average married youngsters (Grandchildren) have had to work at least two jobs to keep pace with housing inflation, cost of goods, etc. often relying on thier parents (the 60+ crowd) to assist them. In these days of instant gratification, it has been easy for them to dig themselves into a hole that good old Grandpa and Grandma have bailed them out of. So, it's not too surprising that upon reaching retirement age that there was only around $15K left!
The only way that I could retire somewhat comfortably was to work by ass off and eliminate ALL debt before I pulled the plug, and I consider myself very fortunate to be able to do so.
The only way that I could retire somewhat comfortably was to work by ass off and eliminate ALL debt before I pulled the plug, and I consider myself very fortunate to be able to do so.
I think you should give some money to the poor so as to equalize the level of poverty!
Obama 12 verse 24
I put this post up because I wanted to show what sort of mess we are in.
We have someone getting a Phd, can't get a job in education and now we find that education budgets are being cut because communities have over spent on pensions and wages. Taxes can't be raised because people don't have jobs, the government is not doing anything to put people back to work, pay their taxes and work down the deficit.
We have someone getting a Phd, can't get a job in education and now we find that education budgets are being cut because communities have over spent on pensions and wages. Taxes can't be raised because people don't have jobs, the government is not doing anything to put people back to work, pay their taxes and work down the deficit.
This article is about one person who seems to make a few key decision poorly. I don't see it as a good example.
WRT Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it has been shown in many cases that they were "threatened" by lenders to take many of the toxic mortgages that they previously would have turned down, lest the lenders cut them out completely and deal directly with other investors. Since both companies also have shareholders to answer to, the threat of losing significant market share as a result of lenders bypassing them (which did happen, they lost significant market share in 2006) was a major factor in what happened. Also, many mortgages were obtained through falsified documentation, which is also being investigated.
Fannie Subpoenas to Show $30B Bad Mortgages, Rosner Says - Bloomberg
Fannie, Freddie Get Tough With Banks - WSJ.com
Regardless, both companies, and the system they were built for, need to be rebuilt. If that means the end of either of them, or both, so be it.
Ian
Fannie Subpoenas to Show $30B Bad Mortgages, Rosner Says - Bloomberg
Fannie, Freddie Get Tough With Banks - WSJ.com
Regardless, both companies, and the system they were built for, need to be rebuilt. If that means the end of either of them, or both, so be it.
Ian
Pat
Supporter
It doesn't sound like the pressure was too onerous...
Jul. 21, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON AND ORANGE COUNTY -- -- A congressional investigation has found that Countrywide Financial Corp. made 173 preferential mortgage loans to employees of housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which purchased many of the company's loans.
The mortgages were made as part of Countrywide's VIP program, known informally as "Friends of Angelo" for former Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo R. Mozilo. The program offered discounted rates and other perks.
Previous investigations found that VIP loans were given to some influential Washington players, including Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and former Fannie Mae Chief Executive Franklin Raines.
Employees of Fannie Mae received 153 of the preferential mortgages, and Freddie Mac employees received 20, said California Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has been investigating the program.
Many of the loans came in 1998 as Countrywide was negotiating a discounted rate for the sale of its mortgages to Fannie Mae.
Issa revealed the large number of loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac employees in a letter Tuesday to the general counsel of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The agency, which said it would respond promptly to Issa's request for an investigation, regulates the government-sponsored enterprises, which were seized by federal officials in 2008.
Jul. 21, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON AND ORANGE COUNTY -- -- A congressional investigation has found that Countrywide Financial Corp. made 173 preferential mortgage loans to employees of housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which purchased many of the company's loans.
The mortgages were made as part of Countrywide's VIP program, known informally as "Friends of Angelo" for former Countrywide Chief Executive Angelo R. Mozilo. The program offered discounted rates and other perks.
Previous investigations found that VIP loans were given to some influential Washington players, including Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.) and former Fannie Mae Chief Executive Franklin Raines.
Employees of Fannie Mae received 153 of the preferential mortgages, and Freddie Mac employees received 20, said California Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista), the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has been investigating the program.
Many of the loans came in 1998 as Countrywide was negotiating a discounted rate for the sale of its mortgages to Fannie Mae.
Issa revealed the large number of loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac employees in a letter Tuesday to the general counsel of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The agency, which said it would respond promptly to Issa's request for an investigation, regulates the government-sponsored enterprises, which were seized by federal officials in 2008.
