Wiki Letter of Opposition to RE Bail-Outs

While I have been cowering in my anti-terrorist shelter for the last few weeks I am sure most of you have learned from other more worthy sources that Senators Clinton and Dodd have proposed bail-outs (and here) for subprime lenders, banks, and defaulting borrowers (here is a summary of the pros and cons of such a bail-out if you are so inclined).

I suppose most property owners are in favor of this potential legislation as it would be indirectly in their self-interest. And I am certain the fact that the 70% of the nation that consists of property owners and who are also, presumably, voters is not lost on Senators Clinton and Dodd, both presidential hopefuls.

However, unlike my property owning brethren, I am absolutely furious about these potential bail-outs. Not surprised, mind you, as we were all predicting this eventuality over a year ago here on this blog and elsewhere. But I am still angered by it nonetheless.

All we can do is write to our elected representatives and express our objection to this proposed bail-out. Since so many people these days don't bother with writing letters to their representatives, I created a wiki (if you don't know what a wiki is, here is a definition) for this blog where we can collaborate on a letter of opposition; I've already written the bare-bones first draft that I hope people will edit into a killer letter. I called the wiki the Marin Real Estate Bubble Wiki; it is also linked to in the right-hand margin of this blog, near the top.

If you want to contribute to the letter, send me an email stating your desire. You will get an emailed "invite" from me with simple instructions on what to do to join. If you contribute, we can create one heckuva letter.

The cool thing is that anyone can view the wiki letter. Anyone can copy-and-paste it into an email or word processor, edit it, print it, and send it off. This way people who want to send a letter but don't want to be bothered with writing one can use ours as a basis.

Here's a list of senators with their contact info. Copy the letter, personalize it, and send it to these people who work for us.

I've experimented with wikis before and have been quite satisfied with the results. Here is a letter that was a collaborative wiki project and that turned out rather well I think.

And if you are in favor of the bail-outs? Well, you're out of luck. Write your own damn letter.