In Print: The rate-freeze rebellion

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Good morning. Here’s the story many of you have been clamoring for -- Walter Hamilton of the L.A. Times reports that the sub-prime rate freeze is a ‘slap in the face’ to many who lived within their means and avoided risky loans.

Highlights: Ed Skebe of Manhattan Beach (pictured) saw borrowers who ‘knew they couldn’t afford the homes they bought and rolled the dice anyway in hopes that the boom had enough life left to shower them with profits.’

‘They hurt everyone,’ Skebe tells The Times. ‘They drove the prices up. ... It’s hard for me to believe that someone didn’t realize they couldn’t afford a $600,000 home.’

More: ‘ ‘Should you and I be bailing out people who lied about their incomes, bit off more than they could chew or were too lazy or ignorant to understand what kind of an obligation they were entering into?’ said Michael Darda, chief economist at MKM Partners, a brokerage firm in Greenwich, Conn. ‘I understand there are sleazy people in the mortgage area, but what I don’t hear from politicians is: ‘Does the individual bear any responsibility for this problem?’ ‘

One more for the road: ‘I’m not asking for Armageddon,’ said Matthew McGuinness, a 43-year-old television writer living in Hermosa Beach. ‘I’m just saying, let the market go to where it should go.’

Your thoughts? Comments? Insights? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Photo Credit: L.A. Times