The toys are scattered and broken. It's time to sweep clean and grow up. Two-thousand eight will be a year of maturing, of getting back to the basics of what makes strong people and strong economies. We may not go to the gym every day, or stick to our new diet, but we will have to have a down payment when we buy a house!

Austin Realtor Roselind Hejl said:

When buyers could expect 15% - 30% appreciation and get 6% interest rates, who would not be motivated to buy? It was a no-brainer!

But all forces, including buyer naivete and lender and investor greed, conspired to provide thousands of people with loans they could afford for only a few months. Then what? Payments rose, people who'd barely qualified for the introductory payment couldn't make the new one, and their homes were no longer worth what they owed on them.

An icier splash of cold water in the face is that not only were many of the investors in the risky loans from the Middle and Far East, but so are the rescuers. Nothing against the East, but Americans have to wake up, have to grow up, and realize a grave percentage of us has sold our souls for stuff we could not afford to buy.

Citigroup announced yesterday that it will be receiving "a $12.5 billion infusion from investors in Kuwait, Singapore and the state of New Jersey." A couple months ago, they "sold a stake to the Abu Dhabi state investment fund in exchange for a $7.5 billion cash infusion." And there was the "$20 billion investment by China Investment Corporation on December 31." 

The spectacle of giant US financial institutions going hat in hand to the oil sheiks and the government investment agencies of China, Taiwan and Singapore is one indicator of the deteriorating world position of American capitalism. (Patrick Martin, World Socialist Website)

Wells Fargo isn't going bankrupt, but it, too, posted 4th quarter losses. In all fairness, I should list all the corporate giant losers, but I don't have time to look them up–that's something we can come back to. They aren't all in the U.S., but added to the falling dollar, this is not good news for the United States.

To put it in perspective, a billion dollars is five thousand $200,000 mortgages. If total losses are $50 billion, a quarter of a million people must be foreclosing on $200,000 loans.

Yes, it looks like this will be a year of maturing, especially for the big boys.

What You're not yet part of the great mortgage revolt? You know, those people who pay their mortgages? JOIN HERE: