“Owners of capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take on more and more expensive debt, until their debt becomes unbearable. The unpaid debt will lead to the bankruptcy of all banks, which will have to be nationalized, and the State will have to take the road which will eventually lead to communism.”
Can you guess which author and publication that quote came from?
It came from Karl Marx, who wrote it over 100 years ago to describe the Soviet Union.
Does it have a familiar ring?
The public and the markets have had a few days now to digest Geithner's new stimulus plan. The major response has been one of disappointment and confusion.
The truth is that they they really don't have a plan. They have entered all the major banks this week to "stress test" their balance sheets to see which banks have the capability to survive with additional capital. When their analysis is complete they'll probably work with all banks in unison to come up with a solution. (See quote above)
The Obama administration was extremely frustrated with the stock market's continued poor performance and during the lows of yesterday's trading session they panicked and announced a homeowner refinance program that will be announced next week.
I have discussed in depth in the past that I thought they would eventually come to this program. They will do a combination of re modifying the loan balances and interest rates. They will use government money as a subsidy to bridge the gap between what is owed and the new mortgage. They've even gone as far as to say they will be doing this for loans even before they start to get in trouble. This will just go out to everyone.
Obviously, I don't have to sit here and tell you about the other problems happening in our economy. The meltdown has become front page news and is no longer a question of if, but how long will it last.
CNBC ran a very well put together special last night called, "House of Cards." If you are still confused about how we got here with the housing market it helps explain it from the very beginning. I'm sure they will run it again, and I highly recommend watching it.
