Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Paying $75 Billion for Others' Greed

Obama will unveil his Homeowner Stability Initiative at noon today. And it will cost you. Apparently the plan has grown from the previously expected $50 billion to $75 billion now. The focus will be aiding house flippers... er, homeowners, who "owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth, and borrowers on the verge of foreclosure." Heaven forbid they should be in foreclosure on their 4th spec home in Lake Tahoe. Good thing Obama realizes the insanity of this plan: "All of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis."
Another key component: a new program aimed at helping homeowners said to be "under water" — with dwellings whose value have sunk below the principal still owing on their mortgages. Such mortgages have traditionally been almost impossible to refinance. But the White House said its program will help 4 to 5 million families do just that.

We have discussed previously why the idea of subsidizing mortgages is flawed from the very beginning. How about this novel idea: kick them out on the street and have them rent at a price they can afford. Will do miracles for real home values and will also drop rents to affordable levels all across the country. Is Mark Haines the only person really outraged by this "plan" and when will outraged Americans finally take to the streets? After all this is everyone's money being flushed down the drain. Sphere: Related Content
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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think Mark Haines was born outraged. That said, I agree with his take on most topics these days.

James said...

Its unbelievable. Im really glad i didnt vote for Obama.

Anonymous said...

James. How do we print and distribute bumper stickers that read, "I didn't vote for him either."

ChristyACB said...

Oh yes, I do want one of those stickers!

Anyway, I'm so tired of being responsible while others fritter my income away. Seriously, I'm tempted to tinkle on their flowerbeds just for fun.

Okay, maybe not.

Anonymous said...

I watched CNBC when the news came out. It will not help.

Mark is a good guy. Steve Lies-man is just a Pump Monkey. and the John Horowitz is just a BHO mouth piece pretending to be a reported. Very sad state.

Anonymous said...

Can we claw back our $2 Trillion+ that we've doled out so far to financial sector companies who irresponsibly leveraged themselves to create these mortgages in the first place?

Anonymous said...

It would be wise to do your research on countries that have successful housing polices. The United States of Banks is not one of them. Singapore owns the land, all the land and homes built on the land for +90% of their population and then allows the homeowners to lease for 99+ years at a time but can sell and trade within the time period... I.E. the subsidize the MORTGAGE not the RENT. This is a very simple concept that anyone who has traveled in that dismal failure called America can see with their own eyes. IF YOU OWN IT YOU CARE FOR IT, IF YOU RENT IT YOU PISS IN IT!
Liberals make me sick.
Read up and stop this left wing crap! Government must facilitate an ownership society.

Lee Kuan Yew