Your call: Does this guy look like an Angry Renter?

Excellent story today in the Wall Street Journal elaborating on a tidbit that was on the blog a while back: The anti-bailout website AngryRenter.com is run by Washington insiders who own million-dollar houses.

As L.A. Land reported a while back, the website is the brainchild of Freedom Works, a think tank run by Dick Armey (pictured), a conservative Republican from Texas who once served in House leadership.

The Journal: "Angry they may be, but the people behind AngryRenter.com are certainly not renters. Though it purports to be a spontaneous uprising, AngryRenter.com is actually a product of an inside-the-Beltway conservative advocacy organization led by Dick Armey, the former House majority leader, and publishing magnate Steve Forbes, a fellow Republican. It's a fake grass-roots effort -- what politicos call an AstroTurf campaign -- that provides a window into the sleight-of-hand ways of Washington."

The Journal reports Armey is pulling down a comfortable $500,000 salary at Freedom Works, and that he lives on 78-acre spread in Texas valued at $1.7 million.

Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com
Hat tips: hp100, via e-mail, paynoattentiontothatmanbehindthecurtain, via comments.
Photo Credit: Associated Press

Comments

[sfvrealestate]

I'm not surprised, and I'm sure nobody else is either. Will these people NEVER go away?

[TakeFive]

Eh, kind of a non-story. Look at all the front groups with misleading names that sponser ballot initiatives.

Dick Armey is a mere tadpole. George Soros owns the pond.

[E]

I guess Forbes is a "tadpole" too?

More power to Dick Armey.

If I lived in a conservative non-bubble state I certainly wouldn't want to bail out materialistic south-westerners.

[IToldu2CashOut]

There is a legit angryrenter.com website out there though. It's called the L.A. Land blog. Unless I'm on Dick Armeys payroll and I don't know it, it seems pretty grass roots to me.

[shockg]

Kinda reminds me of the speculators here who pound their fist everyday about affordability for the everyday man/first-time buyer when they are anything but. Many bought and sold properties for years and are looking for their next cheap buy.

[Look, Ma, I'm published]

Fantastic illustration of how an entire country's policies are perverted by a small group of individuals.

The festering wound of the beltway needs to be sanitized.

But first things first, I have to catch up on my Tivo.

[fred]

What the f@#k happened to this country?

[Tex]

I don't think who is running the Angry Renter website diminishes its significance -- unless of course there is proof that the 40,000+ signatures on the petition are fake. Otherwise, Armey & Co. are simply providing a forum for legitimate discussion by regular about the very REAL anti-bailout sentiment that is being ignored by the government. Just because the LA Times Land Blog is hosted by the Tribune Corp. doesn't mean that the people who post here are corporate stooges. Who cares who is sponsoring the forum, as long as the forum is open to discussion and input from everyone.

[jelj]

Yeah, let's see... I'm an employed homeowner in a blue state, so my taxes pay for all the relief efforts and socail services in the red states that are less affluent... Bailout y/n asside (there are valid reasons both to do it and not to do it....), I am so sick of conservative red-staters trying to be "one" with the average folks. Hypocrisy at its finest...

[MyLessThanPrimeBeef]

Unless we are looking at some double agent kind of scheme, I am just glad he is not hiding behind some Probailout.com or ILuvBailout.com.

[Al Ramirez]

Everything has a long tale... Dick was a good Congressman and was part of the good guys back when he started even sleeping his office to save money during his 1st term. As far as the salary, $500K isn't a lot of money when you think about it compared to the phoney baloney jobs liberals take as well like Michelle Obama;'s job as "Community Outreach VP" where she was pulling in a 6 figure pay.

Armey, was an Economics professor before going to congress and this site pushes the kind of economic restraint needed to keep us all from paying for the mistakes made by REI liars and speculators.

Another final thing $1.7 million doesn't buy much in California but that 1.7M probably isn't going to go up a lot either so let's quit trying to eat the rich and let's just try to get this corection done as quickly as possible within the next 3 to 4 years.

[Uncle Billy Climbs Mont Pelerin]

Peter, can you have someone do a little research and find out how to start a think tank, or a think tank incubator? Maybe we can start one dedicated to residential real estate and its sane use/regulation thereof. We can go to google for funding and pay ourselves a half mil each. Put an academic on staff for appearances.

If we do an incubator, we can make money pyramid style -- taking an override on the salary of each newly minted director we send out with their own think tank.

[Laura in MD]

Who care who started the site, how much money they make, or whether they rent or own? It is a distraction.

What is of importance is the principle behind the petition -- PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. Homeowners who paid off their mortgages, borrowers who are paying their mortgages on time, and renters should NOT have to pay for the losses of greedy, irresponsible people who took out loans they did not read or understand to buy properties they knew couldn't afford or the greedy, irresponsible banks that recklessly lent to them.

The banks made exorbitant profits during the boom. This legislation will not only allow them to keep those profits, but avoid the losses that they knew would result from their reckless business practices by transferring them to the taxpayers. They were counting on the government (taxpayers) bailing them out when the party ended. If we do, they will just do it again. Let the bad actors go out of business. Have the FDIC cover the losses of the depositors who will lose their money because of the banks reckless lending.

The borrowers benefited too. They got to live above their means in houses they otherwise could not afford and many walked away with cash from 125% financing or from home equity lines of credit. They got something for nothing. They lived the good life for a while. Now they will have to rent. They've really lost nothing. The only ones who will lose if this legislation is passed are responsible taxpayers.

The market needs to correct. Prices must come back into a reasonable relationship with incomes. Prices cannot and should not be propped up.

So, frankly, I don't care who started the site. I'm just glad they gave me and other responsible people a forum on which to come together and express our disgust with the bailout. We've tried grass roots petitions and letter writing campaigns and got no attention. Thank you Dick Armey and Steve Forbes for bringing some attention to the real victims of this lending/borrowing debacle!

With the freedom to make our own decisions comes the personal responsibility for any consequences that may result. We win some; we lose some. These people willingly accepted the profits on the way up. They should now have to take their losses. The government should stay out of it.

[A Scanner Darkly]

I am not suprised that Armey is behind fake sites. Ezmoney.con .

[P J Evans]

Armey talked big against 'government welfare' when he was in congress - except that a lot of people in his district got paid by the government via Social Security, Medicare, and subsidies.
At least he's consistent in his hypocrisy.
He's still wrong - he's never bothered to find out what the real world is like since he got kicked out of the House.

[Cal]

Smiling, nicely groomed, well capitalized, pointing and laughing at people with debt.

Looks like a renter to me.

[jb]

My annual check to the Democratic Party is being sent to Jim Bunning in Kentucky. Its only $250 but its a start - politicians, do you hear us?

[Lou]

Who cares? I don't care that Michael Moore spends all day railing against multi-national corporations and then gets paid by multi-national coporations to publish his books and distribute his films.

[Benjamin Lingle]

AngryRenter.com appears to be a website that is against any type of mortgage "bailout," however, the site is not run or was even set up by "angry renters," rather, it is the product of conservative advocates Steve Forbes and Dick Armey: two homeowners.

The site is a front for a political agenda that seeps from their other conservative website, FreedomWorks.com. AngryRenter.com's role as a politically conservative arm is to reach into the minds of renters and sell the impression that homeowners in underwater mortgages, whose situation is affecting homeowners in quality, prime mortgages (via depreciating housing markets, rising HOA fees, etc.), should not be bailed out by the government (i.e. taxpayer money) -- that the marketplace should "naturally" correct itself. The hubristic website does not consider the negative ramifications (overall economic hardship) of assuming the market doesn't correct itself anytime soon. (There's a rational argument to be made for or against a mortgage remedy; AngryRenter.com chooses to take the route of demagoging instead.) Its ultimate goal is to get people (renters) who visit the website to sign a petition to send to congress, in order to try and occlude a housing remedy. The Wall Street Journal uncovered this clandestine operation earlier today.

Overall, I think most renters are concerned with other economically precarious situations: soaring gas prices, inflation, cost of groceries, a declining dollar, and paying their own rent! Just like in '96, Steve Forbes is still unable to connect with or understand the problems that working-class individuals face.

losangeles.injuryboard.com

[CathyG]

I. Care. Deeply.

I feel totally violated. I signed that petition and if I had had the slightest idea that it was associated with flloor-of-a-New-Delhi-taxi-cab scum like Dick Armey, I'd have had nothing to do with it.

These people wouldn't know honest if it bit them in the butt.

[mbob]

probably gets his prescriptions written by the same quacker who supplies R. Limbaugh

[FINLwhiz]

Talk about hypocritic! No more needs to be said.

[tealeaf]

I'm not surprised, and I'm sure nobody else is either. Will these people NEVER go away?

Posted by: sfvrealestate | May 16, 2008 at 11:08 AM

SFV: By "these people", I assume you are including the other folks that pose as proletariat, like Michael Moore or George Soros?

Point is, if the site/org does indeed stand up for the little guy, does it matter who's behind it? Or does it have to support your way of thinking?

[The Bitter Renter]

There are plenty of honest blogs out there.

www.patrick.net
www.doctorhousingbubble.com
www.thehousingbubbleblog.com
http://piggington.com/

And mine, although it's pretty new and doesn't have a substantial amount of interesting content yet.

[PeonInChief]

I'm not surprised by this at all. (I didn't sign the petition, as I think the bailout/no bailout argument is as dumb as various arguments for and against subsidies. The questions should always be: to whom does the subsidy go? for what purpose? to whose benefit?) Because people don't think in these terms, it appears that we're going to get a bailout that bails out the wrong people in the wrong way. And low-income tenants will get to pay for it, as the money set aside for low-income rental housing will be used to pay for it.

[Todd in WeHo]

Frankly, I don't give a damn who's behind AngryRenter.com but I'm glad somebody is helping give a voice to people who don't want the tax dollars of many being used to bail out a few greedy speculators and ignorant home buyers. Dick Armey, are you hiring?

[Blahblah]

I don't care if the website was put together by a trained chimp.

What I DO care about is forking over more of my HARD EARNED money to bail out IDIOTS who can't pay their friggin bills.

Here's an idea - if you can't afford your house, take the credit hit and WALK AWAY. Just be done with it, already. Clearly you have crap for brains to begin with, thinking you could afford a million dollar home on a 50K/yr salary.

[Hans]

The posts on the angryrenter.com are not fake.

I signed the petition and commented. If you take time to read through what is there, it will become apparent that these are real people who are truly against bailing out the market.

I rent in northern Cali and would like to purchase someday soon if prices can fall to a level that I can afford with a 30 year fixed mortgage. Our annual income is 120K, so I don't think it unreasonable to think that we should be able to purchase a decent home.

I do no care who the guy who started it is, what he makes and where he lives. If he has decided to stand up for me than so be it! I will let him be my voice...

If this bill or anything like it passes... then there goes the USA...

[tew]

So what? Who / what is behind many of these "consumer advocacy" and "homeownership" groups? You got it - taxmoney handed out by government agencies to favored connections.

[shockg]

Hey Blah Blah, Those "idiots" pay taxes so they have just as much of a right to tax dollars as anyone. Your sense of entitlement is digusting.

[To Serve Man]

It's a cookbook!

[Ryan]

No BAILOUT! So what, the people sponsoring the website own property? Dick Armey was interviews on a number of TV programs where he shared the thinking and positioning of the angryrenter website. They are tapping into a segment of the populace that needs a voice. Good for them.

This bill needs to be stopped. The promoters of this bill make a big deal out of the fact some people don't have equity in their homes and people need an incentive to pay their mortgage. Excuse me, but there were thousands of people in recent years that took out 80/20 loans with no down payment and of course no equity. These people didn't need an incentive then when they signed their names to the contract. Oh, it was fine with the lenders too who could have said no.

The solution to the housing crisis is lower home prices. There are plenty of people that would buy homes at lower prices. Subsidizing housing values with bad tax policy increases the overall costs for everyone in the long run. NO bailout.

[SteveR]

Makes you wonder about some of the posters here, eh? Likely just a bunch of staffers from politians offices trying to sound like they aren't. "It is the message that matters", not the lies, eh?

[E]

Hey ShockG...

you want some of my tax dollars or would you rather I just flip a couple coins into your cup?

[madashellrenter]

Can these guys be sanctioned for misrepresentation? Their website says they are a group of grassroots renters.

Is this legal?

[tealeaf]

uhh... they're arguing for policy implementation as a sort of PAC, similar to moveon and others - run by soros and others...

what is the big deal? they hired a former congressperson to lead the group. AND ??

next...

[Marc Itzkowitz]

The fact that they both own expensive houses actually lends TONS of credibility to their campaign (btw, I'm one of the real now 50,000 signers). Simple logic

- Everyone agrees the goal of the "bailout" is to prevent housing prices from continuing to fall and to keep people in their homes (no matter how badly they cannot afford them, or no matter how badly this plan can't work based on basic economics)
- As a result homeowners would benefit from a bailout by preserving their housing values.
- A secondary result is that rental rates would stay low (as they have been throughout the housing bubble) because people would stay in their houses and not fall back into rentals. With low demand comes low(er) prices.
- Steve Forbes is a total, unabashed free-market capitalist.
- Therefore one would assume those that own houses would be PRO a bailout (keep their housing values high) as would the renters (keep their rental rates low)
AngryRenter.com shows a completely different psychology. The most avowed Capitalists (Messrs. Steve Forbes and Dick Armey) are voting to lower their own house values and renters are voting to raise their rents.

AS A RESULT don't you think that something far more principled is going on here? I'm an Angry Renter and I believe so. Get passed the name calling and look at what is really going on here and fear the mob (they're what raised housing values and they're what will eventually take down housing values)

- Marc Itzkowitz

Palo Alto, CA

[Snacker]

I am glad that someone cares enough to represent my viewpoint because it doesn't seem like my own congressman or senator cares. And I've written to them to.

I am completely against a bailout of any kind. I am a renter and I think it is irresponsible government.

You know, I think I am having a hard time paying for my rent. It must be my greedy landlord. Why doesn't the government just lower my monthly payment? I deserve to get a part of the American dream don't I???

As much as some people may not agree with all of the political position of Armey and Forbes, at least they are willing to put money behind this cause. And you know that is what speaks to politicians in America. It is cash.

Why do you think the bailouts so far have been so beneficial to financial companies, and mortgage companies? They have lobbyists! So do the National Assoc of Realtors, to name some others.

Everyone has some kind of personal interest in this thing. Renters do NOT need Uncle Sam to give us yet MORE CREDIT to put us MORE INTO DEBT to buy houses that WE CAN'T AFFORD!!

Prices need to correct, pure and simple.

[Phil O. Math]

This is a non-issue.

I don't care who made the website. I don't care who is on their staff. I don't care whether they own, rent or squat.

I care about who will pay for the borrower and lender bailout: you, me, our kids and our grandkids.

You feel sorry for people going through foreclosure? Someone has to pay for it. It's either the foolish banks and borrowers or it's your kids. Take your pick.

Sign the petition and get this bailout stopped if you have any sense at all.

[Rossington]

So what? The sentiment is real.

[Motheroftwo]

I signed the petition a month or more ago. I have to say that I AM an angry renter and I don't want my tax dollars to go towards wellfare for the RICH, and that is all this BAILOUT is. I'm also a democrat, and I would put my name and voice on angryrenter.com AGAIN if I could. Everyone who has "played by the rules" followed fundamentals, and sat on the sidelines not wanting to pay HUGE disproportionate prices for houses should not have to suffer more at the hands of bad govermental choices.

[Dan Moran]

"It's a cookbook!"

You're funny. Old, but funny.

[Booba]

You know what? I don't care who is behind that Web site!
If these guys decided to be a voice of millions Americans that don't want to spend their money for bailing out greedy and irresponsible lenders and borrowers who cares about their political orinetation? I personally don't!
I'm indy and I believe both Reps and Dems are rotten, and they care more about ideology and about paying back to their fat corporate sponsors than about voters!
Why Dems that push so hard that unfair bailout are better than retired Rep politician?
It is obvious that Senators Clinton, Dodd, Frank and Obama that care so much about working America in their speeches want to bail out their sponsors from Wall St.!
Where will the billions that they want to spent on the so-called "help" go finally? They will go to banks and lenders!

[Angry house renter]

I am die hard progressive democrat. I simply don't care who's behind this website. What is wrong is wrong no matter who points it out.

I am sick and tired of people (greedy lenders, investors, individual home purchasers) made out like a bandit when the real estate market was booming. Now they get to keep the profit and share the loses with all of us? Consequently, these people bid up the prices of houses to stratophere. Meanwhile, housing prices have skyrocketed and ordinary people can not afford to buy houses in decent neighborhood.

Let the house prices fall so that ordinary people can afford them without having to take out exotic loan or extended (soon to be arriving to brokers near you 40, 50 years) loans.

NO BAILOUT for greedy lenders, greedy investors, and greedy individual house purchasers who helped created this mess.

[HappyRenter]

I signed the petition a month ago, but not before I read about who was behind it.

You see, unlike an underwater home owner, I like to read things before I sign them.

[John Gruskos]

Kudos to Dick Armey and Steve Forbes. Even though they own millions in real estate and would personally benefit from legislation designed to prop up land prices, they are actually AGAINST this legislation. Why? Because this legislation is morally wrong! I only wish more rich people had the same sense of fair play.

Here is another anti-bailout petition, written and circulated by myself (a poor nobody, in case that gives me more credibility)

No Mortgage Bailout!

We are outraged that Congress and the Federal Reserve have implemented a series of measures designed to prop up home prices at their current artificially high level – with little apparent concern for the resulting inflation or the cost to taxpayers.

A house is not a government guaranteed investment, it is a place to live. Like water, food and clothing, shelter is a basic human need. When a basic human need becomes more affordable for the working citizens of this country, that is a good thing. Houses are currently in the process of becoming affordable again for responsible first time homebuyers. The government should welcome this development, not intervene to stop it.

We were dismayed when rampant speculation, enabled by low interest rates, drastically increased home prices. A climate of fear and greed was deliberately fostered by the real estate industry – “buy now or you’ll be priced out of the market forever / buy quick, its not too late to get in on the easy profit.” During the price run-up, home prices were increasing much faster than household incomes. This was an obviously unsustainable situation.

Unfortunately, reckless lending practices kept pushing prices higher after homes had become unaffordable. Loans were given to home buyers who made little or no down payment. Loans were given for amounts greater than the income of the borrower justified. Loans were given without adequate income verification

Lenders and mortgage-backed securities investors are now experiencing the predictable results of their own extreme folly.

Those who hoped to profit from the real estate bubble shouldn’t now expect society as a whole to bail them out. Accordingly, we hereby petition you:

 Do not spend our tax dollars to assist borrowers, lenders or investors who made unwise decisions.
 Do not let inflation and low interest rates destroy the value of savings accounts. Many future home buyers are prudently saving their money for a substantial down payment.
 Do not ignore the justice of this petition in the name of “the economy”. An economic slowdown is temporary, but injustice will permanently tarnish our society.
 Above all, do not in any way attempt to prop up home prices at the current artificially high level. This will reward speculators at the expense of an entire generation of future home buyers.

[The Baglady]

I think the fact that the Wall Street Journal felt that they needed to discredit AngryRenter.com shows that it is getting heard and seen as a threat by the people who want a bailout. The organizations that benefit the most from any bailout is really the banks and lenders who can't collect a penny back if they foreclose. With a bailout they can at least collect some money back from the taxpayers.

[Big V]

What do I care whether the petition was created by some young fool or a big-wig Republican? As long as my opinion is adequately expressed, then I'm happy. After all, these silly house buyers are represented daily by the main-stream media, which make them all look like victims. Readers often forget that the main-stream media are outlets for advertisers. Why shouldn't I be represented by an organized and powerful group as well?

[x]

Can a class action lawsuit be filed for misrepresentation? Can criminal charges be pressed?

[The$120K/yr WalMart Greeter Guy]

You make it sound like Dick Armey has an axe to grind, but you don't. Uh... are you just being an objective journalist Peter?
32% of America RENTS - gets NO assistance from government - and why should they - yet the 4 to 5% of irresponsible home debtors get all the humping and pumping for assistance.
virtually EVERY SINGLE RENTER in LA could have "qualified" for a $500,000 no down, 1% negative am mortgage - BUT CHOSE NOT to participate in the LIAR LOAN scandal. They were too responsible!

AND EXACTLY FOR WHOM ARE YOU PULLING FOR PETER? Since you drag Armey's homeownership into the article, are you a home DEBTOR needing a bit of a bailout, Peter?

[fed up renter]

It doesn't matter who runs that site, plenty of us real people absolutely agree with what it and others like it say.

Bailout is not what is needed. Realistic prices is what is needed.

As someone who is realistic about what I can afford, I've spent the last couple years saving for a down payment and emergency fund and waiting for the prices to get real. Even with an income near $100,000 a year and credit score in the 800s, only now are some houses in my area (silicon valley) creeping towards affordability.

It makes me very angry if I have to pay to bail out the people who were foolish and/or greedy and accepted loans that they could not pay.

The market needs to finish correcting

[Brendan Steinhauser]

I work for Dick Armey and FreedomWorks. If you signed the petition and want to get more involved in the mortgage bailout fight, drop me a line.

bsteinhauser @ freedomworks.org

I am organizing the folks who want to deliver hard copies to their Senators. Thanks!

[Beth L.]

This is probably the only thing I agree with Dick Armey about.

I happily signed the position even though I'm very progressive and believe in national health care, universal pre-K and many other things many would consider socialist. However, I oppose the bailout as it punishes those of us who have been responsible and rewards those who have acted out of haste and wishful thinking. There is a difference between helping people afford their prescriptions and helping people afford the 10,000 sq. ft. McMansion that they never should have bought in the first place.

My husband and I are recent first time homeowners. After 10 years of renting in San Francisco (and being angry renters!), we moved to a place where homes were more affordable. We bought within our means, and have been able to maintain our house while continuing to contribute to our savings accounts.

Why did we do this? Because we read the fine print, considered our options, were honest with ourselves about our earning potential, and came to make the best possible LONG TERM decision. We bought a house because we wanted to live in it, not because we were looking to make a quick profit.

And now, we are expected to bail out those who made foolish choices and those who speculated. NO WAY! If there was fraud, fine. But don't use my hard earned money to help those who made poor choices. Let them live and learn the way the rest of the adults in the world do.