The Subprime Meltdown Was Predictable

The current bewilderment and surprise over the "subprime" crises that is shaking the financial and real estate markets would be funny if it weren't so sad. This meltdown in the U.S. credit markets was predictable. Rick Kahler, CFP, resides in Rapid City, South Dakota and is a fee-only financial planner. He is the co-author of "The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge" and "Conscious Finance," both available on Amazon.com. You can learn more about Rick at wwww.kahlerfinancial.com.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• subprime
• meltdown
• mortgage
• lender
• loan
• interest
• rate
• market
• financial
• planning
• rick
• kahler
• invest
• money
• home
• ownership

[Green7Hornet]

Weren't the villains the mortgage companies and wall street? They are the ones who encouraged bad lending practices, without concerns for the consequences, because they knew they wouldn't be holding the loans, and the risk. If I were holding mortgage debt, and now realized I probably wouldn't get my money back, I would blame the mortgage lenders and wall street for practicing fraud, and little or no blame on the home borrowers.

[rapidcity55]

Many people are responsible......the mortgage lender who decided to relax his qualifications and borrowers who over extended themselves or gambled on an improving financial future. There are consequences for poor decisions and we are seeing that now play out in the markets.

[mrchekky]

I have a potent question for ya..

If all money is created as an interest bearing debt.

Where does the money come from to pay the interest!!!!!!!!!

And WHY would the banks be interested in loaning out money, if they know that the money to pay the interest back doesnt exist.????????

get back to me.

Paul from Melbourne Australia

[rapidcity55]

Paul,

Money, in and by itself, has no inherent interest rate component. It is a debt of the issuer, which typically was payable in precious metals. Many visualize money as a storehouse of energy. Interest is the 'rent' one pays to use that energy.

[Green7Hornet]

so the fed can create infinite energy at no cost. golly, i wish i were so gifted.

[rapidcity55]

That is the primary reason that the government gets to spend more than their revenue, unlike taxpayers. If a taxpayer creates money, they go to jail. When the government creates money, it's called inflation.

[autofill67]

This guy obviously is uninformed and panders to those who don't want to blame those who are truly responsible. Wall Street is to blame and the blame trickles down from there. Big money controls legislators and legislators are voted in under a system that is corrupt and began in 1913 when the congress created the federal reserve system. since then, the dollar has lost value every single day. sadly, Americans are so stupid and are such cowards, this will never happen.

[rnna999]

Thank you for this.

[Green7Hornet]

its the fed that does the printing, and the fed is under the control of wall street bankers, not the government.

[Green7Hornet]

Ask yourself if the CDO mess could have happened if the wallstreet banks intended to hold on to the mortgages rather than sell them to the less informed?

[Green7Hornet]

hmmm, you lay blame only on mortgage lenders and borrowers. The wallstreet ilk are supposed to be the smartest guys in the entire industry. While they were slicing and dicing the mortgages to sell to suckers, why didn't they do a few phone calls to figure out how the hell so many people could suddenly afford mortgages? Plus, who was it that encouraged getting ARMs with rates at historic LOWS, and who then raised rates? the FED? ok but, the FEd is owned and controlled by wallstreet. Case closed.

[JumbobagBodyGuard]

boring!

[horris2]

I don't belive these leaders are so irrisponsible. THey wan to crash economy?