Recall King County Executive Ron Sims’ “tweet” back in September:
By early next year, many will come to regret their decision to delay buying a home.
Now word has it that this housing sage will be heading to DC to take the number 2 position at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Perhaps his comment was less of a prediction and more of a threat? One which he may now be in position to act on.
Hooray.
ira sacharoff » Feb 2, 2009 at 10:14 am
I’ve disliked Ron Sims for a long time, maybe as much as I dislike Greg Nickels.
I think of Sims as smarmy and insincere, and he’s been county exec for far too long.
As deputy HUD secretary, he probably won’t be any worse than anybody else that would be appointed. He’ll be told what to say, and he’ll say it. Bye Ron.
jon » Feb 2, 2009 at 10:29 am
With Obama handing out exemptions to his strict no-lobbyist policy like jelly beans (http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/20471.asp), maybe we can get a Boeing exec to a sweet spot in the Pentagon.
Scotsman » Feb 2, 2009 at 10:29 am
Ira, you’ve nailed it- he won’t be worse than any other choice for deputy HUD secretary. But he will be out of our immediate lives, which is good.
Shaq » Feb 2, 2009 at 10:54 am
Hope and change we can all believe in.
TJ_98370 » Feb 2, 2009 at 11:02 am
Off topic –
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Bailed Out Bank of America Sponsors Super Bowl Fun Fest
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Despite a near collapse that required $45 billion in federal taxpayer bailout funds, Bank of America sponsored a five day carnival-like affair just outside the Super Bowl stadium this past week as President Obama decried wasteful spending on Wall St.
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The event – known as the NFL Experience – was 850,000 square feet of sports games and interactive entertainment attractions for football fans and was blanketed in Bank of America logos and marketing calls to sign up for football-themed banking products.
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The bank staunchly defended its sponsorship, saying it was a “business proposition” and part of its “growth strategy.”
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Critics blasted the spending as a serious abuse of taxpayer money.
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Matt M » Feb 2, 2009 at 11:13 am
I don’t understand the extensive criticism of the banks. They need to keep doing business. Do people have in depth knowledge of the business plans/models/strategy? Un-informed America needs to let professionals do what they’re trained to do, run a business. Let’s focus on individuals who broke laws and talk about improving regulations and stop the microscopic scrutiny.
Joel » Feb 2, 2009 at 11:28 am
As part owners of the banks we can criticize them all we want. We can even force them to do what we want. Also,
Fixed that for ya.
Civil Servant » Feb 2, 2009 at 11:36 am
Honest question: does Ron Sims have directly related experience that he’s hiding under a bushel somewhere? Even the Wikipedia page suggests that his expertise, such as it is, would be more in line with a posting in Interior or something having to do with infrastructure.
I was in Ron Sims’ office once. This may shock you, but it was gigantic, probably the square footage of a small house, and filled with ridiculously posh, over-the-top safari decor, the kind of thing that when democracy is working really should be brought to taxpayers’ attention.
softwarengineer » Feb 2, 2009 at 11:45 am
GOOD TAKES IRA AND SCOTSMAN
You said it for me.
Good take from you too, Joel. To add to your dry humor, if you’ve read my recession blogs, you know I support domestic American workers first during layoffs. Well the banks got their bailouts and guess what, they want 20,000 foreign middle managers [these aren't tech H-1Bs gang, they have business degrees] brought in to replace laid off Americans; paid for with the bailout money…lol
A friend told me he heard on the news as the recession/depression worsens, corruption in government will go off the scale…..they’re right.
CCG » Feb 2, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Reminder: feed the trolls only if you want more of them.
Cris » Feb 2, 2009 at 2:36 pm
If people cannot borrow money from lenders, howcome they regret not buying..
anony » Feb 2, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Matt’s got a little bit of a point here. This isn’t lavish executive perks, its advertising the bank at an event with a lot of high dollar potential customers. If the advertising worked it could help bring them closer to solvency. You can argue that the advertising isn’t worth what they paid, but it is at least debatable.
If they also paid a few hundred grand to put the incompetent execs into a luxury box at the game that would be despicable, and I don’t doubt that they did.
anony » Feb 2, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Because Ron Sims is going to kick them in the balls.
98115_Renter » Feb 2, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Sounds like a simple marketing program and an attempt to earn revenue. What’s the problem?
Groundhogday » Feb 2, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I agree, it doesn’t make sense to dole out money to failed banks and then try to micromanage them.
Better yet, let’s let failed banks fail, fire management, wipe out equity holders, wipe out unsecured debt holders, manage the bad assets in RTC fashion and sell the “good bank” back to the private sector.
Maybe we can find some buyers that actually know how to run a bank and manage risk.
patient » Feb 2, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I couldn’t agree more.
DaveP » Feb 2, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Part of me thinks Seattle could not possible get a replacement that is worse than Sims.
The other part of me knows better.
And if this is the ‘quality’ of person Obama is appointing to Federal positions, "golly" I’d rather have Sims screwing up KC rather than doing his best to screw up as much of the country as he can.
Alan » Feb 2, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Because Ron is going to turn the mortgage interest tax deduction into a mortgage interest tax credit!
Pegasus » Feb 2, 2009 at 5:34 pm
HUD has been a massive corrupt organization for many years. Sending in Sims into this den of iniquity will do nothing to fix the problems. I think that is why he was picked.
rose-colored-coolaid » Feb 2, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Agreed that banks need to keep running. But, please explain to me what possible business model/strategy this party fulfills. If carnivals were such excellent advertising on a cost/benefit basis, Disney would stop advertising movies and open Disney Land/World up for free.
This is just a waste, and a direct mail campaign would probably yield better results for far less cost.
One caveat, if they had sunk most of the cost prior to the bailout, then perhaps it was cheaper to go through with it even though it was a waste.
old timer » Feb 2, 2009 at 6:48 pm
Say what you will, he found his lifeboat.
No more worries about that pesky county budget,
or anything else KC related, for that matter.
When it starts getting really mushy here,
he will be on firm ground with America’s
‘Full Faith and Credit’ under his feet.
jon » Feb 2, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Tony Resko’s nomination was lost in the mail.
Objectivity » Feb 2, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I call BS….the number of potential clients v. cost is completely wasteful. This is an excuse for all the execs to go to the Super Bowl.
This is the equivalent of buying a luxury box…you can claim ‘networking’, but we all know its just an employee perk.
jon » Feb 2, 2009 at 8:47 pm
“Separately, Republican officials said they intended to press for a $15,000 tax credit for homebuyers through the end of the year.”
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CONGRESS_STIMULUS?SITE=TNKNN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
grrrrr. Hopefully the news report left out some type of equity share or something like HOPE did.
Carl Spackler » Feb 2, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I nominate Judge Smeltz to take Sims’ seat.
singliac » Feb 2, 2009 at 9:36 pm
I have a completely unrelated question. If you buy a house and pay 20% down, it is my understanding that you don’t have to buy PMI. Say that your house depreciates 10% in the next year. You now have a mortgage for 90% of the house’s value. Do you have to buy mortgage insurance now? If so, how is the value assessed? Is it up to the lender to determine? Thanks in advance!
singliac » Feb 2, 2009 at 11:30 pm
Already answered by Jillayne. Thanks!
Mama » Feb 3, 2009 at 6:12 am
Where — can you post a link — I’ve wondered that myself. My guess is that “no”, unless you’re refinancing or something but I’d like to see the answer for sure.
James Lupori » Feb 3, 2009 at 8:15 am
I doubt many of Ron Sims’ critics have the credentials or expertise to manage the almost sociopathic-passive aggressive-let’s-send-this-to-a-committee machinery of King Co. Pushing this place into the 21st Century would seem to be an impossible task and yet, Sims managed to get some postitive things done. As for the national scene: at least Ron Sims has the “big picture” perspective of a seasoned public official rather than the know-nothing crony apointees of the last administration. I sincerely hope the new administration succeeds, for all our sakes.
WestSideBilly » Feb 3, 2009 at 8:17 am
http://seattlebubble.com/blog/2009/02/02/matthew-gardner-predictions-vs-reality/#comment-65098
Pegasus » Feb 3, 2009 at 11:27 am
Sorry James but this administration keeps serving up Clinton retreads , tax cheats, HUD cheats and incompetents to fill those positions. Please tell us what the new administration plans on succeeding at?
Ira Sacharoff » Feb 3, 2009 at 12:09 pm
“Sims managed to get some postitive things done.”
Please name them, James.
I was a King County employee for 23 years, and yes, Ron Sims is a “big picture’ guy,at the expense of paying attention to important, immediate details.
He also did a lot of bad, or at least incompetent things, from the not well thought out Growth management Act to the ill conceived trade of Boeing Field for railroad right of way to the dismantling of the Waterfront Streetcar….nobody was minding the store. But he speaks well, especially for an insincere, smarmy blowhard.
But don’t get me wrong, I really like the guy.
Scotsman » Feb 4, 2009 at 9:52 am
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/02/04/obama-names-most-fined-washington-state-bureaucrat-to-hud/