Reader comments: Takeover looms for mortgage giants

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Anonymous | 5:03 a.m. Sept. 7, 2008
Questionable accounting overstateing capitol funds as a result. The goverment did not bail out Enron and they need to not bail out a mortgage industry that made bad loans and business principles lacked. An agressive investigation to pursue legal charges are in order. Not spending tax dollars the Goverment does not have.
Doug | 6:10 a.m. Sept. 7, 2008
Let the two go bankrupt. Make the shares worthless; and form new entities. Let's start over. What the country needs is a good enema.
gary | 7:42 a.m. Sept. 7, 2008
and of course the c.e.o.'s and other leadership of these two companies will get their bonis's and severience pay. like they care what happens to the people who will be affected by what ever happins to the company.
Comments continue below
Stop the car! | 8:05 a.m. Sept. 7, 2008
Let me off. There is "no way" that these lenders would have ever helped out the little guy who took on too much debt or suffered a divorce and had to bankrupt. They are first in line to repo his home. They are begging for mercy when they could only seek justice on the little guy, the same little guy who will pay his taxes to "SAVE" them. They need to suffer the pitfalls and "deal with it" the same way an ordinary man would have to. Let them go bankrupt. If they are saved it will not teach other lenders a thing. They only thing they will know is to continue to do what they are doing and drive us deeper into debt KNOWING that the government will save them.
Example | 8:15 a.m. Sept. 7, 2008
Just another example of the crumbling economy and the management of this country by this Republican administration. Just how much more are we going to tank? This is all the more reason for the voters of this country to wake up to what has taken place this past 8 years. And while we are at it, lets not forget what party got us to where we are at. Do you as a voter really want 4 more years of this? Lets forget all of this hulla-ba loo over Sarah Palin and vote the issues, she is merely a person put on their ticket. That will not change one thing with this party and the direction they are taking us. There will be alot more bankruptcys to come if we stay with this party for sure. We have GOT to change. The Republicans will not change, and if they tell you that they are lying. How many lies are yopu going to believe?
Brother Chuck Schroeder | 8:36 a.m. Sept. 7, 2008
HERE WE GO AGAIN FOLKS, when they say the government, they mean the do nothing liberal Congress looking for a quick "tax the middle class and spend" families for the next 200 years to pay for their "I had a dream" crap, as they boast "the government's planned takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, expected to be announced as early as today." How about break it all apart, regulate the smaller parts, and do away with liberal de-regulation?. Or is that to Republican for their socialist utopian world?. I think so. Great story to tell your great grand-children why they "go no money" to pass that down on their's why they to are broke. ALL BECAUSE OF DO NOTHING LIBERAL'S, and greed of home equity loans, that came due after 5 years, and all you paid on them was the interest only, before the bubble bursted when it went up in value's, and you played your cards wrong, because in higher education they don't teach you "common sense 101" and your to stupid to figure it out on your own. I am so glad my home is 100% paid for. I did right. Did you?.
Brother Chuck Schroeder | 8:41 a.m. Sept. 7, 2008
Liberalism 101 class here - HERE WE GO AGAIN FOLKS, when they say the government, they mean the do nothing liberal Congress looking for a quick "tax the middle class and spend" families for the next 200 years to pay for their "I had a dream" crap, as they boast "the government's planned takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, expected to be announced as early as today." How about break it all apart, regulate the smaller parts, and do away with liberal de-regulation?. Or is that to Republican for their socialist utopian world?. I think so. Great story to tell your great grand-children why they "got no money" to pass that down on their's why they to are broke. ALL BECAUSE OF THE DO NOTHING LIBERAL'S, and your greed of home equity loans, that came due after 5 years, all you paid on them was the interest only, before the bubble bursted, when it went up in value's, you played your cards wrong, because in higher education they don't teach you "common sense 101" and your to stupid to figure it out on your own. I am so glad my home is 100% paid for.
Ignorant People | 9:21 a.m. Sept. 7, 2008
This article misrepresents several aspects of the current mortgage crises. First of all Freddie and Fannie are NOT like any other financial firms and to compare them the same way is completely faulty, therefore they SHOULD and DO have different account rules.

Second, I find it interesting that the entire reason why finance companies are required to carry Capital is to weather bad times, therefore Freddie/Fannie should be able to dip below their "required" Cap requirements... Then build the Cap reserve again when the market recovers.

Lastly, blame for this crises should not be put only on the shoulders of Wall-Street and Freddie/Fannie... it's everyone's problem. From the speculative builder that built too many homes to the homeowner that lied about their stated income, to the mortgage originator who pushed for the loan, to the folks on Wall Street who only care for profits, to the investors to purchased products sold from Wall-Street and lastly to the Government for not regulating better (this includes Alan Greenspan who kept rates too low for way too long). Its called Moral Hazard.

So for all you pundits out there that know nothing of finance, please stop your foolish rants.
Stop this stupitity | 12:20 p.m. Sept. 7, 2008
We are all Americans and need towear the same hat,
McCain said that.
I am tired of hearing the liberal crap
I am tired of hearing the conservitive crap as well
This sounds like to teams that never get the peoples business done because of the 2 Parties.
Quite clear these people are not interested in serving the people
We hear this is a Nation of Laws
Well, there needs to be a law to remove Politics from Government
Then the Peoples Business can start.
Now that the real truth has come out, Ask a Man what is he going to do for the people
The People is the Country
We all want change because the RICH in office is not doing the Peoples work
The working class which is you have been getting the short end of the stick
This is America with a Constitution and Civil Rights being denyed

We also have Civil Liberties that are long forgotten
Available on the Internet
Thanks, Ignorant People | 1:29 p.m. Sept. 7, 2008
Brother Chuck Schroeder is why conservative logic seems convoluted.

Out of the last 12 years democrats have in a slim majority for 19 months. The White House has had a republican in it for eight years. Were can a sane person blame a "liberal congress?" Their are "blue dog" democrats. They aren't liberal.

Ignorant People | 9:21 a.m. is correct. If we fail to bail out these two lenders, liquidity would dry up. People won't be buying homes, Sandy won't get money to build skyscrapers. The US economy will tank like it did in 1929.

Why isn't our great leader speaking to us about this crisis? FDR would have.

Ignorant People | 9:21 a.m. left out the problem caused by securitizing loans and bond raters who were paid by the issuer.

If you all are so poorly educated about economics, maybe you should tune out Rush and read more. He sure hasn't bought your knowlege of the liquidity crisis up to speed.
The Main Problem | 12:41 a.m. Sept. 8, 2008
Is that the show just couldn't continue like the fat cats wanted it to. The prices for homes kept increasing in value at ridiculous rates, and while everyone who had a home was trying to capitlaize on their "good fortune" by borrowing gobs of money against their homes, the people who were looking to buy a home had to take the risk of large amounts of debt while crossing their fingers hoping that the payments would be affordable through good and bad weather. It was a disaster waiting, no BEGGING, to happen! I don't know about you, but my wages didn't increase with anywhere near the rapidity that prices and home values were increasing. Everyone in the real estate market or construction biz had dollar signs in their eyes, because they just knew that they were gonna make it big! (you can interpret that in a couple of ways; this is the age of the McMansion.) When fuel took an unexpected spike at about the same time that many people were starting to learn how cruel a joke an interest-only loan could be, the sand castle started to crumble. Let it fall. The ants should not pay for the grasshoppers.

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