Simply put gentlemen, the devil is in the details and the details pretty much dispel this conservative based myth once and for all. Sorry R.M. and Fox you will have to find another so called liberal cause to blame as there is little or no truth to CRA being remotely at the heart of this mess. When you have come down off your high horse and really examined the data, you'll find that two thirds of the mortages were neither low income nor minority focused so you need a new plan of blame.
http://www.newamerica.net/blog/asset-building/2008/its-still-not-cra-7222
Friday, October 10, 2008
How do art and politics mesh?
Well I am not sure about this one but it is my blog at least for the immediate future. I see art in many things. The art of saying no that a parent uses when talking to a small child. The art of negotiation when buying or selling something that you really want. How many of us have really loved the art that evoked something in us but simply could not afford the artist's price. I am not talking about getting a better price but getting something that you almost cannot do without. That is well priceless in some respects and in others just plays to our materialistic instincts.
At any rate, I have purchased one or two paintings in my life that I simply wanted because they spoke to me. That is where a true appreciation for art lies. I love the work of Henry Pitz. He was a Pennsylvania area artist and author who illustrated childrens books and wrote for one of the art magazines of the fifties. I really enjoyed his art because it had elements of the Brandywine School illustrators and his own cubist tendencies intertwined. Hopefully I can get a few pictures of my favorite, Hilltown, up in the future. For now it must stay in storage. At any rate. enjoy the next few weeks political blogs followed by some real art articles.
best regards
Phil
At any rate, I have purchased one or two paintings in my life that I simply wanted because they spoke to me. That is where a true appreciation for art lies. I love the work of Henry Pitz. He was a Pennsylvania area artist and author who illustrated childrens books and wrote for one of the art magazines of the fifties. I really enjoyed his art because it had elements of the Brandywine School illustrators and his own cubist tendencies intertwined. Hopefully I can get a few pictures of my favorite, Hilltown, up in the future. For now it must stay in storage. At any rate. enjoy the next few weeks political blogs followed by some real art articles.
best regards
Phil
Community Reinvestment Act Was Not the Cause
Here is a brief snipet from Aaron Pressman's article from business week please go there for the full article. Hopefully he and BusinessWeek will forgive my cut and paste under fair use guidelines
Community Reinvestment Act had nothing to do with subprime crisis
Posted by: Aaron Pressman on September 29
Fresh off the false and politicized attack on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, today we’re hearing the know-nothings blame the subprime crisis on the Community Reinvestment Act — a 30-year-old law that was actually weakened by the Bush administration just as the worst lending wave began. This is even more ridiculous than blaming Freddie and Fannie.
The Community Reinvestment Act, passed in 1977, requires banks to lend in the low-income neighborhoods where they take deposits. Just the idea that a lending crisis created from 2004 to 2007 was caused by a 1977 law is silly. But it’s even more ridiculous when you consider that most subprime loans were made by firms that aren’t subject to the CRA. University of Michigan law professor Michael Barr testified back in February before the House Committee on Financial Services that 50% of subprime loans were made by mortgage service companies not subject to comprehensive federal supervision and another 30% were made by affiliates of banks or thrifts which are not subject to routine supervision or examinations. As former Fed Governor Ned Gramlich said in an August, 2007, speech shortly before he passed away: “In the subprime market where we badly need supervision, a majority of loans are made with very little supervision. It is like a city with a murder law, but no cops on the beat.”
Community Reinvestment Act had nothing to do with subprime crisis
Posted by: Aaron Pressman on September 29
Fresh off the false and politicized attack on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, today we’re hearing the know-nothings blame the subprime crisis on the Community Reinvestment Act — a 30-year-old law that was actually weakened by the Bush administration just as the worst lending wave began. This is even more ridiculous than blaming Freddie and Fannie.
The Community Reinvestment Act, passed in 1977, requires banks to lend in the low-income neighborhoods where they take deposits. Just the idea that a lending crisis created from 2004 to 2007 was caused by a 1977 law is silly. But it’s even more ridiculous when you consider that most subprime loans were made by firms that aren’t subject to the CRA. University of Michigan law professor Michael Barr testified back in February before the House Committee on Financial Services that 50% of subprime loans were made by mortgage service companies not subject to comprehensive federal supervision and another 30% were made by affiliates of banks or thrifts which are not subject to routine supervision or examinations. As former Fed Governor Ned Gramlich said in an August, 2007, speech shortly before he passed away: “In the subprime market where we badly need supervision, a majority of loans are made with very little supervision. It is like a city with a murder law, but no cops on the beat.”
Are quotes art? --- Paul Harvey hasn't come back from lunch yet. to discuss CDSs and finance
Quote for the day
"The way to stop financial joy-riding is to arrest the chauffeur, not the automobile." Woodrow Wilson
"In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield." Warren Buffett
"There is no such thing as an innocent purchaser of stocks." Louis D. Brandeis
May all your troubles be little ones, may your children grow straight and tall, may the world see you as you could be, kind and generous. Phil
"The way to stop financial joy-riding is to arrest the chauffeur, not the automobile." Woodrow Wilson
"In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield." Warren Buffett
"There is no such thing as an innocent purchaser of stocks." Louis D. Brandeis
May all your troubles be little ones, may your children grow straight and tall, may the world see you as you could be, kind and generous. Phil
I'm mad as hell at Kudlow, Wilson, Gramm and the other cheats
Okay I've had enough of the spin to last a lifetime.
What is America supposed to be all about?
Well, we reward the guy who digs the ditch. After all, he is the one with a shovel in his hand and sweat on his brow. We reward the guy who tells him where to dig, the person (male or female) who supervises him. The guy who buys the shovels. the guy who plans where to dig the hole. The city or homeowner that wants or needs the hole. even the banker who finances digging the hole.
And, I fully understand the concept of insurance. If the homeowner wants to ensure the hole is dug so be it. If the ONE banker who actually financed it wants to insure his interest FINE. What I do not understand is how we can sit around and let a bunch of worthless morons (smart morons but morons none the less) bet with each other on whether or not the hole is going to get dug.
In the meantime, we the American poeple are blissfully ignorant of the betting going on because Bob bet Ted and Ted bet Sam. They used a process of betting on the spreads so that essentially Ted was covered whether the hole got dug or not.
I am going to ask a rhetorial question here. Is this really capitalism?
I guess I don't think so. There is no invisible hand here performing the tasks society needs performed. If the bettors subsequently go bankrupt and can't pay anybody for the fine suits they are wearing and subsequently cause a huge frikking economic panic. Why are we not trying to put some of these people in jail?
We put rapists, murderers, and even dui drivers in jail for a lot less because they tear at the fabric of what is good and right about society. Lets put some of these people in jail. Let's make them pay restitution and foreclose their homes in the Hamptons (with advance apologies to the good folks who live out there and don't just make bets for a living)
A couple of weeks ago, I heard Larry Kudlow talking about how the mess was democratically induced because we simply put people in homes they could not afford. Pardon me. excuse me, did I hear that right? Your blaming the guy that wanted the hole dug or the guy with the shovel or those other folks. You must be joking sir. (and I use the term sir in moderation).
Home ownership was and is a great goal especially with an aging demographic and even before a upside down market. Those low income and minority folks are not, I repeat NOT, responsible for this debacle. Are you listening, conservatives?
A guy works his whole life just hoping once in a while things will come out fair. If they do, he has won a little. These low income people did not trade 12 times the value of their property in credit default swaps. The guys with the suits did that. The guys with the suits had wealthy people who'd forgotten what it was like to honestly engage in capitalism helping them.
I work (yes occasionally circumstances force this) as an auctioneer. Last year and up to about four weeks ago I had several people contacting me trying to get out of mortgages just prior to foreclosure. In every instance but one, they were gamblers. They had generally bought a second third forth or fifth house as an investment and were looking to cash out before the banks took back the property. In nearly every instance, they wanted more than they had borrowed even if they had releveraged the place after purchase. These people were not the common folk (well they were) but they got caught up in the tulip bulb craze. If they lose their investments, I will feel sorry for them but that is tough.
I try to help them when I can. I counsel them to look for the sale which nets them the most let alone whether I sell the property or not. So I will continue this rant this evening. And as Paul Harvey says, I will tell you the rest of the story. Stay tuned.
What is America supposed to be all about?
Well, we reward the guy who digs the ditch. After all, he is the one with a shovel in his hand and sweat on his brow. We reward the guy who tells him where to dig, the person (male or female) who supervises him. The guy who buys the shovels. the guy who plans where to dig the hole. The city or homeowner that wants or needs the hole. even the banker who finances digging the hole.
And, I fully understand the concept of insurance. If the homeowner wants to ensure the hole is dug so be it. If the ONE banker who actually financed it wants to insure his interest FINE. What I do not understand is how we can sit around and let a bunch of worthless morons (smart morons but morons none the less) bet with each other on whether or not the hole is going to get dug.
In the meantime, we the American poeple are blissfully ignorant of the betting going on because Bob bet Ted and Ted bet Sam. They used a process of betting on the spreads so that essentially Ted was covered whether the hole got dug or not.
I am going to ask a rhetorial question here. Is this really capitalism?
I guess I don't think so. There is no invisible hand here performing the tasks society needs performed. If the bettors subsequently go bankrupt and can't pay anybody for the fine suits they are wearing and subsequently cause a huge frikking economic panic. Why are we not trying to put some of these people in jail?
We put rapists, murderers, and even dui drivers in jail for a lot less because they tear at the fabric of what is good and right about society. Lets put some of these people in jail. Let's make them pay restitution and foreclose their homes in the Hamptons (with advance apologies to the good folks who live out there and don't just make bets for a living)
A couple of weeks ago, I heard Larry Kudlow talking about how the mess was democratically induced because we simply put people in homes they could not afford. Pardon me. excuse me, did I hear that right? Your blaming the guy that wanted the hole dug or the guy with the shovel or those other folks. You must be joking sir. (and I use the term sir in moderation).
Home ownership was and is a great goal especially with an aging demographic and even before a upside down market. Those low income and minority folks are not, I repeat NOT, responsible for this debacle. Are you listening, conservatives?
A guy works his whole life just hoping once in a while things will come out fair. If they do, he has won a little. These low income people did not trade 12 times the value of their property in credit default swaps. The guys with the suits did that. The guys with the suits had wealthy people who'd forgotten what it was like to honestly engage in capitalism helping them.
I work (yes occasionally circumstances force this) as an auctioneer. Last year and up to about four weeks ago I had several people contacting me trying to get out of mortgages just prior to foreclosure. In every instance but one, they were gamblers. They had generally bought a second third forth or fifth house as an investment and were looking to cash out before the banks took back the property. In nearly every instance, they wanted more than they had borrowed even if they had releveraged the place after purchase. These people were not the common folk (well they were) but they got caught up in the tulip bulb craze. If they lose their investments, I will feel sorry for them but that is tough.
I try to help them when I can. I counsel them to look for the sale which nets them the most let alone whether I sell the property or not. So I will continue this rant this evening. And as Paul Harvey says, I will tell you the rest of the story. Stay tuned.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Blogger Locks Me Out After Just Two Posts
Hey I know this is a brave new world we are living in but I find it hard to believe that my legitimate posts (quantity two) gets locked out after two days for a whopping two url references when I was contacted by someone offering to upgrade my website presence by essentially spam blogging. Obviously these spam blog tools need some work and I appreciate that paying a living breathing person to look at my blog and realize it is not crap (okay it may be crap but it aint spam). Anyhow I am just sounding off a bit until my blog is unlocked or I go elsewhere. What's on your mind? If you have anything you would like to discuss in 500 words or less, just give me a shout.
Phil
Phil
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Leger Painting Lost in Wellesley Mass & More
Sometime around August of last year (2007), the Wellesley College misplaced a three million dollar painting by Fernand Leger called "Women and Child" Apparently after loaning the painting to a mid-western museum and the museum returning the painting, it was left in its packing crate for several months due to building work then going on.
The school is not sure whether it was unintentionally thrown out or spirited away but somewhere out there is a real treasure to be found. If you are up near the school, perhaps it is time for a jaunt to the local landfill. Anyhow we do not revel in the schools misfortunes, we simply encourage people to be on the lookout for a great misplaced work of art.
The Boston Globe originally broke the story of the missing painting. Here is the link
http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2008/08/27/a_masterwork_goes_missing
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