Monday, September 15, 2008

I just realized something, and yeah, I'm too lazy to look it up on Wikipedia. I think I'm right, anyhoo.

Both stock market crashy-thingies were in October of a presidential election year, right? 1928 and 1988, right??? [Ted has informed me the 20s meltdown was in '29, not '28]

Crap crappity crap crap.

BUT, a word on bailing out mortgage lenders:
Hells-to-the-NO.

Why should profit be privatized but risk be socialized???
It shouldn't.

Just like wagon-wheel makers going out of business or adapting to the automobile industry about a century ago, mortgage companies who've profited from lending rates an honest person would call usury need to man up, grow a pair and take this one on the chin, just as you or I would if our lawnmowing/bookseller/drycleaner/whatever business failed. Grow the smeg up, already.

9 comments:

Turk Turon said...

*snicker!*
She said, "smeg"!

Borepatch said...

Actually the stock market crash was in 1929, not 1928.

You're absolutely right about the undesirability of privatizing profit while socializing risk. Actually a nice tie in to Kim's post on Alitalia's union problems.

Only difference with Fannie Mae was that it was corporations and politicians, rather than union card holders.

phlegmfatale said...

Turk - that's what I like about you: you snicker at all the best bits. You a Red Dwarf fan, too?

ted - Thanks for setting me straight. I'll have to hop on over to Kim's blog when I get home from work. I thought Fannie and Freddie were only guarantees from the fed.gov, not actual loans themselves. Sort of like insurance policies or something and then other mortgage cos did the heavy lifting. Ah well, I still have much to learn, obviously.

phlegmfatale said...

OH,and as for unions? As one tattooed bag of Hep C* so daintily put it, they can "suck it."

*someone said that in Tam's comments, and it was so good I've been quoting them for days now to describe that shameless ragged-out shagbag.

Barbara Bruederlin said...

It looks as though it's time to let this thing meltdown and start over from scratch.

Buck said...

I agree with ya on the profit/loss thingie... up to a point, Phlegmmy. There's always that "baby/bathwater" thing to think about, and it's a mighty fine line to walk. It looks like Paulson & Co are doing a pretty good job of it, so far, even given the bloodbath in the market today. Not unexpected, that.

Zelda said...

No Bailouts!!!

Frickin' socialists...

NotClauswitz said...

This is just a fractional point-percentage of what the Social Security meltdown is gonna look like.

HollyB said...

And now they're gonna bail out AIG. Well, HAIL, It's gonna wind up costin' me MORE in taxes than I saved in premiums when I switched fromAIG to Travelers for my Car Ins.

What they HELL has happened to Keyesian Economics? When did the Tax Payers become responsible for supporting not ONLY the Lazy, but the Corporate Irresponsible as well?

I don't mind my tax dollars supporting Social Security [and it's MediCARE] for those who paid INTO the system. But...oh hell I'm way overdue for a BSW blog, I'll continue over there.