Quoting raghu <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
On Mon, Mar 24, 2008 at 10:01 AM, Doug Henwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
The gov has guaranteed something like GBP110b in NR's assets - and
apparently some of the bank's best assets were sheltered in some
offshore vehicle, leaving the government with the crap. That's a lot
bigger than what the Fed is guaranteeing JPM over BS.
The bigger story both in the UK and the US is the implicit bailout of
every band and investment bank. Does anyone think that the government
is going to allow Lehman Brothers to fail? Is this not a gift to
Lehman stockholders? The amount the Fed explicitly pledged to JPM is
peanuts in comparison with this larger gift.
The whole thing really stinks. But then are there any good options here?
-raghu.
I think this is a very important question. This is obviously going to
be a major political issue in the months ahead. We should continue to
debate this question and try to influence the public discussion in any
way possible.
One option which I think is much better is a bill currently in the
House and Senate that would allow bankruptcy judges to modify the terms
of mortgages according to current values and current interest rates.
This proposal would not cost the government (i.e. the taxpayers)
anything. The loans would be made more affordable for homeowners and
all the losses would go to the lenders.
You can learn more about this bill at the Center for Responsible
Lending website: http://www.responsiblelending.org/
Another idea, which I recently read about, is that during the Great
Depression there was a moratorium on home mortgages that lasted
serveral years. Does anybody know more about this moratorium? And
perhaps some good references?
My slogans would be: "No bail-out for the bankers!"
"Stop the foreclosures now!"
What do others think of these ideas? Any better ideas?
Comradely,
Fred
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