I like this daily stats thing. Both of my income streams are entrepeneurial, meaning I have no one to report to, no one to discuss my day with, no one to keep me on task. It makes me feel more productive to tell at least the random, faceless readers of this blog what I did today.
Stupid news link of the day: Yay foreclosures!
Today’s word count: 993
Current project: A business article comparing executive compensation in US, Europe and Asia.
Curent song on my playlist: Neil McCoy – Billy’s Got His Beer Goggles On
Every time I write on this blog it seems my playlist is on country music. Most of my playlist is actually rock. I’ve got it on shuffle though, so random selections and all that.
Y’all might have the idea that I read a lot of news sites. Y’all would be correct. When one specializes in political commentary and the economy, one must actually keep tabs on current events. It seems as if half the job in freelancing is predicting what the editors are going to want to see next.
Speaking of news, let’s discuss today’s stupid link. And by “discuss” I mean “Emily’s going to go off on a bit of a rant”. I think this quote was the biggest source of my ire, though there were plenty of candidates.
He recommends those loans could be refinanced and insured by the Federal Housing Administration. But that would put the risk of future defaults on taxpayers.
O rly? Pray, good sir, have you ever heard of Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac? They run deficits in the B-B-BILLIONS, own half the new paper since the collapse began in 2007, and have been given a blank check by the government. Yes, a blank check. Through them, the government is now (I’m pretty sure, but I’ll fact-check if anyone requires verification) the largest single owner of US mortgage paper. Though the way the Federal Reserve has been propping the mortgage-based securities market, they might have a fair challenge to the position.
My question, of course, is where was this man with his common sense (read: no shit, really?) approach when we bailed out took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Don’t even get me started on student loans.
The best solution, many analysts say, is to reduce the total mortgage amount for borrowers who owe far more on their home loans than their homes are worth. But Treasury officials are reluctant to subsidize such an effort with taxpayer money.
*smack* TARP, idiot! Reluctance? Reluctance, he says.
Dante’s fourth circle of hell is bureaucrats.
