Hamas War

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Bailout, What About...?

I understand that parallel to the US Elections is the controversy about the bailout program. Here in Israel, I have different problems and priorities, like the survival of my town and country, but it seems against standard American operating procedure to subsidize, cushion the financial foul-ups in private enterprise.

Wouldn't it make more sense for the American Government to provide special welfare payment deals to people who are losing their homes? That money would go indirectly into some of these big financial institutions and rescue those people really suffering.

OK, I admit that I don't keep up with all aspects of the American economy, but I don't see the point of helping the rich and ignoring the poor.

8 comments:

Leora said...

Part of the foul up came from government intervention. They promised homes to people that can't afford them (many people in Israel live in apartments, why can't people in America), and many politicians pocketed money along the way to keep this situation in place. It was caused by the government.

Wolf Howling writes well on this topic.

Batya said...

I don't know how it really began, but when mortgages and loans became big business, recruited by telemarkers, it was clear that the bubble would burst.

Years ago it was hard to get a loan or mortgage. You needed collateral and to prove you really had the means to pay it back. People begged the banks. Now telemarketers work hard to convince anyone and everyone that they can afford a loan.

Hadassa DeYoung said...

Shalom!
The Ludwig von Mises website has a Bailout Reader at the following link:

http://mises.org/story/3128

The articles are grouped by subtopic.

I'll add to Leora's comment that the government intervention included Bill Clinton's insistence that mortgage banks adhere to some UN resolution concerning rights to housing.
I'm not quite sure how giving people mortgages that they can't afford falls under the heading of "rights to housing". I'll, bli neder, look for a link to the Bill Clinton story.
Hadassa

Batya said...

Thanks, Hadassa
Wow, to think that the financial problems can be traced back to Bill. Aren't the dems lucky they don't have Hillary as Pres candidate...

ps Revital has her old #

Leora said...

Except Obama has been the biggest recipient of Fannie Mae funds since 2005. Obama and Fannie Mae

I, for one, would definitely have preferred Hillary.

Batya said...

leora, do people know? Or the McCains do and Obama considers all negative about him racist?

Leora said...

Many of the bloggers I read are "screaming" at/to McCain to speak out more on this. No, the mainstream media does not cover this topic thoroughly. Yes, he would get declared racist.

Today McCain did start talking about Obama's association with a terrorist. We'll have to wait and see what McCain says next. Palin seems more likely to speak up first. I think VPs are supposed to do that, do some of the dirty mud-slinging in politics.

Batya said...

Thanks
I know that the American tv news is poor, so I guess most people don't really know much.