Sigh.... The taxpayer just can't win.

Discussion in 'Politics Discussion' started by User911, Apr 18, 2015.

  1. User911

    User911 Well-Known Member

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    http://www.foxbusiness.com/industri...ie-restart-risky-affordable-housing-programs/ Granted, the loans sound marginally better than what was responsible for the financial meltdown back in 2008. However, there sounds like a fair amount of room of wheeling and dealing to be beneficial for a few, with any risk to be absorbed by the taxpayer.....

    There is so much corruption in our government, I just can't even keep up with it all. Sigh... I don't hold out a lot of hope for America. It is getting assaulted on so many levels; everybody trying to get their own piece with no thought to average American taxpayer citizens. In fact, the ONLY voice that American taxpayers have is their vote. Other than that, people in power positions don't want to hear even a whisper from citizens. They think we're all stupid and gullible.
     
  2. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    Ok so I did a quick check and noticed that Fannie Mae is actually a publicly traded company. Same for Freddie. So basically, the government is throwing tax payer money into companies that it doesn't even own. (does it at least own the majority of the shares?) That is just, once again, pointless merging of the private sector and the government. If it's the job of the government, then let the government own these financial institutions. If it's purely about profit (in which case they would probably be handing out less riskier loans) then let it be 100% private.

    The whole arrangement makes very little sense to me.
     
  3. JR Ewing

    JR Ewing Super Moderator Staff Member

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    This is the same sort of thing that led to the crisis of '08.

    As long as government continues to stick their nose into these things in the name of "fairness", social justice, etc, this will happen over and over. And of course the loan originators who book a loan then sell it right away and don't have to worry about what happens down the road love it.

    I was a mortgage broker many years ago, and I can tell you that many people are just not cut out for home ownership. Some people, even if they do manage to get into a home somehow, will either lose it to a lender or the tax man, or will sometimes even ruin the home physically due to neglect or whatever.
     
  4. gracer

    gracer Senior Investor

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    I think it applies to most countries too. Here in my country, we also feel the unfairness and corruption done to taxpayers by our government. We pay taxes but almost none of them are used for the welfare of the citizens. Most of the hard-earned money we contribute go straight to the pockets of our 'respectable' government officials. It's really sickening. Talk about dirty politics.
     
  5. crimsonghost747

    crimsonghost747 Senior Investor

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    Agreed. Financial services and social security have to be separate from each other. You simply can't mix the two and give better deals to those individuals who can't get their shit together in the first place. It's just too damn risky and someone will have to pay for the financial loss resulting from trying to pamper these people.
     
  6. turt

    turt Guest

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    I always wonder if house buying is designed to get people trapped for life. If you're always struggling to pay for a house, you'll always work and have more than one job if necessary.

    It's also an easy way to get imaginary money into the system to get the economy going which will just be another repeat like what was already mentioned...
     
  7. queenbellevue

    queenbellevue Well-Known Member

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    Wow, that's pretty shocking that the government would do that. I guess Obama just doesn't care anymore now that his term's almost over
     
  8. gmckee1985

    gmckee1985 Senior Investor

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    I fully support the separation of state and free enterprise. Whenever the two get into bed with each other, bad things happen. It just breeds corruption and cronyism. It can have devastating effects on the economy as a whole as we saw in 2008. The marriage of big government and big business is always going to be a disaster. Unfortunately it's been an ongoing problem for quite some time. So it's going to be hard to get rid of completely.
     

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