Stop The Presses

I was involved in a conversation the other day with regard to the economy and what has been happening on Wall Street. The discussion started to heat up when someone said, those dumb Republicans, did you hear the news? "They voted against the bailout just because Nancy Pelosi insulted them and blamed George Bush."

I said, "I guess you didn't listen to the same story I heard. What I read and heard was completely different. I read the words between the lines the ones The Times did not print. It is called the truth." Mark Twain once said, "If you don't read the newspapers you are uninformed. If you do read them you are misinformed."

It was not Pelosi's stupid remarks it was the pork sandwich she had for lunch. The one that had $25 Billion for the auto industry and the 20% for ACORN a community based group whose mission is to get government funding for poor people to buy houses. The same poor people whose kids are running around in $200 sneakers, ride $400 bicycles and watch 60-inch plasma TV's at home. The current bill that was passed is so full or pork it would make a pig squeal just thinking about it. You can read it here: Top Ten sweetners in the bailout bill. John McCain should have voted no on it and explained why during this Tuesday nights debate.

So how do we stop the "Terror on Elm Street," (Wall Street is in its own panic mode)? The people on Wall Street know what it takes to get back in the race they have been playing the game for years. The problem is that you may not know how we got into this mess.

The investment houses have been buying mortgages from mortgage brokers. Mortgage brokers are only salespeople who sell you a mortgage or write you a loan. The mortgage is then sold to the investment firm that buys it for a small fee. The investment house is relying on the salespeople to do their due-diligence in ascertaining that you the borrower have the ability to pay it back.

As long as all the borrowers make timely payments on their loans, everyone is O.K. However, when those boutique mortgages, we call adjustable(s), adjusted and increased monthly payments, people could not make the payments.

Here is a personal true story. During the late 1970's I was earning about $20,000 a year trying to support a family of four. My wife and I both returned to college and trying to balance a family budget. Many times, it was like walking a tightrope. There were many times I needed $10 or $20 to get us through the week.

Here is how I would borrow interest free money. Monday I would cash a $20 check at one supermarket knowing that I did not have the money in my account to cover it. On Tuesday, I would cash another $20 check at another supermarket and quickly deposit it to cover Monday's check. Wednesday it was the same scenario at a third store. I kept doing it until payday when my paycheck covered the last $20 check.

Wall Street does the same thing except it is not $20 it is billions and they do it every day. It is called catching the float. On the craps table in Las Vegas it is called a come bet.

Here is how it backfires; someone does not make the last payment. In this case, it is thousands of little payments not being made and the float starts to sink like a rowboat full of holes. And, who is not making those payments? The people whose kids are running around in those $200 sneakers, who should not have been allowed to buy a house in the first place.

FYI many of those missed payments are greedy speculators who bet wrong. They are not being thrown out of their homes. They are walking away from bad investments. It is called "Tough Luck." Now the Congress wants to practice "Tough Love." Tough on the taxpayer but show your love to the investment houses who were stupid enough to buy those bad loans.

Maybe it is fear. You see some of those mortgage-backed securities were purchased overseas. It was reported that the Saudi's purchased over $150 billion and England, France and Germany purchased another $150 billion. Is Congress concerned if we do not bail out Fannie and Freddie and let them go under, the Saudi's will raise the price of oil to make up for their losses. Maybe, the concern lies in needing European support, that may not be there when we surge the battle in Afghanistan. Therefore, the question is, how much are we bailing out America as compared to the rest of the world.

Now that you know how it works, stop paying attention to the horror stories in the media. If all you do is read the newspapers or listen to the media who keeps repeating to you that you are about to lose your pension or your job and may even lose your house. Maybe so, but it wasn't George Bush's fault as Nancy Pelosi so 'pomperoneously'* remarked in her rehearsed speech.

As I wrote in my previous Op-Ed article, "There's A Hole In The Bucket, Dear Liza," I stated all the warnings that the Bush administration, John McCain, Alan Greenspan and other Republicans gave to the Congress about the problems with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These warnings were ignored by the likes of Rep. Barney Frank, Sen. Chris Dodd, Rep. Maxine Waters, et al, Democrats all.

However, all I hear is The Times said this and Newsweek said that and NBC and ABC and FOX, etc, etc.

So maybe the answer is let's not listen to the news for a week. Let us turn them off, Stop the Presses; I promise you if you did not know what happened, the world around you would not change. However, what will change is you will be a lot less anxious.

Think of it like going on a Moose hunt with Sarah for a week, when you come back the world will still be here.

*Pomperoneously - (Adj.) The art of sounding arrogant through lies or misspeaking.

And, that is my opinion.

Michael Solomon

Author of "Where Did My America Go?"

 

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