Comments on The Pensive Quill: Step Low

seasons greetings to all ,excellent comments dont ...

2009-12-19T15:51:25.756Z

seasons greetings to all ,excellent comments dont or couldnt agree with all but the points are well put ,I will leave with this little tale if I may, I owe £4,000 and they call me a crim,if Iowed £40,000 they call me a buisnessman,when I owe £400,00000000 they call me a goverment WHEYHEY I,m getting there, nollaig shona daiobh Marty F

Sean, It is hardly surprising working people get ...

2009-12-19T11:34:46.490Z

Sean,

It is hardly surprising working people get caught up in the housing bubble, as it has been encouraged by both the media and political elite.

Far to many people came to see a home as a money making machine, not something to keep the cold out and attempt to live a decent life in. Seeing it as such thing, they had little protection from the downside of home ownership,

Think it's a matter of choice and personal jud...

2009-12-19T10:57:58.302Z

Think it's a matter of choice and personal judgement to a greater rather than lesser extent. I was renting with the option to buy in late 2006 early 2007 and under quite a bit of pressure from the wife to buy the house. At 46yrs of age and lookin down the barrel of a 30yr morgage for a beautifully designed but shodily finished house, I copped myself on..THANKFULLY. I just felt I was allowing

Seán Mór, again, I think it would be unwise to ign...

2009-12-19T06:48:04.643Z

Seán Mór, again, I think it would be unwise to ignore the caveats and nuances you raise. Yet it does seem you come down firmly on the side of the lender. Nevertheless, your contribution makes for interesting discussion and probes the parameters of the debate. I think the point about homes being used as commodities is worthy of further discussion. But everything can become a commodity - including

Fionnchú, I think your situation sums up the argum...

2009-12-19T06:38:35.298Z

Fionnchú, I think your situation sums up the argument for me. The alternative arguments expressed in some comments run parallel to the logic that no one should get social benefits because a few on them are greedy scam merchants. While the comment authors never made that point and would probably resile from it their argument rests in the same bed of assumptions.

AM, I decry the greed that many in the West have i...

2009-12-19T00:55:53.183Z

AM, I decry the greed that many in the West have indulged in during the past decade's housing bubble. A lot of crap's been built and a lot languishes half-built as a testament to bad judgments and sordid lies by borrowers and lenders both, surely. Part of the problem in the US: the Bush administration deregulated the banks and, in the name of broadening home ownership under pressure by

I've just been taking a look into this case. T...

2009-12-18T22:47:36.989Z

I've just been taking a look into this case. To the Judge's credit, he put a 6 month stay on the repossession order, which will give them time to make alternative arrangements.

To the lender's disgrace, and as you pointed out, they applied to have the homeowners pay the costs of the case.

Interestingly, there were 7 other repossessions in the court that day. I

I agree with the point that there doesn't seem...

2009-12-18T22:14:23.054Z

I agree with the point that there doesn't seem to be too much sympathy for the family in my post. There already was plenty of that in your article, and I suppose I was just coming at it from another perspective, rather than repeat the article.

I have spent the 5 years before 2008 listening to the 'working class' (or a particular section of them), gleefully discuss the

Larry, there is no doubt that the housing market h...

2009-12-18T21:56:03.163Z

Larry, there is no doubt that the housing market has exploded and greed has fuelled it. But the victims of that greed are often the buyer who has to pay exorbitant costs. People want to own their homes for a variety of reasons which cannot simply be reduced to greed or high flying. Most of the home owners I know hardly fit into the high flying model. Many of them went through the jails and have

Seán Mór, It strikes me that your sympathy is not ...

2009-12-18T21:44:22.748Z

Seán Mór, It strikes me that your sympathy is not with the couple but very much with the lender. There is nothing I can find in your posts that would show you to be critical of the lender and a lot to support the view that you were at least less understanding of the family. You made the obligatory nod to the family but the substance of your argument is very much against them.

I think

Have to say I agree with Sean Mor here. I came hom...

2009-12-18T16:12:57.952Z

Have to say I agree with Sean Mor here. I came home from Asia after 5yrs to find huses over four times the asking price that they were when I left. People were tripping over themselves to buy bigger and better at every turn, even gazumping as late as the signing of contracts. It was greed at it's most blatant and disgusting worst.
A 100,000 loan was estimated at 450e a month over

In your article Mackers it appears that the lender...

2009-12-18T03:26:08.972Z

In your article Mackers it appears that the lender was prepared to reduce the payments to less than 50% of the original agreement. The fact that they decided not to go any further than that has then been used to castigate them. I'm not defending the lender and my sympathy is with anyone who loses their home, but I just think that it's more the system itself. All lenders are forced to

Seán Mór, this seems an absolutist either/or posit...

2009-12-17T20:27:54.903Z

Seán Mór, this seems an absolutist either/or position. Implicit in it is that when people elect governments they endorse everything governments do; that there is no strategic space for applying constraints. I think neither of these implications follow from elections. The public outcry over this case suggests that people favour a moratorium on house repossession even if they did vote in the last

If we elect governments that maintain an economic ...

2009-12-17T18:46:50.394Z

If we elect governments that maintain an economic order that makes a home 'an economic commodity', then this sort of thing is absolutely inevitable, and the only people entitled to whinge about it are those who have resolutely opposed it.

This family would be better abandoning such a high-cost home, and going rental or buying something cheaper. I have friends who have had to do

We witness the 'rule of law' in all its di...

2009-12-17T17:46:13.556Z

We witness the 'rule of law' in all its dishonest and hypocritical glory.

who are stepstoe ops stepstone I mean could someon...

2009-12-17T16:26:31.747Z

who are stepstoe ops stepstone I mean could someone put a name and face on those bastards and maybe instead of bulldozing the repossesed house someone might bulldoze their homes preferably with the cunts in them Marty F

Capitalism equals organized crime.

2009-12-17T13:54:00.015Z

Capitalism equals organized crime.

Do Irish rates near the 14% of U.S. homes in forec...

2009-12-16T23:28:11.437Z

Do Irish rates near the 14% of U.S. homes in foreclosure? The government's loan modification plan has resulted in hardly any permanent adjustments in debt relief. I hope Ireland can find a better arrangement than America here; we are entangled along with millions in this run-around now as the banks keep changing the rules.

My sympathies lie with this family; meanwhile Wall Street&