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NBC: Screw Your Neighbors -- Walking Away from you Mortgage is 'Ethical,' 'Good Business Decision'
Newsbusters ^ | 04/20/10 | Anthony Kang

Posted on 04/20/2010 11:50:10 AM PDT by 198ml

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To: CharacterCounts
“When a bank fails to impose sufficient requirements (such as a down payment, and an earnings to debt ratio that shows you can afford the house) the are taking an inordinate risk. When you lend foolishly, you can expect the default rate to skyrocket.

The banks share some of the fault in this scheme.

As the old saying goes: It takes two to tango.”

While all of that is true, it does not justify people saying that it is ok to default on a loan. That is just rationalizing bad behavior. Conservatives believe in self-responsibility. If you screw up and pay too much for something, you should be man enough to pay for anyway and not try to shift the blame to someone else. Nobody twisted the buyer's arms to do it.

41 posted on 04/20/2010 12:26:44 PM PDT by HwyChile
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To: CharacterCounts

“Unless I work for the government.”

80% or more of those should be fired tomorrow!!!


42 posted on 04/20/2010 12:26:52 PM PDT by dalereed
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To: keepitreal

True, technology changes - robotics displaces labor.

But, consider Dell Computer for example. They get tax incentives to move to Tenn and hire 10,000 employees. For 5 years these people buy homes, raise a family and go to work. Then one day they show up for work and are told that they are laid off. Why? Because the 5 yr tax abatement that Dell took for bringing the company to Tennesee has expired, and the company has chased another tax abatement somewhere else, leaving empty buildings behind, a devastated local economy and thousands of families with not only no income; but a depressed economy and everyone fighting for the same job at a fraction of the old job’s cost.

Dell has a rich history of laying thousands, up to 12,000 people off in a single day. Sometimes these jobs go to India, sometimes to China. But each time the motivation to move is not due to poor worker quality; but tax incentives.

When a Congressman takes free ‘trips’ or is appointed to committees or gets a job on the BOD in exchange for a vote - this sort of thing happens. And it’s happening more and more frequently.

But, to your case - your Grandfather was not laid off because of refusal to work hard, his job was made obsolete - and that will always happen at some point in time. However, the loss of jobs due to obsolecense is infinitely small compared to the loss of manufacturing caused by unions and more especially our elected leaders.


43 posted on 04/20/2010 12:29:02 PM PDT by Hodar (Who needs laws .... when this "feels" so right?)
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To: Notary Sojac
“If you stopped making payments, but refused to move out of the house, that would be “defaulting on the contract”.
Agreeing to turn the house over to the bank (provided that you turn it over in good condition) in return for being freed of the payment obligation, is in fact a situation that is contemplated in the contract and should not really be termed “default” at all.”

WRONG!!! You are writing to a real attorney here (me). A foreclosure is a remedy for defaulting on the note. Why do you think it ruins your credit genius? LOL. Man people on here are so wrong it is funny.

44 posted on 04/20/2010 12:29:05 PM PDT by HwyChile
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To: dalereed

Ummm, you want to deplete 80% of our Military? How about the civilians that maintain our fighters, naval ships, tanks, military repair stations and weapons? Shut down NASA?


45 posted on 04/20/2010 12:30:47 PM PDT by Hodar (Who needs laws .... when this "feels" so right?)
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To: HwyChile
While all of that is true, it does not justify people saying that it is ok to default on a loan. That is just rationalizing bad behavior. Conservatives believe in self-responsibility. If you screw up and pay too much for something, you should be man enough to pay for anyway and not try to shift the blame to someone else. Nobody twisted the buyer's arms to do it.

No disagreement. I was merely asserting that banks have their share of fault in this mess.

It like unprotected sex. Both parties become responsible for the outcome.

46 posted on 04/20/2010 12:31:05 PM PDT by CharacterCounts (November 4, 2008 - the day America drank the Kool-Aid)
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To: RobRoy

You sound knowledgeable. Do you think that someone today who has 50% equity in a home, one which has not lost much of its value, and a low 4.65% interest rate on a mortgage, but who can (just barely) afford to pay it off, should do so?


47 posted on 04/20/2010 12:31:30 PM PDT by MrChips (MrChips)
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To: HwyChile

Boy this board has been overtaken by people without a clue. We benefit greatly from our free trade with China and would not be as wealthy as we are without that trade.


If you consider trillions in trade deficits with Communist China as “wealth”....you do not understand economics. If you consider Communist China buying billions in US debt “wealth”.....you have a major problem. These are the facts

Free Trade with Communist China has wrecked the economy. Millions have lost their jobs, and the rest of us must suffer through high trade deficits and debt to Communist China. Eventually, the US must pay for those things....and I do not want my taxes raised because of Communists like you who support Free Trade with Communist China.


The banks got a big government bailout that I disagreed with, but to try to rationalize that into giving you the right to default on a loan is just silly and wrongheaded. The banks made the loans because the government enticed them to make them. I did not see you complaining when you took the loan and were able to buy the house.


No sympathy for any bank that took the government welfare check. They got that welfare based on the collapsing housing and property market. Now banks are refusing to renegotiate the bad loans they made....for which the govt bailed them out for. You may like such Business Socialism....but I do not.


48 posted on 04/20/2010 12:32:20 PM PDT by UCFRoadWarrior (JD Hayworth for Senate ..... jdforsenate.com)
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To: Hodar
While much of what you say is true regarding companies getting tax breaks and moving for them, you have to realize that the person who has the job has no job security because they have no real skills. Any time you have low skills, your job is more likely less secure. The best remedy to this problem is get some very valuable skills that are not easy for a company to just go somewhere else and easily train someone to replace you. Putting mother boards in a dell computer requires no skills.
49 posted on 04/20/2010 12:32:47 PM PDT by HwyChile
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To: 198ml

Our home lost $110,000 of its value. We’ve been trying to sell it on and off for three years. We are still paying for it even though we are out of state and are barely making ends meet. It’s so tempting to say screw it, screw it to the liberal neighbors who voted for the ding bats who run the city and state into the ground....... But we haven’t and won’t. Still, I’m angry at the politicians who caused this crisis and are making it worse.


50 posted on 04/20/2010 12:34:23 PM PDT by dragonblustar ("... and if you disagree with me, then you sir, are worse than Hitler!" - Greg Gutfeld)
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To: dalereed
80% or more of those should be fired tomorrow!!!

The way government works, it would hire another 100% to fire the 80% and given each of them a golden parachute.

51 posted on 04/20/2010 12:36:27 PM PDT by CharacterCounts (November 4, 2008 - the day America drank the Kool-Aid)
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To: HwyChile
I understand economics very well, and I stand by my statement that our trade with China has made all of us greatly more wealthy than without that trade. People like you do not understand economics. The jobs that are lost are not jobs that we want because they do not pay anything and thus it is better to let 3rd world workers do those jobs while we perform jobs that have a better return. Furthermore, we do not have the capacity to make all the goods and services that we demand in this country, and thus without China we would not have all the things that we buy from them (those items would be rationed by very high prices).

Banks got a bailout, but most are paying it back. To use that as some excuse for your lack of personal responsibility for not paying your debts is pathetic and very telling of you as a person.

52 posted on 04/20/2010 12:38:10 PM PDT by HwyChile
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To: dalereed

Oh, I agree. Business exist to make a profit. Period.

They are not there to babysit employees; however they do expect loyalty from their employees - and are the first to break the loyalty if there is a dime to be made.

Hard work, and being laid off are totally unrelated topics.

My ethics are different from yours. My view is that the employer should have a meeting with their employee’s wive’s or significant others and say

“I intend to exploit your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend for financial gain. I intend to work him hard, and for his work I will give him a fair wage, benefits and we will continue along this contract as long as our business will allow. However, my promise to you, those who depend upon my employee’s pay - is that I will return him to you at the end of his shift, tired; but in the same or better physical condition from which he arrived.”

Unfortunately, we are treating employees the same way we treat an expendable resource - assuming that there is no responsibility from the employer to the employee. I feel that is morally and ethically unjust.

A Good employer is not only a steward of his business, but is also responsible to maintain a means for his employees to support their families. There used to be thousands of ‘Good Employers’ in the USA. They are rare in the extreme today - we’ve traded civility, honor and teamwork for a short term profit. I feel we’ve made a horrible decision, short sighted and with consequences we are just beginning to realize today.


53 posted on 04/20/2010 12:40:53 PM PDT by Hodar (Who needs laws .... when this "feels" so right?)
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To: 198ml

Hey NBC, is it ok to walk away from my tax bill on April 15?
Maybe you all should lead by example. Quit paying your payroll, don’t pay your income and property taxes. You are all upside down on your talent, in that you are paying them way more than they are worth. C’mon nbc, put your money where your mouth is. I’m sure your messiah will bail you out.


54 posted on 04/20/2010 12:43:06 PM PDT by Texas resident (Outlaw fisherman)
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To: dragonblustar
Wow that is a very big decrease in value. The best you can hope for is that the economy starts booming again and prices go back up, and they will eventually. I live in a state that did not have as big a bubble, but my house is worth less than I paid for it when I bought it 3 years ago. I would lose (without a Realtor) probably 20-30k if I sold it. It suck because it keeps me from moving to another state. I may eventually bite the bullet and take some loss with a sale just to move on.
55 posted on 04/20/2010 12:43:28 PM PDT by HwyChile
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To: unspun

“It is gross manipulation, to assume moral superiority over someone, when there in fact is none, to get him to do what you want him to do. People should “not go there.” It is akin to witch craft in its controlling nature.”

I love the way you articulated that.


56 posted on 04/20/2010 12:44:13 PM PDT by dixiedarlindownsouth (Coming soon to a bookstore near you, Barack Obama's "How to win friends as you screw your country")
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To: HwyChile

I was referring to the BIOS engineers and layout engineers that support the motherboard development group, for the consumer market.

Austin used to have over 10,000 engineers, technicians, program managers, and programmers supporting a host of Desktop platforms world-wide. This function was moved to China, partially funded by the US Gov’t. This move also included the Laptop and Enterprise computing group.

The new group is called CDG (China Development Group). Conversely, the Enterprise Storage Solutions Group moved to Mumbai, India. Again, with incentives from the US Gov’t.


57 posted on 04/20/2010 12:44:20 PM PDT by Hodar (Who needs laws .... when this "feels" so right?)
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To: HwyChile
The banks got a big government bailout that I disagreed with, but to try to rationalize that into giving you the right to default on a loan is just silly and wrongheaded.

And that bailout distorted the market. Regardless of the argument if walking away from your mortgage is right or wrong, do you think the banks would have such the upper hand when it comes to "enforcing" the mortgage contracts if they didn't have the government backing them up? I'm willing to bet the banks would be standing in line to make sure homeowners would stay in their home if the heavy hand of government wasn't floating them cash.

58 posted on 04/20/2010 12:44:33 PM PDT by VeniVidiVici
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To: MrChips

I think we are headed for Zimbabwe inflation. I would not pay it off unless I had plenty of money to spare and was trying to avoid ALL debt at ALL costs.

I see it like this: My brother told me that mortgage “life insurance” was the most expensive and worthless insurance on the planet. He asked, “If a woman’s husband died, which would she rather have? An insurance company pay the remaining $200,000 of her mortgage, or $200,000 in the bank and still have to make payments on her $200,000 mortgage? Seems pretty obvious.

Especially at the interest rate you are paying. ;)


59 posted on 04/20/2010 12:45:51 PM PDT by RobRoy (The US Today: Revelation 18:4)
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To: Hacklehead

That is why car loans have different rules. The rules are designed around the scenario.

Also, with a car, you may be under water by a few months income. With a home you may be underwater several YEARS worth of income. The incentive is there to walk away and let your credit rating be trashed. Heck, I’d trash my credit score for a few hundered big ones in the bank. REAL money trumps “credit score” every time.


60 posted on 04/20/2010 12:48:35 PM PDT by RobRoy (The US Today: Revelation 18:4)
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