Comments on: You Tell Me: Financial Bailout

By: cindy

cindy — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:28:21 +0000

I wasn’t for it. It’s just a band-aid on large cut. Americans need to make some hard decisions,start living within our means,save more,grow you own veg.
My mother still reminds me to “waste not, want not”
We’re trying to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.We can do it , it maybe hard for while, but I don’t want to saddle future generations with these problem. They will have enough to deal with.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 19:13:41 +0000

I see a lot of people asking where the money will come from. There is a very simple answer. When the government needs money they go to the Federal Reserve (a group of privately owned banks). Where does the Federal Reserve get the money? They create it. If they create too much it causes inflation. Everyone pays for inflation. So in a sense everyone is paying for the bailout.

On another note, The Federal Reserve just loaned $1.25 Trillion to failing entities. http://www.jsmineset.com/ARhome.asp?VAfg=1&RQ=EDL,1&AR_T=1&GID=&linkid=6673&T_ARID=6728

By: the frugal momma

the frugal momma — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:47:09 +0000

I think they should send the tax payers the money instead! This bailout amounts to a lot more than the pitiful little stimulus check they sent us over the summer.

By: Lacey

Lacey — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 01:32:39 +0000

This was a great post! There is so much turbulence in the market today, and people need peace of mind more than ever. I think the its going to take time before we can see what’s going to happen with the bailout. I hate the idea… but maybe it’s what we needed. Maybe not. Only time will tell. I wanted to offer your readers a link to another blogger who is doing great work. He writes about our ‘childhood money messages’ and how the best approach to stability in today’s market is to resist letting these emotions control our buying/selling habits. It is really fascinating work, and something you should all check out. His name is Spencer Sherman, and you can view his blog at http://www.curemoneymadness.com/blog.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:07:16 +0000

I have heard many people citing this New York Times piece, and others, that blame the Community Reinvestment Act for all of the financial problems we’re now experiencing. Some facts: The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has been around since 1977 and was revised in the 1990s. After the revisions, 50 percent of the subprime loans were made by lending institutions that did not fall under the regulation of the CRA. Another 25 percent of the loans were made by banks and subsidiaries that only partially fell under the CRA. That leaves 25 percent of subprime loans that were made under CRA. Furthermore, lending institutions that were not regulated under the CRA were twice as likely to make subprime loans as the regulated institutions.

It is far too easy for Republicans to point the finger at the Democrats and blame this mess on the CRA. Likewise, it is far too easy for Democrats to blame the Republicans and de-regulation. Everyone is to blame because many, many people watched what was happening and let it go on. It’s time to stop finger pointing and start working together to make sure that this never happens again.

By: Marci

Marci — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 19:55:29 +0000

Here’s a 1999 article from the NY times that explains what caused this mess and even predicted that a bailout would be needed!

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:33:40 +0000

Amen! I completely agree. I’m no economist either, but this feels like a really bad idea.

By: Lynnae

Lynnae — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:05:55 +0000

Kim and Military Wife, I could not agree more. And sadly, I’m sure some of these “smart” people saw it coming. However, saying anything about it was probably bad for their political careers, so they did what was best for themselves in the moment and chose to ignore the warning signs.

By: Veteran Military Wife at Life Lessons of a Military Wife

Veteran Military Wife at Life Lessons of a Military Wife — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:40:58 +0000

It’s not just the fatcats’ fault…it’s ours too for letting it happen and for living beyond our means and making credit a way of life. With a society built on credit, and at trillions of dollars worth of debt by now, this was bound to happen. What i don’t understand, is that we have all these supposed smart people and not a single one saw this coming?

We will either have to change our way of life as a nation, the way we do business or go the way of the Roman Empire and now make room for the Chinese or whoever tries to step in as superpower next…the Romans thought they would last forever too…

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:59:04 +0000

The bailout plan is to me the typical American response to things nowadays…quick, fix the problem with more debt…keep our lifestyles going no matter what the cost…worry about it in the future. Saddle our children and grandchildren with more debt and problems to deal with. It disgusts me.