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Foreclosure USA - US Housing Bust, Debt and Democracy Lost
The Market Oracle ^ | feb 25, 2007 | Joel S. Hirschhorn

Posted on 02/26/2007 9:53:40 AM PST by RobRoy

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To: RobRoy
ROFL!

Stroke of the pen....and it will all be 'fixed'.

Like the Tom Clancy novel when foreign elements manipulated the stock market...the 'President' simply took a mulligan and pretended the sell off wasn't valid.

National emergency...postpone the due dates and/or terms of the risky loans.

61 posted on 02/26/2007 10:44:45 AM PST by DCPatriot ("It aint what you don't know that kills you. It's what you know that aint so" Theodore Sturgeon))
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To: Fierce Allegiance

>>Clearly, she is an idiot as far as investing goes. I never lost more than 8%.<<

Bully for you. Your story is not typical.

"REAL" investors also made money during the crash of '29, but their claims of everyone else being an idiot does not refute what happened.


62 posted on 02/26/2007 10:45:11 AM PST by RobRoy
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To: L98Fiero
Psst. The middle-class is bigger than it's ever been. Ever.

Yep. And the "lower class" in the US today enjoys more material prosperity than any population anywhere in the history of civilization.

Impossible to take anything he writes seriously. Here, for example, is just a sample of where Joel Hirschhorn is coming from .

This whole silly screed is just warmed-over psuedo-populist rhetoric in the service of classic class warfare, straight out of the latest edition of the Marxist playbook: 'Leninism For Dummies'.

63 posted on 02/26/2007 10:46:05 AM PST by leilani
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To: RobRoy

Using percentages from historical highs is a nice way to augment any argument; but the author knows that, or he/she/it being disingenuous?


64 posted on 02/26/2007 10:46:35 AM PST by dakine
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To: RobRoy

Seriously, if her portfolio is that low now after the intervening years, she's been visiting her brokerage house to set fire to the remaining money. :(


65 posted on 02/26/2007 10:47:46 AM PST by linda_22003
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To: RobRoy
This story has obvious flaws.
Regardless, Americans are loosing their freedom as a result of debt.
These aren't limited to those who took out risky, sub prime loans.
The average middle class professional has little time to consider the implications of local government let alone become involved. He accepts increased taxation as a means of preserving his neighborhood schools and property value. The result is expanded debt and less freedom.
66 posted on 02/26/2007 10:49:39 AM PST by Ramcat (Thank You American Veterans)
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To: gondramB
I have to tell you that I am amazed, as my wife and I gain the "confidence" of more and more couples, just how many people, on the surface, appear to be doing just fine but, behind the scenes, have a massive student loan in delinquency that is forcing them to sell their home, or some other financial "problems" that are keeping them up at night.

A BIGGIE for many people is crushing child support and maintenance. The divorce angle and it's affect on those involved is not even touched in this article, but it is a BIG part of the equation and the 800 lb gorilla in the room.
67 posted on 02/26/2007 10:51:38 AM PST by RobRoy
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To: RobRoy
Bully for you. Your story is not typical.

Is losing 83% of your money typical for investors in the stock market? I hope not! Judging by the several freepmails I read, I did much more poorly than some, who never lost more than about 2-3%.

I money-back guarantee my story is MUCH closer to typical than your stupid friend who lost 83% of her principle. Holy crap, didn't she have ANY damage control measures in place? Someone with close to a mil ought be a little more intelligent than that. My kids do better on investments at ten years old than this dingbat!

As much as you try to doom-and-gloom, and piss on the economy, there are a lot of us out there making nice money, and are diversified enough to survive these minor bumps in the road.

68 posted on 02/26/2007 10:52:16 AM PST by Fierce Allegiance (If something I said angers you, you are must be ignorant, a sissy or a commie. Have a nice day.)
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To: RobRoy

"It is a stewardship thing. It also allows me to buy a nicer bass."

There's a man with priorities. Go Warwick. ;-)


69 posted on 02/26/2007 10:53:32 AM PST by L98Fiero (A fool who'll waste his life, God rest his guts.)
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To: durasell

>>They ain't making any more land.<<

That's not really true. It is kinda like "is it true you stopped beating your wife?"

When land becomes actually limited, the statement you made will be germain. It isn't.

There is LOTS of land, at least in the US, Canada and Mexico, and more is being made "available" all the time. For all intents and purposes it is by no means a limited resource.

At least, not for the forseable future...


70 posted on 02/26/2007 10:55:01 AM PST by RobRoy
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To: avacado
Those are meaningless numbers. Without giving the new numbers with inflation adjustments and population increase adjustments those numbers are worthless. And the bottom line of the story is that foolish people took out mortgages that they should not have.

Inflation and population increase combined should have led to a roughly 284% increase in the 1980 to 2006 timeframe.

71 posted on 02/26/2007 10:55:26 AM PST by NYorkerInHouston
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To: Fierce Allegiance

I lost a small percentage for 2001-2002, but it was upsetting enough to think that might be a long trend! However, I hung in and invested more aggressively in the down market. That's hard for some people to do, and it's easier to imagine that she stopped buying, and even removed money from the market - and so did not have the right position to make money for the following years, as so many of us have.


72 posted on 02/26/2007 10:55:54 AM PST by linda_22003
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To: RobRoy
Americans are still diving in. Are they falling for the economic hype coming out of the White House? Incredibly, 39 percent of new mortgages in the first half of this year were non-traditional, high risk mortgages ...

Refresh my memory. When did the White House tell anyone to do something as stupid as borrowing more than he can repay.

73 posted on 02/26/2007 10:56:49 AM PST by JoeGar
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To: bkepley

>>Here's some shocking news..it's the same way it's always been and it's the worst system imaginable except for all the others.<<

I agree. But sometimes it is painful. It is about to be.


74 posted on 02/26/2007 10:56:57 AM PST by RobRoy
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To: avacado
Depends on what you mean, if you took out a mortgage which was fixed and within your range way to go. If you took an ARM you could barely afford or refinanced to cover other debt thereby making your mortgage too high for you to manage you made a mistake.

I took out a minimal 140K mortgage (paymets are about 15% of my income (before taxes, and benefits)..

75 posted on 02/26/2007 10:57:35 AM PST by N3WBI3 ("Help me out here guys: What do you do with someone who wont put up or shut up?" - N3WBI3)
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To: leilani
>>Yep. And the "lower class" in the US today enjoys more material prosperity than any population anywhere in the history of civilization.<<

Yes. I believe it is called "bread and circuses".
76 posted on 02/26/2007 10:58:07 AM PST by RobRoy
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To: linda_22003

Can you imagine losing $700,000 and not doing a damn thing about it but whine? How the heck does anyone lose over 80% of their principle and not do anything about it?

Hitting down markets is scary, but can be very lucrative and fun on the upside.

Diversification is the key.


77 posted on 02/26/2007 10:59:13 AM PST by Fierce Allegiance (If something I said angers you, you are must be ignorant, a sissy or a commie. Have a nice day.)
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To: Alberta's Child

What are you saying ? That owning rowhouses in the city promotes more of an understanding of private property than an acre in the suburbs ?

I'll bite - how do suburban homes differ from city homes in their private property aspects ?

Let's see - people in cities pay property taxes, wage taxes, city taxes, and usually extra sales taxes, while people in the suburbs pay property taxes, township taxes, and that's it.

I think you have your statement backwards.


78 posted on 02/26/2007 10:59:57 AM PST by cinives (On some planets what I do is considered normal.)
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To: Ramcat

>>This story has obvious flaws.
Regardless, Americans are loosing their freedom as a result of debt.
These aren't limited to those who took out risky, sub prime loans.
The average middle class professional has little time to consider the implications of local government let alone become involved. He accepts increased taxation as a means of preserving his neighborhood schools and property value. The result is expanded debt and less freedom.<<

Thank you. You pretty much summed up how I feel about this article. The warning isn't perfect (they never are), but to throw it out completely would be unwise. Very unwise.


79 posted on 02/26/2007 10:59:59 AM PST by RobRoy
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To: RobRoy
>>They ain't making any more land.<<

That's not really true.

Wow, you are really a frickin wizard, aren't you?

80 posted on 02/26/2007 11:00:45 AM PST by Fierce Allegiance (If something I said angers you, you are must be ignorant, a sissy or a commie. Have a nice day.)
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