Althouse: "Boehner calls bill a 'crap sandwich'..."

September 29, 2008

"Boehner calls bill a 'crap sandwich'..."

But he'll eat it anyway.

45 comments:

Anonymous said...: My advice is to drizzle butter, syrup, and other delicious toppings on this bill with the Hot Topper.

When life gives you lemons...; 9/29/08, 6:49 AM
Ron said...: Well, the more bread you have, the less shit you have to eat!; 9/29/08, 6:52 AM
Anonymous said...: It would have been a better bill if they'd taken their cues from nature.; 9/29/08, 6:53 AM
rhhardin said...: There's not much alliteration in crap sandwich. It needs another food.

Crap casserole.; 9/29/08, 6:57 AM
rhhardin said...: Crap on whole wheat would be a nontechnical explanation.; 9/29/08, 6:59 AM
Anonymous said...: rhhardin said...
Crap on whole wheat would be a nontechnical explanation.

6:59 AM

But rich in fiber. The recycling of the recycled?; 9/29/08, 7:06 AM
DaLawGiver said...: "Eat your crap sandwich dear."

"But Mom, I don't like crap"

"Do you know how hard I worked making that crap sandwich? Eat your crap sandwich and be thankful you have crap to eat! Do you know that there are kids starving in Africa who would love to eat your crap sandwich? Be grateful you have anything to eat at all!"

"Yes Mommy."; 9/29/08, 7:20 AM
Meade said...: "If you don't eat that crap sandwich, Daddy will leave Mommy and we won't have anywhere to live or anything to eat. We'll all die if you don't eat the sandwich."; 9/29/08, 7:27 AM
Meade said...: "Besides, crap is good for you - it's chock full of nutritious bipartisan vitamins and minerals that will give... I mean, protect you from bowel cancer."; 9/29/08, 7:31 AM
George M. Spencer said...: I was in DC over the weekend.

It was oppressive, gloomy, foreboding, nearly unbearable.

And that was just the weather.

Low 80s with 100 percent humidity, it seemed.; 9/29/08, 7:36 AM
Anonymous said...: I am not concerned. While I don't like the bill, the fact is that it is nothing but monetary policy run amok, and monetary policy is always better than big government socialist solutions. Those, the exact wrong monetary policy, and absurd protectionism are what caused the Great Depression.

We're going to be okay.; 9/29/08, 7:41 AM
bearbee said...: Haven't finished listening to Econ Talk podcast discussing history of Fannie/Freddie up to present by economist Kling formerly with Freddie.
Kling on Freddie and Fannie and the Recent History of the U.S. Housing Market; 9/29/08, 7:43 AM
Meade said...: "What's that?"

"Some new crap sandwich Mommy says is good for us."

"I'm not gonna eat it. You eat it."

"Hey, I know! Let's get the stupid taxpayers to eat it. They eat anything"; 9/29/08, 7:43 AM
Meade said...: "We're going to be okay."

Yeah, until Daddy goes on a real drinking binge.; 9/29/08, 7:44 AM
Anonymous said...: I forgot to add that there's going to be some inflation and a recession.; 9/29/08, 7:45 AM
MadisonMan said...: At least it's not Egg Salad. But if you give someone enough money, they'll eat anything.; 9/29/08, 7:46 AM
Meade said...: "I forgot to add that there's going to be some inflation and a recession."

Yeah, and maybe just a touch of bowel cancer.; 9/29/08, 7:50 AM
AllenS said...: Think outside the bun: crap taco.; 9/29/08, 8:00 AM
Meade said...: "He likes it! Hey, AllenS!!"; 9/29/08, 8:03 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: The bill is crap. The bread is the cover up.; 9/29/08, 8:05 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Seven said:

"I forgot to add that there's going to be some inflation and a recession."

I got a laugh out of this and agree we will be OK....in ten years or so.; 9/29/08, 8:14 AM
AllenS said...: "I forgot to add that there's going to be some inflation and a recession."

Not to mention, a bad case of gas.; 9/29/08, 8:22 AM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: Madison Man mentioned it. Althouse did it first. The Congress is just being derivative [and I'm not talking about the financial variety] and unartistic. C'mon, Congress!! Up your game!; 9/29/08, 8:42 AM
George M. Spencer said...: I think the foreigners have had it with us.

EC President Sarkozy and a German finance minister have both said they want a shift away from the dollar towards a global marketbasket of currencies.

And five or six Persian Gulf nations are going to create a unified currency in 2010. Now's the perfect time to invest in Ajman or Dubai.

i sing of Olaf glad and big. Nonetheless, I'm for McCain.

None of it makes much sense, does it?; 9/29/08, 8:46 AM
Bob said...: The problem isn't that its a crap sandwich. Its that we're being feed it from the wrong end...; 9/29/08, 8:50 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm shocked that any foreigners have been stupid enough to stick with the dollar for this long. Interest rates are way too low. Frankly, any country hoarding dollars is full of morons. I'm talking to you, China.

With inflation set to kick in, interest rates will have to go up. Lock in that fixed rate today! (If you can find anyone lending money.); 9/29/08, 8:52 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: Lock in that fixed rate today! (If you can find anyone lending money.)

I was with some real estate people and a bank oficer over the weekend. The realtors were bemoaning lost deals or deals put on hold. The reason; buyers could not get mortgages or due to the crisis, mortgages fell through. The banker told me that they either cancelled approved mortgages wor will not approve new ones until things straighten out.

It is going to be rough for a short while.; 9/29/08, 9:24 AM
rhhardin said...: Inflation isn't automatic; that depends on something else.

Other things being equal, credit drying up means deflation.

Incidentally foreigners don't hoard dollars. They come back to the US as investments or purchases.

A dollar hoarded is just a free loan to the US government for as long as it's hoarded.; 9/29/08, 9:35 AM
Anonymous said...: I'm just assuming that a $700 billion glut of non-growth money injected into the economy will lead to inflation, which would be countered with higher interest rates.; 9/29/08, 9:37 AM
ricpic said...: Did the world end yet?

You know what this is all about? The managers won't let capitalism be capitalism. They won't let the screw ups fail. So they're going to bailout the screw ups so that the screw ups can continue screwing up rather than be punished by market capitalism as they would be if only the superbrilliant Paulsons and Bernankes of this world would just get out of the way and LET THEM FAIL!; 9/29/08, 9:38 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: So they're going to bailout the screw ups so that the screw ups can continue screwing up rather than be punished by market capitalism as they would be if only the superbrilliant Paulsons and Bernankes of this world would just get out of the way and LET THEM FAIL!

The only problem with this is they let the screw ups screw up for too long. Look at WaMu; they did not just start failing last week. They have had problems for months.

The mortgage crisis is not new; it has been hanging over our heads for months. The government- all branches stuck their collective heads in the sand hoping things would even out. They allowed these entities keep getting deeper and deeper into trouble.

Hope is fine up to a point. The government lost sight of reality.; 9/29/08, 9:46 AM
rhhardin said...: I'm just assuming that a $700 billion glut of non-growth money injected into the economy will lead to inflation, which would be countered with higher interest rates.

1. The treasury sells debt.

2. The debt pulls $ out of some investor's checking account.

3. The treasury buys mortgage crap from a failing bank with the $.

4. Now the $ in the checking account that belonged to the investor belongs instead to the bank.

There's the same number of dollars as before.; 9/29/08, 9:51 AM
kentuckyliz said...: "Boehner eats crap sandwich."

Say that out loud.

heh heh
heh heh heh; 9/29/08, 10:20 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: I was with some real estate people and a bank oficer over the weekend. The realtors were bemoaning lost deals or deals put on hold. The reason; buyers could not get mortgages or due to the crisis, mortgages fell through. The banker told me that they either cancelled approved mortgages wor will not approve new ones until things straighten out.

There is a real estate broker in my area that was getting people to invest in speculative houses and commercial property lending. They would pool their money and lend to the builder/speculator at a high interest rate (10% or more) with a relatively low LTV (loan to value) on a short term loan based on the ability of the speculator to complete the project and sell the property. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sounded good for a while didn't it? 10 to 14% !!!!Wow!!! Way better than I could guarantee on a conservative bond portfolio, annuity or even stock portfolio (on which there is zero guarantee anyway). I tried to tell the clients the dangers and the pitfalls. Now they are forclosing on properties and holding vacant unfinished houses and commercial properties that are generating zero income and have fallen in value to that LTV doesn't look so good anymore. Until the credit spigots flow again they are going to be wearing these decreasing in value properties around their necks for a few years.

Told'ya.; 9/29/08, 10:28 AM
Anthony said...: Just remember, in politics, your choice is usually between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwhich.; 9/29/08, 10:31 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: DBQ,
The banker was telling me that about six months ago clients were coming to the bank wanting to refi the weird mortgages they took out. He told them his hands were tied. He also told them "I told you so." I guess there were some kind of penalties for early pay offs or refis plus the home values on some dropped below the debt.

These were long time clients who did not listen to good advice and went for the its too good to be true deal. Who are they mad at? The banker.; 9/29/08, 10:59 AM
Peter V. Bella said...: I did not read anywhere that they are forbidding the bailed out financial institutions and entities from lobbying or giving money to the campaign funds of politicians. That would have made this more palatable.; 9/29/08, 11:03 AM
rhhardin said...: If your home's value drops below what you owe on it, just move. You've been paying rent, is all; move unless the payment makes sense as rent.

As I understand the deal, the bank protects themselves by seizing the house, and that's the deal they made.

If they wanted another deal, like your promise to pay personally, let them make that deal instead.

But there's no reason to bail them out of the commercial deal they made with you.; 9/29/08, 11:06 AM
Joe said...: Europeans acting all huffy cracks me up. English banks had all sorts of crap mortgages--stated income mortgages (wink-win) were the only way to sell overinflated London housing. Then there's all the "solid" investments Deutsche Bank made. And lets not forget the absolute kings of toxic mortgages; Japan.

(If these foreign banks are so damn smart, then why were they buying all the shit US investment banks were churning out? Because being a greedy bastard know no national borders.); 9/29/08, 11:36 AM
Freder Frederson said...: They would pool their money and lend to the builder/speculator at a high interest rate (10% or more) with a relatively low LTV (loan to value) on a short term loan based on the ability of the speculator to complete the project and sell the property. Hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Gee, and I thought this mess was caused by banks being forced to lend to poor people with bad credit.

Which is it?; 9/29/08, 12:35 PM
Freder Frederson said...: If your home's value drops below what you owe on it, just move. You've been paying rent, is all; move unless the payment makes sense as rent.

Even if you can ignore the emotional and non-financial aspects of home ownership, this is of course easier said than done. Moving can be quite an expensive proposition, and if your credit is in bad shape because you defaulted on your mortgage, finding a new place may be difficult.

And most mortgages are recourse--even in California, only the first mortgage is non-recourse. So the lender can try and get the full value of the loan back from you (how often this happens in practice, I am not sure).; 9/29/08, 12:41 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Gee, and I thought this mess was caused by banks being forced to lend to poor people with bad credit.

Which is it?

It's a whole lot of things, not just one cause. Mostly...greed on a whole lot of levels. Also helped right along by intrusive regulations fostered by people, who while meaning well, didn't understand the ramifications of forcing or encouraging institutions to lend to unqualified borrowers in an artificially inflated real estate market.

Spare us from the good intentions that the road to hell is usually paved with.

Now the folks I was talking about, (who lent money to developers who for whatever reason didn't go through the banks) are left holding the bag. Devalued and unmarketable properties. No income. No liquidity. Greed.; 9/29/08, 12:52 PM
Arturius said...: Gee, and I thought this mess was caused by banks being forced to lend to poor people with bad credit.

Which is it?

A little bit of all of the above. Sub-primes generally are for those individuals who have poor credit, hence the term sub-prime.

There are a lot of players involved in this debacle and it's not all poor people with bad credit or Wall Street bankers. It was called a housing bubble for a reason and a whole lot of people, rich, middle class and poor all tried to jump on for the ride and made poor decisions.; 9/29/08, 1:18 PM
blake said...: At least it's not Egg Salad. But if you give someone enough money, they'll eat anything.

The irony being we're giving a whole ton of money to be FED it.; 9/29/08, 1:23 PM
Bruce Hayden said...: What needs to be remembered is that the economy won't recover until it takes its medicine, and the bailout is designed to postpone that. Banks involved here need to fail. People who bought houses they can't afford need to be foreclosed upon.

Also, please note that many of those who are most at fault here are the ones in charge of the bailout - akin to the wolf being in charge of the hen house. Notable here is Chris Dodd, who was the #1 recipient of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac political contributions.

The bailout would give the Sec. of the Treasury significant new powers to control our economy. Does anyone really want disgraced Fannie Mae CEO Franklin Raines with this power in an Obama Administration? It is notable that two former Fannie Mae CEOs are two of Obama's principle housing market advisers.; 9/29/08, 1:36 PM