I think that many from Main Street and others not close to the epi-center have personal anecdotes of the greed and stupidity that drove this mess. When inflation hits, or when taxes go up, or when pension funds collapse, it is hard to forget those little hard nuggets of truth. That is why all this anger. The bad guys have not been brought to justice.

My particular anecdote is from a puchase of a small rental property in early 2006, when I applied for a loan from CitiBank. When I called and told the desk loan officers what I wanted, I was encouraged to apply for the loan as a prospective homeowner, even though I made it clear that it was to be a rental property. I was sent an affidavit to sign that would verify my residential intentions. Across the bottom of the affidavit was a clear statement that it was a felony to fib. But from the desk officer's perspective, that little fib evidently occurred quite often, and was encouraged. I suspect there must have been a better commission on the residential loans. In return for signing (which I did not) I would be offered a 2% down 'liar loan' (a loan with no requirement to give an income statement). Instead, with a clear conscience, I purchased a commercial loan at 10% down, mortgage insurance for the 2nd 10% down, and a higher rate. More cost, but I do sleep well now.

But I doubt that it was the loan officer that was pushing the perjuries alone — that decision had to be made at the top at CitiBank by someone that knew how to game the system. And, there were obviously no internal management controls to catch the fraud – even today. CitiBank, Congress, the Justice Department, and other responsible agencies should do some forensics on this and not just say “everyone had a hand in this.” The hand was clearly at the top, as in my personal episode. Employees will not act irrationally on something like this unless they have been told to act irrrationally. We need to find out, and there needs to be some slammer time.

I think that many from Main Street and others not close to the epi-center have personal anecdotes of the greed and stupidity that drove this mess. When inflation hits, or when taxes go up, or when pension funds collapse, it is hard to forget those little hard nuggets of truth. That is why all this anger. The bad guys have not been brought to justice.

My particular anecdote is from a puchase of a small rental property in early 2006, when I applied for a loan from CitiBank. When I called and told the desk loan officers what I wanted, I was encouraged to apply for the loan as a prospective homeowner, even though I made it clear that it was to be a rental property. I was sent an affidavit to sign that would verify my residential intentions. Across the bottom of the affidavit was a clear statement that it was a felony to fib. But from the desk officer's perspective, that little fib evidently occurred quite often, and was encouraged. I suspect there must have been a better commission on the residential loans. In return for signing (which I did not) I would be offered a 2% down 'liar loan' (a loan with no requirement to give an income statement). Instead, with a clear conscience, I purchased a commercial loan at 10% down, mortgage insurance for the 2nd 10% down, and a higher rate. More cost, but I do sleep well now.

But I doubt that it was the loan officer that was pushing the perjuries alone — that decision had to be made at the top at CitiBank by someone that knew how to game the system. And, there were obviously no internal management controls to catch the fraud – even today. CitiBank, Congress, the Justice Department, and other responsible agencies should do some forensics on this and not just say “everyone had a hand in this.” The hand was clearly at the top, as in my personal episode. Employees will not act irrationally on something like this unless they have been told to act irrrationally. We need to find out, and there needs to be some slammer time.

I think that many from Main Street and others not close to the epi-center have personal anecdotes of the greed and stupidity that drove this mess. When inflation hits, or when taxes go up, or when pension funds collapse, it is hard to forget those little hard nuggets of truth. That is why all this anger. The bad guys have not been brought to justice.

My particular anecdote is from a puchase of a small rental property in early 2006, when I applied for a loan from CitiBank. When I called and told the desk loan officers what I wanted, I was encouraged to apply for the loan as a prospective homeowner, even though I made it clear that it was to be a rental property. I was sent an affidavit to sign that would verify my residential intentions. Across the bottom of the affidavit was a clear statement that it was a felony to fib. But from the desk officer's perspective, that little fib evidently occurred quite often, and was encouraged. I suspect there must have been a better commission on the residential loans. In return for signing (which I did not) I would be offered a 2% down 'liar loan' (a loan with no requirement to give an income statement). Instead, with a clear conscience, I purchased a commercial loan at 10% down, mortgage insurance for the 2nd 10% down, and a higher rate. More cost, but I do sleep well now.

But I doubt that it was the loan officer that was pushing the perjuries alone — that decision had to be made at the top at CitiBank by someone that knew how to game the system. And, there were obviously no internal management controls to catch the fraud – even today. CitiBank, Congress, the Justice Department, and other responsible agencies should do some forensics on this and not just say “everyone had a hand in this.” The hand was clearly at the top, as in my personal episode. Employees will not act irrationally on something like this unless they have been told to act irrrationally. We need to find out, and there needs to be some slammer time.

Chuck Grassley, you spineless piece of shit, your days on the hill are numbered, I hope you got enough of a bonus from this bill to save up for the rest of your life, because if the people have their way, you'll never be in a position to vote for anything again.

Harkin, you've always been a liberal douche, but as far as I'm concerned you can start packing your suitcase now.