Hey Hey, Ho Ho...Stupid People Have to Go!

Playing the blame game in NYC.

Stupid Factor: 8.5 / 10

Protesters enter Bear Stearns building in New York
Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:17pm EDT

By Karen Brettell

NEW YORK, March 26 (Reuters) - About 60 protesters opposed to the U.S. Federal Reserve's help in bailing out Bear Stearns (BSC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) entered the lobby of the investment bank's Manhattan headquarters on Wednesday, demanding assistance for struggling homeowners. Ah, the rhythmic beat of the human voice, the gentle swaying of massed humanity, the wafting scent of cannabis and body odor. Must be a protest.

Demonstrators organized by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America chanted "Help Main Street, not Wall Street" and entered the lobby without an invitation for around half an hour before being escorted out by police.

"There are no provisions for homeowners in this deal. There are people out there struggling who need help," said Detria Austin, an organizer at NACA, an advocacy group for home ownership.
Bear Stearns employees were amused and perplexed, some taking pictures. One man in the lobby applauded. Its easier to pay for your house if you are working during the day and not bothering people by protesting at their office.

"Homeowners, that's more than $1 trillion (in mortgage debt), you're crazy," another man in a suit screamed at a protester on the street. Sir, please do not pollute this argument with facts. They get in the way of good stories about how "the man" is screwing everyone over.

The protesters blamed Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Chase & CoCo (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) employees for helping fuel the mortgage crisis. Shouldn't we blame the people who aren't paying those mortgages? Or is that way too fascist and sensible?

Demand for mortgage debt from investment banks including Bear Stearns encouraged lenders to drop standards to create new loans. Some lenders resorted to scams and fraud to initiate loans.
The banks repackaged and resold the debt to investors. If you give someone a mortgage and they pay it back you were just doing your job. If they don't pay it back you are the anti-Christ. Go figure.

"Blame the mortgage tsunami on Bear Stearns," read one sign. Another read, "Bear Stearns employees aren't worth $2." Yeah, put those people out of work so they can't pay their mortgages. Oh, sweet irony!

After leaving Bear Stearns, the crowd moved to JPMorgan. The protesters were easy to trace as a cloud followed them like Pig Pen from Peanuts.

"We will go to their neighborhood, we will educate their children on what their parents do. They should be ashamed," NACA founder Bruce Marks said of employees at both banks. Go to your own neighborhood and educate your own damn children. Maybe then, one day, they can have good jobs and take care of their families instead of bothering hard working people who happen to give others the opportunity to own homes without paying cash up front.

On March 16, JPMorgan Chase & said it would acquire its rival the Bear Stearns Co Inc. for $2 per share, in a deal brokered by the Federal Reserve aimed at heading off a bankruptcy and a spreading crisis of confidence in the global financial system.

On Monday, JPMorgan raised its offer to about $10 a share to appease angry stockholders who vowed to fight the original deal. Bear Stearns traded at $11.25 a share at 3:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) on Wednesday, up 2.8 percent.

As part of the deal, the Fed agreed to guarantee up to $29 billion of Bear Stearns assets.
The agreement has raised concerns that the U.S. government is prepared to help rescue a failing Wall Street bank while declining to bail out millions of home owners facing the possibility of foreclosure. That, retards, is because the Federal Reserve actually expects to be paid back. Just like all these poor people were supposed to pay back their mortgages. Remember that part of the deal?

If banks didn't make loans to people we'd all cry discrimination. Instead we are blaming them because people can't pay their loans off.