No! Because some liberal with make a "feel good" speech about how more "City" housing is needed and how we need to rid the community of such horrible looking properties.Next they tear down these properties.Lastly rens in area go up due to lack of available housing on the market.Reduce regulations and building requirments and watch investers flocking to your city to build new apartment and rent them at reasonable prices!If there is an issuse,it with liberal leaning dims whoalway have a "feel good " solution t oall your problems!

@mas098

Sorry, but if your a republican your just as much of a problem in this country as any "liberal."

Facts are facts, both sides screw people over to get what they want, you'll have to realize that or you'll go crazy trying to blame everything on "liberals" while your republican leaders screw you over just the same.

LOL @mas098, do you even understand that when the market was booming many apartment communities were bought up by investors and turned into condos? After the boom went bust there were less "rental" property available and they could use that to boost rent prices as many of those condos are reverting back to apartments to make money off of that too. God, such ignorance of how American capitalism works. The lack of regulations of a few areas such was the securities market for loans bundled and sold as grade A when many were sub-prime is EXACTLY why we need to regulate responsibly! Your old idea of low taxes for the wealthy and deregulation was exactly what we tried for the past decade and the proof is now clear to everyone with half a braincell.

"Seta"....what a mor......never mind....I doubt you have the ability to remove your head from your rectum long enough to have an intelligent thought...

“To everybody out there blaming Obama, Bush or any other singular government official as the cause for America's prosperity getting flushed down the toilet. You're missing the big picture. The situation is simple: The near entirety of the US government is corrupt and run by political Bribe-takers bought and paid for by people who have amassed the most wealth overall in this country (Top 1% of the US Population). These politicians, now solely representing their funders and not the voters turn around and pass legislation that gives the Super Rich here every advantage possible, including free money (Quantitative Easing/Bailouts), lower taxes and zero accountability for their actions. In order to prevent revolts from the increased burden to the unrepresented in this country, the Super Rich have set up a bogus political party to siphon off and redirect the anger of the masses (The Republicans) and an ineffectual party (The Democrats) to cave to “republican pressure” while pretending to care about the masses. In addition, they have co-opted and bought out nearly all of the mainstream media in order to filter out any info that would lay the blame on the true culprit, instead leaving the majority of America divided and focusing their energies on decoy scapegoats and partisan nonsense. The super rich and those they pay for care not one bit about jobs or the welfare of the country they grew from. They merely care about having as many digits as possible for their bank statement balance. And if that means the middle/working class will eventually need to vanish, then so be it. The entire system is broken.”

”P.S. Please feel free to repost this message elsewhere if you agree. Part of the way to help turn the tide of this problem is by raising awareness to the reality of the situation. Thx –c”

Originally posted by Craig….and couldn’t have been said better!

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered...'

NO one could have said for sure when the collapse was coming, but there were signs. My husband and I were looking to buy in 2000. We could not understand how so many people could afford to buy all the Mc mansions that were going up like crazy in our area. Everywhere we looked, there was a new, fancy development being built.

Seemed like everyone was trading up. They all thought they would buy a huge house and then flip it in a few years to make a killing. I know several couples who bought as a retirement investments. They were planning to sell their huge homes later, and use the $ to fund their retirements.

Both of us were working and making a decent wage, but we knew that we could not afford one of those nice, shiny new huge home. Everyone told us not "to worry" about it, that we could deduct the interest , that housing "always" went up in price, etc. However, we decided to be more careful.

I know that a lot of people lost homes due to job losses and things that were not their fault. BUT, many people were living way above their means. Those people don't have my sympathy. That housing bubble could not last. I knew this because I could see that most good jobs were gone or going from the U.S. Now a college degree is like a high school diploma. There are no good manufacturing jobs left (or very few)

I think the entire country is being played by the upper class. They love us arguing amongst ourselves. That way we can't unite to put an end to the exodus of good-paying jobs that create so much of their wealth. Remember Ross Perot warned us about NAFTA? Remember Reagan breaking unions, and his "trickle down" economics? seems that not too much trickled down.

People are going to have to be a lot smarter and more careful than ever to make it in this world. We were always frugal but now we are even more so.

SETA. I'm not an OBAMA fan, but you are way out of line.

Yeah, sounds RACIST to me.

Pretty much just seems like an opportunity for slumlords to gouge people for money in a tough situation. People have to shell out the money for the rents and the landlords laugh all the way to the bank while jacking up the rent even more if you dare to ask for maintenance or repairs.

My last landlord has not cashed one rent check since 2009 and has the cashier's checks stashed somewhere. She kicked my family out so she could raise the rent drastically for the new tenants. Of course, its always the tenant's fault though when she wouldn't even return a call for new prospective landlords to give us a reference even though we paid rent for 6 years.

Well put Jredman. Very astute observations.

groucheeoleman, without an Arab-spring-like revolt, I'm afraid the present system remains status quo. I was very connected to the blow by blow of the financial crisis and was simply amazed at the lack of outrage at the actions of the corporate owned politico. Of course we want them to respond within the confines of a civilized democratic process but democracy needs to be purchased in today's society.

Smart money has already anticipated the latest trends in housing and positioned themselves appropriately for max gain. And the cycle continues. Do you suppose that they have the ability to control the cycle or just front-run it?

You wouldn't know whether or not a cashier's check or money order had been cashed, unless you track it. Why would this landlord kick you out to raise the rent on new tenants? It seems to me that if she hasn't cashed a single rent check from you in 2009, she isn't hurting for money enough to drastically raise the rent. If you are month to month, she could drastically raise the rent on you at anytime. Some huge part of the puzzle is missing in your story.

I noticed that Barney Frank just married his Gay lover after having fought for years against Bush's efforts to regulate the loose lending practices at Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac that was at the root of the financial meltdown. Thanks Barney - I hope you're happy with the misery you helped cause to millions of Americans by blocking reform efforts when it might have prevented the financial collapse. You and Chris Dodd did a 'real number' on America.

Markets are amoral and certainly immoral.

They don't care about actual human beings....except for those "Corporate human beings."

Heck of a job Party of No and Conservative Activist Supreme Court.

And Favela's in the Hollywood Hills.

roy wilson :http://motorcityliberal.blogspot.com/2012/06/jon-stewart-demolishes-senators-for.html

the last 45 seconds might be worth mentioning so thanks bob corker

Why would this landlord kick you out to raise the rent on new tenants?

obviously you are quite naive, it happens all the time.

This Scenario Of Misery is AGAIN replayed in history; The last time was in the Well Known era of PreBastilleParis 1789, Better know as the French Revolution. In it's IDENTICAL Replay, the 5% Aristocrat Rich controlled and owned 95% of France's wealth as the "lower classes" starved, had no place to live except in the streets and there was NO HEALTHCARE so people died. Their Gendarme, police, thought they had "Control" of the situation, as the Cops nowadays with "To serve and protect" motto pasted on their cars. Today, as then, it is To Serve The Evil Rich And Protect Their Wealth. Cops are paid OVER $100,000 p/year PLUS Full Health and Dental Care for them and their Brood. As rents go sky rocket high and banks do NOT lend, because of the coming $H!T $TORM, The situation, here in America, is Quietly and Quickly going out of control.

The money for Jobs R&D, New Industry subsidized by the government, New housing, Universal HealthCare and Many Many Other factors for a healthy Country is controlled and pocketed by the 1-10%ers and Corporate Evil Rich.

What's going to happen? Time Will Tell.

groucheeolemanThomas Jefferson said in 1802: 'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered...'

Before requesting people repost your message, you might want to remove your Thomas Jefferson quote because it is historically incorrect. Jefferson never wrote or stated this. This quote is gathered from a spam email. Before posting email spam crap, how about checking Snopes.....

I pray for the day that Barney Frank, Chris Dodd and the other liberals that enabled lenders to give loans to anybody even though the borrowers weren't qualified under reasonable criteria.

I knew a plumber that bought 4 houses with financing from 4 lenders and was barely qualified to handle one mortgage! His plan was to flip them in 2006, but like many others got caught in the crash. He lost them all including the home he and his family lived in.

Can't blame Bush or the Republican for this! Bush fought to rein in Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac, but was rebuffed by the Democrat controlled Congress.... and here we are folks! Rent gouging, the other side of the mortgage scam coin!

"Part of the lender pullback has to do with the stringent regulations Washington put in place after the housing crash", says Michael Fratantoni, vice president of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Excuses AGAIN? WHAT ELSE would I expect? The rules that were put in place DO NOT keep banks from extending credit to anyone with less than a 700 rating: you banking bastards made that up and you've also put a damper on the housing recovery with your refusal to FOLLOW THE RULES. Infantile SOBS: you didn't like the ruling and want the old way where you can make a killing, so you just don't lend and blame the rules you don't like - guess you're showing us, eh? Just remember pal: people aren't stupid which is why public opinion of banks is beginning to TANK.

Roy Wilson:

I must say that slandering Barney Frank because he single-handedly "forced" banks to lend to unqualified buyers smells really bad, because nobody actually forced any bank to loan to any unqualified buyer, so that responsibility lies exclusively with the banks and their underwriting teams, and whether Fannie and Freddie liberalized their mortgage insurance policies has relatively little to do with what happened.

Also, slandering Barney Frank, a former US Senator, because of his sexual orientation, is impermissible according to the rules here too.

If you can't get a loan from your bank even though your credit score is at least 700 and you have 20% down I would recommend trying US Bank, as they were 1 of only 3 of the 15-largest US banks that wasn't recently severely downgraded by Moody's over their potential derivatives liabilities, and in my experience US Bank will hold their own mortgages instead of farming them out too.

memphis kelly see post #2.15

mempiskelly and other apologists for bankers -

Dodd-frank has nothing to do with whether or not bankers make mortgage loans. Liberals did not enable lenders to give money to anyone. Conservatives did. And securities traders on wall street did. Let me explain, ticklebrain:

You can't make loans if you can't sell the loans. You can't sell bad loans unless you lie about their quality and the level of protection (insurance, aka Credit Default Swaps) that can be had. Frank and the rest of the liberals were not the ones selling bad loans by lying about those two things.

You owe it to yourself to try to learn something before spouting off. And you owe it to your children. And it's practical. If your children become convinced you are an ignorant blowhard, they may choose not to support you in your old age. But after all love may conquer all.

jrt077,

Scream! Yell! that is the only thing people understand. Smack some liberals and punch some conservatives. Then they might shut their mouths and listen.

Look the price of everything is going up. Wages are not. Landlords are in it to make money not to provide you with housing. Unemployment is high meaning they can offer you $8 for a $12 job. Don't like it work somewhere else.

It is a conundrum a vicious cycle if you need what they have ownership of that is.

R or D can't fix it but R&D can.

Pick a party.

@Roy Wilson

Only you would figure out a way to bring President Obama into your fictitious BS story. Plus, you end up blaming the loans for the criminal acts of wall street. That's like blaming the bullets for the acts of a gun wielding murderer. Not very smart.

Roy, you're going to have to actually research some of your BS assertions. It's pretty obvious to everybody that you hate Democrats and you especially hate President Obama. Maybe it's because he is so much smarter then you and you just hate that. Of course I have a Golden Retriever who is smarter then you so there you go.

@roy wilson

You must be high on crack to blame the housing crash on Barney Frank, seeing the housing bubble really took off during COMPLETE REPUBLICAN RULE. They had every opportunity to get reform passed when they controlled both houses and the Presidency so why didn't they try to do more? What the Democrats balked at was Bush and company simply wanted to break Fannie and Freddie up and sell them off to private corporations where they would have less regulations. Republicans also balked at reform because the were lobbied extensively and nobody dared speak of ending the boom that was the only thing creating jobs under the Bush administration. Remember the Great Ownership Society? Yeah how'd that work out for ya? Ask Bill Frist why he wouldn't allow a vote on later reform, go ahead. So don't go revising history because we all know that both parties dropped the ball here because both parties are owned by corporate interests. You simply prefer to blame the liberal figurehead that irks you the most and hope that if you repeat it enough people will believe it without researching for themselves.

The Gestapo, will be bringing the affordable housing act to a city near you soon. He will push it through as a tax mandate. You will need to pay more taxes for your neighbors housing cost. Ps, did you know that Obama promised foreigners citizenship, if they came over and invested. Guess who's buying up all these rentals?

Barney Frank, is rich as fu*k from all the housing kickbacks, up in Washington. That 42 year old married him, like Anna Nicole Smith Married that oil billionaire. MONEY!

Oh how nice, a leprechaun calling someone "The Gestapo" just because the leprechaun doesn't like that someone. Hey, leprechaun, bet you already knew that the last hero of the Reich-wing CONservative Crue also promised citizenship to foreigners if they would "help" the U.S.A. Bet you knew -- but just simply choose to IGNORE it.

And, leprechaun, if you want to be Irish, mebbe you should move to IRELAND. The United States of America is for Americans.

I don't think anyone is saying Barney Frank, or any other individual, is responsible for the mess we have. The point is that Barney Frank and, I think it's fair to say, every democrat on any of the committees of either house which had any oversight of Fannie or Freddie stood in the way of reforms that could have prevented the size of the bubble.

The bubble was already well inflated by the time Mr. Bush became president, and the causes for it are fairly easy to see and have been underway for decades. Every government policy which induced people, at the margins or not, to enter into a contract they otherwise would not have, helped to inflate the bubble. I frankly don't see why the left has such difficulty in getting this point. It isn't partisan, it is simple economics. And it isn't partisan to say that over time democrats and liberals favored those policies far more than republicans and conservatives. That's just a fact that anyone can discover on their own.

We remain in great trouble but not because banks aren't lending as they used to (particularly since almost everyone says they shouldn't be lending like they used to), but because instead that we spilt into, roughly speaking, two camps on this issue. Conservatives, like me, want all governmental incentives to end, whether those are tax breaks or Fannie or Freddie first-time buyer credits or whatever. Liberals, like many above, want an array of governmental controls over the industry, whether it's forced lending to those who score a certain level, or capital requirements, price controls, or whatever.

I think the fact that we got into this fix over many decades because of governmental involvement at every level ought to be a sign to at least some people besides conservatives that continued governmental involvement might not lead to market perfection either. But it hasn't. And it won't. And I don't know how to explain it to liberals so they can comprehend this point, but my guess is they can't be persuaded in any event. So we will continue to muddle along, trying to deceive the Laws of Economics in the hope we can continue to get something for nothing.

The result of all that? We leave a lesser America to our heirs. They will have more debt, and fewer assets. Ours is the most immoral generation because of this.

Pretty much just seems like an opportunity for slumlords to gouge people for money in a tough situation. People have to shell out the money for the rents and the landlords laugh all the way to the bank while jacking up the rent even more if you dare to ask for maintenance or repairs.

Never had a slumlord for my land lord So I don't know what that is like I avoid places like that.

This Scenario Of Misery is AGAIN replayed in history; The last time was in the Well Known era of PreBastilleParis 1789, Better know as the French Revolution. In it's IDENTICAL Replay, the 5% Aristocrat Rich controlled and owned 95% of France's wealth as the "lower classes" starved, had no place to live except in the streets and there was NO HEALTHCARE so people died.

And the french poor were too stupid to see what the wealthy were trying to do so they would be affected less by famine but the French people refused to eat the potato because it was below there status to do that.

Too bad for all the Reich-wingers and CONservatives that it has been, for the past 50 years at least, the Reich-wingers and CONservatives who have yammered on about how all the "liberal" regulations are always at fault.

Well, the Reich-wing CONservatives got part of their banking industry de-regulated -- and the 99% (you know who they are, they are the ones who actually do the WORK that keeps every industry going -- not the "suits" on Wall Street) are the ones who are now suffering.

Hell, if it were not for us worker bees, all you Wall Street types would have to fix your own houses and cars -- and oh, gosh, who would maintain all those thousands of millions of acres of private gardens!?!

Auto 101.... How nice that you are able to afford to live wherever you wish to live, and that your intelligence is so superior to everyone else's. Hey, how about you come down from that ivory tower for a while and see what life is like for us mere mortals?

The French were "too stupid" to know what was being done to them? REALLY!?! I suppose YOU were alive back then, and were one of the uber-rich landlords doing everything you could to keep all those "stupid" French peasants in abject poverty.........

Banks are rejecting 50% of mortgage applications. Why? Becasue, the more they can reject, the more houses they can foreclose on and make a quick profit on.

Auto 101.... How nice that you are able to afford to live wherever you wish to live, and that your intelligence is so superior to everyone else's. Hey, how about you come down from that ivory tower for a while and see what life is like for us mere mortals?

Why do I have to come down with the turkeys why dont you just try to soar with the eagles.

The French were "too stupid" to know what was being done to them? REALLY!?! I suppose YOU were alive back then, and were one of the uber-rich landlords doing everything you could to keep all those "stupid" French peasants in abject poverty.........

Yes the French had some big dept helping us with the Revolution and that was crushing them economical at all classes. Because of war and their main crop being grain it was very venerable to war and pestilence. They thought that potato were for dogs so they would starve to death than eat a potato. You should study some real history. Most Americans don't know the queen never said "let them eat cake".

I think Darthfrodo's last post presents the general problem the nation faces with this financial issue fairly acutely. In Darthfordo's mind banks, unable to have the money they lent on a home be repaid, are seizing homes through the foreclosure process so they can make a quick profit on the turnaround.

Darthfrodo, whoever taught you mathematics should lose their teaching license and be arrested for impersonating a teacher simply by passing you along. Where to begin...

Okay, so a bank loans, say, $300k to a couple so they can buy a home for $300k. All is looking good until the market tanks. The home, like most homes in the USA, loses a large percentage of its paper value, say $100k, and the couple lose a job in the ensuing recession and stop paying the full amount per month. Maybe they pay nothing. Months go buy with late notices sent. No resolution looks possible so the bank proceeds to repossess the property, now worth $200k, and for which they likely haven't seen any money paid to them for a year or more.

So, using Darthfrodo's mathematical prowess, he concludes that the banks would rather take back properties worth less money than the note owed to the bank in order to sell at foreclosure auction for an amount likely to be less than even the $200k current market value. At a minimum the banks are losing money on every foreclosure--how much is harder to determine, but it is a large percentage of the original loan value.

But then we have the other nugget of Darthfrodo's incomparable mental acuity to consider...that the banks are not LOANING money to people in order to repossess homes and make a quick buck. Now, this little gem doesn't require a degree in math to figure out since it's a logic problem and not math anyhow, but it really shouldn't even require a degree in logic. If banks aren't loaning much money, then the people buying the foreclosures are likely not borrowing the money to do it. What does this mean? No long term interest earned. It's just a write down for the banks.

Darthfrodo, when you next have a thought shoot between your ears and you want to write it down to show your mental capacity...don't.

It's funny that the rents would rise, here where I live the evictions are about 10% per month and most rentals run specials every month, but then the unemployment is still high, and that 10% is sometimes as high as 25%, I've lived here 9 years and most my neighbors I never got to know their names, and besides that if there were an increase I'd move and they know that, so if your a good renter let them know you will not tolerate an increase many of these places are trying to recoup their losses from the good renters and can't afford to have the good renters moving out. I can move anywhere and get a better rental price just for being a good renter 9 years and never a day late, this is what every apartment rental wants, stable and responsible tenates.

Might want to ease off the kool-aid, Phil. It's impacting your objectivity.

Struggling American

This is what the republicans and their 1% friends want- to squeeze everything out of the 99%

And they're doing it quite efficiently with a very handsome profit.

Any die-hard partisanship is a sign of complete idiocy.

If you are a democrat no matter what, or a republican no matter what, you are a sheep of a person.

Both sides screw us over in different ways. The best thing this country could do is not vote at all this year, and send a message to D.C. that we want someone other than a crook in office this time.

Its unregulate Capitalism. People need Democratic Socialism or we won't survive.

What we need is honesty, morals, and ethics. If people in power were good people, everything would be alot better.

Has it every occured to anyone that government type doesn't matter as long as there is a good person leading it? Of course that is a pipe dream.

Yep, there are way to many people who are all about ME!! Very few give back, greed, greed , greed will be the end of us all!

Markets are amoral and certainly immoral.

They don't care about actual human beings....except for those "Corporate human beings."

Heck of a job Party of No and Conservative Activist Supreme Court.

To Julea Bacall: You are half correct but the Chinese have it down Pat with "Controlled Capitalism" matched with Governmental Subsidies. NOW Julea, Avoid using the "S" word for brainwashed morons like SETA who was Taught WHAT TO BELIEVE AND NOT HOW TO THINK. When the housing crisis becomes significantly worse and there are Many More Families and People in the Streets as in PreBastille Paris 1789, A New Armed American Revolution is around the corner. This is a situation with 225,000,000 guns in citizens hands that the cops do not stand a chance of stopping....BUT there is ALWAYS the possibility of the TRUE Ugly "A" word, anarchy. What could it be like? go back to L.A. 1993, The Rodney King Riots; It was NOT GOOD. The cops took a quick hike out of LA as all hell busted loose. Burned and Looted Stores and properties; That WE DO NOT NEED.

Valhalla Phil

Typical liberal lie. Obama has been in office four years now, democrats have run government for six. This is on their watch.

Then that whole 9/11 thing was really Bush's and the Reich-wing CONservative's fault after all -- since it happened on THEIR watch. Hey, it's your "logic", not mine.

Yo, Seta, you got somethin' against half-breeds? Would it be better if Obama were 100% Kenyan?

Wow, you birthers -- especially you white-supremacist birthers -- sure are a hoot.

This is what the republicans and their 1% friends want- to squeeze everything out of the 99%

And most Americans are too stupid to see how they are nickled and dimmed to death.

A New Armed American Revolution is around the corner. This is a situation with 225,000,000 guns in citizens hands that the cops do not stand a chance of stopping...

And 70% of them are in the south where each house has 6-9 guns Do you really want them to control the Government.

removed

"Nickled and dimmed"? Oh, yes, very smart, that is. Oh, Auto 101, do you happen to have anything at all that supports your claim that 70% of all guns are in the "South"? Anything at all -- as long as it is a verfiable document, and not just someone else's opinion.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/09/17/octomom-ready-welfare-report-says/

Auto , octomom and others like her are not exactly helping the tax payers either. I believe we can agree there not conservatives.

Oh, Auto 101, do you happen to have anything at all that supports your claim that 70% of all guns are in the "South"? Anything at all -- as long as it is a verfiable document, and not just someone else's opinion.

I was using stereo types to make fun of the clam. However it is a known fact that conservative states have looser gun laws. Just look at California you cant have any gun that has the capability of holding 20 rounds or a shot gun that can be converted to a pistol grip.

"Nickled and dimmed"? Oh, yes, very smart, that is.

When I teach people basic fiance classes most don't realise where their money is going and how much they spend on fast food and crap.

Dodd-Frank is too watered down. Its an excuse but won't work because there is no real will or muscle in it.

Markets are amoral and certainly immoral.

They don't care about actual human beings....except for those "Corporate human beings."

Heck of a job Party of No and Conservative Activist Supreme Court.

http://motorcityliberal.blogspot.com/2012/06/jon-stewart-demolishes-senators-for.html

thank bob corker

Yet another pathetic liberal lie. Democrats own government, this is happening on their watch.

I'd say nice try but is was actually pretty lame.

Yes, it's amazing how many people ascribe so much power to one party or the other, as if either Democrats or Republicans can enact their entire political agenda without interference by the other party.

Many people have absolutely no ability to think for themselves.

They require a group to tell them how they should think. The fact that Valhalla Phil starts every sentance with the words "liberal lie" in it, just shows you how incredibly stupid partisanship makes you. As if conservatives don't lie? Well guess what, everyone in politics is corrupt now, they all lie, and they will all screw you over.

Valhalla Phil

You are either an idiot or a troll.....Feudalism is exactly what we are heading for - democrat or republican doesn't matter (they work together pretty well when they want to - NDAA passed without a hitch)

Justin.case- in case you missed it- there are no more jobs in America. They have all been shipped overseas to countries with slave labor and lucrative tax agreements for foreign investors.

Oh, well, I guess there are plenty of jobs if you aspire to work at McD's or tidy rooms at the Hilton, dig ditches, etc.

Let's take a look at your work ethic logic for a moment, and I will use real people as a reference. I know a couple who both work at jobs that pay just over minimum wage. They both work just less than 40hrs a week so their employers don't have to pay benefits. Their combined take home pay is less than $2000 a month. Their rent is $900 a month. After rent they still have to eat, pay for their car expenses (a ten year old car), utilities and all of the other things that have to be paid for to have any quality of life. Health insurance is out of the question.

They both try to find some extra work when they can, one as a musician the other in part time child care. They are both college educated. They are in their 30's and have both been working since they were seventeen. Still, they live hand to mouth and are only one illness or blown engine from absolute disaster.

So tell me wise one. What did they do wrong?

You seem to be stuck in some kind of fifties time loop where people could go to work and earn a good wage that actually paid the bills and kept up with inflation. I recently had to take a part time job, (I'm retired) because our retirement no longer pays the bills. Our monthly expenses have nearly tripled in the past ten yrs. The job I took is paying exactly the same amount as a similar job ten yrs ago.

You really need to take a look at what is going on in this country. The very real tent cities that have popped up like dandelions around every major city are not reported in the news, nor are they actually seen by those who drive by them everyday. It's easier to look the other way or blame the victims. The homeless families living in their cars are not reported on either. These people are not in the situation they are in because they did not have a work ethic. They are in this position because the system has failed, miserably.

I want to vote for Kathy as president because she is one of the only people on here with common sense! I am 40 years old and my generation worked our tails off just to lose everything because the economy failed. We lost our jobs and could not find even minimum wage ones to replace them. Then, the cost of living rose so rapidly that only people making high 6 figures could keep up. My husband and I have both been working since age 16 and babysat or mowed lawns before that. 3 years ago, I was working 2 jobs because when the cost of living started rising we needed more money coming in just to cover the increase in utilities and food cost. Within 1 month I was laid off from both companies. Starting the day of my layoff, I have been searching for work diligently. Any work, even the fast food and house keeping type, to no avail. Thankfully, my husband was able to keep his job, but in order to do so, we had to relocate our family 6 states away. If we chose not to do that, he too would be unemployed and we would have no income at all. We were not able to afford our old mortgage and the outrageous rent in the new home so our credit is destroyed and our house still sits in the foreclosure red tape. We actually have warrants out for our arrest for not mowing the lawn because the bank has not fully taken possesion but they have padlocked us out and will not do a short sale. With bad credit today, your car insurance is higher and companies do not want to hire you, you have to rent at a much higher monthly rate, all of these things keep you from ever correcting your problems on your own. What exactly have we done wrong to be blamed for all of this? I am more than willing to work 3 or 4 jobs to feed my kids if I could just be given that opportunity. We used to be comfortable, never living above our means. We paid all of our bills, ate, had some savings and took a modest vacation 3 times over 20 years. When we wanted to give our kids something or make a large purchase of a neccessity, we would take on another job or ask for overtime. We bought a very cheap "fixer-upper" home and worked hard to make it nice so our children had a HOME. Now we struggle to feed them and have our utilities shut off often because most months we have to decide whether we eat or pay the electric! This is what has happened to the American Middle class by no fault of their own!

justin.case, I think you need to go back to school and actually pay close attention to how the U.S.A. was really put together. Sure, it was done by folks who were willing to work for what they wanted -- and they made damn sure that the GOVERNMENT gave them what hey wanted.

I have been working -- it's called MANUAL LABOR -- for what I want and need for more than 30 years, and I still haven't seen any of that "trickle-down" stuff from the days of Reaganomics. Unless y'all want to count all the crap and BS legislation from the Reich-wingers that has trickled down to pollute my life...

So, justin.case, how long have you been working, bustin' your butt for what you want -- and for how many hours each and every day of the year do you do it? If you got time at your place of employment (if you have one) to surf the interwebs -- then you ain't workin' hard enough, bubba.

Hi Kelli,

Lots of sad stories to go around. I'd like to say that politicians did it to us, like Agnon and others seem to think. In a way I suppose they did do this to us, but only because this is what we wanted, or at least a voting majority over time wanted. It's pretty hard for me to blame someone else for this mess when those someones simply did, over time, what voters wanted.

It's this part of the equation that I think too few people get, and certainly almost no one in either party, but let's be honest about it...certainly no one in the democratic party and just a few among the republicans, are willing to talk about this. You can't have over time growth which is built on borrowing from our unborn heirs. A year here or there might work without serious dislocations, but even there I'd have to conclude it is an immoral method to achieve growth.

I'm also astounded by the numbers of Americans who think that fewer dollars in your pocket, or some "rich" guy's poocket, and more in DC, will make economic things better. Even the simplest of examples shows us this gets us no where. Unless, and I hope this isn't truly the case (for if it is our republic has already failed and we are just waiting for the coroner's report), these Americans think the government is better at spending and investing than they themselves are.

My training is in finance and economics, and I've owned my VERY small business for 20 years, and during this time I've seen more demand by voters for more free stuff, for more government control. I don't think every regulation is bad, or every tax is bad, but whatever the government does should be confined to those powers enumerated to it in Article One. Since we long ago left Article One in the paper shredder, and we've only made it far worse in the past several decades, and still worse in the past several years, I don't see a way out. I think your story is our new normal. It doesn't have to be this way, but voters will get what they want from politicians, and for all my life so far voters have never wanted less government, more liberty, and higher real growth.

One party is worse than the other, but neither is innocent in this. But it's the voters in a self-governing republic who should shoulder the blame for this mess.

I like your thinking!! To bad most americans are to stupid to figure it out! Our current potus is proof of that!

@mark

Our current potus is proof of that!

And there it is, blame President Obama for the Republican led housing and mortgage meltdown. You people are hopeless. How about accepting responsibility for yourselves in this mess. It all happened during Bush you twit. What is happening now has zero to do with the President but you have such hatred you can't see that. What is wrong with you people? Scheese! I only see one stupid American here and it's you.

Jerry-759068

The country is changing for the worst we are not taking care of our citizens and that is going to make life tougher in this country.

Very true. But did you know that what you are calling for here is called "Socialism"?

Everyting reaches it's ending point and our financial sytems seems to be at that point. Our politians are too busy worrying about other countries and forcing our democracy down their throats. It doesn't work the Arab countries have been killing one another for centuries they live in tribes they will never get democracy.

Oh, really? Too bad tribal life is ALL ABOUT true democracy. Look to the Lakota tiyospaye, and you might understand -- IF you bother to remove the prejudicial blinders.

It is when the "Western" ideology of GREED gets in the way that Power becomes more important than tiyospaye -- and democracy fails.

Leave them alone close our doors and work with nations that are financially beneficial to the USA.

Only financially beneficial, eh? So only those with money, MATERIAL WEALTH, are worth bothering with.... Looks like you have been polluted by GREED. There is no place for true democracy when GREED rules the world.

Politians want to micro manage our financial lives and just about every other part of our lives and everytime a Politian, no matter what party, interferes with issues they know little about it turns to $hit.

True -- and false. False, because sometimes those "Politians" get lucky and actually do what is Right and Just without knowing it, and they happen to be especially careful that what they do for their own benefit actually turns out to be for their own benefit. Crappy for us, yes -- but far from crappy for themselves.

True, because politics is all about micro-managing the lives of others. It is the definition of being a Politician.

Vote them all out and put common working men and women in those offices people who have lived and know what it means to earn a buck. Then we might have a chance. We have had the good ole boys and the rich kids run the country far to long and they screwed it up.

Much easier said than done. As long as there are sheeple who are willing to vote on only one single issue (abortion, guns, housing, jobs, and of course - Political Party), there will always be politicians who will be able to use that single-issue wedge to remain in Office.

Oh, and it takes a lot of money to run a campaign these days, and only those with tons of money to start with happen to have enough of it to run for Office. It is unfortunate, but it is what it is. I would dearly love to see someone spend less than $100,000 total on a Presidential election campaign, and still win the election. Yes, I would dearly love to see that.

Agnon........The Lakota were first known to live in central Minnesota around Lake Mille lacs. From that region they spread south and west attacking every tribe that they came in contact with. The Lakota lived by the survival of the fittest. The Lakota way of rule was a warrior society based upon killing, torture, taking slaves, taking hunting grounds, and sometimes committing cannibalism. The warrior society had a system of honoring those men and women who were involved with successful war against their enemies. These honors were the wearing of eagle feathers or other objects denoting taking the scalp or head, the wounding, the counting coup, and being wounded in battle themselves. The Lakota/Dakota before white contact and after white contact waged war against every tribe they came in contact with. Quite well documented. They made peace treaties with most of the tribes and sooner or later either side broke them, each and every one. Committing genocide against other tribes quite a few times. All documented. Tiospaye..........worked for Lakota. However to call it a Democracy? Lakota/Dakota past stories of life is filled with greed, power, religious abuse, etc just as any other society or race. Ask the Iowa, Shiene, Oto, Crees, Crow, Shawnee, Ojibway, Fox, Winnebago etc, etc, how Tiospaye worked for them......Man is the same, no matter what color of skin.

Everything else......I agree with you!

Do search on........FOX NEWS DUMBER....see the studies that prove people are dumber for watching fox news..........Fox...news...dumber....

What? It must be nice to just blame liberals for everything.

The current epidemic of this right wing delusion must an ailment caused overexposure to Dumb FUX NEWS.

Reality is that socialism for wealthy financial institutions, corporations and individuals is killing the American dream for most Americans...

What are the scariest words in the English language?? Easy answer - "I'm from government and I'm here to help"!!

Peter17,

Maybe you would be happier in most African countries or many of the old Soviet Republics since the have little or no government.

I guess you never used a public school, a library, an airport, an interstate highway or live in LA and drink water from an aqueduct the Fed Gov't helped to get built in the early 20th century.

40-50 years have been nothing but free market capitalism with no regulation and mostly republican policies.

So actually your wrong. Everything happening in this country is intentional. Right now, we are being systemically screwed by BOTH sides. It's the perfect scam, no matter who you vote for you will all get SCREWED.

Picture your perfect republican dream, it would look like this---people live in corporate dormitories because they cannot afford a house. They make about $5/hr. We are ruled by facism because the rich have thoroughly taken over the government.

Democrat version-we have better standards but are regulated to the point where they put a meter on how much toilet paper we use. We will have no privacy. Things will cease to run efficiently and country will decline in power.

jrt077

EXACTLY....both sides are about control. It's not republican versus democrat, it's the people versus government and the corporations feeding off of it.

Mas098: Read the Powell Memorandum, August, 1971.

Those 40-50 years produced ALEC, Corporate Personhood, and deprived the individual citizen of his or her access to Constitutional Rights. The since-presiding iterations of the SCOTUS may have kept the letter of the law, but repeatedly ignored its intent, with more and more renderings of judgment in favor of unmitigated Capitalism. Anyone who thinks that capitalism is bound by law, is a fool; it's bound by greed.

The first housing bubble burst in the late 80's, when Corporate Hong Kong dumped its money in US real estate, rather than give it up to the mainland Communist Chinese government. At that time, millions of people in the US cried out for an immediate return to bank regulation; to regulating the Stock Market; to regulating the business of Real Estate--but it was to no avail. The outcry wasn't reaching the ears of the majority (yet).

Now, we've reaped what we've sown, in our ignorance and blind faith that "it can't happen here". What happened to California in 1988, 1 year after Reagan deregulated the banking industry, is now happening all over the US--and the world.

"Parties" do not work, when they are governed by a silent Corporate Hegemony/Oligarchy. We have given our appointed and elected officials carte blanche (aka unlimited credit, with no terms and conditions for the repayment of their indebtedness to us). Thus, profit has been socialized at the top 1%, while the rest of us have been given the debt, as a "bargain" for engaging in "free enterprise". It's no bargain.

We've been swindled by "trickle down economics", which is a euphemism for "Horse and Sparrow": Give the horse the best oats, and the sparrows will follow, eating the remains of the enriched road apples.

I remember a cartoon, at the time Reagan signed away our right to question the banks: Two sparrows were following a farting horse. The first said, "The best is yet to come." The second retorted, "I can't live on promises", and flew away.

It's time to fly this "coop" (co-opted Congressional & Corporate prison). Repeal the laws that set us on this course; reform our banks, businesses, purposes, and we will be able, once again, to represent ourselves in a democratic republic. Those are the 3 R's that were removed from Education and Law (hence from our grasp as the People of these United States), with the ongoing, unfurling enactment of the Powell Manifesto.

THREE classes, actually. The super-rich, the poor -- and the extremely poor.

One guess which class all members of the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Branches of Government happen to be members of.

Do you actually read what you post????

My Parents were Middle Classs, lived a great life...

I'm still Middle Class and carrying on...

On one thing I'll agree with you on - ALL of our "government" elected leaders make much more money and get much greater benefits than any of us in the middle class could ever hope for.

This simple fact is getting worse as each decade progresses, and I certainly don't see Obama doing a thing about it.

Why are Unions suddenly on the side of government???

Unions now make more dues from government workers in unions than the private sector workers that they pretended to protect for over a half a decade.

Welcome to the reality of money trumps ideals.

You Sir, are a troll. That is one of the reasons rents go up, di!!holes like you ruin the property and the Landlord has to raise the rent to offset the money in damages he paid for your !d!ocy.

Well, Borg, aren't you a prince? Your solution to high rent is to get back at your landlord by destroying the place? I guess you've never heard of small claims court: where you could be sued for the excess damages. Oh, and forget about renting the next place... your previous landlord will see to that!

Hah! good luck suing bums like Borg,they are "judgement proof".

There is a world of difference between running a profitable business and outright taking advantage of and gouging the masses. Gouging the masses is what it is all about nowadays, and you can justify it by any means you choose, but, it still remains what it is. Stealing is stealing no matter how you go about it, and it is destroying us all.

Peter17,

You go ahead and believe this B-S and I'll stick to the fact that greed and excess destroyed our economy and the big financial institutions got over $1.5 trillion in tax payer bailouts and now 2% of the US population owns more than 90% of the wealth in this country....Now the bottom 98% of the population doesn't have enough buying power to get the economy going again...

@newbook

But those people earned their money right? I mean its not like their employee's actually helped the company be successful right? All these top CEO's do all the work dont they?

Lol but seriously, it is funny how blind people are to the fact that rich people are actually screwing us over. ALL the FACTS show that the rich have become exponentially richer over the past 30 years, while everyone else in fact became poorer.

But the rich will always have their ignorant little foot soldiers, advocating for them that their money is "earned."

Banks are like any other business?

Research fractional reserve banking, the role of the fed, the glass steagal act and modern banking beginning in 1913, then come back and we can talk about whether or not banks are a regular business.

(Regular businesses can't make money out of thin air - banks can. No one other than a bank can use our current weighted amorization schedule. Banks can.)

How many poor people have given you a job?

killer, every one I've ever had. Poor people and middle class people buy the services which provides the money that pays my paycheck. The rich guy was only the middleman who took his cut. Learn basic economics.

You still would not have goten that job unless there was the middleman as you call him to put it all together.

You still would not have goten that job unless there was the middleman as you call him to put it all together.

ROFLMAO

you clearly have zero respect for the American ideal. you have been utterly brainwashed into bowing before your wealthy masters

Wouldn't it be nice if we all had the foresight that you do. Good for you.

Typical ignorance: "I did it so everyone else should be able to"

As if people could have predicted or timed this huge economic collapse.

Sambrown has some good points. There were a lot of people buying homes they could not afford! However, many people were scammed by real estate agents who tell you all the bs of how housing always goes up, etc. Then the banks were lending to anyone who had a pulse. There are people who are vulnerable to this. That is why we had the old rules about lending to help people NOT to buy what they could not afford. Glass -Steagall was a good ruling. Too many innocent people got the shaft when Clinton allowed it to be repealed. However, they were a lot of people that were using their homes as ATM machines.

I managed to do it, and yes I could see the handwriting on the wall way back in April of 2007. We also could see that the 18% unemployment rate in California plus the 200 mile per day commutes were going to ruin us.At that time, we sold our house, and only got 2000.00 from the sale of a 260,000 house. We took a massive hit and a massive risk. Moved to another state, rented a small and cheap apartment for four years and saved like mad, then bought a house we could afford on one income, and that had a payment equal to my husband's future SS payment and have refused to incur any debt of any kind. We live in a great house in a very very good neighborhood. So- yes, like sambrowno, it CAN be done, and we are living proof. If you pay attention to what is goig on, and plan accordigly, and stop trying to have everything everyone tries to tell you you HAVE to have, it's pretty simple to make it happen, even in an economic downturn.

@jrt077 Just because you can't predict the future doesn't mean you can't plan for it. It's called thinking ahead, and America would be a lot better off if more people could do it. But I guess you think it's unfair to expect people to take precautions for the unkown?

Plus what Anninion said anyone who was really paying attention could have seen the recession coming, even if they didn't know exactly when it was going to happen.

Consider this, 5 million new kids entered the workforce since 2008. We still have 1.5 million less jobs than in 2008.

I'm a young person, 23, and there was absolutely no way someone my age could have planned for this.

Now think about the 18 year-olds coming out of school and looking for work, or new college grads looking for work. What do you think their options are?

@argumentativebutfair

I didnt argue against planning ahead, what i am saying is not everyone could have done anything different in such a short amount of time. So my point still stands true, just because one person did it, doesnt mean everyone could have.

I didnt say it wasn't fair, life isn't fair. I'm not that ignorant. But what IS ignorant is to believe everyone could have saved themselves from this.

@argumentativebutfair

...and what you are thinking of is called "living smartly." Much different than planning for a future catastrophe.

People are throwing the youngest generations off the bus and just call us lazy.

Fair enough, but now you seem to be changing your argument. In your previous post you said "as if everyone could have predicted or timed" the great recession. But now your saying it's not whether they could predict it but whether they could do anyting even if they did predict it?

Don't get me wrong, i wasn't trashing the guy who planned ahead, good for him.

But what is the difference if you see it coming or not if you still cannot do anything about it or plan ahead? Many people either did not have the finances to plan ahead, or were to young to start that safety zone for themselves.

Both things I said are completely synonymous in terms of meaning. Whether you see the catastrophe or not, it doesnt matter if you don't have the resources to brace for it.

jrt077

I'm 36 years old and I saw it coming ten years ago. BUT - everyone I knew laughed at me when I told them not to buy those over inflated houses, to save, to be careful...they said the same things about me then that people are saying about people your age today (lazy, get in gear, etc, etc).

People will always rationalize their bad decisions and demonize you for them having made them. Take care of yourself and keep your eyes open. Your generation is in for a bumpy ride.

whoknow

Thank you for the support and kind words, i'm glad someone see's things for what they are today. Those people that laughed at you probably aren't laughing now lol.

You take care as well. I fear the storm hasn't even arrived yet. Things have the potential to get very crazy in the coming years.

Yeah, Everything looks good on paper sport but in the real world things don't normally turn out like you expect them to. Getting a 15 yr. loan commitment is not a good idea. What happens if you lose your job or have to live on less income. You'd be better off with a 30 yr. loan and pay on the back end towards your principal than to doing a 15 yr. Just wait until your perfect life starts falling apart you'll see.

It was easy to see this was going to happen 2 unfunded wars,lowering taxes to the rich while this was going on,easy money for mortgages that no one cared where it was coming from.You had to be blind not knowing we were headed this way.

You bought a home you could easily afford AT THE TIME. One illness, change in employment conditions or unemployment could change what is affordable at the drop of a hat. MANY double income households have seen both providers unemployed. Also, your house is not a savings account and you are not guaranteed to get "all the money" you paid into it. Your house will sell for market value, and if housing prices topple between now and then, you may not get much at all.

Sammy....you did not lose your job....Sammy...you are not 55 or older where HR people won't bother hiring you because you are close to retirement(NOT)

You must not have not received Jesus' message...His father changed his mind and now GOD has decided we are going to continue to evolve and live happily ever after...

"No one will be able to buy or sell without taking the mark of the beast."

Correct. I tell my children this all the time and we know we will be putting OUR trust in the LORD...as we have been.

Keep the faith, don't let atheists deter you from truth.

Romans 1:22 "Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures."

Do not be mislead either by false prophets, many will arise in these times

Mathew 24:11 " And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many."

Remember, your body is a temple of god, you do not need other people to find your way to Christ, you do not need buildings to pray to him, you are the temple.

My body is a temple huh?...Do as they do in temples...sounds good to me! Ok ladies step right up and get a piece of this while I pass the basket........$100 and I'll have you screaming god's name for as long as you like!

This is a global phenomenon. In many respects, the fall of Communism was the catalyst to the fall of the American Middle Class--unleasing 3 billion new laborers and consumers and removing the threat of massive nuclear destruction. Think about it.

Either way ...we get to blame Reagon for Reagonomics/trickleon economics....or for saying tear down that wall.......(yes it was collapsing already)

In what way? I always thought Zillow was credible. What source do you recommend instead?

Zillow is over inflated. The only reliable stats are recent sales of comparable properties in the neighborhood (you know - what banks use)

Zillow doesn't do well estimating new or newer properties or in places where there are not many comp sales. I find it works well in bigger neighborhoods and with older homes. I use the average price per square foot of a number of similar sized properties and apply it against the size of the target property. Your not going to get the "right" answer. You are going to get a "probable" answer. The bank will use its own appraisers which are only obliged to look at 3 or 4 comparable properties. Lately, they also are not far off.

Zillow is a pillow with a zipper. One for the amazing price of a buck two eighty. Special offer, $19.99 and we will throw in this Ginzo steak knife.

Say something intelligent, or just shut up. As a Democrat, I find this comment totally offensive!

All you nut jobs that keep saying that are totally brainwashed. NO ONE wants the country to depend totally on the government BUT did you KNOW the government was supposed to be OF, BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE or did you get brainwashed into forgetting that too?

@justin.case, I don't think you have much to worry about considering the "government" are the taxpayers, and 99% of them are being screwed over.

Also, last time I checked unemployment was around 10%. Do you always focus so tightly on a minority of the population and project it on the others?

Our apt. building went month to month or 1yr leasing. I've been sticking with the yearly lease and making sure the lease says the rent can't be increased while the one year contract is enforced.

Lee, its called supply and demand baby. They got it, you want it, and they can charge as much as they want. I overheard landlords around my area laughing about raising the rents from $900.00 to $1500 for a 1 bedroom, it will only get worse. We need serious leadership in Washington.

They are lowering mortgage rates so the upper-class and rich can buy super cheap property and make a huge profit on it.

This was part of their plan the whole time, break the housing market, and use it as a cover to buy up properties for discount prices.

Have you ever noticed how every policy and even every catastrophe benefits the rich in the end?

They are lowering mortgage rates so the upper-class and rich can buy super cheap property and make a huge profit on it.

that is a silly statement they don't give lower rates to the rich everyone has the same opportunity to qualify for loans the higher your credit score the better your rate. many savvy business people network with bankers to get beter rates because they want their business but they don't offer them lower rates just to make a profit that makes no sense

@plstop

lol, must be nice to live in such ignorance. Banks aren't even profiting at this low of an interest rate, and most people even with good credit can not get a loan.

So i'm afraid your statement is much more silly.

Especially when you add the FACT that there was already a news article on how certain business's were buying up bulk property for dirt cheap.

jtr077,

You are right about downturns benefiting the rich. The austerity measures proposed by the right sound good: we can't spend what we don't have. But, austerity will lead to recession and slow growth, which will force many small businesses and homeowners out of business. Now, guess who will snap up these assets on the cheap? Why, people with money, of course. The Republicans have done a masterful job of convincing people that "trickle-down" will help the middle class. I don't see it.

We are headed for austerity, like it or not. Even most Democrats are well aware of that fact and support, as most Republicans do, an approach like the Bowles-Simpson recommendations, about $4 trillion in deficit reduction comprised by about 75-80% in spending reductions and 20-25% in additional revenue.

We are either headed for austerity or default, our debt situation is so dire that within the next ten years, our tax receipts will not be enough to even sustain our current debt load. The interest on our debt will be greater than the tax receipts we pull in.

Shamrock;

Our highest debt levels were right after WW2. We never paid them off. We grew the economy so that they became a smaller percentage. I have more debt than I ever have had in my life, but my income is much larger than it was. If I had stayed put in my first job to pay off my first mortgage, I'd be in much worse shape than I am today with much more debt. I like the Simpson Bowels plan. We need growth to get out of this debt mess. Austerity alone will work, but will hurt a lot of people in the process, possibly a whole generation. I am an aging boomer, so for me this is largely a theoretical debate. I do worry about folks like Jrt077, He is 23 and will confront a lifetime of stagnation unless his generation takes the lead.