Are we really going to trust banks a second time to get this right?

I am glad I was not scammed into buying a house a couple of years ago. From July 2008 and September 2008, one hundred and twelve Americans each hour of each day and night lost homes to a foreclosure --about two Americans a minute. What a scam!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/26/AR2008102600954.html


The missing money from inflated assets will have to be repaid. The problem unfortunately is not going to go away by simply making tax payers help out the banks to write off asset losses. This will just move the problem elsewhere. The economy certainly has no chance of any recovery in the near future at this rate. Asking people to pay taxes who already can't afford their mortgages, credit card payments or health insurances, is not going to sustain a sinking economy. On top of this, innocent renters are going to re-pay taxes for home owners asset losses for many years to come. In such a climate of high taxes, small businesses will struggle and this will lead to higher unemployment rates. The general population will have to consume a heck of a lot less than they did during the never ending credit generation of the past 20 years. They will certainly not be purchasing Ipods and lap top computers every other year to keep up with tech fashion.

In my opinion, the world leaders using the panic buttons and trusting the same banks and institutions (who wrote the bad rules in the first place) to keep the system going is very short sighted. Already since the bailouts begun, bank bonuses have grown by 3%

NEW YORK (AP) Bank bonuses grow by 3% despite bailout, review indicates
— Despite the Wall Street meltdown, the nation's biggest banks are preparing to pay their workers as much as last year or more, including bonuses tied to personal and company performance.
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/oct/26/bank-bonuses-grow-by-3-despite-bailout-review/

Some banks are even going to contribute further grief in the foreclosure crisis by exploiting a loophole to seize homes for credit card defaults as little as £1,000.

Banks and credit card companies are exploiting obscure legal powers to seize the homes of thousands of people who cannot pay their credit card bills.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5014781.ece?ref=patrick.net

We're going to have to see global reform or it will be a repeat of the 1930s... I still remember the milder recession in1991 and it was not pretty at the time.

I think Barak Obama has the clearest vision in this US election for our best hope towards a brighter future. George Bush's very right wing ideology and short shortsightedness has seriously (in my humble opinion) strewed things up for generations to come. This eight years has been as ugly as everyone predicted and I am not just talking about finance. Using fear to gain voters may have worked in the past but finance is something most people cannot ignore. In this case, this once in a life time financial collapse accelerated by 8 more years of excessive greed, may have become a blessing in disguise for an Obama win, although his hands will be tied for four years. This financial disaster could set a beginning of a new vision for common sense and brighter future, but having said that, the disaster is still in the process of deepening. I do still wonder...

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Here is an interesting graphic view showing US Real Estate Home prices adjusted for inflation plotted as a roller coaster: