Mortgage lawsuits a possibility?
A few lawyer jokes to get this post rolling before introducing a solution proposed by lawmakers to solve the mortgage and real estate mess.
An observation by Sandra Day O'Connor:
"There is no shortage of lawyers in Washington, DC. In fact, there may be more lawyers than people."
Q: How many lawyer jokes are there?
A: Only three. The rest are true stories.
Q: What's wrong with lawyer jokes?
A: Lawyers don't think they're funny and other people don't think they're jokes.
A man walking on the beach came across an odd-looking bottle. Not being one to ignore tradition, he rubbed it and, much to his surprise, a genie actually appeared. "For releasing me from the bottle, I will grant you three wishes," said the genie.
"But there's a catch," the genie continued. "For each of your wishes, every lawyer in the world will receive double what you asked for.” First, the man wished for a Ferrari. POOF! A Ferrari appeared in front of him. "Now, every lawyer in the world has been given two Ferraris," said the genie. "What is your next wish?"
"I could really use a million dollars." replied the man, and POOF! One million dollars appeared at his feet. "Now, every lawyer in the world is two million dollars richer," the genie reminded the man, and then asked him for his third wish.
The man thought for a minute and said, "Well, I’ve always wanted to donate a kidney."
Since the task of Congress is to write the nation's laws, it should come as no surprise that over 200 members of Congress (in the 109th Congress out of 535 members in both the House and Senate) hold law degrees.
Congressional job approval ratings as measured by Gallup show 23% of Americans saying they approve of the way Congress is handling its job while 71% disapprove. That is slightly higher than the 18% approval rating in August which matched a 1992 rating as the lowest Gallup has measured since the Watergate era of 1974.
I'm so glad the NY Times has finally let their stories be published to everyone without subscription and gone to an advertising supported model. Here is a wild idea coming out of Congress to solve the problem, lawsuits. "House Democrats introduced legislation on Monday that would for the first time let homeowners sue Wall Street firms for relief from mortgages that the borrowers never had a realistic chance of repaying...The bill is part of a broader measure intended to restrict what lawmakers and consumer advocates consider deceptive and improper lending practices..."
Please read Bill Allowing Mortgage Lawsuits Expected to Stir Fierce Opposition from the NY Times.
I personally think it would be simpler to bankrupt the country by just giving everyone who has a "bad loan" the money to pay off their mortgage. After all, what's a few more billion or a trillion dollars anyway. At least the homeowners would be able to keep their houses rather than most of the proceeds going toward attorney fees.
I'm sure there are some good real estate agent jokes out there someplace. 