Angry renters say 'hell no!' to government bailout
By Jessica Swesey, Wednesday, April 16, 2008.Bookmarking Sites
"I'm doing the responsible thing, saving my money until I can afford a home. Sigh."
Those words come from someone named "Stephanie T." in Berkeley, Calif., and are displayed at a Web site, AngryRenter.com, which as you might've guessed is a site formed by angry renters who are protesting any government bailouts for house flippers and banks.
The site includes a petition with over 2,000 signatures to be delivered to Congress on April 21. The petition proclaims:
WHEREAS: Most Americans rent or own their home outright, and the vast majority of homes (98%) are not in foreclosure.
WHEREAS: Both banks and borrowers should be reponsible [sic] for their actions, and the government should not reward reckless behavior.
WHEREAS: It is wrong to force all taxpayers-- including renters who are already subsidizing home owners through the tax code-- to pay for additional bailouts for big banks and home flippers.
BE IT RESOVED: That Congress should not pass any bailout programs that reward risky borrowing and lending. Let the free market sort it out!
Or, as Alan P. in Hialeah, Fla., notes in his signature:
"I am working very hard to come up with the money to actually save for a house I can afford. Why should I subsidize those who went for instant gratification and didn't do what I am prudently doing? If every gambler and speculator is to be bailed out, why should anyone do the right thing?"
The notion of a government bailout in the wake of the housing boom excesses that had people buying homes with no money down, flipping houses for cold cash, and some lenders making off with huge bonuses is a hard one for renters to swallow.
No doubt, on the surface it does appear as if irresponsible investing will be subsidized by taxpayers. But what angry renters may not realize is that they will pay for these mistakes whether there is a government bailout or not -- in the form of depreciating home values, loss of city revenues, and a dragging economy.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em?
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Submitted by Matt Carter on April 16, 2008 - 11:32am.
I think the polls show the vast majority of people are opposed to a "bailout," but the question is, what constitutes a bailout?
Jeremy Seigel had an interesting piece a while back on the Fed's role in the sale of Bear Stearns to JP Morgan Chase. By providing $29 billion in loans, the Fed "probably did prevent Bear from going into insolvency, but it hardly 'bailed out' investors," he said.
Most of Bear Stearns value was wiped out by the sale, Seigel said, and because of the way the deal was structured, the Fed could actually end up making money. The alternative -- a potential collapse of financial markets -- would have affected us all.
Or consider the proposal put forward by Barney Frank to authorize FHA to guarantee $300 billion in refis. Lenders would only be able to recover 85 percent of a distressed property's CURRENT value, and the program would include restrictions to limit the profits of homeowners who tried to flip their homes if housing markets recovered. Frank claims the program would pay for itself because it would be paid for by premiums collected from borrowers.
I'm not saying either one of these actions was or would be the best approach, but it's not clear to me what specific "bailout" proposal angryrenters.com is fighting.
I think even Barney Frank would agree with their proposition that "Congress should not pass any bailout programs that reward risky borrowing and lending."
Angryrenters.com is pitching itself as a grassroots thing, but it's actually backed by FreedomWorks, a conservative think tank headed by former House Majority Leader Armey. Their big causes include a flat tax (Steve Forbes is a board member) and illegal immigration. The group also believes "efforts to regulate carbon dioxide are an attempt by the global Left to gain control of the U.S. economy."
Not a terribly intelligent starting point for a debate.
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Submitted by Ki Gray on April 23, 2008 - 3:14pm.
I think any bailouts should obviously be in the forms of loans. But I think the government sitting on their hands could cause more problems for everyone including renters. If the economy collapses people could lose their jobs whether they rent or now.
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Submitted by Mary Davis on August 11, 2008 - 7:53am.
I've been ranting an apartment for three years now. The only way I can get one of my own is if I'm married and I have the patience to wait on the town hall's list for a few years. After that there are no guarantees that I'll have the same job to pay the apartment. And what about renters insurance? Since when do I have to pay one just to live in one's house? The owner should have an insurance and that's that.
Submitted by Michael Reilly on August 11, 2008 - 8:14am.
For the longest time in Austin, Rents (in general) were far cheaper than buying. As the national slowdown is starting to creep into Austi and many areas are seeing a housing slowdown we are finally seeing home prices come back into line with a normal relation to rental prices.
Michael Reilly, REALTOR
Great Austin Properties, LLC
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Submitted by muthu m on October 13, 2008 - 11:38am.
We've bailed out enough bad business deals over the years. The bankers and loan sharks should not be rewarded for poor business deals by paying their debts.
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Muthu
Houses for sale in Berkeley, CA
Submitted by muthu m on October 16, 2008 - 3:38am.
For the same reason the feds bailed out all the farmers in the 80s with the special chapter 12 bankruptcy provision that allowed farmers who were bankrupt to keep the land and are now sitting on gold mines.
the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
-------------------------
Muthu
Sreevysh Corp
Submitted by Larry Hotz on October 21, 2008 - 7:03am.
they say they now have 60,000 signatures on their petition. If you look at their website, it's hard to figure out what exactly they want.
It seems to be a mishmash of emotion and strange charges. There were some good arguments against the $750 billion plus recovery program. But they don't seem to be articulated there.
Instead you are assaulted with bizarre and unfounded charges like this:
"I would like to know if all these Real Estate agents declared all those heafty commisions and profits in their tax returns? How can we keep giving bailouts to the least deserving if tax revenues are going down? If someone bought a million dollar home why was he not paying taxes for that amount?"
Over and above the misspelling, the comment suggests that real estate agents are not paying their taxes. That's already against the law. And why should someone pay taxes for purchasing a home?
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Submitted by satheesh kumar on November 20, 2008 - 8:08pm.
Stephanie T is a nice gentle man he got an tragedy in his life it is unforgettable for him.what he questioned was a right thing only the government has to take the necessary action.they will pay for those mistakes whether there is a government bailout or not ?
**************
Gomez
Sale By Owner
Submitted by Kim Gibbons on November 29, 2008 - 5:50am.
This is a social crime that is accepted as unintended consequences, collateral damage or not my problem man. But here are people that have done what they were supposed to, they honored their obligation to paying rent.
Who step and do the right thing to protect these people? Renters clearly need a bill of rights.
The government shouldn't pay; the banks, investors and mortgage companies should!
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