IT IS BIGGER THAN THE BOTH OF US

For those of you who are old enough to remember there was a great show with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca called "Your Sow of Shows' One of the great lines that Imogene would say to Sid was that "It was bigger than the both of us." Didn't matter what it was it was just too big. Over 50 years later here we are and it looks like it is bigger than all of us. We have a credit mess that seems to be without an answer. A problem that while partially caused by Wall Street was initially caused by our friends in Washington and their pals on K Street. Think about it we had the best minds in the world working on Wall Street with one goal in mind to make money. Not a bad idea but the problem was not because of a lack of regulation but no resolve to enforce the regulations that were already on the books. Why is that you may ask because it did not benefit the folks in DC if there was no irrational exuberance so that everyone thought everything was great. Remember it is not how you are doing but how you think you are doing. You think Bill Clinton and his pals wanted to put the searchlight (by the way Searchlight, Nevada the hometown of Harry Reid) of truth on what happened during his 8 years when most of the seeds of this crisis were planted. Of course not lest Bill Clinton be deprived of 4 more years in the White House. Clinton who was like the guys who used to spin multiple plates on the Ed Sullivan Show just wanted things to keep spinning so he could continue to enjoy the good life. Remember while this is the guy that felt your pain he was also feeling something else in the Oval Office.

So now we are trying to figure the whole thing out. Point one want to give people back the confidence that is needed tell them their money is safe in the bank. That does not cost the FDIC one penny guarantee it all. Secondly the total amount of mortgages in this country is currently at 12 trillion with 6% being in default not foreclosure but default. Do the math that comes to 720 billion. Guarantee all those mortgages by fixing the rate and extending the term to make the numbers work. When most of grew up in the 50's and 60's the goal was to pay off your mortgage and own your house free and clear. The reality is that most people who buy a house today will probably be in debt their entire lifetime. So let's bring in 50year mortgages and have the banks issue a fixed rate 50 year term at 5.25%. The banks would go for it in a heartbeat as they get the coupon for a longer period of time and they would actually have people living in the house on which they hold a mortgage.

The net answer is put people in charge who actually want to fix the problems not politicans on both sides who benefit from the chaos.