Is It Fair For The U.S. Government To Give Money To Some People (But Not To Others) To Help Them Pay Their Mortgages?

Millions upon millions of Americans are struggling with paying their bloated mortgages right now.  So is it fair for the U.S. government to be giving money to some people (but not to others) to help them pay their mortgages? Well, it turns out that U.S. citizens in 10 states will soon be receiving money as part of a $2.1 billion federal program to help distressed homeowners pay their mortgages.  But is this fair?  Why will only citizens in 10 states by getting funds?  What about the other 40 states?  Well, the money for this mortgage relief program is going to come from a special fund within the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) known as the “Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets”.  In other words, people in the areas where housing prices have fallen the most are going to get help living the American Dream, and everyone else is out of luck. (Read More...)

American Deadbeats

Is the current economic crisis creating a generation of American deadbeats?  Once upon a time in America, we were taught that no matter how much financial trouble we get in we pay our debts – no matter what.  But now that has fundamentally changed.  Today, record numbers of Americans are filing for bankruptcy and a new term had to be invented (“strategic defaults”) to describe the large number of people who are making “business decisions” to walk away from underwater mortgages.  Meanwhile, many of these same individuals who are walking away from their debts are spending big money on cruises, vacations and new cars – as if they were still entitled to all of the good things that come with living the American Dream.  Below you will read some incredibly disgusting examples of this.  It is as if a whole generation of Americans has decided that “financial responsibility” is a problem that they don’t care to be bothered with.  But what is it going to do to the U.S. financial system if we can no longer count on people to honor their debts? (Read More...)

The Foreclosure Crisis

Those who believe that the U.S. real estate crash is over are delusional.  The truth is that all the numbers point to the foreclosure crisis getting worse – not better.  Many of the talking heads on the major news shows want to make the American people feel better about the real estate market and are projecting that things will soon turn around, but a cold, hard look at the statistics tells an entirely different story.  Foreclosures are increasing and there is every indication that they will continue to increase.  According to RealtyTrac, initial foreclosure filings were reported on 367,056 properties in March, an increase of almost 19 percent from the previous month.  It was also the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing its report on initial foreclosure filings in January 2005. (Read More...)

Hold On – Interest Rates Are Going To Increase During The Second Half Of 2010 And Into 2011

Interest rates have nowhere to go but up.  Interest rates will rise during the second half of 2010, and they will continue to rise during 2011.  This is going to cause a lot of pain for the U.S. economy and for American consumers.  Unfortunately, this is not just the opinion of a handful of half-baked Internet nutjobs.  This is the assessment of the New York Times and of the highly respected economists that they interviewed.  It seems that virtually everyone in the financial community agrees that it is inevitable that interest rates are going to rise.  And that is really bad news for the U.S. economy. (Read More...)

15 Reasons Why The U.S. Economic Crisis Is Really An Economic Consolidation By The Elite Banking Powers

Is the United States experiencing an “economic crisis” or an “economic consolidation”?  Did the financial problems of the last several years “happen on their own”, or are they part of a broader plan to consolidate financial power in the United States?  Before you dismiss that possibility, just remember what happened back during the Great Depression.  During that era, the big financial powers cut off the flow of credit, hoarded cash and reduced the money supply.  Suddenly nobody had any money and the economy tanked.  The big financial powers were then able to swoop back in and buy up valuable assets and real estate for pennies on the dollar.  So are there signs that such a financial consolidation is happening again? (Read More...)

10 Clear Signs That This Will Be A Double-Dip Recession In The United States

The U.S. economy has been riding out one of the worst recessions in modern history, but unfortunately every economic signal seems to be indicating that we are going to be experiencing a “double-dip” recession instead of a recovery.  U.S. government debt is out of control, a massive “second wave” of mortgages is scheduled to reset starting this year, banks have significantly tightened credit, pension funds across the U.S. are broke at a time when a ton of Baby Boomers are ready to retire, and a massive financial crisis in the Eurozone threatens to throw the world into financial chaos.  The truth is that 2010 is going to be another very tough year economically, and for many the American Dream is quickly becoming a distant memory.  The following are ten clear signs that this will be a double-dip recession in the United States…. (Read More...)

Housing Crash Part 2? A Massive Second Wave Of Mortgages Reset Starting In 2010

The housing crash of 2008/2009 was one of the biggest financial disasters in American history.  Approximately 6 million homes have been foreclosed on by lenders in just the last three years alone as millions of American families watched their hopes for achieving the American Dream go up in smoke.  Since early 2008, approximately 60 million U.S. homes have lost a combined 5 trillion dollars in value.  It has been an unmitigated disaster for homeowners, lenders, home builders, real estate agents and construction workers.  Now approximately one out of every four U.S. homeowners are “underwater” on their mortgages.  That means that they owe more money than their homes are worth.  If that wasn’t bad enough, it is estimated that by June of this year approximately 5.1 million American homeowners will own a home valued below 75 percent of what is owed.  Can you imagine owing $400,000 on a home that is only worth $300,000?  That is where millions of American families find themselves now.  In some areas of the U.S., the housing market is so bad that it is almost comical.  In California, one bank demolished 16 nearly completed homes because it was cheaper to knock them down than to finish building them.  The worst part is that by all indications, the housing crash is far from over.  In fact, a massive “second wave” of mortgage defaults is on the way over the next three years that could potentially deliver a knock out blow to the U.S. economy. (Read More...)