Bailout fails in House, market plummets
Loans, future of college students in fiscal jeopardy
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The U.S. House of Representatives’ rejection Monday of the $700 billion financial market bailout proposal means more nail-biting and lingering questions for students concerned about their economic future. After the bailout was voted down in a 228-205 decision, Wall Street experienced another day of plunges, including a record drop of 777 points for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Although the bailout is not widely supported by voters, financial experts said without it, citizens will be hard hit as Wall Street’s woes trickle down to Main Street.
“It’s not just a Wall Street problem,” MSU law professor Elliot Spoon said. “There’s too much political rhetoric from all sides and not enough approaching this in a way that, we have a problem and we have to solve it.”
Spoon, who is an expert in federal housing legislation, said until action is taken, markets will continue to tumble and students will feel the effects as they try to finance their educations and find jobs.
Val Meyers, an MSU associate director of financial aid, said the failure of the bailout plan could make it difficult for students to get loans from private lenders that have stopped loaning money.
University loans come from the U.S. Department of Treasury. Those who receive loans through the university are safe for now, but the future is uncertain, she said.
“If things get a lot worse, student aid won’t be the only thing we have to worry about,” she said. “We’re all just watching and waiting to see what’s going to happen.”
Journalism senior Lori Dey witnessed the effects of the student loan crisis when a good friend was unable to get enough money to finance an MSU education.
“Her parents aren’t there to help her, so she’s doing loans,” Dey said. “She ended up having to leave MSU because she couldn’t get the loans she needed, so now she’s at (Lansing Community College).”
Students who don’t rely on loans also could face challenges if the market slump affects their parents’ financial status, MSU economics professor Charles Ballard said.
“If you’ve got any investments, you took a huge hit,” he said.
“A lot of students are dependent upon their parents for paying for all or part of their tuition, and if the parents’ financial situation deteriorates, that’s a problem for the student.”
Spoon said if a solution isn’t found soon, small businesses will have difficulty getting loans and, consequently, might have to downsize their workforce. This, he said, would make things difficult for new graduates beginning their careers and students looking for summer jobs.
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, was among the more than two-thirds of House Republicans who voted against the bailout. Rogers issued a statement Monday arguing that the bill is a blank check to Wall Street that taxpayers should not have to write.
“This bill would only take more Michigan tax dollars and Michigan families will see nothing for it,” he said.
U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D-Southfield, who supported the bailout, expressed disappointment in its failure.
“Unless we deal with the financial troubles that Wall Street and other financial institutions have helped to create, we will all be hurt … including the millions of Americans struggling to keep a roof over their head, families who need to borrow money to send a child to college and businesses like the auto industry which depend on the availability of affordable loans,” he said.
Sylvia Warner, press secretary for Rogers, said legislators might rework the bill and vote on it later this week.
Ballard said he expects lawmakers to approve the bailout in the second round of voting.
The bottom line, he said, is that although a $700 billion taxpayer bill to Wall Street might not be easy to swallow, the consequences of a continuing market meltdown are worse.
“If some idiot throws away a cigarette and starts a forest fire, nobody’s happy that there’s a forest fire, but that doesn’t mean we don’t put it out,” he said.
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Franklin Delano Raines, former $93MM Fannie Mae CEO/Obama nominee for Treas. Sec.
(09/30/08 6:28am)Report
“If some idiot throws away a cigarette and starts a forest fire, nobody’s happy that there’s a forest fire, but that doesn’t mean we don’t put it out,” he said.
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Yes — and if the idiots who threw the cigarette are
found, they ought to be arrested.
Simple fact: people buy too much house and don’t
make payments — system falls apart.
That idiot Pelosi gives 100% of the blame to GWB.
She ought to look in the mirror, first.
That’s the Democrats — they want to tell you what
to do, the better with mean-faced short-haired
bureaucrats. Well — that dog ain’t gonna hunt.
mark
(09/30/08 8:56am)Report
Unless we deal with the financial troubles that Wall Street and other financial institutions have helped to create, we will all be hurt…
Of course by putting 700 billion on the national credit card we are all hurt too… unfortunately Washington lives in a fantasy land where money they spend means nothing.
vV. Reynolds
(09/30/08 9:04am)Report
My husband has a small business. He has 12 employees, pays their health insurance and is very fair with wages. He wants to know who is going to bail him out? He already has stopped taking a pay check so his employees get paid. We can’t go like this too long. We never bought anything that we couldn’t afford or over extended or depended on anyone else. Why should we have to take care of the Big Wall street people who are there for the quick buck. These giant corp payouts are more words than I want to repeat. I speak for everyone that we know. Please make the right choice not a political one. You need to put out there what the Bill really has in it. We get all our information and I don’t think it is accurate from the media. They are going on bits and pieces they hear on the hour.
Bill Lumberg
(09/30/08 9:47am)Report
I would like to add that when I was looking for a house the lady at the Mortgage Company was run a check on what I could borrow. She started at $120k, $140k, $160k, and got to $180k and looked at me and asked me if I wanted her to keep going. I looked at her and said you can do what you want but I told at the start that I was not spending more then $110k. She stopped and I bought a house for $105k in 2003. Now I pay taxes as if my house is valued at $116k and I will be lucky to sell it for $90k if I can sell it at all. So because I borrowed what I can afford, who is going to bail me out and make up the difference?
Franklin Delano Raines, former $93MM Fannie Mae CEO & Obama nominee for Treas. Sec.
(09/30/08 9:59am)Report
So because I borrowed what I can afford, who is going to bail me out and make up the difference?
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IMO, when a bill passes, if the money doesn’t run out .. houses purchased by normal people, their valuations may be negotiated downwards, like in a short sale.
I know someone in the same situation, and his township wants him to pay the old assessment. No way — he’s appealed to the state and ready to fight like heck.
Of course, be civil — but be ready to fight like heck.
SoCal Spartan
(09/30/08 10:46am)Report
Why not seize assets from the upper management of these companies first! Then pass on the solution, and why stick with the first Bush numbers pitched. There is a lot of shadiness to this bail out of the people that screwed us all in the first place. I think we should cause them suffering, but…they’ll get their parachutes and we get the bill. Thank God for the House Republicans!
Let’s hit this from another angle!
Persistant Ignorance
(09/30/08 11:56am)Report
People, take notice of the army guys patrolling campus!? I saw an armored personnel carrier with army guys loaded out on the side within the first week of school. Stop obsessing over meaningless entertainment, WAKE UP! We’re about to go into martial law, and still, nobody is talking about what needs to be done.
SoCal Spartan
(09/30/08 12:08pm)Report
That is honestly my biggest fear. Martial Law can be helped by Blackwater, I mean scary! If McCain was primed to win, I bet we wouldn’t have that issue! Is there seriously military there in the greatest University in Michigan? That is shady crapola!
PI
(09/30/08 12:42pm)Report
Yes, there seriously are guys patrolling, and they ain’t ROTC.
hmmm
(09/30/08 1:46pm)Report
Do you think it has anything to do with O’bama showing up this week?
SoCal Spartan
(09/30/08 1:54pm)Report
Obama has the highest level of Secret Service protecting him, most any candidate has ever had. Thank God on that!
Get a grip
(09/30/08 3:04pm)Report
People, take notice of the army guys patrolling campus!? I saw an armored personnel carrier with army guys loaded out on the side within the first week of school.
—-
What would you have ROTC train with? Pink tu-tu’s?
Don’t be stupid. War is hell. Not an Obama talk-a-thon.
Julius Holmes
(09/30/08 5:37pm)Report
Frankly… I blame congress,GWB, and most of all the AMERICAN VOTERS that allowed the republican right brainwash them during the 2004 election. Most people don’t remember that the economy was tanked out during the last election. Instead GWB and the cronies made a big election out to small issues to divide the public. Im sure glad i didnt fall for it. We should have known something was up when we were in iraq for almost a year and a half before the last presidential election and the economy was still bad. Out of all the times the U.S. has been at war, the bush administration has been the only one to give a nation a 79 million dollar surplus while people over here can’t keep their houses. The man almost doubled the national debt his 8 years in office!!! A leopard cannot change his spots and its amazing that this imbecile has showed his colors on a national stage countelss times and the american voter(in 2004) had the nerve to fall for his half hearted christian image. THE FACTS ARE THIS…WHILE PEOPLE WERE WORRYING ABOUT ABORTION AND GAY MARRIAGE THE LAST ELECTION..BUSH ONCE AGAIN LIED AND MADE IT SEEM LIKE THE ECONOMY WAS IN GOOD SHAPE. While people where worried about two men screwing each other he was busy screwing the american people. I hope ALL OF YOU BUSH SUPPORTERS in 04 can take comfort in knowing hes leaving office with a presidential pension on top of the money he already had proir to his tenure in office. Cheney is leaving billions of dollars richer while you can’t even keep your house. Bush sure bought morals to washington. SCREWING THE WORKING CLASS to feed the rich. I hope now all of you see how dumb you were, and i hope now the reality or your existence shows you to think for yourself next time!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG
(09/30/08 5:53pm)Report
Julius
Are you that stupid or blinded that much by your hatred???
Next you will be blaming bush for the snow..God what are you going to do when hes gone? Still blame him.if you knew any thing you’d know he happens to be one of the poorest presidents this country has seen in a long time.Compare what the pres and vice pres gave to charity then look at your savior Obama or Biden. Then compare bank accounts you nit wit!
I hope you didn’t get your education at MSU. Man would i lose faith in this school if you did.
Dems forced these institutions into giving loans to minority and low income people that had little or no down payment then loaned them upwards of 150-200% OVER the affordable limit most americans can afford. Then blame the republicans for the failure.Check your facts on who was in charge of fannie and freddie you might be surprised who the were. Dodd ring a bell? Barney fife frank ring a bell? Its always the biggest stone throwers at the republicans that are the dirtiest.Just ask your stone thrower Charles I wish i had a condo Rangle …One of the biggest crooks you’ll ever meet and you worry about Bush what a lemming you are…essh
Julius Holmes
(09/30/08 6:35pm)Report
Blinded by hatred or is it that you live in a fantasy land?
Dems forced these institutions into giving loans to minority and low income people that had little or no down payment.
NOW I GUESS BLAME LOW INCOME PEOPLE and minoriities..instead of the loan officers who have TOTAL DISCRETION OVER WHO GETS A LOAN….
KNOW THE INTENT OF THE LAW BEFORE YOU SPEAK…the law was meant to curve discrimination minorities faced at the loan office, not to give loans to people who could not pay. In case you didn’t know, Whites were also the targets of credit card companies giving loans to people who couldn’t pay them. I don’t know if you get out of your living room that much, but here’s some reality for that fantasy world you live in. EVERYTIME I TURN ON THE TELEVISION.it isnt’ minorities about to lose their houses. THEY ARE YOUR EVERDAY 9-5 working white people.
LAST TIME I checked the republicans had control over the house 12 years before the dems could even take control in the midterm elections of 2006. So blame a REPUBLICAN CONGRESS FOR the very same bill you say caused this mess.AS TO BUSH BEING THE POOREST PRESIDENT THE COUNTRY HAS SEEN IN A WHILE:So what if he wasn’t as rich as reagan. HE OWNED THE TEXAS RANGERS BEFORE HE GOT INTO OFFICE. NAME ONE owner of a major league baseball team that is poor. YOu fail to realize that BUSH’s “POOR” is infact extremly rich by most people’s standard. YOU SOUND DUMB!! Come with something better next time. YOu are the typical bush supporter. Blame some minority who has no effect on your life, rather than look in reality and see he is the man who has screwed you and sent our troops into an ujust war to line his pockets with money. I know its hard to hold a man in high esteem and then he bends you over and screws you with no lube. IF YOU COULD READ you would see i didn’t blame all of this on BUSH. I SAID i blamed congress, GWB, AND MOST OF ALL THE AMERICAN VOTER…YOU HEAR THAT???? THE AMERICAN VOTER IS TO BLAME MORE THAN CONGRESS OR GWB. I MUST HAVE HIT A NERVE with you because you can’t refute anything ive said.
CAUSES FOR THIS CRISIS
DEREGULATION
BAD CREDIT ONLY TO MINORITIES BUT WHITES AS WELL">LENDING
OUTSOURCING JOBS
TAX CUTS TO THE RICH
PRIVATIZING WAR PROFITS
YET YOUR DUMB self has the nerve to blame it on minority lending. HOW FUNNY YOU ARE…AND I AM RECIEVING MY EDUCATION FROM MSU…TO BAD YOU A UNIVERSITY CAN“T TEACH YOUR DUMB SELF COMMON SENSE…NEXT TIME HAVE THE COURAGE OF CONVICTIONS TO SIGN YOUR NAME. DOn’t be a coward
Julius Holmes
(09/30/08 6:54pm)Report
AND FINALLY DUMMY WHO GOT HIS EDUCATION FROM MSU tell me how you take a 236 BILLION DOLLAR THE LARGEST IN HISTROY MIGHT I ADD">SURPLUS and turn that into a 4.6 trillion dollar debt in eight years? YET BUSH ISN“T RESPONSIBLE?? How can you even excuse this type of behavior. Up until as recent as 3 months ago he had the nerve to sit infront of cameras (in typical GWB fashions) and lie to the american public saying that a recession is not going on and that “THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ECONOMY ARE STRONG.” A bold insult to people who are losing their houses left and right and to people who cant even keep their house. YET Iraq is enjoying GREAT ECONOMIC TIMES AT OUR EXPENSE. The only people dumber than george bush are the imbeciles like you who voted for him and defend his wayward poliicies. IF BUSH ISN“T TO BLAME THEN WHO IS. LIKE I SAID DEMOCRATS DIDN“T HAVE CONTROL OF CONGRESS UNTIL 2 YEARS AGO. LIKE IT OR NOT REPUBLICANS GET RICH OFF EVERYONES BACK and try and piss on you and tell you that it rained. And im sure you don’t think a recession is going on to right?
Cool Breeze
(09/30/08 7:13pm)Report
its funny to me that its pretty obvious one person, one ideology is responsible for the financial state of the economy but someone has the nerve to blame it on minorities??? by minorities do you mean white women who take out loans? or are you talking about blacks, chicanos, asians etc. if you you knew anything about institutionalized racism you would know that people who do home loans have historically urged not to lend to minorities ESPECIALLY blacks. hell, we cant even get loans if our credit is good and so is our cosigner. how can you blame it on a group of people /peoples who are 9 times out of 10 NOT likely to get a loan. get that racist bullcrap out of here and realize they’re (the government) is passing down retoric to keep us fighting each other while they continually screw us all. if its one thing i can say about people like the KKK and Neo Nazis is that they have the balls to hate you to your face. you just said that racist crap and probaly go talk to your minority friends like everything is cool. COME ON PEOPLE. WAKE UP AND REALIZE WHATS REALLY GOING ON!!!
QTw/theBOOTY
(09/30/08 7:14pm)Report
julius is right.
Adesola Princess and Malik R
(09/30/08 7:23pm)Report
Oh, and for everyone with perfect credit, dont worry, the recession didn’t forget about you. The banks and credit card companies are going to be on your head. As a reward for making timely payments and spending within your means, they will be coming at you first for the money. I guess they feel that people with bad credit probably dont have any money to give, so they are working out deals with them to get whatever they can.
GET A BRAIN, CLINTONISTA
(09/30/08 7:25pm)Report
“ .. tell me how you take a 236 BILLION DOLLAR THE LARGEST IN HISTROY MIGHT I ADD”>SURPLUS and turn that into a 4.6 trillion dollar debt in eight years?
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You’ve gotten the facts f’d up.
Budget surplus/deficit — one year.
Public debt — total debt of USA.
Thanks to Reagan’s tax cuts, Ross Perot, and lying about “giving out tax cuts” and then raising taxes — Slick Willie had some budget surpluses.
BUT HE INCREASED THE PUBLIC DEBT BY BILLIONS.
Again — Democrats CANNOT be trusted with money. Obviously.
Julius holmes
(09/30/08 7:46pm)Report
DUDE WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR INFO FROM…if you knew anything REGANOMICS was the most failed economic policies for working class people. While the rich got richer..the poorer got poorer(the norm when a republican is in office)Notice how the narcotics industry boomed under Reagan. You yourself can’t even deny this as it is a matter of FACT. People that have jobs don’t have to resort to selling drugs for a living. How dare you sit here and attribute 8 years of econimically sound times on 12 years of reganomics. LOL WOW!! If clinton increased the national debt by billions he at least had the money and a plan in place to where we could pay off the national debt in 15 years. SO if clinton increased the national debt by billions and great economic times, what would you say to BUSH who’s increased the national debt BY TRILLIONS in the most econimically harsh times since the GREAT DEPRESSION. YET DEMS CAN“T BE TRUSTED WITH MONEY? You’ve just contradicted yourself by that juvenile statement. Im not even a democrat. Im independent. But you have to realize the republicans are largely responsible for the masses of people who want an end to their reign in the white house. Blame bush for pushing everyone off the fence and onto the side of an “inexperiecned celebrity”. Typical republican. Never can show fairness on an issue. You guys(thats if you are a republican) always have to be one sided. I laugh at your slick willy nickname…WHY DON“T YOU JUMP ON REAGAN FOR NEGOTIATING WITH TERRORISTS and using the proceeds from weapons sales to fund the CONTRA. YET you republicans will criticize clinton for getting a blow job, while ronald reagan gave terrorists weapons. LOL FUNNY YOU GUYS ARE
OMG
(09/30/08 8:52pm)Report
Julius
Typical know it all dumb ass. Didn’t read the whole sentence of what i said did you? But then again you didn’t want to read past your own ignorance. I said the Democrats were the ones that forced those organizations to loan money to Minorities and LOW INCOME people. White, black, green, they wanted to give low income people the opportunity to get a home on minimum wage jobs. Many loans were given without down payments or given to people with bad credit.People lied and still recieved a loan.so on and so on.Who was in charge of that ? Dodd and franks…By the way, do you know where Obama ranks on donations from these organizations? Second or third.Right behind his liberal friend John Kerry. But Bush was at fault right….
If you truly knew how corrupt Clinton was/is you would be singing a different tune. Selling the white house bedrooms like a pimp, to selling secrets to the Chinese..But as you say he had a plan to pay it all back right?He only got a blow job right…I can see him shaking his thumb at the camera saying I DID NOT HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH THAT WOMAN….remember that?
Also i am not a republican, you know it all dumb ass…I happen to be a democrat who just so happens to think that Bush isn’t the one to fault for everything that goes wrong in this country. Is he perfect? NO But he not responsible for the snow!
And for cool breeze….YOU need to look at your own racist ass first. Bet you tell everyone your best friend is white…LOL Your probably voting for Obama only because hes black right?Thats right you wont even vote… just run your mouth.
My point in that statement was lenders gave loans to people that didn’t deserve them. But the policies were put in place to give more money to minorities and low income people that could never repay the loans they were given.Its as if they were setting them up to fail.
lighten up...
(09/30/08 8:55pm)Report
i like big butts and I cannot lie…
Julis Holmes
(09/30/08 9:07pm)Report
WOW still dumb after all that was said….ITS NOT THE MINORITIES FAULT FOR TAKING THE MONEY…WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO ABSOLVE THE BANKS OF THE RESPONSIBILITY OF LOANING IT OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE..
LOL as to your dumb racist comments you don’t think blacks have enough sense to vote for someone on the issues instead of race you punk?
Why don’t you talk to all the good white christians who voted for bush cause he was a christian..that the only way you have gotten away with this this long. Even if cool breeze was voting for obama cause he was black it wouldn’t be anything less than what the white majority has done since the establishment of the country. Only an idiot like yourself would continue to defend the policies of bush, and the thing is you cannot refute ANYTHING I HAVE SAID CAUSE IT IS ABSOLUTE TRUTH. ANd like ive said DUMMY you hear that DUMMY DUMMY DUMMY.You are the typical republican. NONE OF THE ISSUES I HAVE BROUGHT UP HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO REFUTE..ONLY TALK AROUND THE SUBJECT WITH YOUR DUMB LOGIC..HOW STUPID YOU ARE AND YOU HAVE BEEN CONTINUALLY OWNED HERE IN THE BLOG!!
PEACE DUMMY!!!!!!!!!
Cool Breeze
(09/30/08 9:23pm)Report
its no point even arguing with you subhuman moronic idiots. ill leave with this. im voting for obama because hes the right man for the job and it just so happens that hes black. are you NOT voting for obama because hes black????