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By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
If there was anybody who should have avoided the mortgage catastrophe, it was I. As an economics reporter for The New York Times, I have been the paper’s chief eyes and ears on the Federal Reserve for the past six years...But in 2004, I joined millions of otherwise-sane Americans in what we now know was a catastrophic binge on overpriced real estate and reckless mortgages. Nobody duped or hypnotized me. Like so many others — borrowers, lenders and the Wall Street dealmakers behind them — I just thought I could beat the odds. We all had our reasons. The brokers and dealmakers were scoring huge commissions. Ordinary homebuyers were stretching to get into first houses, or bigger houses, or better neighborhoods. Some were greedy, some were desperate and some were deceived...I had already written several articles about the explosive growth of liar’s loans, no-money-down loans, interest-only loans and other even more exotic mortgages. I had interviewed people with very modest incomes who had taken out big loans. Yet for all that, I was stunned at how much money people were willing to throw at me...In the euphoria of moving in together, we both succumbed to magical thinking about ourselves, as well as about money.
Edited to add: I posted this in the morning after seeing it on the NY Times website. Driving home from work this evening I heard the reporter interviewed on NPR.
@MattH wrote:By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
If there was anybody who should have avoided the mortgage catastrophe, it was I. As an economics reporter for The New York Times, I have been the paper’s chief eyes and ears on the Federal Reserve for the past six years...But in 2004, I joined millions of otherwise-sane Americans in what we now know was a catastrophic binge on overpriced real estate and reckless mortgages. Nobody duped or hypnotized me. Like so many others — borrowers, lenders and the Wall Street dealmakers behind them — I just thought I could beat the odds. We all had our reasons. The brokers and dealmakers were scoring huge commissions. Ordinary homebuyers were stretching to get into first houses, or bigger houses, or better neighborhoods. Some were greedy, some were desperate and some were deceived...I had already written several articles about the explosive growth of liar’s loans, no-money-down loans, interest-only loans and other even more exotic mortgages. I had interviewed people with very modest incomes who had taken out big loans. Yet for all that, I was stunned at how much money people were willing to throw at me...In the euphoria of moving in together, we both succumbed to magical thinking about ourselves, as well as about money.
Edited to add: I posted this in the morning after seeing it on the NY Times website. Driving home from work this evening I heard the reporter interviewed on NPR.
Message Edited by MattH on 05-15-2009 06:45 PM
Turns out there's much more to the story: his wife was a serial bankruptcy filer:
There's a loooong list of comments on the article, including this gem:
We're apparently going to have new regulations to protect college students from credit cards -- should we also consider new regulations to protect middle-aged men from ill-advised divorces and remarriages? After all, a middle-aged man can get himself in one hell of a lot more life-destroying trouble with child-support, alimony, and a second family than a college student with a Visa card.
And did Andrews really think nobody would dig up his wife's bankruptcy? I mean -- isn't he in the news business?
Going back to the original, original article:
"Patty was brainy, regal, sexy, fiery and eclectic."
Next time, Doofus, maybe you ought to look for a girl who is short, flat-chested, average-looking or maybe even a little chubby, good-natured, hard-working, responsible, and brainy enough to balance a checkbook.
Great articles Matt. Andrews has no one to blame but himself - and his wife.
@Scout1965 wrote:Great articles Matt. Andrews has no one to blame but himself - and his wife.
Thanks!
Here's the latest from the blogosphere about the story: