So I was just listening (a little late, I know) to Friday's DemocracyNow, and they had a segment on the impending 700 billion dollar obscenity congress is about to roll over on.
One of the guests said he anticipates another 1 million foreclosures still to come over the next two years.
Offered as perspective, not a policy recommendation:
700 billion dollars is enough to give all 1 million defaulting mortage holders $700,000 dollars each.
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A relative of mine just sent me the following brainteaser. Since it never hurts to flex one's mental muscles, I thought I'd pass it along:
In the land of the euro, the dollar is treated like a banana republic(an) currency. The devaluation of the dollar isn't such an awful thing: it was long overdue.
When I was a little kid I used to take a pair of dice and throw these dice repeatedly. At each throw I'd fill in a box for the corresponding number on some graph paper and I would essentially "race" the numbers against each other.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. A bit of each, I suppose. When I was a young man, traveling in Europe was great for Americans. For starters, everybody didn't hate us (thanks George!). For another, everything was cheap. The dollar was strong so the exchange rate favored us.
It would be a lot cheaper if the government simply paid off all those mortgages. I'm not saying it would be fair, just cheaper.
But then the banks don't profit over mortgages that are paid, they profit over the interest they bleed out of the payees. And the banks must make profits mustn't they?
Well, Robert, they would use that money to sell new mortgages and start the cycle over again.
I just heard on the radio that it's now $750 billion, and that there's an extra bailout for the Puerto Rico rum industry thrown in to... Well, to...
What is that for?