Thursday, September 27, 2007

America - Land of the "subs"

There was an article in the Courier News a couple of weeks ago about car insurance. It seems that you don’t need a license to insure your car. Hence, we see the window signs in Elgin insurance agencies that advertise, “Seguros sin licencia.”

So, illegal aliens can insure their cars even if we won’t give them a license. Interesting. Sometimes I think we’ve forgotten WHY we got tough at the DMV. Does anyone remember two 100-story buildings collapsing a few years back?

Anyway, back to car insurance…Most insurance companies want to know a few things about you before they issue a policy. But the article talks about “sub-grade” companies that cater to people who have something to hide.

That prefix “sub” got me thinking about subprime loans. You might think that many illegal aliens hold subprime mortgages. They would be perfect for people who don’t have much money to put down and don’t think they’ll be in town for very many years. So, 100% financing with a 2 year fixed rate followed by an adjustment is just fine with them. Equity is a non-issue.

And of course the politicians are excusing those in default by saying they didn’t know what they were signing. Some point to a language barrier.

No one will ever tell you how many illegals have mortgages. Unlike some countries, they can buy and sell property just like anyone else, as long as someone is willing to do the deal.

Perhaps we are mature enough in this immigration debate to infer something from these numbers mentioned at the Univision presidential debate. It was meant to paint Hispanics as victims needing government aid, but here are the numbers:

Moderator Jorge Ramos said: “One out of every 12 Hispanics will lose their home because of the mortgage crisis.”

Sen. Hillary Clinton said: “about 40 percent of Hispanic homeowners have subprime mortgages.”

I think it is safe to say that illegal aliens have a major role in the subprime loan problem. I also think we are masking the problem. Can banks require proof of legal presence as part of the loan application? Apparently not, since illegals buy homes all the time. Is it illegal for a bank to ask about legal residency? Probably.

Banks relied on fast appreciation of the value of the homes to keep the scheme in play. They didn’t care about the stability of the borrower. Now they do.

The Orange County Register did an in-depth report on one street in Santa Ana. They found families doing desperate things so they could afford the payments; like dividing up the living room to allow another family to live there and renting out the garage.

Here in Elgin we have people simply moving out in the middle of the night, abandoning their home and their mortgage.

It seems like we are making all sorts of special arrangements using subprime loans and sub-grade insurance companies. America is looking more and more like a substandard nation. Is anyone making the connection?

We need to stop saying “yes” to everyone and everything. The time has come to rebuild a nation that is strong and proud.






1 comment:

  1. I was most amused to see Hilary blaming Wall Street for the subprime loan fiasco. Does no one remember that it was the Clinton administration in the late 1990's that threatened to bring civil rights suits against the major banks if they did not make more loans to minorities. So the banks lowered their credit-worthiness criteria for all applicants and the subprime loan fiasco was born as a result of Clinton's interference with the economy.

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