'No golden parachute -- only golden handcuffs'
Letters to the Editor
By Inman News, Monday, September 22, 2008.Re: 'Feds to pick up bad mortgages' (Sept. 19)
Dear Editor:
The bank bailout is a clear blow to a capitalistic society and a catalyst toward socialism. While the "new NEW Deal" may have been a necessary evil, there are several things that we have to lobby for in this transition.
1) Taxpayers cannot bailout investors. Any use of federal taxpayer funds must require that investors lose and taxpayers win. That includes preferred stock holders of Fannie and Freddie, like China.
2) No golden parachute. Only golden handcuffs.
3) Short seller contracts. The government needs to step in, nullify the contracts, and tell the short sellers to move on, accept their losses, or face dire consequences. These short sellers were a significant part of the problem, driving disproportionate fear into the market for their own gain.
Let's get out of this mess, force participants to take losses on investments, and get back to a capitalistic approach to the market.
Herb Hillabrand
President
Chelex Inc.
Wheaton, Ill.
Dear Editor:
With all of this talk about bailing out financial institutions for their obvious wrongdoing, it is apparent to me that crime does in fact "pay." I get enraged in knowing that this will only happen again. It happened in the early '90s and during other previous down cycles. Why is it that we always claim that the sky is falling via a complete financial collapse and then bail out Wall Street when investors don't meet their margins? Let them fall on their faces and let the criminals go to jail.
Perhaps Wall Street will finally learn a lesson. Nobody is bailing out the common man when he commits a crime or has a business that fails to make profit.
As far as the worries that I have heard about the Chinese investors on Wall Street getting "hurt" by failing institutions: Let them get hurt along with the rest of us.
Matthew Lehman
Principal appraiser
Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
***
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Submitted by Bruce Ailion on September 22, 2008 - 2:28pm.
The reports fail to mention Hank Paulson's personal net worth is $700 million. Is he bailing out the average American or himself and his cronies.
There is a health care crisis - 47 million uninsured, an education crisis where we lag most industrial nations,an infrastructure crisis and a crisis in retraining millions of the manufacturing workers, the difference is those who benefit from a bail out in these areas is they are not making huge contributions to the 585 members of Congress rushing to save the bankers and traders. There was no hue and cry when these crooks and liars deposited their million dollar plus salaries and bonuses. Let them fail, I'd rather suffer deep recession than protect the mansions and yachts of the top 1% of incomes.
Wouldn't we all like the heads we win, tails we win wager. Sadly the tax payer gets a heads we lose, tails we lose bargain.
Bruce Ailion,
RE/MAX COMMUNITIES
CRS, CRB, ABR, MSRE, ESQ
Certified Residential Specialist
Certified Real Estate Broker
Accredited Buyers Representative
MS Real Estate and Urban Affairs
Attorney
135 Johnson Ferry Road
Marietta, GA 30068
atlantab
Submitted by Wenceslao Fernandez Jr, BS, Realtor, CDPE on September 22, 2008 - 5:55pm.
Certainly, nothing annoys me more than to see high-power executives escape what the rest of corporate or business america must endure.
Being compensated for failure in the millions (often even in the hundreds of millions like the head of Home Depot who received over 200million in severance pay after being fired), while others even get to be retained in a consulting capacity (like the heads of Fannie and Freddie), after being fired and paid a handsome severance package is simply unaceptable.
Reform must include a way to continue compensating these people handsomly for a great job. That's OK by me. This is how capitalism should work.
BUT, when they fail and cause the demise of an institution or put our country and our national security in jeopardy by doing so, even the pay of the highest member of public office may be too much!
Why can't the rest of us escape without being held accountable for our mistakes? Why shoudn't the rest of americans not be fired without a handsome severance package, even for gross negligence or perhaps even conscious wrongdoing?
I refuse to believe these executives slept well through it all, not once wondering when would it all end (except of course, when they realized that regardless of their conduct or decisions - they would be handsomely compensated without recourse), and still have sweet dreams and laugh all the way to the bank (lucky there are still some).
No accountability and no responsibility cannot be the new American way. If this is allowed to pass without holding someone to fire, then we will SURELY see these days again - sooner than later (not in another 75 years)!
www.MiamiRealEstateKing.com
Certified Distressed Property Expert
Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Submitted by Barry Preusz on October 1, 2008 - 12:50pm.
Why the golden handcuffs? Wouldn't hardend steel bars do better?
Barry Preusz
Utah REALTOR | Salt Lake City Condos & Townhouses
http://www.condosutah.com