Rick Santelli is a trader spokesperson on CNBC that hit a raw nerve with he administration this week, so much so that the Press Secretary had words with Rick. The one thing this nation should never do is silence Free Speech! We have a right to hear all opinions. Speech is where we get a chance to make up our own minds what is good or bad. Free speech allows the individual to form opinions rather than the government form that opinion for us...that is tyrannical. Our founding fathers fought to preserve those rights in this new nation that was conceived in those liberties.
Rick questioned the soundness of the government's bailout plan at the expense of other taxpayers. The video is worth seeing!
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33 comments • Jim Crawford ~ Atlanta Real Estate-ABR E-PRO • February 26 2009 03:47PM
I saw Rich Santelli's rant. He was, IMO, all wet. He wants to pit one class of Americans against other classes of Americans.
That said, the President and his spokesman should mind their own business.
Jim,
I had missed this. Thanks for sharing.
Jim, the video is not here... I too believe that FREE SPEECH is a foundation of our society. It is not up to the government or any official to silence the public or individuals.
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate I did not see it that way. I saw and heard questions that no one wants to answer. Let's just keep throwing trillions of tax dollars at the problems and don't ask questions. We must learn from history. Their have been governments in the world that usurped the rights of it citizens because they trustedand walked blindly where they were told.
Ben Olson Minnesota Mortgage Specialist (Mortgages Unlimited) I just caught this today. I like the points that he raised. I wish conservative policitians had his moxy!
Gail Tassey**South Austin Real Estate Austin Texas **512-217-9482 (Sky Realty Austin) Gail I am sorry, I had some trouble with the embed. They had a lot of text and ads that I did not want. Free speech serves all.
Jim,
Rick needs to run for an office somewhere. He sure is all charged up about what's going on. He is absolutely entitled to his opinion and he now got his 15 minutes.
His comments have sparked an online movement - "tea parties". I see they're popping up everywhere.
KATHY OPATKA Ocean City, MD Re/Max Premier Properties (Re/Max Premier Properties) $8 will get you nothing these days.
Jeff Geoghan MBA - Lancaster PA Real Estate Expert (The Jeff Geoghan Realty Group, Coldwell Banker Lancaster PA) Rick is a very astute trader, and can easily spot trends. He does not like what he sees, and the administration seems to have singled him out for sharing his thoughts.
Jeff Geoghan MBA - Lancaster PA Real Estate Expert (The Jeff Geoghan Realty Group, Coldwell Banker Lancaster PA) He has a point... "Taxation without representation is tyranny!"
From Rick and many talking heads, I keep hearing the same old "bought more than the could afford". "I make my mortgage payments, who's going to bail me out".
Blah, blah, blah.
The American home owner is not responsible for the Wall Street Gangs and Capitol Hill supplicants to their political contributions for screwing up our housing and financial markets.
There appears to be some sort of pruient pleasure in watching folks going to foreclosure, short sales, losing their homes. Another 8 million foreclosures won't satisfy him. How long did Rich Santelli think about the children affected by these messes? Not one minute. He's obsessed with "people who bought more than they could afford".
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate I don't see it that way. In subsequent interviews Rick also talks about separating the good loans from the fraudulent ones. (In second video) Does every one get aid including those that perpatrated fraud? No questions asked?
I can understand those that lost jobs and had reversals in life...but I still have a hard time for those that bit off much more than they can chew and now we will bail them out as taxpayers. I don't think that is sits too well with everyone that did things right.
The truth is that with millions of foreclosures, there are MANY different reasons why it's happening if you're not in a "bubble" state. The prices in Florida went crazy until the hurricanes hit and everyone's insurance went through the roof. Add the property taxes that kept increasing if you didn't have homestead. Many people could no longer afford the second home. We were one of them. Now as the prices tumble, those that actually live there are paying the price.
I had a lady in my office today. She came up to Nashville to help her daughter take care of her children because the husband had moved out and the daughter was disabled. She just found out that he had stopped making the house payments and the house was in foreclosure. The stories go on and on and the response to these people in the bailout needs to be tailored to their situation instead of a blank check.
The reason it hit a nerve with the white house is because he was dead right. He said what so are feeling but don't have the ability to voice it like he did. The sad part is the administration won't listen. I can only hope and pray that Americans wake up from this bad dream and comes to their senses and send a message at the polls next time around. There needs to be change... and this isn't it but change is coming and the President knows it just like Clinton found out when he was in office.
I for sure agree that you cannot pick and choose who is allowed to state their opinion.
I saw it and think it is great.
I hope to attend a "tea party" in Lansing, weather permitting.
Jim: I have seen the segment live, about bailing out people who were not necessarily a victim, but looking to gain by buying short capital. Rick Santelli has done no different than we do blogging, except he is on cable TV. He is intellectual and out spoken. People feel threatened by outspoken people who can support a position that is different than theirs. It is what he is doing, which may cause a harder look at what the government is doing. I have been listening to Rick on many subjects over the years, I am an avid CNBC watcher, and have been watching the station since it was financial news network, back in the 80's. Rick has been on a while and brings a more direct prospective to things, without a lot of whip cream on top. I always like him and stand behind his protests. I have not always agreed with his point of view, but I always believe, we are much better off with it than without it. He must carry on! Richard
Connie Harvey Realtor Nashville Tennessee Homes (Prudential Woodmont Realty) I know there are special circumstances. I had a situation years ago where my health gave out. I almost lost the home if it were not for relatives. There were no bailouts then, no subsidies and no excuses. For those that were foreclosed on recently...there were no excuses. It is like a marriage, for better for worse. That is part of the reason that a home purchase should never be treated lightly...It is the biggest investment a person will ever make in their lives. Before someone buys a home they really need to sit down and ask themselves some serious questions:
David Slavin, ABR, SRES RE/MAX Grand, Katy, TX (RE/MAX Grand) Well even Clinton said 'Big Government' wasn't a solution! This whole thing is out of control.
Tony and Libby Kelly, CRS, ABR, ePro, SRES, CLHMS, CNHS (Keller Williams Realty Portland Premiere) I think we can all agree on that. I may not agree what a person has to say, but I will defend their right to say it.
Missy Caulk-Ann Arbor- Realtor(R)- Ann Arbor Real Estate (Keller Williams-Ann Arbor) LOL! We'll have to use Lake Lanier in Atlanta if we have any water left!
Richard Stabile Bergen County New Homes Builder Realtor (REMAX real estate associates) Richard I agree! He is outspoken, but I admire his taking a stance on the issues. More Americans should belss apathetic and more pro-active in their views. I do not view this as political, but rather an economic viewpoint.
All questions that should be asked by the mortgage professional when the borrower is making loan application.
All questions that require that the buyer be able to see into the future.
All questions that don't take into consideration property condition to which the buyer has no experience or knowledge.
I still view the American home owner as the victim in this mortgage mess. They relied on the "experts" who let them down, from Congress, lenders, Wall Street securities firms, etc.
The percentage of American home buyers who participated in fraudulent loans is miniscule compared to the overwhelming power and persuasion of the vendors of The American Dream.
It is not at all surprising the WH chose to respond directly...after all, they don't seem to take criticism well. They are on the defense and scrambling to figure out why everything is heading south so early.
The emperor has no clothes and this will not end well.
Lenn Harley, Homefinders.com, MD & VA Homes and Real Estate That is where we differ Lenn. I feel the mortgage companies rubber stamped it, but the adults signing the documents are responsible for their own actions. With some of the difficulties that we had in our own lives, I could not imagine what a person would do if they did not have a pad of 20% down when life happens ( sickness, job loss, lay off etc)
Example...Some people drive around in a Ford Focus @ $169 a month and others just have to drive the Lexus @ $500 a month that will be repossessed in 6 months. Why should we readjust the luxury car driver by perhaps a Cram down or interest rate modification? I do not see the logic in it.
Susan Haughton Alexandria, VA REALTOR® (Long & Foster REALTORS® Old Town Alexandria) It will be interested in how this all turnsout. One side of me wants to be there at the end, and another part of me does not want to see how this is going to turn out. I did like the idea about a 'Tea Party!'
Jim, I think many of us feel the same way... and in speaking with many agents over the past week they have ALL said the same thing.
I am a little tired of everyone blaming the Mortgage guy. I have been doing this for 20++ years, and always qualified my borrowers, it changed a little with the available guidlines... but I know that the professional LO's always asked "where would you be comfortable with a monthly payment?" I said "NO" to many who were just doing the wrong thing, but they went somewhere else and did it anyway. I told many "I only make money and feed my kids when loans close, I am telling you not to do this" I have even told people to sell their house because it was better that they do the right thing than me make a few dollars at their expense.
But we also had agents that had to sell someone a home at any cost, not thinking of how their buyers would make the first payment. I have seen them put people into homes that litteraly did not have the means to pay, setting them up to fail. With the true No Doc loans that were available the lender did not always know the full scenario, especially if the buyer was well coached by an agent.
Buyer Beware. yet we will bail out people that made mistakes, they probalby will not learn from their mistakes, it amounts to financial darwinisim in many cases. I bet many of the "bad loans" have borrowers that still go out to dinner every week, never shop for sale items and never clip a coupon.
If we really want to point a finger and blame someone it should be at our educational system that does NOT prepare our kids for the real world at all. Most graduate highschool with out any clue as to how to write a check, or how to manage a budget. That is the Crime.
Wow, just checked back on this, and did not realize how long winded I was! It is longer than a lot of blogs!
Robert Rauf (REMN The Real Estate Mortgage Network) Very well said. There were many buyers we turned away that went elsewhere and bought. They would call up bragging. In conscience, I could not sell homes to buyers that had no reserves, nothing, nada.
Jim, That is why we are both still in the business complaining about it! Because we did the right thing for our clients, and can sleep at night knowing that we did.
Robert Rauf (REMN The Real Estate Mortgage Network) I have always loved the quote of Mahatma Gandhi on the 'Seven Deadly Sins!'
"7 DEADLY SINS