points to ponder from Dispatches

[acroyear]

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Bishop Williamson: Cake or Death?:

Given the Church's long history of forcing people to recant their heresies, there is at least a bit of irony in the fact that they are now doing it to their own clergy. Put him on the rack, I say! Make him regret that he is not an Anglican, where he would be faced with the harrowing choice of cake or death.

Dispatches from the Culture Wars: Is More Debt Really the Solution?:

I am baffled by how many mortgages have been allowed to go into foreclosure rather than being renegotiated at a lower rate and perhaps a longer term. Why would a lender not prefer a healthy mortgage getting repaid at, say, 4% a year rather than one that would default at 8 or 9% a year? Why would a lender need to be forced to do this?

Comments

[pharmtoxgirl.livejournal.com]

Are the mortgages that are foreclosing that high? Or are they even higher as they were adjustables?

As someone *currently* paying 8.5% from when I bought the house in 2000. I've been able to afford it. We are in the process of refinancing - lower %age and some equity - is all good. We'll still be able to afford it.

I have some issues with the mortgages - yes people were taken advantage of BUT in what world did they *really* figure they could afford the homes they were buying.

Yeah, I have mixed thoughts. Sorry not too coherent.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

There are LOTs of things that add up, some of which I've described here already (I really should just go back and add a "mortgage" type tag to all those posts).

The big things are ARMs that exploded, interest-only limited-time loans that ballooned because nobody paid principal, sudden unemployment in certain parts of the country, and the big one:

the housing prices dropped, rapidly, so that refinancing or selling was impossible.

when this is combined with people who HAVE to sell (because they need to move) or combined with people who kept refinancing year after year taking more and more of the equity into cash and blowing it (equity that disappeared overnight), it just kept getting worse and worse.

but leading into that were extremely crappy lending standards by the banks. knowing ahead of time that the way the loans were going to be repackaged and sold to the banks (the actual spiral itself) and as such, they weren't at risk (or so they thought, but talk to a greenpoint or countrywide ex-employee), they started flat-out lying on applications on behalf of the lendees. One person applied and actually read the fine print to find his listed income was *double* what he put on the original form (he, wisely, didn't sign).

so would the banks have been better to refi at lower rates with no more ballooning just to keep the foreclosures from happening? of course.

but you can't refi when you owe more than the collateral and that hit too many people, either through banker negligence or homeowner nouveau riche stupidity, or in just a few cases, simple bad luck.

[pharmtoxgirl.livejournal.com]

I know what you are saying. I was thinking about this as I was driving into work today.

I guess my problem with with some of my friends, whom I love but have ALWAYS lived beyond their means. They are filing for bankruptcy and foreclosing. It sucks, BUT I also feel that they put themselves into the position - well because they did.

But if there is help for foreclosed homes, I just feel that they'll be first in line and learn NOTHING while others more deserving are going otbe left out in the cold.

I'm not cynical much.