The news is filled with stories of the rise and fall of the "Subprime Lenders".
As I understand things - I say it this way as I did not buy a home over the last few years - loan companies came out of the woodwork to offer Interest Only Loans for new homeowners. After a specified amount of time, the payments would readjust to allow for new interest rates. These loans were even being offered to those with low or downright poor credit ratings. Now, people are having great difficulty paying the new monthly amounts. Loan companies are failing. Foreclosures are growing. Thus, I ask this question: What the heck did you expect????
The problem is that people want everything right away. They aren't willing to wait. Thus, they got loans that they couldn't afford, with the idea that interest rates would stay low or they could just flip the house and make a huge profit before the payments went up. Nice dream. The reality was that the housing market began to tank because people pushed up house prices because they got into a bidding war to see who could buy the biggest and best property with the least down. Housing prices in my area are so high that I can't even begin to think of purchasing a home.
I should feel sorry for these people, I really should. And I do feel sorry for those who were badly deceived by loan companies, some of which falsified or grossly inflated applicants' income so they would qualify for a loan. These are people that I feel sorry for because they just didn't do their homework. I also feel sorry for those who were scraping by and either lost their job or had medical bills or some other tragedy crop up. But for those who were just looking to make a quick buck, to brag about what they owned, or to just let the bank foreclose when the interest went up I say: Nyahh, nyahh, nyahh. (Okay...so that was childish.) Still, I have little sympathy for those who were greedy.
What happens now? Do housing prices come down to a more realistic level? I don't know. I'm not an economist, realtor, or other form of expert. I just hope that people will learn to live within their means and be satisfied with the basic needs of life. But in California, I doubt it.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Time Marches On!
Do you ever have the feeling that the day only has 12 hours instead of 24? Well, that's the way it's been lately. So, instead of apologizing once again for my failure to post for any of my one or two readers...let me move on boldly and full speed ahead.
Politics are funny. Anyone who has dared to read this blog knows that I don't get involved in them. But I do laugh at them. California has decided to move its primary up several months to have a bigger say in who gets nominated for President. But not so surprising is that a number of other states are trying to do the same thing. The law of the land says that Iowa and New Hampshire get first dibs on primaries, so none of the other states can usurp that position. But you have to ask yourself; what happens if almost all of the other states hold their primary on the same day? The answer? You get about 9 months of endless commercials and photo ops with the two winners. You think you get sick of it now? Just wait, folks.
If it comes down to that, though, can you imagine what else that means? It means that candidates will have to enter the race and start earning money almost as soon as the previous election is over! They will have less time to make their names known and get their faces in front of the public, so they'll need to start earlier and they'll need to raise more money and do it faster than ever. Imagine that. November elections are over, and you have a new President. He or she outlines what the administration hopes to accomplish in the first 100 days. After the 100 days..."oh, by the way, I'm running for re-election!" Time to throw the tv and newspaper out the window to avoid the endless campaigning.
I really don't like the way the French government operates in a number of areas. But maybe their idea for a national election would work the best. It would have to be modified for the U.S., though. Maybe a single primary election that takes place, say, on a day that would be designated a holiday or a weekend day. Then, about two weeks later...the presidential elections. Wouldn't that be interesting??
Anyway, on to other things. Over the weekend, someone got the bright idea that it would be fun to burn a railroad trestle in Sacramento, California. Yes, some bonehead arsonist decided to torch a creosote-laden wood railroad trestle. Not only did it burn for a few days, and not only did it pour pollution into the air that just hung over the city and caused no end of respiratory ills, but it will cost about $30 million to rebuild it and will delay trains by nearly a day as they have to take alternate routes. Anyone up for harsher penalties for arsonists? Pardon me...I have to cough.
Let's talk sports for a moment, shall we? Yes, I think we shall. The Sacramento Kings are looking abysmal. After looking so good for so long, this season is a wreck. But why? What happened? Since it's my blog, I'm going to chime in. First, the Maloofs should stay out of Geoff Petrie's way. Petrie is one of the best, if not THE best, GM in the league. He has an eye for talent and getting the most bang for the buck. But then, in stepped the Maloofs, who decided that Rick Adelman was too boring for them as coach. Even though it was Adelman who was able to get a bunch of average players to work together and was able to find the strengths of each player and use them to the best advantage, the Maloofs canned him. Want proof of Adelman's skill? Where are the following players now, and what are they doing: Jason Williams, Doug Christie, Yogi Stewart, etc., etc., etc. Adelman got their best and they thrived in Sacramento. Anyway, then the Maloofs demanded and got Ron-Ron Artest, who can't decide if he wants to jack up threes, starve his dogs, alienate his teammates, or hit his wife. There's a prize acquisition! And now, even if he wanted to, Petrie is going to have a hard time moving him. Joe and Gavin, please....focus on cooperating with the city and getting a new arena built. Sacramento needs one, there is no doubt. Make it happen. Work with people instead of against them. Focus on the running of the franchise and of making your paying public happy. Let Petrie make the player and coach moves. There are few better. You guys were at your best when you were into public relations and letting the GM do his job.
More soon...I hope. If anyone is actually reading this blog, drop me a comment! I would like to know if I'm just a voice crying out into the wilderness with nothing but an echo for an answer!
Politics are funny. Anyone who has dared to read this blog knows that I don't get involved in them. But I do laugh at them. California has decided to move its primary up several months to have a bigger say in who gets nominated for President. But not so surprising is that a number of other states are trying to do the same thing. The law of the land says that Iowa and New Hampshire get first dibs on primaries, so none of the other states can usurp that position. But you have to ask yourself; what happens if almost all of the other states hold their primary on the same day? The answer? You get about 9 months of endless commercials and photo ops with the two winners. You think you get sick of it now? Just wait, folks.
If it comes down to that, though, can you imagine what else that means? It means that candidates will have to enter the race and start earning money almost as soon as the previous election is over! They will have less time to make their names known and get their faces in front of the public, so they'll need to start earlier and they'll need to raise more money and do it faster than ever. Imagine that. November elections are over, and you have a new President. He or she outlines what the administration hopes to accomplish in the first 100 days. After the 100 days..."oh, by the way, I'm running for re-election!" Time to throw the tv and newspaper out the window to avoid the endless campaigning.
I really don't like the way the French government operates in a number of areas. But maybe their idea for a national election would work the best. It would have to be modified for the U.S., though. Maybe a single primary election that takes place, say, on a day that would be designated a holiday or a weekend day. Then, about two weeks later...the presidential elections. Wouldn't that be interesting??
Anyway, on to other things. Over the weekend, someone got the bright idea that it would be fun to burn a railroad trestle in Sacramento, California. Yes, some bonehead arsonist decided to torch a creosote-laden wood railroad trestle. Not only did it burn for a few days, and not only did it pour pollution into the air that just hung over the city and caused no end of respiratory ills, but it will cost about $30 million to rebuild it and will delay trains by nearly a day as they have to take alternate routes. Anyone up for harsher penalties for arsonists? Pardon me...I have to cough.
Let's talk sports for a moment, shall we? Yes, I think we shall. The Sacramento Kings are looking abysmal. After looking so good for so long, this season is a wreck. But why? What happened? Since it's my blog, I'm going to chime in. First, the Maloofs should stay out of Geoff Petrie's way. Petrie is one of the best, if not THE best, GM in the league. He has an eye for talent and getting the most bang for the buck. But then, in stepped the Maloofs, who decided that Rick Adelman was too boring for them as coach. Even though it was Adelman who was able to get a bunch of average players to work together and was able to find the strengths of each player and use them to the best advantage, the Maloofs canned him. Want proof of Adelman's skill? Where are the following players now, and what are they doing: Jason Williams, Doug Christie, Yogi Stewart, etc., etc., etc. Adelman got their best and they thrived in Sacramento. Anyway, then the Maloofs demanded and got Ron-Ron Artest, who can't decide if he wants to jack up threes, starve his dogs, alienate his teammates, or hit his wife. There's a prize acquisition! And now, even if he wanted to, Petrie is going to have a hard time moving him. Joe and Gavin, please....focus on cooperating with the city and getting a new arena built. Sacramento needs one, there is no doubt. Make it happen. Work with people instead of against them. Focus on the running of the franchise and of making your paying public happy. Let Petrie make the player and coach moves. There are few better. You guys were at your best when you were into public relations and letting the GM do his job.
More soon...I hope. If anyone is actually reading this blog, drop me a comment! I would like to know if I'm just a voice crying out into the wilderness with nothing but an echo for an answer!
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