NEW YORK (CNN) -- What do these stories all have in common?

# A woman who says she lost more $1 million gambling in Atlantic City sues some casinos for $20 million, claiming they should've stopped her compulsive gambling.

# People who bought houses they couldn't afford with loans they didn't understand want their lenders to change the terms.

# Congress authorizes a war and then tries everything it can think of to get out of it.

# Our country gets addicted to oil and then blames OPEC when it doesn't like the price.

These stories prove how personal responsibility has all but vanished in America, and our government is leading the way.

Remember the kid from that interminable 1980s commercial whose father caught him using drugs? The father incredulously asked, "Who taught you how to do this stuff?" and the kid responded, "You, alright? I learned it by watching you."

Well, we are that kid and our government is that drug-using father who doesn't think that anyone notices his bad habits.

Our government is leading us by example, and I don't mean that in a good way. For years, it has spent us into oblivion, mortgaging our future for programs we can't afford, and Americans have happily followed suit, running up credit card bills and home equity loans for things they never should've bought.

Unfortunately, we're also learning something else from our government: how to avoid taking responsibility for our actions.

From Eliot Spitzer's alleged hooker craze to the revelation that Arnold Schwarzenegger commutes to work in a large private jet even as he preaches the dangers of carbon dioxide emissions, there's never been a shortage of "do what I say, not what I do" hypocrites in politics.

But that same attitude has seemingly spread from individual politicians to an entire party.

Democrats aren't happy that delegates from Florida and Michigan won't be seated at the national convention because those states broke clear party rules. Well you know what? Too bad. We don't say that enough anymore. Too bad. You agreed to the rules; you broke them. Now you've got to deal with the consequences.

"But Glenn. ... Neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama will have enough delegates to win the nomination. We don't want this to be decided in some backroom by superdelegates."

Too bad.

"But Glenn. ... You don't understand. If we don't seat delegates from those states now, then we might lose their votes in the general election."

Too bad.

"But Glenn. .... The voters in these states are going to be disenfranchised if we don't let their voices be heard."

Too bad.

If you want to talk about disenfranchised voters, then let's talk about why just 17 percent of Americans have a positive view of Congress. Let's talk about why we still have wide open borders despite most Americans wanting them sealed. Let's talk about why we keep selling out our sovereignty and our security by borrowing billions of dollars from-less-than friendly countries, such as China.

Americans aren't disenfranchised because our leaders won't count votes in a couple of states. They're disenfranchised because our leaders aren't doing their jobs. They're disenfranchised because after working hard to support their families and to raise kids who understand the difference between right and wrong, their leaders do exactly the opposite.

In the cases of Florida and Michigan, I've patiently listened to all the moving arguments about why there should be a "do-over," but quite honestly, they're not arguments at all. They're excuses. If this race wasn't so close, or if these states offered a combined 36 delegates instead of 366, do you really think anyone would care? Of course not.

But no matter what you think should happen, you have to admit that Clinton's idea that we should simply count her "wins" in Florida and Michigan is completely ridiculous.

In fact, if you played a rimshot and a laugh track behind her every time she recited that line, people might actually agree to a two-drink minimum to see her speak. How could you possibly count the results from an election when your main opponent wasn't even on the ballot (at least in Michigan)? You can't -- unless you think the rules are simply there for your own amusement.

Last year, when the punishment against Florida was first approved, Donna Brazile, a member of the Democratic National Committee rules panel, said she hoped that the harsh consequences would "send a message to everybody in Florida that we are going to follow the rules." And Brazile knows a little something about that ... she ran Vice President Al Gore's presidential campaign in 2000.

Voters in Florida and Michigan should ask themselves one important question before they blindly follow their party: Why did no one seem to care about "alienating" them last year when the rules were intentionally broken? It's only now, when their vote really matters, that everyone is suddenly so concerned about "enfranchising" them.

Florida and Michigan have a golden opportunity to stand up and say enough is enough, to send a message that it's time to not only take responsibility for their actions but for those of our leaders as well.

After all, what would it say about personal responsibility in this country if we allow the two states that broke all the rules to end up having the biggest say of all?


---Glenn beck, cnn.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Friday, March 14, 2008 6:25 PM

good read, A+

I agree, A+. The whole thing is true, sad but true.

KevinP (Stabby McShankyou) wrote:
and I'm NOT a pedo. everyone knows i've got a wheelchair fetish.

The truth is the subprime lenders went crazy giving out loans to people who could not afford it.
so basically they said This house right here can be Yours right now! just sign here and brainwashed the borrower.



How the subprime mortgage crisis works (howstuffworks.com)
by Marshall Brain
http://brainstuff.howstuffworks.com/2007/11/28/how-the-subprime-mortgage-crisis-works/
The name itself is numbing. It is called the “Subprime Mortgage Crisis”. It is hard to think of a less sexy name. Yet this crisis is all over the news right now and it is having a big effect - on the stock market, on home prices, on the ability of people to get mortgages, etc. How big of an effect? According to the Wall Street Journal:

The property value of U.S. homes will fall by $1.2 trillion, and “at least” 1.4 million homeowners will lose their properties to foreclosure in 2008, according to a study released Tuesday by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Council for the New American City.

The study, prepared by forecasting firm Global Insight Inc., predicts a widespread and deep economic impact from ongoing housing market problems, which many expect to stretch through next year. [ref]

That is a big effect. Although it is not quite so portentous as it sounds. This has been building for quite some time, as you can see in this post from a year and a half ago. Also note that there were 1.2 million forclosures in 2006 [ref] and we survived that without any major problems. So 1.4 million in 2008 is not going to kill us. The difference is that, right now, the “crisis” is getting a huge amount of press.

Where did this crisis come from? The name, unsexy as it is, says it all. The word subprime refers to a type of borrower. A person who has been categorized as subprime is someone who has an imperfect credit history. For example, the person may have had a problem with missed payments, or a prior foreclosure or bankruptcy. This leads to a low credit score, generally below 630. In other words, this type of borrower is considered be at a higher risk for defaulting on a loan.

So a subprime mortgage is a mortgage given to a subprime borrower. The general idea in a subprime mortgage is that, because the person is a higher risk, the person will be charged a higher interest rate. There are a number of ways to charge a higher rate, some of them rather uncomfortable. For example, the person might be given an adjustable rate mortgage that has a low rate initially and then adjusts much higher.

That doesn’t sound so bad. The thing that caused the subprime mortgage crisis is the fact that the people who give out mortgages went nuts. They started giving gigantic mortgages to higher risk borrowers who couldn’t possibly pay them back. How nuts did they go? This article gives a little insight into the problem:

Citigroup Feels Heat To Modify Mortgages (also available here)

From the article:

Ana Cecillia Marin, a 36-year-old single mother of three, owns a 20-year-old ranch house on a dusty, garbage-strewn acre in Palmdale, Calif. She says she earns $34,000 a year managing flower sales at a Los Angeles food store and selling clothes on the side. She bought her house in 2005 for $385,000. By taking out a first and second mortgage, she was able to buy it for no money down.

Do the math and you can see the problem:

1) If Ana Cecillia Marin had gotten a normal 30 year fixed mortgage at 6% on $385,000, her monthly payment would have been $2,308 [ref].

2) If you make $34,000 per year, you are only making $2,833 per month (ignoring taxes, FICA, etc.)

So obviously this mortgage was absolutely ridiculous from the start. And since she was subprime, she would not have gotten a 6% interest rate. Obviously she is going to default on the loan and go into foreclosure. Multiply that kind of ridiculous mortgage across millions of people and you understand how the subprime mortgage crisis works.

The big question you might have is: why did this happen? What happened to the old guidelines that would have prevented this? For example, if you look at this site, it says:

Lenders use many factors to determine how large a mortgage you can obtain. For example, lenders generally prefer that your housing expenses (including mortgage payments, insurance, taxes, and special assessments) do not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income. Other debt added to your housing expense should not exceed 38% of your gross monthly income. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) mortgage loan percentages may vary.

What happened to that 28% limit, which would have capped Ana Cecillia Marin at a mortgage payment of $793?

Those limits went out the door. OR, they were bent by “teaser rates”. Mortgage lenders would put together a package that included an interest-only loan at a low introductory rate of, say, 4%. After 2 or 3 years that “low introductory rate” would evaporate. But the idea was that, at that point, you would re-finance into another loan, which would restart the “low introductory rate” clock.

That is a great idea until either:

a) housing prices start falling instead of rising, or…

b) interest rates go up, or…

c) the excesses get to be so great that regulators finally start sniffing around (followed by the press), or, in the worst case…

d) all of the above.

Then you have millions of people who can’t refinance their way out of huge mortgages, and these people are prone to defaulting on loans anyway, and the whole thing blows up.

That’s where we find ourselves today. It would appear that a group of mortgage lenders found a way to bend the rules, and no one was regulating them to prevent it, and they made a huge amount of money in the process. Unfortunately, the actions of these lenders will lead to millions of foreclosures and will have many other long-term effects on the economy as a whole.

subprime lenders + subprime borrowers = trouble
if your credit score is lower than 650, you're subprime. This is the kind of stuff they need to teach in public schools during senior year.

^^^quoting wiki or some other random website doesnt make you look any smarter. blaming just lenders? right, cus the people taking the loan shouldnt be held responsible for poor decisions either, right? unfortunately your POV represents the thought process of most americans.........dumbed down and feel they shouldnt be held accountable for their actions....they should be bailed out.

isnt this common sense? of course a lender is going to try and sell you all the home they can convince you that you need. just because said person wasnt bright enough to realise it was way too much doesnt make the lender responsible, its the ill-informed consumer. its no different than say wal-mart, they want to sell you everything they possibly can. why do you think stores are starting spring sales 3 weeks early? oh thats right, they know we have refund checks(cheques for GAM ) coming and they want us to spend them in their store. and when you walk that store....notice all the nice convenient displays? same thing.

and FYI 650 credit score is not sub-prime.

650 is good enough to get you the best possible interest rates out.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Tuesday, March 18, 2008 7:02 AM

I believe a lot of subprime borrowers are impulsive buyers. Buyers who buy things they do not need or do not have the money because they can not afford it.
They did a study and found out that they could easily rip them off and all they have to do is make the numbers look good and pretty on paper, lots of sweet talk and BINGO!
I’m not goinna paste anything this time.
My sister has decent credit, but she’s in deep debt by renting a 800 dollars per month 1 bedroom apartment, she drives a 2008 Mazda SUV, pays child support, has the latest cell phone, lots of clothes, and she works full time during the week, and part time every other weekend. She’s a party animal and is always short on cash.
To me that’s like a- “I gotta have it now” decease. And she’s well educated. She has a degree in accounting. She’s late on payments but they keep offering credit cards and she keeps taking them. That’s why I believe people who spend money like that is not their fault because they have a mental disorder that makes them buy things they do not need. They are taking advantage of them because there’s a new bankruptcy law, chapter 13, that states you have to pay everything back.
My ex wife,
Our marriage failed because she was always over spending our money. She filed bankruptcy after we got divorced. No matter how hard I tried to tell her not to get more credit cards, it went in one ear and out the other. There was no way to stop it, as if she was mentally sick wanting to keep getting more credit and over spending it.
Get rich quick programs,
They don’t work. My sister tried to get me in to one of those. And she was talking and adding numbers and trying to make the numbers look good. Sure, the number did look good but I asked her one question. “How do you know is going to work?” She did not know- she said that is going to work if you work hard on it.
She wanted me to pay a membership fee and other program fees and I told her NO because it was a scam. “But the numbers look good she replied” I said “Yes, the numbers look good, but is not going to work!! Simple, is not going to work because is all inside your head, those products are not sold in retail stores because they do not work.

My point is that impulsive buyers are more likely to experience spontaneous buying. And is not that people are dumb because my sister is very very smart when it comes to book and school. But when it comes to flat screen TVs, cars, cell phones, clothes, ect… her mind turns to STUPID and there are big corporations out there who just know how to rip this people off. They make their numbers look good but they do NOT and NEVER tell you the whole story behind their scam. Like I said, there are big corporations out there who know how to target subprime borrowers because subprime lenders know exactly how to rip them off. Fine prints are or can be very difficult to read. Even a person with a PHD can find it difficult to read that’s why sometimes you have to have an attorney to help you read fine prints.

That’s the America we are living in today
Very good examples of impulsive buyers are the children. Even if they have a billion toys at home that they don’t play with, they still want more and more toys and that’s the mentality parents are creating and feeding in to their minds. You gotta have it You gotta have it. TV commercials are all about "Buy me" and feeding their brain with usless adds. And when they get older and file bankruptcy, it won’t be their fault 100%

I believe the lenders are responsible for scamming impulsive borrowers. Yes it is!!

the problem is people do not know how to live within their means
they use credit cards and loans as a crutch to buy the latest things because the American Dream has become so materialistic, it has almost lost its meaning
I hate how a lot (and i do mean a lot) of people believe that the more/better stuff they have the happier they will be
in fact, i think that the most unhappy people are the ones with the most @!#$, because even if they make 6 figures, they spend all that money because they have it
this is why so many people with good incomes get shafted by their own stupidity, they live beyond their means

Tracer Bullet wrote:the problem is people do not know how to live within their means
they use credit cards and loans as a crutch to buy the latest things because the American Dream has become so materialistic, it has almost lost its meaning
I hate how a lot (and i do mean a lot) of people believe that the more/better stuff they have the happier they will be
in fact, i think that the most unhappy people are the ones with the most @!#$, because even if they make 6 figures, they spend all that money because they have it
this is why so many people with good incomes get shafted by their own stupidity, they live beyond their means

I agree. It doesn't take much intelligence to figure out that if your house payments are like 90% of your income, than you're going to have problems. People are just @!#$ stupid.

Robby002 wrote:I believe a lot of subprime borrowers are impulsive buyers. Buyers who buy things they do not need or do not have the money because they can not afford it.
They did a study and found out that they could easily rip them off and all they have to do is make the numbers look good and pretty on paper, lots of sweet talk and BINGO!
I’m not goinna paste anything this time.
My sister has decent credit, but she’s in deep debt by renting a 800 dollars per month 1 bedroom apartment, she drives a 2008 Mazda SUV, pays child support, has the latest cell phone, lots of clothes, and she works full time during the week, and part time every other weekend. She’s a party animal and is always short on cash.
To me that’s like a- “I gotta have it now” decease. And she’s well educated. She has a degree in accounting. She’s late on payments but they keep offering credit cards and she keeps taking them. That’s why I believe people who spend money like that is not their fault because they have a mental disorder that makes them buy things they do not need. They are taking advantage of them because there’s a new bankruptcy law, chapter 13, that states you have to pay everything back.
My ex wife,
Our marriage failed because she was always over spending our money. She filed bankruptcy after we got divorced. No matter how hard I tried to tell her not to get more credit cards, it went in one ear and out the other. There was no way to stop it, as if she was mentally sick wanting to keep getting more credit and over spending it.
Get rich quick programs,
They don’t work. My sister tried to get me in to one of those. And she was talking and adding numbers and trying to make the numbers look good. Sure, the number did look good but I asked her one question. “How do you know is going to work?” She did not know- she said that is going to work if you work hard on it.
She wanted me to pay a membership fee and other program fees and I told her NO because it was a scam. “But the numbers look good she replied” I said “Yes, the numbers look good, but is not going to work!! Simple, is not going to work because is all inside your head, those products are not sold in retail stores because they do not work.

My point is that impulsive buyers are more likely to experience spontaneous buying. And is not that people are dumb because my sister is very very smart when it comes to book and school. But when it comes to flat screen TVs, cars, cell phones, clothes, ect… her mind turns to STUPID and there are big corporations out there who just know how to rip this people off. They make their numbers look good but they do NOT and NEVER tell you the whole story behind their scam. Like I said, there are big corporations out there who know how to target subprime borrowers because subprime lenders know exactly how to rip them off. Fine prints are or can be very difficult to read. Even a person with a PHD can find it difficult to read that’s why sometimes you have to have an attorney to help you read fine prints.

That’s the America we are living in today
Very good examples of impulsive buyers are the children. Even if they have a billion toys at home that they don’t play with, they still want more and more toys and that’s the mentality parents are creating and feeding in to their minds. You gotta have it You gotta have it. TV commercials are all about "Buy me" and feeding their brain with usless adds. And when they get older and file bankruptcy, it won’t be their fault 100%

I believe the lenders are responsible for scamming impulsive borrowers. Yes it is!!

and again, proving my point more.......in all those scenarios mentioned, I see the CONSUMER at fault. not the lender. Just because people are to ignorant, blinded, self absorbed to read a contract on the loans/cards they take, doesnt put the lender at fault.

same as your ex-wife.....you blame her dont you? not the lender? case in point

lenders are no different than any other business out to make a profit.......they have something to sell, and its upto the consumer to choose wether they need/want it or not.

Scam is an Art and anyone can be a victim.
I’m bored
I’m just going to go ahead and create the American Bill of Rights
Have you ever wondered what is your right and what does it mean?
I will make one up for you to read and entertain.
Ready-Set- GO!!

The American dream is expensive and every Americans should have the opportunity to live the American dream. The low income class should also have the right to live the American dream at all cost; that’s why we have sub-prime lenders to help the low class afford the American dream. Americans have the right to have anything a third world country can produce or make. Americans have to right to have an I-pod, Americans have the right to have a flat screen TV, Americans have the right to have a Cell phone, Americans have the right to have a flexible rate mortgage, Americans have the right to drive a big 15MPG SUV to go to work, Americans have the right to be debt, Americans have the right to have high speed internet because having dial-up is unconstitutional. In fact, Americans have the right to have cable TV, high-speed internet and high speed phone at a regular price for the first 6 to 12 moths; is not a scam is called a bundle!! and they should be overcharged after 6 or 12 months. Americans have the right to have a PC with flat screen monitors to play on-line games or just watch porn. Americans have the right to have surround sounds. Americans have the right to have a car payment; even if is from a buy here pay here sub-prime lender no credit check. Americans have the right to have a cash advance pay day loan; even if their pay day is 5 days from happening lol. Americans have the right to get loans and credit cards. Americans have the right to gamble and play on-line pucker. Americans have the right to sit on their ass and watch TV shows all day long eat fast food and become obese. Americans have the right to be over weight; that’s why we have electronic carts at wal*mart for fat people and regular handicap shoppers. Americans have the right to go shopping because that’s part of the American dream. Even Children in America have the right to live the American dream and no child should be left behind in school. If a child fails a grade with an F, he or she should be passed to the next grade with a D that way no child is left behind repeating the same grade the following school year. All American children have the right to have an XBOX 360 a Playstation 3, Nintendo WII, Nintendo DS, PSP. All American children have the right to eat mc Donald’s, burger king, taco bell, Wendy’s, and every junk food they demand when their parents are too lazy to cook a home meal. Each meal should have ketchup, fries, chicken nuggets or a hamburger and a cheap toy made in china. American Children have the right to watch countless hours of knick cartoons, cartoon network and watch Hanna Montana. American children have the right pay 300.00 dollars on a ticket to watch Hanna Montana sing for 1 hour. American children have the right wear high school musical clothes, and buy high school musical school supplies such as pencils and folders. American teenagers have the right to have a cell phone to send text messages, share pictures, make phone calls, listen to music and they should multitask; that’s why they should have all those things in one electronic device that is called a cell phone and parents should pay the bill at all cost; is part of the American dream. American kids have the right to be spoiled little mean brats and sometimes get away with it. The American dream is not cheap fulks, but Americans should have the right to live the American dream at all cost. That’s why we have sub-prime lenders to help you make your none-affordable dreams come true. Those are the rights to be an American and if you’re not living the American dream the government will help you make it happen. How? By allowing sub-prime lenders help you to get that loan you always wanted, to help you buy that house and make your first house payment and stop making you pay rent, to help you make that special purchase you always wanted, to get you approved on loans with rates that are sky high. That’s right my friends. We live in America and if you can’t speak English, Press # 2 for Spanish and we will help you explain why your mortgage went up from 12% rate to 24%. That’s right folks, this is your Bill of Rights!

Thank you and -God Bless America!

i read upto the word go.

paragraphs

Well, in defense of the homeowners, house prices have gone up so insanely over the last couple of years that it's literally impossible to buy anything worth living in for under 100 grand. My mom bought her house for 23,000$ and in 5 years it's gone up to 80,000$

Maybe I'm a little unrealistic, but I've always lived in larg-ish victorian type houses (that used to be cheap) and I don't think I could tolerate living the rest of my life in a place only slightly bigger than a studio appartment. Right now I live in a tiny place but I pay almost nothing in rent, so I don't care. But if I had to pay 500$-600$ a month to live in a closet sized appartment I'd flip out. In 2001 I could have bought an entire SUMMER CAMP for about 150,000$ in the area where I live. The camp included one two storey main building the size of a hotel, 2 smaller buildings, a boat dock and about 8 acres of land.

Yes, some people get in over their heads, but dammit... no one wants to spend their lives living in a crapshack AND pay out the butt for it.

Joey (i can has boomstick) wrote:i read upto the word go.

paragraphs

Is on fine print format

Knoxfire wrote:Well, in defense of the homeowners, house prices have gone up so insanely over the last couple of years that it's literally impossible to buy anything worth living in for under 100 grand. My mom bought her house for 23,000$ and in 5 years it's gone up to 80,000$

Maybe I'm a little unrealistic, but I've always lived in larg-ish victorian type houses (that used to be cheap) and I don't think I could tolerate living the rest of my life in a place only slightly bigger than a studio appartment. Right now I live in a tiny place but I pay almost nothing in rent, so I don't care. But if I had to pay 500$-600$ a month to live in a closet sized appartment I'd flip out. In 2001 I could have bought an entire SUMMER CAMP for about 150,000$ in the area where I live. The camp included one two storey main building the size of a hotel, 2 smaller buildings, a boat dock and about 8 acres of land.

Yes, some people get in over their heads, but dammit... no one wants to spend their lives living in a crapshack AND pay out the butt for it.

i agree.....but also really depends on the area/market. Like here in buffalo the housing prices are very respectable...but then again they have to be as work around here is impossible to find & less and less.

2.5 years ago i bought my house for ~$100k.........4 bed, 2 bath, 3 story with basement and detached 2.5 car garage. Prices around here havent changed much in recent years other than appraisal value going up with improvements

a 4bedroom 2 bath 3 story house with basement plus a 2.5 car garage around my area- lets see... you're looking at
$300,000.00 dollars ( at least )

Exactly why i say depends on the market

Joey (i can has boomstick) wrote:

Knoxfire wrote:Well, in defense of the homeowners, house prices have gone up so insanely over the last couple of years that it's literally impossible to buy anything worth living in for under 100 grand. My mom bought her house for 23,000$ and in 5 years it's gone up to 80,000$

Maybe I'm a little unrealistic, but I've always lived in larg-ish victorian type houses (that used to be cheap) and I don't think I could tolerate living the rest of my life in a place only slightly bigger than a studio appartment. Right now I live in a tiny place but I pay almost nothing in rent, so I don't care. But if I had to pay 500$-600$ a month to live in a closet sized appartment I'd flip out. In 2001 I could have bought an entire SUMMER CAMP for about 150,000$ in the area where I live. The camp included one two storey main building the size of a hotel, 2 smaller buildings, a boat dock and about 8 acres of land.

Yes, some people get in over their heads, but dammit... no one wants to spend their lives living in a crapshack AND pay out the butt for it.

i agree.....but also really depends on the area/market. Like here in buffalo the housing prices are very respectable...but then again they have to be as work around here is impossible to find & less and less.

2.5 years ago i bought my house for ~$100k.........4 bed, 2 bath, 3 story with basement and detached 2.5 car garage. Prices around here havent changed much in recent years other than appraisal value going up with improvements

Damn..... even in DE where my parents live, their tiny house has gone up 2 fold already, mostly due to the market, and very little for home improvements. 3 bed, 2 bath, inground swimming pool was > $100k a few years ago (we bought it back in 93 or 94, but the prices didnt move around too much), now, it is getting appraised around $180k or so. All we did was upkeep the pool, and a new roof.

And I don't even want to get into the cost of houses in RI. Its INSANE.

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