2012 Douchebag Of The Year

[kalm]

Don't bother them with facts, Hen. THey're on a roll. Donks don't do well with facts.

Mr. Potter and his cheering section...

The banking industry and Wall Street investors were in bed with Barney (Capitol Hill), Fannie and Freddie.

Rome was burning (U.S. economic health) and the Pols (both sides of the isle) loosened the guidelines to sell the delusion that everything was fine.
The Conks, because it covered up Bush's failed "laissez faire" incompetence; the Donks, because it bought votes concealing their unsustainable policies.

Once the stage had been set, the banks simply pushed the debt hard and fast, rolled up the CDO's and sold them to Wall Street like hot dogs at a ball game. Wall Street rolled the CDO's into funny money ABS's which became part of the derivative's market, and the pea-shell game went into hyper-speed.

It was a win-win for everyone until guy holding the derivatives tried to cash them in.

To blame this on the folks at the bottom of the scheme (who were simply dumb, lazy and greedy - think "lottery" players) is tantamount to blaming the robbery victim for not doing a better job protecting their belongings.

Buffet made billions playing the game, as did most further up on the food chain. And in the end, the taxpayers (workers) foot the bill; the lottery players wound up wasting their money on a gamble for the American Dream; and the bankers and Wall Street recouped their political payoff (contributions) by getting Washington to cover their losses.

It's reasonable to presume were justice to be carried out, around a quarter of Washington's officials and Wall Street should be sitting in a Federal Prison for bribery and fraud.

I'm a conservative and that's the truth.

[YoUDeeMan]

To blame this on the folks at the bottom of the scheme (who were simply dumb, lazy and greedy - think "lottery" players) is tantamount to blaming the robbery victim for not doing a better job protecting their belongings.

T-man...great post...except for the above nonsense.

People who are lazy and greedy don't get a free pass. They are the same type of people that caused this crisis...selfish to the bone.

I have a neighbor that constantly complains about rich people and corporations that are not paying their taxes...she says they are greedy and hurting others that need to be helped by taxpayer money. She and her husband both work for the university and have enough money to travel to Europe and the Western U.S. every year.

Well, she has a yard sale each year and makes a several thousand dollars off discarded student items (furniture, clothing, you name it). She also rents out the basement of her house to students...which adds another couple thousand to her bottom line. So I asked her if she paid taxes on that income.



"But...but...but..."

Apparently, she doesn't believe her $1,000 in taxes could be better used to help someone who is poor or to help fund our infrastruture...she needs her family's travel time, her manicured lawn, her house expansions, her son's guitar lessons, swim lessons, etc. Helping the poor is someone else's job.

Poor people are greedy, too. So are the middle class and the rich. To blame one sector for their greed and say they need to be in jail while saying the other greedy people are "vicitms" is to say that the white collar criminals should be in jail while the ordinary household robber should just get probation.

[89Hen]

To blame this on the folks at the bottom of the scheme (who were simply dumb, lazy and greedy - think "lottery" players) is tantamount to blaming the robbery victim for not doing a better job protecting their belongings.

Wow, that's as bad as any analogy that Z has used in the past.

[Cap'n Cat]

To blame this on the folks at the bottom of the scheme (who were simply dumb, lazy and greedy - think "lottery" players) is tantamount to blaming the robbery victim for not doing a better job protecting their belongings.

Wow, that's as bad as any analogy that Z has used in the past.

Brother Hen, what did you give up for Lent?

[89Hen]

I do wonder why the credit agencies report those as negative effects if you are saying the scores are good. All 3 listed the same one with a few variying ones thrown in so they looked slightly different.

The credit bureaus only list negative things on your report to show you what is keeping your score from being higher. Somebody with 820 scores will still get things like "too many recent inquiries" or "too much revolving debt" even if those things aren't really hurting the score much.

[89Hen]

Wow, that's as bad as any analogy that Z has used in the past.

Brother Hen, what did you give up for Lent?

Double bogeys.

[Cap'n Cat]

I do wonder why the credit agencies report those as negative effects if you are saying the scores are good. All 3 listed the same one with a few variying ones thrown in so they looked slightly different.

The credit bureaus only list negative things on your report to show you what is keeping your score from being higher. Somebody with 820 scores will still get things like "too many recent inquiries" or "too much revolving debt" even if those things aren't really hurting the score much.

Always focusing on the negative. Kind of a Conk value, ain't it?

[CAA Flagship]

Brother Hen, what did you give up for Lent?

Double bogeys.

I gave up bread. What was I thinking?

Wait. So what do you do with a 3 foot putt for double bogey? Miss it for the triple?

[89Hen]

The credit bureaus only list negative things on your report to show you what is keeping your score from being higher. Somebody with 820 scores will still get things like "too many recent inquiries" or "too much revolving debt" even if those things aren't really hurting the score much.

Always focusing on the negative. Kind of a Conk value, ain't it?

Nah. It is funny how pissed people get when they get their report and it has these things listed. The one thing I've learned about people and credit problems... it's NEVER their fault.

[89Hen]

Double bogeys.

I gave up bread. What was I thinking?

Wait. So what do you do with a 3 foot putt for double bogey? Miss it for the triple?

I'll figure that out if I actually have one.

One of my favorite golf quotes was Seve Ballesteros when asked how he four putted a green... "I miss, I miss, I miss, I make" of course it's better when you do it with the Spanish accent.

[Cap'n Cat]

Always focusing on the negative. Kind of a Conk value, ain't it?

Nah. It is funny how pissed people get when they get their report and it has these things listed. The one thing I've learned about people and credit problems... it's NEVER their fault.

I was just jabbing. You're absolutely correct, though.

[kalm]

To blame this on the folks at the bottom of the scheme (who were simply dumb, lazy and greedy - think "lottery" players) is tantamount to blaming the robbery victim for not doing a better job protecting their belongings.

Wow, that's as bad as any analogy that Z has used in the past.

The developer, builder, realtor, lender, and the government were all telling them to do it, so yes, in a way it was a 'shouldn't have worn that dress' situation.

[89Hen]

The developer, builder, realtor, lender, and the government were all telling them to do it...

Early in my career I meet with a guy to whom a realtor wanted to sell a house. He was on the grounds crew at a local golf club and his wife was a maid. Hard workers, but obviously very limited in earnings and upward mobility. He had credit card debt out his ass. I asked him why he had so many credit cards to see if it was because he was putting his monthlies on them or if he was buying things beyond his means. He said "they keep sending them to me". I said I don't understand and he replies, "If I couldn't afford them they wouldn't send them to me, would they?"

So yes, it obviously happens, but I think I've been very consistent in saying that all of the people you mention above AND the fools who took high risk loans are all to blame. You, Tman and others seem to want to completely absolve the persons who took the loans. On that, I will not agree.

[AZGrizFan]

Don't bother them with facts, Hen. THey're on a roll. Donks don't do well with facts.

Fact: Your boy W was asleep at the wheel for all this. Swallow that, dick.

No, you're much better at swallowing dick.

[kalm]

The developer, builder, realtor, lender, and the government were all telling them to do it...

Early in my career I meet with a guy to whom a realtor wanted to sell a house. He was on the grounds crew at a local golf club and his wife was a maid. Hard workers, but obviously very limited in earnings and upward mobility. He had credit card debt out his ass. I asked him why he had so many credit cards to see if it was because he was putting his monthlies on them or if he was buying things beyond his means. He said "they keep sending them to me". I said I don't understand and he replies, "If I couldn't afford them they wouldn't send them to me, would they?"

So yes, it obviously happens, but I think I've been very consistent in saying that all of the people you mention above AND the fools who took high risk loans are all to blame. You, Tman and others seem to want to completely absolve the persons who took the loans. On that, I will not agree.

Good post and this highlights the conundrum between the free market and regulation. Nobody wants the government telling them what to do and It would be great if everyone acted responsibly and without greed. It would also be great if all drivers on the road drove at a reasonable speed and/or didn't tailgate. Unfortunately, neither is the case.

[AZGrizFan]

Mr. Potter and his cheering section...

To blame this on the folks at the bottom of the scheme (who were simply dumb, lazy and greedy - think "lottery" players) is tantamount to blaming the robbery victim for not doing a better job protecting their belongings.

You're the piss-poorest excuse for a conservative I might have ever met. In your "nothing is our fault" world, being dumb, lazy and greedy give you a free pass from being responsible for your actions.

I'll give you dumb. But LAZY and GREEDY? Are those the morals we're to aspire to? You sound like a whimpering, sniveling donk blaming big business for the greed and laziness of the masses.

What happened T-Man, did you lose your house or something?

edit: btw, most of the rest of the post I cut that quote from I agree with.

[89Hen]

Good post and this highlights the conundrum between the free market and regulation. Nobody wants the government telling them what to do and It would be great if everyone acted responsibly and without greed. It would also be great if all drivers on the road drove at a reasonable speed and/or didn't tailgate. Unfortunately, neither is the case.

Yes, but going down that road (double entendre intended) we know that if speed limits were set at 50mph on the highways we'd save gas and lives. Yet, we allow for higher risks and costs to get people where they need to be.

[kalm]

Good post and this highlights the conundrum between the free market and regulation. Nobody wants the government telling them what to do and It would be great if everyone acted responsibly and without greed. It would also be great if all drivers on the road drove at a reasonable speed and/or didn't tailgate. Unfortunately, neither is the case.

Yes, but going down that road (double entendre intended) we know that if speed limits were set at 50mph on the highways we'd save gas and lives. Yet, we allow for higher risks and costs to get people where they need to be.

True. Finding the right balance between risk and safety is the trick. I hope we've learned but reserve the right to remain a cynic.

Well played on the double entendre btw.

[89Hen]

Finding the right balance between risk and safety is the trick.

and a tough one at that. The pendulum has swung too far back to safety. When a good borrower can't get a loan, that's a bad thing.

[Cap'n Cat]

Finding the right balance between risk and safety is the trick.

and a tough one at that. The pendulum has swung too far back to safety. When a good borrower can't get a loan, that's a bad thing.

Write me up a loan for a new boat, Hen, mail it, I'll sign and return. $18,000 ought cover it.

[AZGrizFan]

Finding the right balance between risk and safety is the trick.

and a tough one at that. The pendulum has swung too far back to safety. When a good borrower can't get a loan, that's a bad thing.

The people sitting to the left and right of me at the blackjack table last night were bitching about the exact same thing. Course, they'd just taken advances off their credit cards to gamble, so probably not the best example.

[89Hen]

and a tough one at that. The pendulum has swung too far back to safety. When a good borrower can't get a loan, that's a bad thing.

Write me up a loan for a new boat, Hen, mail it, I'll sign and return. $18,000 ought cover it.

You need Z for that. I don't loan on anything that moves.

[AZGrizFan]

Write me up a loan for a new boat, Hen, mail it, I'll sign and return. $18,000 ought cover it.

You need Z for that. I don't loan on anything that moves.

Yeah, Cappy. I'll get right on that....

[89Hen]

and a tough one at that. The pendulum has swung too far back to safety. When a good borrower can't get a loan, that's a bad thing.

The people sitting to the left and right of me at the blackjack table last night were bitching about the exact same thing. Course, they'd just taken advances off their credit cards to gamble, so probably not the best example.

Was out with two buddies at the Caps game last night, both of whom I've done refis for and we were talking about the loans. One was easy peasy, the other was a nightmare. Both good borrowers, but once you start adding in self-employment and rental properties prepare to have your tits run through the wringer.

[Cap'n Cat]

You need Z for that. I don't loan on anything that moves.

Yeah, Cappy. I'll get right on that....