Dollars and Nonsense!

“Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public”. H.L. Mencken spoke those words and a couple of days ago I saw a graphic example of the stupidity of people who should know better.

I had decided that the so-called squeeze in the credit market was probably overblown especially for those who could demonstrate their ability and their willingness to actually repay the loan. I realize that this novel concept is much at odds with current wisdom but I believed it to be the case and so I decided to test it by refinancing my home loan.

My old home loan was via Countrywide and was at a fixed rate of 6.375% which contrasted strongly with the rate quoted me by a mortgage broker, namely 4.875%. Obviously I was interested because the delta translated into significant monthly savings.

However, before I embarked on the not inconsiderable task of filling out reams of forms and hunting for documents to prove I was not a pauper-in-waiting, I decided to see if I could shortcut the process by calling Countrywide and asked what kind of rate they could come up with. I was told in no uncertain terms that they could not get even close to the newly quoted rate and was advised by a customer service rep, “to grab it as quickly as possible." And so I did.

Early on Wednesday morning I met with a notary to sign off on the new loan. The rate was indeed 4.875 but then I also discovered that the loan company was going to be …………… Wait for it. You’ve guessed it; Countrywide.

Now, perhaps it’s me and I’m just not sufficiently sophisticated enough in matters of high finance but the idiocy to me is simply amazing.

Toto, this isn’t Kansas anymore. Or is it?

It wouldn’t be so bad if I thought that this level of stupidity was a purely isolated case. But I know it’s not.

Since Obama was sworn in, the U.S. has been spending money on the various stimulus measures at the rate 1 Billion dollars per hour and all we have to show for it is a massive increase in the number of Government jobs. The only growing sector is Government which is precisely what socialists everywhere want to see. Even self-confessed Obama supporters such as Andy Grove, Jack Welsh, Warren Buffett and Barton Biggs are having second thoughts about the insane strategies of this administration and all have spoken out in the past week and said, in effect, the chaos must stop.

It seems though that Obama is impervious to any such advice and insists on charging ahead with his agenda including healthcare reform which is “Obama-Speak” for socialized medicine. That is why I, for one, want Obama to fail. There, I’ve said it and I mean it. I do not want to see Socialism in this country regardless of the layers of lipstick that Obama smears on the pig.

And I do want to see General Motors et al be forced into reorganization.

Capitalism without failure is like religion without sin!