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BlogWatch: The Mortgage Bailout, Deficits &...Get Email Alerts
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By bhallowell on September 16th, 2008
It would be impossible to commence this edition of the Facing Up BlogWatch without mentioning Public Agenda's insanely immensely useful "Voter's Survival Kit" -- a complete, nonpartisan guide to the major issues surrounding the 2008 presidential campaign: the economy, Iraq, health care, taxes and spending, immigration and climate change. Now, let's get into this week's recap. Last week, Public Agenda's Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson penned a piece for the Huffington Post entitled, "Stuff Happens: The Mortgage Bailout and the Federal Budget." Aside from the bailout and its fiscal consequences for America, the article sheds light on some important points surrounding the federal deficit and debt. According to Bittle and Johnson: With so much of the past few days centered on America's flailing economy, the EconomistMom blog comments on the 2008 presidential campaign and emphasizes the importance of paying attention to what the candidates have to say about the economy and federal spending: And over on Café Hayek says that the average American household shells out $22,100 per year in taxes. His thoughts on the spending decisions of elected officials are most interesting: On the "Government Bytes" blog, Paul Gessing publishes his thoughts about Obama's tax plan as well as his overall effect on the federal budget:
And over on The Hill's Congress Blog, California GOP Rep. John Campbell discusses earmarks. He praises the efforts of his fellow Congressmen in introducing an amendment to disregard $5 billion in an upcoming defense policy measure. According to Campbell: For more information and perspective on the mortgage bailout, consider checking out former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich's blog. Come back next week for another edition of Facing Up's BlogWatch.
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Changing Expectations
»A new report finds the main problem in getting the public to deal with our fiscal problems isn't opposition to tax increases or spending cuts -- it's their lack of trust in the government to spend their money wisely. |
Bank of America
Many of us are aware with this issue, the fact that we are in a stage of economic recession, but several aren’t yet awake in to this real issue. How many bailouts, do is needed in order to lift up our economy? Will it take two, three or fours bailouts? While it’s a fact of life that some are rich and financially capable in most or every area while others have to worry about the “little” things, there is another disturbing fact that is becoming more obvious by the minute. It seems that the executive class, who helped generate the recession that many of us are currently suffering from, are on the move to get even more money to award their indiscretion. Reported in a recent article published in the Wall Street Journal, Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain is out to get a $10 million bonus payment. This is after the company he was hired to run had almost completely run out of cash, and was facing bankruptcy. The situation was so desperate he had to eventually sell the company to Bank of America to keep the currency flowing. New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has called it “nothing less than shocking,” and that is a fair assessment, to adequately put it. It’s rare for any of us to be rewarded for failure. In fact, most would most likely get fired. These big-time executives should be receiving the same treatment as the average person in this country. Why should they be rewarded for their help causing the global economic disaster? Greed is the last thing we need during this critical time. However, if you need help to cover a sudden cash emergency, don’t sell yourself to Bank of America. Keep in mind you still have other options you can work with such as payday loans. Click here to learn more about Payday Loans.
Re: BlogWatch: The Mortgage Bailout...
The government of the U.S., in its bailout efforts, made fast payday loans to the two largest lending institutions in the American financial sector – Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two companies lost billions of dollars in the collapse of the subprime lending bubble, and were on the fast track to bankruptcy. They had to be bailed out in order to keep the companies running and a large stimulus of capital was injected into them in order for them to recapitalize and get business rolling again. The recession has people in a frenzy to repair credit, especially since the mortgage market all but collapsed, but the lower prices in the Western U.S. have been driving prices up. There may be signs that the market is beginning to correct itself in a display of good, old fashioned, supply and demand. In the western U.S., home sales climbed 13%, whilst prices dropped 26%. It’s the most basic of economic principles – as the supply increases, with the increased number of foreclosures and the decreased availability of credit, the demand drops. Eventually, the decrease in demand drops the price to a point where it stabilizes against the supply, and the system equalizes itself naturally. The western states are beginning to normalize, but the overall American home sales are still down about 11% - as the eastern states have been a bit slower to equalize to the demand curve, but they ought to sort themselves out soon enough. To read more about the real estate market and tips on how to repair credit, check out this article.