*Spokesman Brian Sullivan said the agency and Congress wanted to increase homeownership among underserved families and could not have predicted that subprime lending would dominate the market so quickly.

"Congress and HUD policy folks were trying to do a good thing," he said, "and it worked." *

Interesting article Paul L. We get these feelgood types in govt
offices, many who wear their hearts on their sleeves. The law
of unintended consequences invariably strikes and bingo, you have
a disaster!

I've seen it time and time again coming from Govt and its a real
problem. Sadly the public service is loaded with them.

Bronwyn “are refugees in desperate circumstances whose endeavours to seek asylum are perfectly legitimate.”

Excepting that they have arrived here with intent on circumventing the migration officials and are “UNLAWFUL” entrants

“The only laws they are 'breaking' are those “ . . .

enacted by the LAWFULLY Constituted Government of Australia

“You have no understanding of refugee issues at all.”

I do not need to understand refugees.

I am simply applying the same legal standards to these UNLAWFULL entrants as I apply to anyone else, myself first.

As for “Your ignorance is exceeded only by your arrogance and rudeness.”

The arrogance of people who ignore the laws which I hold myself accountable to is what is contemptible.

As for rudeness, believe, I have not even tried to be rude to you.

But rest assured, you will know when I do.

Fractelle “I tire of Col's. . . .”

your stamina is something which I do not give a brass razoo about

“he now blames low-income people wanting a home of their for the Wall Street melt-down”
And
“Blaming low-income people…”

Please QUOTE me where I have blamed anyone by either name or social status for the financial crisis.

I have merely criticized anyone (regardless of income or level debt or socio-economic standing) who has accepted a loan which they either cannot or never intend to make the contacted repayments on.

But, inspired by your unwarranted and arrogant criticsm of me, I will rise above the occassion and declare

IF THOSE PEOPLE WHO DEFAULT ON THEIR LOANS,

HAD LIVED UP TO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES AND NOT WALKED AWAY FROM THEIR FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE,

THERE WOULD NOT BE A PROBLEM AT ALL.

And I do not give a rats where there are placed on the socio-economic scale.

I suggest you read the very sound analogies and advise which PaulL has offered you. Then I suggest you go take a couple of prozacs and have a rest.

I would also observe “Alternet” has another description

“TISH for BRAINS”

and you seem to be living up to it.

Thanks Bronwyn and Fractelle, but I'm afraid Col's beyond redemption.

Interesting that Paul.L refers to "illegal refugees", while the odious Col Rouge continues to screech that they were "UNLAWFULL (sic) entrants". Paul may well be ignorant of Australia's obligations under the 1951 United Nations Geneva Convention on Refugees not to penalise asylum seekers who would otherwise be in Australian territory unlawfully, but Col has no such excuse - I educated him on that very topic only last week.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=7899#125099

Since Australia is still a signatory to that convention, Paul's terminology of "illegal refugees" is oxymoronic - if a bona fide asylum seeker enters Australia by whatever means, their presence is not illegal, Col Rouge's bombastic sputtering aside.

Also, I'd suggest that Col invests in a dictionary - poor spelling is even more noticeable when the error is in capitals, and "flaunt" doesn't mean what he seems to think it does.

Since the nineties US GDP has doubled.Only a select few have enjoyed this new wealth.The middle class both here and the the US is shrinking.We have the problem of growing Govt and taxation and a share market that concentrates wealth in too few hands.40% of Aust of working age receive some form of social security.We have over 700,000 on DSP,350,000 single parents and 450,000 on the dole.Where are our workers?The most profitable industries such as banking,insurances, and legal services are our least productive.It is all about an elite just creaming it off the top in both private and Govt circles.NSW Govt has never has so much money,yet we are a basket case economically.

When people are put on the treadmill of survival for too long,they stop trying and crime becomes a social as well as an economic problem.Add to this the fall in education standards and we have a Western Society in serious decay.

They way out is far more discipline,getting people back to work,cultivating our own industries,reduce taxes and giving people incentive to save.We don't have to have debt if we have the discipline to think nationally,instead of swallowing all the Globalisation BS.Our country must come first

*Where are our workers?*

Thats a good question Arjay. Why don't those people out there on
social services, take the jobs on offer and instead we need to
import 457 workers?

I put it to you that Aussies have had it far too good for far too
long. Today, work is optional. Alot of doting parents gave their
kids everything, but no discipline. The net result is working
8 hours a day doing anything manual, is beyond alot of these people.
Its just too hard for them!

I heard of one kid recently, accusing his parents of child abuse,
as they refused to buy him a mobile phone.

*instead of swallowing all the Globalisation BS.*

Globalisation is not BS, its common sense. Lets take a
simple example. Would you be better off, if you had to pay
8000$ for your computer, to have it manufactured in Australia?

I put it to you that your standard of living would go down, as
the cost of goods that you consume, would go through the roof and
their quality would detiorate at the same time, due to lack of
competition.

Australia needs to do those things, where it has a comparative
advantage. As it is, even in those industries, jobs cannot be
filled, as some of them are not 5 minutes down the road from where
some of the unemployed live. Sheesh, how terrible, people would
actually have to get off their butts and move house.

The real problem in Australia is that today expectations are way
too high and we are bringing up a bunch of softies, who don't
appreciate how great they really have it in this country. They
have come to expect life on a plate in fairyland and many are in
for a rude shock one day.

I agree with Arjay that toxic loans are only a symptom and have done some research into the cause which is a complex mix of greed, ineptitude, neo-liberalism and the fantasy of continually increasing profit.

How will Australia fare?

I remain optimistic that we will cope better than America, but I really have no idea just how embedded the Wall Street has been with Australian organisations and government. No doubt the full extent will be revealed over the next two years. I can only hope that new regulation will create greater transparency in the finance sector and less opportunity for exploitation - getting rid of negative gearing would be a good start.

>>>

Col "I do not need to understand refugees" Rouge

And very little else.

Your overreaction to my post was as vindictive as it was pointless. You don't use this forum to discuss you use it to grandstand and boost your fragile ego.

Even by your standards you have reached a new low without contributing a single salient point to the topic.

As for Alternet, it is an independent news service which sources articles from many reputable journalists. But Col wouldn't know this as research has never been his forte.