Is Wall Streets full of crooks ?

[Dave44]

Some more info that I am sure you will claim has no significance to wall streets problems.

The role of the FHA is particularly difficult to fit into the narrative that the left has been selling. While it might be argued that Fannie and Freddie and insured banks were profit-seekers because they were shareholder-owned, what can explain the fact that the FHA—a government agency—was guaranteeing the same bad mortgages that the unregulated mortgage brokers were supposedly creating through predatory lending?
The answer, of course, is that it was government policy for these poor quality loans to be made. Since the early 1990s, the government has been attempting to expand home ownership in full disregard of the prudent lending principles that had previously governed the U.S. mortgage market. Now the motives of the GSEs fall into place. Fannie and Freddie were subject to "affordable housing" regulations, issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which required them to buy mortgages made to home buyers who were at or below the median income. This quota began at 30% of all purchases in the early 1990s, and was gradually ratcheted up until it called for 55% of all mortgage purchases to be "affordable" in 2007, including 25% that had to be made to low-income home buyers.

Read more: How The Government Caused The Mortgage Crisis - Business Insider
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[Treasure_Hunter]

NF, I know people who lost homes, they did not lie, they lost their jobs and their houses were under water because of housing crash, they couldn't make payments, they couldn't refi and they couldn't sell because they were under water, they had nothing left.

I am underwater my self by $40k.... How do I sell? I can't .....
.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Native Floridian]

TH, i understand what you are saying. A lto of people got hurt.

Are your neighbors any more a victim than the Wall Street firms that lost billions? Many of these firms went out of business, some within days of this thing happening, 100% of employees laid off, no doubt leading to financial ruin at the individual level on a scale equal to your neighbors. That's 10s of thousands of innocent people who lost their jobs almost overnight.

When i say Wall Street didn't have a chair, it is not that I'm trying to leave your neighbors out, only saying that Wall Street got pummelled. There are too many people left without chairs to list here.

 

[lastleg]

Besides hosting the greediest men on earth Wall Street is unpatriotic. They caused businesses to go
off shore for cheap labor. Their analysts clobbered every company that paid a living wage. At no time
did the Street put the nation's welfare above profit. So now we have a non-productive unsustainable
economy but at least the market movers will never have to worry about the issues that plague the rest
of us. I don't put NF in that league but defending vultures is not going to help clean out the garbage.

 

[Native Floridian]

LL, thx for not putting me in that league. I'm on the family friendly side of the street. The side that uses it's knowledge to help people attain their financial goals. Make no mistake, we aren't a charity, we do this to make money, but then again, so does your family doctor.

Wall Street is filled with predators. Eat or be eaten. It is the nature of our economic system. it's what makes us the best. Take one look at your cell phone. Now dig one out from 10 years ago. or, better yet, find one from 15 years ago. See the difference? What you are holding in your hand is called the progession of technology. It is eat or be eaten with a keypad. This same phenomenon exists in almost every facet of our lives. From the keys that start our cars to the boxes that we use to ship UPS.

20 years ago companies like Dell owned the computer space. Today they struggle to stay alive. The PC has become irrelevant. or almost so. Eat or be eaten. Remember Digital Equipment? Yeah, most people don't. But 35 years ago they were giving IBM a run for their money. Today they are a memory. Their top mangement decided that personal computers were a fad. Wrong! Eat or be eaten. From vinyl to eight track to cassette to CD to DVD to ear plugs, we move forward because the strongest create and innovate. Eat or be eaten!

There is much wrong out there, but Wall Street funding the winner's bracket isn't one of them. We are better off because of it. The markets temselves are wealth building engines for those who give them a chance and don't use them as casinos.

One other point that gets lost, though after 2008 it shouldn't. WAll Street bets with it's own money. I shouldn't say bet, but it's the best way to get the point across that every day Wall Street firms are risking impossible to imagine large sums of their own money. Risk is just that - risk! Risk means - no free lunch. Risk means - lose enough and you are sweeping WAll Street instead of cleaning up on it! Nothing is free. The profits we see are earned.

 

[lastleg]

NF would you agree that greed forced companies to move offshore for dirt cheap labor? The cell phone
illustration enforces my argument that gadgets that are popular put no food on the table of the working
class? Companies no longer foot the cost of retirement, they instead force the worker to make decisions
most are incapable of. Some do their homework on retirement vehicles but most just coast along with the
tide and get swamped when foul weather comes.
It seems our 'leaders' are arrogant or ignorant of long range consequences of high wealth classes vs a
break even class which never can expect a secure future.
We have seen the future and it sucks.

 

[Native Floridian]

LL certainly greed is a factor. However, it is a double edged sword. in your post above you bring up companies going offshore for production of goods. Greed forces companies to compete. That competition is driven by the end user. That would be you and me. When we are faced with a choice between two competing products price is a factor. In most cases cheapest price wins. So the consumer's greed to get the best deal plays not a roll, but is a derermining factor in how goods are produced. it makes no sense to complain about the downfall of american manufacturing while at the same time wearing clothes made in China, India, and Taiwan.

I work with retirement vehicles everyday. i will tell you that most are just fine. Some are better than others, but on whole, the vehicles themselves aren't the problem. It is the owners of the vehicles who have the biggest influence on their effectiveness. Staying to course is tougher than it seems. yet it is the single biggest factor in investment portfolio underperformance. A good financial advisor is worth their fee if for no other reason than forecing the investor/pre retiree to stay on course.

Many companies dropped pension plans because of the liabilites. The rules change every year so liability one came from the government. Nothing like getting fined for trying to do something good for your employees because some government bean counter says you didn't comply with some obscure rule. Liability two also from the government is that the pension has to be funded regardless of profitability. Unfunded pension liabilites have sunk more than one company. Liability three comes from the employees themselves. They sue the company not only for the fund losing value when markets sink, but for being too conservative in raging bull markets. That is, not capturing enough of the upside! Talk about greed! So many companies said enough! Here is a 401k plan, you are on your own. Still, even with 401k plans, the company has liabilty, though at a reduced level.

 

[sciflyer25]

NF, you are the most logical poster on this forum when it comes to these topics. Everything you have written supports the capitalistic society we are how it works, and capitalism is what made this country what it is. I think back to that "occupy ws" nonsense, all the + liberal press and media attention that crap got. Who protested? Most were young folks, either hipster d-bags, or spoiled white mid-upper class babies with their designer clothes and corporate/apple products. Hypocrisy at it finest. Some with college degrees that mommy and daddy helped pay for, but they are there crying for handouts, loan forgiveness and justice for the 1%. The 1% is not just ws, but Washington and every politician in this country who makes enough to qualify for the tax breaks that they themselves keep in place. Why not go occupy DC? Too many people have no clue how this thing works and what led to the meltdown, they just want to point fingers and assert blame. Thanks for your input NF.

 

[lastleg]

"what made this country what it is" ? What it once was was capitalistic but rich in patriotism. Outsourcing
produced "what it is". No permanent jobs, no pensions, no adequate insurance, hopeless debt by credit
vultures. Really great huh? NF says these changes were necessary to support a healthy investment climate.
Healthy for the bright, resourceful entrepreneurs. Not so healthy for the masses who can't find jobs. How
will they be rewarded by capitalism?

 

[sciflyer25]

Yes, I agree "capitalistic but full of patriotism", but can we be "patriotic" today? Or will that be viewed as insensitive to other races and religions? We cannot be patriotic today, or we risk being fired or sued. Debt by credit vultures- it's always been like that, just never as bad as it is now. Maybe people should take personal responsibility, set a budget, and not live beyond their means. Anyone can point a finger, but who looks in the mirror? I don't like the outsourcing - I'd rather the jobs stay here, but what can you do other than boycott companies that outsource? I boycott apple - I don't care how "great"" and "amazing" their products are, they are overpriced and have not made a product in this country in years. They will never get one cent of my money. But we can't boycott everything, or we will be living like cavemen.
Capitalism works better than socialism, and it's better here than in the middle east with those savage cultures. Better than many countries all over the world. But it starts with DC, and ends in personal responsibility. If a lender tells me I can afford that 400K house I like, but I know I can only afford the 225K house that is not as new and nice, what would I do? The opposite that MANY did, and buy the less expensive house. What about the people that have kids and have the attitude "we'll make it work somehow" - but financially they can't afford it? But they have them, and some have litters, and those kids become a burden on the taxpayer and society. How often does this happen? How many illegals are here? How many of them file BS tax returns? How many without health insurance treat ER's like a drug store, or go to be treated for a fever or some other BS excuse? All of these examples, along with social programs that are out of control, have contributed the financial debacle since 2008. I have chosen to keep an open mind, read alot about all of the above, live within my means and take responsibility for my life, and not burden someone else with my problems.

 

[lastleg]

My point was the state of our economy was not inevitable. Wall Street forced business to increase the
bottom line no matter the cost. Being frugal myself I weathered the storms and never took on debt.

 

[lastleg]

Another example of the debt/greed cycle was reported today. Brazilian billionaire goes from 35 billion to 200
million > check out Eike Batista who was attempting to surpass Carlos Slim as richest man.

 

[sciflyer25]

Another example of the debt/greed cycle was reported today. Brazilian billionaire goes from 35 billion to 200
million > check out Eike Batista who was attempting to surpass Carlos Slim as richest man.

Just, wow.