Rick Santelli: Let Americans vote on Obama's housing plan

Posted: Thursday, February 19, 2009 3:13 PM by Ryan Osborn

Today CNBC's Rick Santelli had some strong words about President Obama's new housing plan. Santelli suggested creating a Web site to let Americans vote on the plan and here was his idea:

"...to have people vote on the internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the loser's mortgages or would we like to at least buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people that might have a chance to actually prosper down the road and reward people that can carry the water instead of drink the water…"

Broadcasting from a trading floor in Chicago, most traders around Santelli cheered.

While Rick will be on our show live Friday morning to further discuss, we asked the question "Is the government promoting bad behavior?"on Twitter and here are a few responses:

@mommyswishlist: @todayshow YES. that is like giving your toddler a cookie for whackin' his brother over the head with his sippee cup.

@alstevens: @todayshow You have to wonder if there isn't a fringe group of people who will fail just to get the help, so yes.

@sglane: @todayshow the gov't has promoted bad behavior on Wall Street already with deregulation over the years. Why stop there?

@kevinpious: @todayshow I don't know if it's promoting bad behavior, but it is reducing the consequences of it. Frustrates someone who pays their bills

@pieceofschmidt: @todayshow I totally agree with Mr. Santelli - it's irresponsible to condone and encourage the behaviors that got us into this mess...

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Comments

I would like to correct all those above who think Rick S has taken this position only against homeowner bailouts. Rick has spoken out against ALL bailouts. He was vociferous in his opposition to the original TARP and he has consistently expressed the position that the government needs to let the markets do what they do; efficiently manage our nations resources.

phil hamden conn (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:33 PM)

My Husband, who has a small dirt work company, has been out of work since the home builder he was working for went bankrupt in October and left him out $50,000 for work all ready done. We have been home owners for 32 years in various locations. We didn't buy above our means, we just bet on two incomes to pay the bills. Obama's mortage bail out would help us to be able to keep our home. I work a 40+ week plus a 2 hour commute each day.And am grateful to have a job. So please don't judge all with your outrage there are Many circumstances that had nothing to do with extra bathrooms and new cars!!!

Jamie, Seattle (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:34 PM)

Well said Rick Santelli, where's my box of tea, I'm ready and warming up in the bullpen!!!

Mt Woman, Fitchburg, MA (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:37 PM)

I am a 60 year old man with arthritis, but I would punch Santelli in the mouth if he came into my living room right now. At a time when we finally have a President willing to stand tall and take action to help us out of this mess, Santelli yells senseless invectives, allusions to Castro in Cuba. I am so mad at the Wall Street elite right now. Doesn't he realize how close we may be getting to civil unrest. The "let them eat cake" attitude got the guillotine for Marie Antoinette. What might be in store for Santelli if the common folk decide they have had enough of him and his Wall Street bullies?

John Kammerud (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:41 PM)

Way to go Rick! Finally someone has said on national T.V. what needs to be said. I have lived within my means, and my home mortgage is almost paid off.

Where is the fairness of using the taxes I must pay the federal government to pay down, pay off or subsidize the mortgages of those who lied about their net worth and/or monthly income to obtain loans they could not afford to service or repay so they could use the money borrowed to buy a house for a price which was beyond their financial means? Is the federal government going to prosecute such borrowers for defrauding F.D.I.C. insured institutions or for defrauding other lenders? If not, why not? The answer seems obvious: they support Obama and Democrats.

In my opinion, Obama's just announced housing plan does more than reward bad behavior, it rewards fraudulent behavior. Further, such plan can also be viewed as the first step toward new federal entitlements: housing and affordable financing provided by federal taxes imposed on our responsible and productive citizens.

John B., Houston, Texas (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:43 PM)

Rick Santelli is the man, take us up a level. I am ready for the next tea party instead of the BS out of Washington! GO Santelli!! Obviously not one of the drive by media.............I will listen to him from now on!

Carl Gardner, Richmond, Ks. (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:49 PM)

You are totally awesome, Mr. Rick Santelli!!!! Great job speaking up and trying to show what people REALLY want. Our representatives are supposed to be speaking for US and what WE want. Maybe Obama and his pals will get a clue if enough people speak up. Nobody has ever successfully spent their way out of debt to prosperity.

Dave, Aurora, Colorado (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:50 PM)

Amen!!!! about time we here someone in the media speak like an American for Americans. P.S I live in Mesa Arizona and do not support Obama's mortage crap and bailout plan.

Jim Campbell, Mesa, Arizona (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:51 PM)

The sad thing is Santelli's ignorance. He simply doesn't understand the proposal.

Sol Wordlaw, Charlotte, NC (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:52 PM)

only 1 in 25,000 homes in the entire state of Nebraska are in foreclosure.

Live with the boom die with the boom its your responsibility. My wife and i have each had up to 2 jobs each when times were tight. never missed a payment. to Jamie in Seattle if you owned your home for 32 years why is it not paid off? maximum term loans are 30 years. I bet you cashed out on a refinance bought some new dirt equipment and used your home as your ATM.

why should I pay taxes to pay your loan?

Finally, this is another bail out of wallstreet also. who ownes and trades CDO or CMO's wall street.
who backs the loans Fannie and Freddie. who controlls Fannie and Freddie the US GOV.

Think of it this way. as the backer of over 70% of the home loans outstanding, fannie and freddie, are broke so through their parent (the Government) they amend all the loan terms of the people that pay, charge them more money to make up on what they are losing from peoplet that can not pay their bills.

RR Denver co (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:54 PM)

Right ON! Rick Santelli. Thanks for speaking out. I am sick of all the BS being passed around. I have worked saved and paid all my debts on time and I am sick and tired of bailing out the irresponsible.
Please set up a web site for contributions, I am with ya.

David M. Riverside, California (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:55 PM)

I agree! Listen folks I only make $35000 a year and I pay my bills---almost totally debt free. i DONT have a new card, i dont go out all the time. i dont wear fancy shoes but i do live a complete life and do not want!!! its called priorities....Why can some people here in memphis afford escalades with rims but yet they live in a run down house? They have a 60000 car but cant afford health insurance!

Jane , Memphis (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 5:58 PM)

I see two main categories of comments. One category adopts an ad hominem tack and labels Santelli a hypocrite simply because he is a trader. These people are evidently too ignorant to realize that the Santelli works at the CME - Chicago Mercantile Exchange - not on Wall Street. They claim that Santelli is a hypocrite because of Bush's bank bailout, but Santelli can't have received TARP money, because he doesn't work for a bank. It wasn't even his industry that was bailed out; that was the financial industry, not the commodities market. And they should also note that each bailout has driven the stock market predictably lower and lower. Finally, they assume that Santelli is a hypocrite on the sole basis that he is a commodities trader, without bothering to document his prior positions. I'd be willing to bet he didn't support the original bank bailouts. I assume that this category of people adopt this petulant, offended attitude because they can't wait to get their hands on our hard-earned money. A thief by any other name is still a thief, even if the law sanctions his robbery.

The second category of people sound like normal people, who are and should be upset when our ability to save up for hard times is compromised by an invasive nanny state that demands our freedoms from us all in the name of taking care of us. This isn't the America I was born into, and so help me God it will not be the America I die in.

Alan Lockett, Austin, TX (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:00 PM)

Rich, You are right on, many of us, in this country (USA) are responsible taxpayers, and have been all our lives. WE WILL NOT BAILOUT THOSE THAT ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE !!!! They or OBAMA never made my payments.... Thank You, Keep telling the TRUTH...

JLB , DENVER, COLORADO (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:02 PM)

Rick Santelli and Ron Paul for President and VP... post-revolution.

Raul Duke, Nevada desert (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:04 PM)

Rick Santelli is just mad because he isn't getting a tax cut. He had his way for 8 years under Bush. Now, he has to sleep in the bed he helped to create.

I believe Obama said EVERYBODY will be able to refinance their home for a better mortgage rate and a payable monthly payment.

I got a plan for Rick Santelli. WHY DO WE NEED TRADERS?!?!? Why not just make all the markets run electronically, like the NASDAQ?!? That way, investors and companies will save billions of dollars spending on overpaid unnecessary jobs!!!

David, Virginia (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:05 PM)

Couldn't agree more with everything Rick Santelli says. We have become a nation of self entitled whiners. Yes some people will lose a home due to unfortunate circumstances. This has always happened and will continue to happen. We have more than enough safety nets for these people, albeit they may loose their nice car and plasma TV, but they will always have food and some form of shelter.

The majority of people who got in trouble did it because of pure greed. They thought they were smarter (savvy, sophisticated, etc.)and were going to use a house as an investment vehicle. The fools need to be taught a painful lesson.
The only people suffering now are the responsible adults who saved and can now get no return on their savings because we have to lower interest rates to zero for these savvy morons.
As for the banks, heck yea they deserve to go down in flames, but it looks like Obama is just a continuation of Bush when it comes to throwing trillions into to system.

Charlie, Dallas, TX (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:08 PM)

What Santelli understands, and many of the posters here obviously don't, is that this bailout is merely repeating the cycle that got us into this mess in the first place. ACORN, with Obama often leading the charge, forced banks to give subprime mortgages to those who clearly couldn't afford it--100% financing??? WTF?? Now Obama is forcing US TAXPAYERS to prop up those same mortgages again--along with the ones that fell like dominoes as a result of the subprime mess. How long do you supporters think this cycle can actually continue???

Chris, Maryland (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:10 PM)

Mr. Santelli speaks for me, the average responsible Joe. His comments represent those of us that struggle to make ends meet and dont want a handout that will cripple our childrens' economic well being.

On the other hand, Mr Obama, Congress, and the liberal media do not represent the responsible hard working Americans that make this country strong; nor the ideas of our Founding Fathers that created this great nation (which one was a socialist?).

Our leadership doesnt pay its taxes and earns far more than the average Joe, and now those that overextended themselves are being rewarded while the rest of us and our children pay for it. Why should we??

Dan, Fairfax, VA (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:11 PM)

Rick Santelli is right! I certainly do not want to subsidize someone's bad decisions (nor do I expect them to subsidize mine). Did you know that the people we are subsidizing will get to keep the profit when they later sell their house? They won't have to share that profit with me and you?? Rick was also against bailing out bad companies. By the way, the typical elderly person who has their home paid off and then loses his home because of raised taxes (we'll raise them to keep up with "programs") won't be bailed out. Lazy people, get off your bums now and work for a living! America does not want to support you any longer. Mr. Santelli, you gave me a tiny bit of pride to be from Chicago.

kate, chicago, IL (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:11 PM)

NO, Please give Obama a chance. My God Bush and the Republicans so screwed this country up and now when we finally have a President that Cares about people the ugly side of us comes out. Yes Rick we should care about our neighbors, Yes we should pay our neighbors mortgage and their child care and their food and water and their health care because if we don't it could backfire and come back and haunt us. If only you helped to feed your neighbor then maybe he would not have resorted to crime which hurt people. Thats whats wrong in this world too much ignorance and cowardice the new AG is more right then many here know.

Laquisha, Jacksonville, FL (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:13 PM)

Santelli is absolutely right! Why should those of us that our responsible with our finances help to bail out our irresponsible neighbors? Why should they be able to buy a house that they knowlingly can't afford and get bailed out by the tax payers when they can't make their monthly payments! BOOOOO!!!!

Jessica, Santa Clarita, CA (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:14 PM)

Santelli is right! Why should we REWARD the lenders that started this mess and PAY the people that were so stupid and irresponible? It's in the best interest of the lenders to refinance and the best interest of the home owners to pay their mortgages! Why should I subsidize that? Let's start an impeachment of Obama....NOW!

Roscoe (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:20 PM)

As a TAX PAYER of Illlinois I nominate Rick Santelli for Senator to replace Roland Burris

jeff (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:20 PM)

Rick Santelli is spot on, bad behavior should not be encouraged in any segment of the economy. Keep this guy on camera more often. Let's vote on it. How many people that voted for change really understood that this would happen????

Nancy Howell (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:20 PM)

I want the half of my portfolio that was lost in November. Do I qualify for a handout because I shouldn't have invested in the stock market? Was I coerced to sign up with a reputable investment company? No. No one held a gun to my head and no one held a gun to the head of the homeowners who sign the mortgage contract. The chips fell where the fell and while I feel for these people, I feel for my loss too.

Kathy (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:22 PM)

Since I listened to FOX news during the presidential race, I was well informed of Obama's socialist policies and thus am not shocked regarding the administration's mortgage policy. However, Mr. Santelli deserves huge congratulations for going against MSNBC policy and speaking the truth about Obama's adminstration. He may have alone saved MSNBC. Job well done sir.

J Mon (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:23 PM)

Does this Rick guy realize that you don't usually get a vote when your company starts laying off their workers? I wonder how many of these 'losers' stood in front of their supervisors and screamed "Pick me! Pick me! I don't want to pay my mortgage anymore! Pick me!!"
My first issue is that you are generalizing. You are lumping true hard working Americans, who are desperately trying to make ends meet, with the Americans who have no financial priorities. These are the people who take their May, June, July payments and go on vacation- BIG DIFFERENCE!!
I think the point alot of people are missing is that these people lost their homes. Their HOMES! Not the crazy expensive "status" enhancing sports car or one of the families yachts. They lost their homes, the place they are raising their children.
I don't support the bailout, but I certainly don't support the tea party!!

Amy, Shelbyville, Indiana (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:26 PM)

Mr. Santelli does speak for the average citizen. I'm the average "joe" and I pay my bills and don't speculate on house prices escalating so that I can spin that into something else that I can't afford. The lenders and those idiots that purchased homes they couldn't afford..... Just for grins, let's take the hit at $9.7 TRILLION and work our way out of this. Our current stragey is trying to fill the Grand Canyon, $1.00 at a time. Impeach Obama!

Bob (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:28 PM)

Obama's socialist housing program rewards bad behavior. We need to put some adults in Washington.
We agree with Rick Santelli! We support your Chicago Tea Party! We don't want to reward criminals and punish honest, hard working people. Maybe we should all stop paying our mortgage.
RICH SANTELLI FOR PRESIDENT!

Terry, San Diego, CA (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:34 PM)

We support Rick Santelli!!
Maybe the silent majority will wake up, speak out, and vote next time.

Bonnie, San Diego, CA (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:39 PM)

Right On RICK!
This country needs a lesson in responsibility! Yes, Wall Street's greed caused them to give you irresponsible people loans that you couldn't afford. But YOU are the people that couldn't afford your lifestyle in a recession. So who is really to blame - the wall street bankers for trusting you, or is it you, the people that bought houses you couldn't afford, and outlived your means, and never even once thought to save for the hard times that are now upon us. I would say both groups deserve to lose everything - but oh, wait, the Obama administrations says its our fault - the responsible people that saved and stayed within our living means.
Awesome - maybe I should stop paying my mortgage, too, and get fired so I can get my fair share of handouts. Hey maybe my next job I can build cars that no one wants and get even more money from the government!

Matthew, Houston, TX (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:40 PM)

Why the tear-up of the new plans. SANTELLI; deregulation appears to have a big hand in this mess

mary michigan (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:57 PM)

Why the tear-up of the new plans. SANTELLI; deregulation appears to have a big hand in this mess

mary michigan (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:57 PM)

I live in Florida, where some foreclosures are on second homes. Why should I bail those people out? If I can't pay my mortgage, I can't have a house. Where in the Bill of Rights does it say that I am entitled to own a house that someone else pays for?

Worried about the bailout, Stuart, FL (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:57 PM)

Way to go Rick. You speak for the common middle class worker who is paying their bills. I work hard for what I have and would like to keep it. My tea is ready!

Onlyone, San Francisco, California (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 6:58 PM)

Way to go Rick-FINALLY someone has the courage to speak up..is no one listening. Can someone stop this president from spreading dollars freely around=Rick keep raising your voice-we are listening.

Ronda Finkelstein, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:05 PM)

No, Santelli, you are not Jim Cramer so quit with the screaming and audition to replace him. Congratulations! your rant got your You Tube time and probably a few high fives from the employed commodity traders sitting behind you whom we have already bailed out once with TARP. My friend you are a Wall Street guy, and we already took care of your pals. Your rant appeals to the lowest denominator in the TV culture; it is based on half truths and a partial understanding of the proposal.I suggest people read the proposal more closely than Santelli's inaccurate, rabble rousing Cliff Note version.At a time like this, we need rational, clear thinking and not demagoguery playing to the cameras for a few minutes of fame.

Politically Savvy California (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:06 PM)

Rick, I will have tea anytime-way to go

Ronda Finkelstein, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:07 PM)

Mr. Santelli,
wow, you knocked it out of the ball park. Way to go.

F&N (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:13 PM)

Rick Santelli expresses the frustrations most Americans feel with this whole situation. Spot on. It is about time those who feel the same way unite to protest. I could care less about anyone who is losing their home. It is not my problem. I would rather live in a cave than bail you out.

JJoe, Philadelphia, PA (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:14 PM)

I agree we need to help, perhaps by not paying our own mortgage. We have lost greatly in our home value, cut backs in hours at work, lost half of our hard earned 401K. We are sick of helping others out who never contemplated responsiblity.
Anarchy is to be one of the takers finally instead of the givers. This whole thing is about to implode despite all the bailout dollars, the real adgenda is still to be seen at all of our expense.
God Bless America!

L Davis, Memphis, TN (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:14 PM)

What is Ricks email address? I have to email a HUGE THANKS for voicing my thoughts! Keep it up!!!!

Nichole, Houston, TX (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:21 PM)

Kudos to Rick for speaking up for us Americans who are living within our means and struggling to pay our mortgages. I can't afford necessary repairs on my house, but I'm going to help pay for the homes of others who decided to live beyond their means to impress others.

Let's continue to dump on the working people who struggle to make ends meet, so we can support the bad behavior of those who want to live beyond their means. I'm sorry, but I'm tired of struggling and doing without to pay my bills; and now my tax money is going to help pay the mortgage of those who want to continue to impress their friends and neighbors by living beyond their means in little McMansions. What is wrong with this picture????

Miki, Southampton, NJ (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:30 PM)

Miki, Southampton, NJ (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:38 PM)

Exactly Rick.
The "Octomom" now reminds us of how the American tax payer is held hostage time and time again by the whims of irresponsible people like her....who RATIONALIZE that the rest of us should pay for WHATEVER SHE WANTS with the words "IT TAKES A VILLAGE"!

New Jersey (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 8:01 PM)

Greed is when people step into the moment and think about nothing but the present. For those of you who still have faith in Obama, pray your children will forgive you.

H. Yates, Charlotte, NC (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 8:08 PM)

Rick Santelli ranted against TARP 1, TARP 2, stimulus, and any other bailout or handout. Before anyone calls Santelli a hypocrite, do a little research. Those are CHICAGO traders, not wall street traders. Those guys were NOT selling MBSs. Rick Santelli is NOT a fat-cat supporter by any means.

John Auburn AL (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 8:16 PM)

Couldn't have said it better Rick. As someone who came here from a former communist country, I see where this country is going and I have to tell you that it doesn't work. Obama will lead you there like sheep. Already 3 people in my office decided to do loan modifications. They can afford to pay, but modifications became quite the rage lately. Can't blame them. They could have been foolish like me to wait until prices come down to buy something that I can afford, but instead bought the mansion on negative amortization and now I have to subsidize their payment from my ratty apartment. The only thing I get from this stimulus is the opportunity to help my fellow american. What a shame

serban (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 8:53 PM)

Santelli for President! FINALLY somebody who will speak up for the real "middle class" those of us who do the unthinkable.....WE PAY OUR BILLS! We are tired of being punished for being responsible.

Somebody in the media is finally speaking out for US.

Kristie-Williston, ND (Sent Thursday, February 19, 2009 9:03 PM)

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