If the collapse of the U.S. housing market should have taught us anything, it is that federal government intrusion in the market can have disastrous consequences.
Government-backed mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae -- which have now received nearly $200 billion in taxpayer bailouts -- played a big role in encouraging risky home loans that helped bring about millions of foreclosures. Still more foreclosures are expected this year, and home values have plunged.
So it is frustrating and even alarming that President Barack Obama -- in an attempt to "fix" problems created by previous federal involvement in housing -- proposes more such involvement. The president wants Congress to pass legislation that would have government assume the risk for a new multibillion-dollar scheme to help some homeowners refinance their mortgages at lower interest rates. In theory, this would reduce foreclosures.
The president would slap billions of dollars in new fees on banks to offset the cost of the program. But that is just robbing Peter to pay Paul. Those massive levies would be passed along to bank customers in the form of higher fees. So the program would "help" one group of Americans at the expense of others.
The housing collapse led to an unimaginable $7 trillion loss in household wealth in the United States. Not all of that is the fault of risky loans improperly backed by the federal government. In some cases, for instance, borrowers had good credit and took out sensible loans. But then they may have suffered the misfortune of losing their jobs, and soon became unable to make their house payments.
Nevertheless, bad loans propped up by Washington played a huge part in the housing collapse, and it is troubling that we're going down that road again.
Obama "wants lenders to make more of the same risky loans without documentation of income or ability to repay that got us into this mess in the first place," said U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
In fact, nothing in the recent history of federal involvement in the housing market suggests this new scheme is wise, and the president acknowledged that his previous initiatives to help struggling homeowners have not succeeded.
This latest program is another step in the wrong direction.
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To a Socialist, government involvement in guaranteeing mortgage loans to people who have little or no means to repay the loan makes perfect sense. They would prefer to just give people a house outright but since America has not fallen that far in accepting a Godless Socialist state a guarantee to back a loan at taxpayer's expense could accomplish the same thing. Obamination is a Socialist and most who will vote for him are Socialists as well.
Actually, it was lack of government regulation in the housing market that caused the problem. The government let banks and other financial institutions build up rampant growth, failed to regulate their deceit and fraud, even when it involved government-processed foreclosures, and has yet to prosecute the criminals who engaged in the process.
Well, at least New York's attorney general is going about some of the business of charging criminals.
Why don't you ever mention that?
"If the collapse of the U.S. housing market should have taught us anything, it is that federal government intrusion in the market can have disastrous consequences..." Pure hokum.
If General Motors, celebrating once again being "Number 1" in the world of auto manufacturers, teaches us anything, it is that government intrusion in the market can have wonderful consequences. All of those Republican conservathug skunks who were saying "let 'em fail" are eating a big plate full of crow now, huh.
"The president would slap billions of dollars in new fees on banks to offset the cost of the program. But that is just robbing Peter to pay Paul. Those massive levies would be passed along to bank customers in the form of higher fees. So the program would "help" one group of Americans at the expense of others."
All Socialist schemes rob Peter to pay Paul in the name of helping people. We rob our youth to pay our elderly Socialist Security, Medicare, and prescription drugs to name the big schemes. Did you ever notice these recipients are forever complaining that it is not enough? They seem to be blind to their moral decay!
This is another example of dummycrats arriving at rediculous solutions to impossible problems they create. The best thing the government can do is nothing as everthing the government touches turns to manure. Did anyone read the list of the most distressed cities in the USA? They are all run by dummycrats and many have a large union presence. Take a look at cities like Memphis, Detroit and Chicago and the amount of poor people on government aid. This is what we all have to look forward to if you morons keep voting for these socialist. If you want to stay in poverty keep depending on the government for your survival. Wake Up!
All capitalist schemes rob Peter so Paul can get a nicer house in the name of well, making Paul a very rich man. We enslave our youth to Corporate profits. Did you ever notice that corporations are writing more and more laws, and complaining that they're not making enough money? They seem to be blind to THEIR moral decay!
But joneses, do you want to live in a anarchy?
It's just another re-election ploy. Obamination knows Congress is not going to go along with more Socialist schemes, especially any proposed by him. Lest anyone forget, the takeover in Congress by Republicans was a repudiation of his failed policies. Most senseical people don't want their taxpayer dollars bailing out deadbeats who are not making their mortgage payments. It is somewhat entertaining though.
"Obama "wants lenders to make more of the same risky loans without documentation of income or ability to repay that got us into this mess in the first place," said U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee."
If Senator Bachus actually said that then he is lying through his teeth. The president's proposal is simply to allow people who are current on their mortgage with good credit, but who have lost equity, to refinance without penalty at lower rates in order to gain back equity quicker. It would also save them an average of $3,000 a year which is money that would go back into the economy instead of being stuffed away in a bank vault. Best of all this does not cost the taxpayer anything.
The other sides constantly bitches that the president has not done enough to improve the economy, and then when he does common sense things like this, he gets hammered for it.
A poster above said the government should do nothing. That doesn't surprise me since the people they put in Congress have done virtually nothing. But you can't have it both ways. You can't accuse the president of not doing enough and then say he shouldn't do anything.
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