rrforster12 Loc: Leesburg Florida

If you believe that the concept of the government insulating a citizen from incurring a loss due to changing market valuations how about the same government picking up the shares of stock that I bought last year at $100. per share and are now valued at only $40.00. That idea is about as crazy as the mortgage scheme that is being promoted. Follow the money in this scheme and you will find someone who stands to make a killing using taxpayer dollars. Property values, like stocks go up, and they go down. When they are down one has to wait for the cycle to reverse. If you can't afford to wait to sell then you lose. Simple economics.

Michael Hartley Loc: Deer Capital of Georgia

Agree with that, right up to the point of, "you take this much money for the property, or we'll confiscate it".

If we did that, we'd be headed to the big house.

RixPix Loc: Miami, Florida

Everybody gambles...sometimes, you win, sometimes you lose, looks like the mercenary banking industry gonna get the blues...

RixPix Loc: Miami, Florida

Happens all the time for good and bad reasons...urban expansion...corporate manipulation of water rights...happens all the time.

Michael Hartley Loc: Deer Capital of Georgia

That's understood, but what they're doing is something altogether different. If they were going to do something constructive with the properties, that would be one thing. Just seizing them to extort money from a financial institution, is just criminal.

Bangee5 Loc: Louisiana

You have your colors wrong...

Red = Republican, Conservative, Capitalism

Blue = Democrat, Liberal, Socialism

DougW Loc: SoCal

Gov is force. So it would be OK to invade a bank, a business, or some bodies home and TAKE property, to serve so called SOCIAL JUSTICE if you have enough power behind you?

Than you believe the same as Mao Tse tzing, or any of the current Mexican cartels. " Might is Right" "Power comes from the end of a gun".

Blurryeyed Loc: NC Mountains.

Are you really this far out there? Do you understand what this move would do to the mortgage markets?

Tschmath, I used to believe that you were a smart man, now I can see that you are a sheltered socialist who has no literal understanding of how the world works!

If this standard were allowed to be set no-one would be able to afford their new homes as the markets factored in the additional risk of a bleeding heart liberal government simply stealing the collateral used to secure the home loan, on top of that mortgage credit standards would go through the roof and nobody would qualify....

You have got to be kidding me. Liberals never think through their policies they just force their so called justice on the rest of us and never look back at the mess they create. Just look at what is happening with Obama care, there were things that needed to be fixed, so 15% of the population uninsured, insurance companies kicking people off insurance for getting sick, preexisting conditions.... This could have all been fixed without creating the mess that has been created by Obamacare which fixes little as some 10% or more of the country will remain uninsured and people all over the country are being kicked off plans that they were perfectly happy with and now have to settle for plans that they are uncertain of... Many will no longer be seeing the same doctors... Again, liberals applying their social justice with never calculating the long reaching effects of their policies...

It is maddening that such fools feel they can run our lives for us.

13oct1931 Loc: Lebanon, Indiana

Obviously you cannot spell extortion. ALYN

Michael Hartley Loc: Deer Capital of Georgia

Guilty as charged. We have spelling police now? Can't come up with anything more constructive/destructive than that?

DougW Loc: SoCal

Is this better?

Same message

ole sarg Loc: south florida

Apologize for the attack. But, I have a strong bent when it comes to how these crooks got away with trillions of dollars and have not had to pay one cent back. If someone sticks it to them I am for it. Be it the city, state, fed or just a good ole hold up man in the Hamptons!

ole sarg Loc: south florida

If one reads the entire article on this plan it seems very reasonable. If the owner defaults and the bank forecloses it loses on the loan and could come out worse than letting the city be the honest broker to avoid foreclosure.

What the city is proposing is being a short sale buyer who sells the home to the underwater owner and then becomes mortgage holder on the home. I would think the banks would jump at this deal. That is unless they have bundled the underwater mortgages and resold them! Thus, making an immoral deal on an immoral deal!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=215426201&ft=1&f=

Michael Hartley Loc: Deer Capital of Georgia

Has everyone forgotten, Bill Clinton had an idea back in the mid nineties, that everyone that wanted to be a homeowner, should be, whether they could afford it or, not. It was called the Community Re-Investment Act, or something. Congress mandated the mortgage lenders, they 'HAD' to write at least 15% of their mortgages, to people who could in no way pay them back. No ifs, ands, or buts.

Then the finacial institutions were able to bundle the bad paper, and sell it to Freddie and Fanny. Which we just paid for a couple years ago.

RixPix Loc: Miami, Florida

Yes, absolutely. After the "financial industry" decimated the economy the government should have stepped in and taken over the shebang. Lock, safe and assets, frozen the trading of all high risk products and put the bankers in the clink before taking all and i mean all the money. Now, you have my permission to go completely crazy...you're halfway there already. When a child misbehaves we take the toys and issue a time out. This should be true for the banking industry as well. F...the stock holders, f...the institutions....power to and for the people... :lol: