Free In Idaho!

The Idaho Statesman this morning has a good article about the Wildlife Management Area at C.J. Strike Reservoir.  If you’re like me, and don’t have access to lots of different private properties for hunting, the WMAs here in Idaho are a great solution.  Fish and Game do a great job with these, and I for one appreciate their efforts.  Thanks, F & G!

“How many politicians does it take to screw up an economy?” 

“How many do you got?”

I don’t know if you’re paying attention to economic things these days, but we’ve got a couple pieces of news that ought to make everyone sit up and take notice.  The first is the upcoming Fed meeting.  The “market” seems to be clamoring for another rate cut, and they want a big one (half a point).  Hmmm… the dollar has been sucking gas lately (no pun intended), oil is up, gold and silver are up… and the market has gotten very pain averse over the last four and a half years.  Another rate cut to stave off the pain from the credit binge we’ve been on doesn’t seem like the most sensible answer to me, but hey, I’m not a professional.

The second piece of news is due today, when Mr Bush makes his announcement about an agreement to freeze mortgage rates for troubled borrowers

.. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush is expected to outline on Thursday a plan to freeze mortgage rates for five years for many U.S. homeowners facing sharp increases in their monthly payments, industry sources said on Wednesday.

Uh oh, Big Nanny to the rescue!  This can’t be good.

.. The sources, who are familiar with details of the trade group’s pitch, said the plan envisions covering subprime loans taken out between January 1, 2005, through the end of this past July, with rates that are due to reset over the coming 2-1/2 years.

An estimated 1.8 million U.S. homeowners who took out loans with low teaser rates face pricey loan resets next year alone, the Federal Reserve has said. Officials fear half a million borrowers risk losing their homes.

Now, I appreciate that some folks could be in deep doo with their finances.  And I know that some financials are going to be in big pain.  But when greedy people with too much money write loans to irresponsible people with bad credit and an inability to pay it back(that’s what “subprime” IS folks, let’s face it), the story is going to end badly for both sides.  And it SHOULD!  But getting the government to bail out the sinking subprime borrowers, and cover the bad business decisions of some lenders, is nothing more than rewarding the very bad behavior that SHOULD end up with financial pain.  But we’re a culture that believes in no consequences, and it seems we desire a government that will ensure no one ever has to face them.  Pathetic.

.. Rising defaults on U.S. subprime loans, aimed at borrowers with a spotty credit history, have spooked financial markets around the globe in recent months, tightening credit conditions and threatening to derail the U.S. economy.

Many sinking loans had been repackaged as securities and sold to investors, who are having a tough time getting a handle on the value of their assets.

There are so many layers of greed and bad behavior here.  The sloppy practices of the banking and mortgage industries over the past five years or so are the real threat to the US economy, and crafting a Big Nanny government “solution” to it is not going to be the final act of this story.  Does anyone care that these folks couldn’t afford the mortgage in the first place?  Why would it be to anyone’s advantage to hold them in there another five years?  Does anyone care that the government pushed the financial industry to expand credit into the ranks of folks that most prudent businesses wouldn’t touch?  Does anyone care that this new plan is not so much about helping homeowners as it is about floating the financial industry out of a problem?  And doesn’t anyone have a problem with the government coming in and changing the details of signed contracts? 

There’s a reason the dollar is in the tank.  The rest of the world knows that right now, we’re a “sub-prime” nation.  There are no quick and painless fixes to financial problems, either for individuals, or businesses, or governments.  Backroom deals and Rose Garden speeches aren’t going to solve this one.  All I can say is, get your personal lives in order, this could be painful for all of us.