skizziks

So today WAMU went tits up, brought about in part by everyone taking their money out in panic. Big banks are closing, we are at war, we have no gas in the southeast, a few towns in the gulf area are fucked up by nature. We have towns like Aspen and Vail in Colorado that are mostly empty homes, owned by people who live in the house two months out of the year, while the locals and people who work in the town can't afford to live in the town they were born in.

It seems the US is taking the express line to Shittown. And in a weird way, I'm excited to see what happens, see the change. I think we need a change, a drastic freaking change, we were getting so out of touch with reality there for a while. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a self loathing American, I don't want to see us in ruins, I just want us to kind of realize what is important, come back down to earth a bit. Perhaps it's because geographically we are so isolated from the rest of the world, we only have Canada and Mexico nearby, but we seem so oblivious to the fact that the majority of humans on earth have such a different view of life, perhaps grounded a bit more in reality. We seem to have been living like the trust fund kid at college, doing as he pleases, not thinking about how today's actions affect life next week, no consequences for our actions, just indulging in whatever whim we felt like. Now the trust fund is about tapped, and life will definitely change. We have to sober up and figure out what to do.

And I'm kind of looking forward to it. I hope we come out of it with a clearer mind, I hope we learn from our mistakes, I hope we mature a bit.

I wonder what we will be like one year from now.

Jozrael

I wonder more what we will be like 8 years from now.

LoganSnake

I thought JPMorgan bought WaMu's assets so nobody's losing money.

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MSD

It's simple in my mind. We can go for the bailout, which could either slow the collapse of the economy or leave us better off if everyone gets back on their feet. The other option is allowing the insurance and banking industries to collapse, bringing the lending industry with them, making credit and mortgages all but unavailable and leading to massive inflation.

Either way, the yuppie immigration my neighborhood is experiencing has started to slow and may stop entirely. At least I'm happy about that.

Glory's Sun

Well the Government took control of WaMu and then sold it to JPMorgan.. so in essence it did go tits up..

abaya

Btw, we like to have titles that describe the content of the thread with some clarity, so I made a little adjustment to help your thread get more attention.

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The_Jazz

Well, let's start with the FACT (in other words, its not open for debate) that the insurance industry is not on the verge of collapse, despite AIG's issues. Their issues were very separate from the insurance operation, and they were never in a position where they would have stopped paying claims or writing new business. No other large stock carrier is in similar trouble, so the insurance industry is the same as it ever was.

What confuses me is why people think that this crisis is moving off of Wall Street and on to Main Street. The overall economy is mixed, but several of the major indicators are positive. I know that the credit market needs help since its the basis for everything else, but that doesn't mean that we're going to see small businesses closing at a higher rate or dogs and cats living together. IF AIG had failed, the component parts would have kept functioning and would have survived elsewhere (although not together). As of now, there is little impact on Middle America.

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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

Glory's Sun

I think people see it as a Main St. issue because the banks have so much bad debt that there is seemingly no credit available. Main St and Wall St. walked hand in hand when it came to that problem. People are so infatuated with instant gratification..blah blah.

AIG didn't really worry me much, maybe it's because I knew it would have to be bailed. :shrug:

The other issue is the fact that the media time and time again link this with the housing market crisis.. some of it is related, most of it isn't.

skizziks

Here on the western slope of Colorado, it's not as bad. We have small banks, who didn't get into the "bad mortgage" scene as much as the larger banks, so they are not as bad off. People around here are nervous and feeling a pinch, but on the other hand, everyone around here hunts and fishes and farms, and while this is pure speculation, it seems to take some of the "oh crap how will I survive" stress off.

Abaya - I apologize for the generic title, thanks for the edit, I hope to do better next time.

jorgelito

Don't see much of a problem. Just means we have to be more disciplined, something we should have been doing already.

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Rekna

Here is a question for you. If the lender holding my mortgage goes under hat happens to my mortgage?

Jozrael

You're homefree!
>.>

roachboy

you're just so perky about this jorgelito.
perky perky.

wachovia is next up on the crumble-a-bank menu.

Confidence in US banks nosedives after Washington Mutual collapse | Business | guardian.co.uk

it's a little difficult to say what's going on--clearly the republican theatrics of yesterday afternoon would not have happened had that same meeting been scheduled earlier in the week.
and it is not obvious that the Magic Deal that is being approached in a kind of zeno's paradox way is terribly coherent, but the one thing that is sure is that if any of the gringrich/republican study group proposals worm their way into it, it'll be less coherent.

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spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

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abaya

Hey, no problem man. We are just glad to have you here as a new member, and already so active with posting new threads! Nice work.

__________________
And think not you can direct the course of Love;
for Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.
--Khalil Gibran

The_Jazz

-----Added 26/9/2008 at 08 : 08 : 56-----

It is an asset of the bank that will be sold to pay off the debt. You'll still owe under the same terms but will be paying someone else.

__________________
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo

jorgelito

Perky? Ok I guess though I'm not sure what you mean. If Wachovia goes it goes. no big deal, As long as the gov't doensn't bail them out.

At least the Republicans are against the bailout which I hope does not pass.

__________________
"The race is not always to the swift, nor battle to the strong, but
to the one that endures to the end."

"Demand more from yourself, more than anyone else could ever ask!"

- My recruiter