For the Jobless, Little U.S. Help on Foreclosure

Source: The New York Times

The Obama administration’s main program to keep distressed homeowners from falling into foreclosure has been aimed at those who took out subprime loans or other risky mortgages during the heady days of the housing boom. But these days, the primary cause of foreclosures is unemployment.

As a result, there is a mismatch between the homeowner program’s design and the country’s economic realities — and a new round of finger-pointing about how best to fix it.

The administration’s housing effort does include programs to help unemployed homeowners, but they have been plagued by delays, dubious benefits and abysmal participation. For example, a Treasury Department effort started in early 2010 allows the jobless to postpone mortgage payments for three months, but the average length of unemployment is now nine months. As of March 31, there were only 7,397 participants.

“So far, I think the public record will show that programs to help unemployed homeowners have not been very successful,” said Jeffrey C. Fuhrer, an executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/business/economy/05housing.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

like totally confusing the proletariat has not worked before?

If you can keep them totally befuddled, you can keep on pushing home the illusion that the immense profit of a few has any relationship to the total destitution of the many.

Keep on keeping on. This is a revolution in progress, in many ways, like it or not.

Again, I question Obama's Democratic credentials. There isn't anything Democratic about his reaction to the housing crisis.

A sad future ahead of us if we don't find a way to move government to the left

very soon !! We need a humanist in the White House --

How long since we've even heard Democrats mention the homeless!!


sad --

We will get started on the housing problem ourselves.

is to subsidize retro-fitting every commercial and residential property in the US with a hybrid wind/solar array. This would create jobs not only in the installation market, but in the ancillary markets as well.

We should follow suit.

And how about converting all those cars out there to hybrids -- at least!

Electric - solar battery -- even better!!


:)

and yet here we sit, eh?

Well, some of us, at least. ;)

Cheers! :toast:

a :hi: back to you -- !!

:)

work.

They are there to give the illusion that an appreciable portion in government gives a damn about someone besides corporations and banks. It's only an illusion, though, like an oasis travelers imagine in the desert. Get over it and decide what to do next.

P.S. The one genuine help in all this has been the forgiveness of indebtedness income issue. Ordinarly, if you have a debt for, say. $600,0000 and your creditor lets you off the hook for $200,000, the $200,000 is considered income to you and you owe taxes on it. This is what happens if you have a mortgage for $600,000 and the lender agrees to accept $400,000 in full payment, say in a short sale.

Congress suspended the tax liability for forgiveness of indebtedness income for home mortgages. However, that suspension will end soon--next year I believe. So far, I've not read anything about Congress extending that period. So, if you think a short sale is in your future, plan well.

Charge all people a flat percentage of what they make as a payment each month unless the homeowner wants to pay the house off in a shorter period of time.

Say, 15-20% of what they make. Now, the better the jobs, the more the bank gets paid. You have no job, the bank doesn't get shit.

This gives very powerful people an incentive to potentially help the economy improve as a whole and potentially influence certain aspects of the economy. Banks don't want the government fucking with their money.

:applause:

Remember rent control?

Generally, people used to be encouraged in budgeting to pay but one-quarter of

their monthly earning in rent!

They say that now, many workers are paying as much as half in rental/mortgage fees.

Banks have gotten plenty of help staying in business so that they can continue to foreclose. Where would we be if they had to shut their doors and sit in receivership?