tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post3866472305670554708..comments2023-10-31T03:18:26.963-07:00Comments on Great Guys Weblog: Did he realize what he said?Brethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-48973879964167503962009-07-29T11:07:06.995-07:002009-07-29T11:07:06.995-07:00Harry Eagar wrote: "Nobody made people write ...Harry Eagar wrote: "<i>Nobody made people write funny mortgages...</i>"<br /><br />Oh! I thought we were discussing "the people who engineered this mess".<br /><br />Countrywide did not engineer this mess. While it's true they were neither "forced" nor "made" to write the mortgages they did, that's irrelevant because they were certainly provided incentives and encouraged by the government and government sponsored entities to do so. That's why it's the government that's responsible for the mess. If they had stayed out of it, it wouldn't have happend.Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-42845489150160958632009-07-29T10:48:30.721-07:002009-07-29T10:48:30.721-07:00'Basically the marketing arm of Fannie Mae and...'Basically the marketing arm of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac' is close to meaningless. Nobody made people write funny mortgages, nor was there any compulsion to buy the strips in the secondary market.<br /><br />Anybody could open his daily newspaper -- I did -- and look at ads for no-doc jumbos and figure out that the paper was dicey. <br /><br />Sorry, it was a straight Wall Street robbery and everybody thought he was the robber. Most of them turned out to be mistaken about that.Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-17942416024450194972009-07-28T13:39:52.710-07:002009-07-28T13:39:52.710-07:00Countrywide was basically the marketing arm of Fan...Countrywide was basically the marketing arm of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both of which are essentially government entities.Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-9584484581081033882009-07-28T13:30:55.407-07:002009-07-28T13:30:55.407-07:00Countrywide was, in addition to Chris Dodd's p...Countrywide was, in addition to Chris Dodd's piggy bank, a mortgage company of questionable repute.<br /><br />The people who engineered this mess are still doing so while at the same time continuing to enrich themselves.<br /><br />Would I be surprised if Barney Frank was involved in Norway's investment policies? Not really.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-16550581415071744722009-07-28T12:15:36.680-07:002009-07-28T12:15:36.680-07:00erp, I have one word for you: Countrywide.
It was...erp, I have one word for you: Countrywide.<br /><br />It was the largest originator of funny loans, and since it was not a bank, it was not involved with the CRA.<br /><br />I understand that the people who engineered this mess are desperate to direct attention away from themselves, but it won't wash.<br /><br />And I await, with bated breath, an explanation of how Barney Frank forced investors in Norway to buy these crazy securities on the secondary market.Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-2040132321099478422009-07-27T13:57:05.976-07:002009-07-27T13:57:05.976-07:00Click here for a very detailed IBD article about h...Click <a href="http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=310173877357981&kw=cra" rel="nofollow">here</a> for a very detailed IBD article about how the CRA not only required banks to make bad loans, but threatened and intimidated reluctant banks into compliance.<br /><br />Incredible as it may seem, the same people, Emanuel, Dodge, Frank, who pushed the economy over the edge are still pushing the same policies yet according polls, 53% of the public think the economic collapse is Bush's fault.<br /><br />You really can't make up stuff like this.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-53653898670468953842009-07-27T12:56:32.283-07:002009-07-27T12:56:32.283-07:00Monopoly power? Anybody can start a rating agency....Monopoly power? Anybody can start a rating agency. <br /><br />It was a market failure. To say that the government encouraged home ownership is what's irrelevant. The government did not require anybody to make funny loans. It wasn't the CRA.<br /><br />Next thing I hear, you'll be blaming the central banks on the dot.com bubble.<br /><br />Bubbles are always (so far as I know economic history) market driven. How could they be otherwise?Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-91077803561003859952009-07-26T18:21:27.008-07:002009-07-26T18:21:27.008-07:00Central banks created incentives for credit defaul...<i>Central banks created incentives for credit default swaps without any underlying assets?</i><br /><br />The "underlying asset" issue matters in an insurance style regulatory scheme but is irrelevant in a equally viable option clearing house structure. The whole matter of credit default swaps is quite small compared to other Wall St. misconduct which was considerable. All of that is swamped in significance by matters covered <a href="http://scottgrannis.blogspot.com/2009/07/housing-bubble-government-failure-not.html" rel="nofollow">here</a> and the article referenced therein.<br /><br />Ask yourself why there was such a huge housing bubble and why is there such a ridiculously high default rate on the actual mortgages which underlie many mortgage backed securities?Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14980738175201874292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-11879697421184630152009-07-26T11:46:24.737-07:002009-07-26T11:46:24.737-07:00It's starved of funds for the same reason that...It's starved of funds for the same reason that every community has better tennis courts than prisons. People vote taxes to benefit themselves.Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-40748383977540655582009-07-25T12:32:35.941-07:002009-07-25T12:32:35.941-07:00Harry, This statement surprises. The reason publi...Harry, This statement surprises. <i>The reason public housing in Honolulu is so lousy is that it is starved of funds.</i><br /><br />We all know why private housing for the poor, owned by greedy landlords, is lousy, but public housing? Surely the generous citizens are paying their taxes so public housing can be funded. Could it be that greedy public officials are channeling funds into their own pockets instead of providing services for the downtrodden? <br /><br />Nah. It was Reagan's fault.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-78873120944667675052009-07-25T11:56:58.875-07:002009-07-25T11:56:58.875-07:00Bret, yeah, there aren't any private slumlords...Bret, yeah, there aren't any private slumlords in Honolulu.<br /><br />The reason public housing in Honolulu is so lousy is that it is starved of funds.Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-60398512113888319842009-07-25T11:53:21.819-07:002009-07-25T11:53:21.819-07:00Central banks created incentives for credit defaul...Central banks created incentives for credit default swaps without any underlying assets?<br /><br />Do tell how.Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-11874009977381056322009-07-24T14:20:06.424-07:002009-07-24T14:20:06.424-07:00Yes. In addition we know how well public managemen...Yes. In addition we know how well <a href="http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090722/NEWS01/907220343/Oceanic%20may%20cut%20TV%20service%20at%20Kuhio%20Park%20Terrace%20over%20assaults" rel="nofollow">public management of resources</a> works.Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-76379480433131061272009-07-24T13:59:59.367-07:002009-07-24T13:59:59.367-07:00Central bankers and other government policy makers...Central bankers and other government policy makers create perverse incentives and I should be surprised that markets deliver a perverse result? Tell me why??Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14980738175201874292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-73090042858977633662009-07-24T13:55:02.556-07:002009-07-24T13:55:02.556-07:00Yeah, letting the market assess risk is WAAAAY bet...Yeah, letting the market assess risk is WAAAAY better. Everybody knows that!Harry Eagarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04196202758858876402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-20375279119798695372009-07-23T21:55:18.966-07:002009-07-23T21:55:18.966-07:00They no doubt think that somehow they have complet...They no doubt think that somehow they have complete information now.Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.com