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Fantastic find. This’ll leave a mark.
You don't have much time to act regarding Paulson's Bailout Plan.
This plan, as it is written, will give Hank Paulson UNLIMITED & UNCHECKED FINANCIAL POWER OVER THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
That's right. President Bush won't be able to stop him; Nor Pelosi or Reid. He will be able to do as he pleases with NO OVERSIGHT! Do you really think this 700 BILLION number is all? That is a sanitized number so it won't scare the masses.
The true number is over a TRILLION and that's probably a floor - the ceiling could be upwards of double that...two TRILLION, or more? Let me write out just one billion (like a check) so you guys can truly appreciate this number.
$1,000,000,000,000
Why is there no outcry on FreeRepublic over this??! This is going to choke the next generations with impossible debt burden.
I see that many here are disturbed and you are complaining about it on these threads - but you must contact the people that can possibly save us from this nightmare bailout scheme RIGHT NOW!
You know, we FReepers fought hard on the immigration debacle and we WON. People here were hopping mad and weren't about to let The Gov't jam that stupid legislation down our throats!
Folks, this bailout scheme will harm our country immeasurably worse.
YOU MUST ACT NOW TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY! Get on the phones, and let your congresspeople and senators know that 'We The People' vehemently object to this financial coup that is about to take place.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES NOW! It might be too late by Monday morning - you should be calling them NOW - and tomorrow - yes Sunday! They are going to try and ram this through before the market opens on Monday. Call all of their offices. Leave messages. Talk to your family and friends and tell them to do the same.
I snipped this from the heart of the article:
In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.
I was in the business...
It was like your sponsor at AA telling you to go buy vodka.
No money down, bad credit, bad neighborhood/collateral.
All to push the Marxist dream of “rescuing” people from themselves, which, aided by huge Wall Street fees, happened.
Politicians have no spine or common sense, but when the play with the house’s money (yours and mine) we should fund illegals, pay for foreign aid and give bad home loans.
I wish there were a way to arrest all of the culprits.
Explained in 1998
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22the+system+could+only+survive+at+most+another+20+years%22&aq=f&oq=
And the Clinton legacy continues...
Thanks for digging this up.
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FANNIE MAE OFFERS OPTIONS TO SLASH COSTS OF MORTGAGE INSURANCE
Press of Atlantic City, The (NJ) - January 15, 1999
Author: BYLINE: Associated Press
Seeking to open home ownership to more Americans, mortgage giant Fannie Mae is offering new options that will make mortgage insurance cheaper for home buyers who cannot afford large down payments.
(snip)
“We can cut costs to consumers, qualify more home buyers, and give them more home for their mortgage-payment dollar by reducing their mortgage insurance costs,” Raines said in a statement. “Eventually, we hope all low down payment borrowers will benefit from new approaches to mortgage insurance .”
(snip)
Fannie Mae said the new insurance options were made possible by the use of its “desktop underwriter” computer software and a new strategy for reducing losses from mortgage defaults.
(snip)
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HOME OWNERSHIP AMONG MINORITIES SOARS UNDER CLINTON
Commercial Appeal, The (Memphis, TN) - June 3, 1999
Author: Ronald Brownstein Ronald Brownstein a reporter for the Los Angeles Times.
It’s one of the hidden success stories of the Clinton era: In the great housing boom of the 1990s, black and Latino homeownership has surged to the highest level ever recorded.
The number of blacks owning their own home is now increasing nearly three times as fast as the number of whites; the number of Latino homeowners is growing nearly five times as fast as that of whites.
(snip)
All of this suggests that Clinton ‘s efforts to increase minority access to loans and capital also have spurred this decade’s gains. Under Clinton , bank regulators have breathed the first real life into enforcement of the Community Reinvestment Act, a 20-year-old statute meant to combat “redlining” by requiring banks to serve their low-income communities.
The administration also has sent a clear message by stiffening enforcement of the fair housing and fair lending laws. The bottom line: Between 1993 and 1997, home loans grew by 72 percent to blacks and by 45 percent to Latinos, far faster than the total growth rate.
Lenders also have opened the door wider to minorities because of new initiatives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac- the giant federally chartered corporations that play critical, if obscure, roles in the home finance system.
(snip)
But with discrimination in the banking system not yet eradicated, maintaining the momentum of the 1990s will also require a nudge from Washington. One key is to defend the Community Reinvestment Act, which the Senate shortsightedly voted to retrench recently. Clinton has threatened a veto if the House concurs.
The priority may be to ask more of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two companies are now required to devote 42 percent of their portfolios to loans for low- and moderate-income borrowers; HUD, which has the authority to set the targets, is poised to propose an increase this summer.
(snip)
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HUD requires more mortgages for families of modest means
The Kansas City Star - July 30, 1999
Author: The Associated Press
The government is requiring the two biggest housing-finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to finance more mortgages for low- and moderate-income families.
The move, announced Thursday by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo, means the companies must buy an additional $488.3 billion in mortgages from banks and other lenders, enough to provide housing loans for about 7 million families of modest means.
The total amount of such mortgages would be boosted to $2.4 trillion over 10 years.
HUD , which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has raised the proportion of mortgage loans they must earmark for low- and moderate-income families from the current 42 percent of their total purchases to 50 percent.
(snip)
(No link)
HUD to Revise Mortgage Scoring
Washington Post - November 12, 1999
Author: Sandra Fleishman, Washington Post Staff Writer
EXCERPT
HUD officials say consumer groups are concerned that a disproportionate number of minorities are kicked out of the approval stream by the scorecards and referred to loan officers for time-consuming manual processing.
HUD officials said their scorecard will be more flexible in evaluating the creditworthiness of people whose records may have some flaws.
The score used as a main building block by most lenders is called FICO, named for Fair, Isaac & Co., the San Rafael, Calif., firm that developed scoring. The score assigns risk rankings to applicants based on complex statistical analyses of their credit histories. People whose credit reports show that they have always paid bills on time and that they use credit cards responsibly get the highest scores. Those who have been late in paying bills get lower scores.
Making the process transparent, said Cuomo, will not only ensure that lending is nondiscriminatory but also that it will attract more applicants to the FHA. And that will put pressure on Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and other big lenders to follow suit, he said.
Bookmark
I haven’t yet read through the thread, so I’m not sure if anyone pointed this out yet. While this may have begun in the Clinton Administration, Bush may a HUGE push in 2002 to see to it that lenders delivered on these mortgages and boy did they. This is, without a doubt, a bipartisan effort. IMO, and I’ve been saying all along, we are where we are today because of the pandering to illegal aliens who should NEVER have been given mortgages in the first place. The ‘powers that be’ pushed this on us, destroyed our economy, and now WE will be the ones to pick up the tab. And, I’m also not convinced yet that this hasn’t been part of a greater plan, via NAFTA, the bipartisan CFR, and Open Borders Lobby to see to it that Americans will more readily accept a North American Union and Amero as a solution, thus forwarding their agenda, when for most of us, the loss of our sovereignty would be unthinkable.
This is one of the most despicable speeches I’ve ever read.
The White House
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 17, 2002
President Calls for Expanding Opportunities to Home Ownership
Remarks by the President on Homeownership
St. Paul AME Church
Atlanta, Georgia
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much for that wonderful Atlanta welcome. It’s nice to be back in this incredibly important community.
You know, our nation faces a lot of huge challenges. Right now, we’ve got 60,000 troops fighting terrorism so that we can be free, all of us can be free. I appreciate so very much the resolve and unity and determination of this great land. I appreciate our military for their sacrifices. We’re also doing everything we can to secure the homeland, to make sure that those who hate us won’t take innocent life again.
President George W. Bush and new home owner Al Smith tour Pryor Road Corridor Development in Atlanta, Georgia, Monday, June 17. White House photo by Eric Draper. And as we work for a more secure world, we’ve got to work for a better world, too. (Applause.) And that means as we work on our security from possible attacks by terrorists, we also work on economic security. The two securities go hand in hand. Anybody who wants a job who can’t find one means we’ve got a problem. In Washington, they talk statistics all the time, and that’s important — people who count numbers need to make a living, too. (Laughter and applause.)
But my attitude is, if somebody can’t find work and they want to work, we’ve got to continue to work on expanding the job base. And part of economic security is owning your own home. (Applause.) Part of being a secure America is to encourage homeownership. So somebody can say, this is my home, welcome to my home.
Now, we’ve got a problem here in America that we have to address. Too many American families, too many minorities do not own a home. There is a home ownership gap in America. The difference between Anglo America and African American and Hispanic home ownership is too big. (Applause.) And we’ve got to focus the attention on this nation to address this.
And it starts with setting a goal. And so by the year 2010, we must increase minority home owners by at least 5.5 million. In order to close the homeownership gap, we’ve got to set a big goal for America, and focus our attention and resources on that goal. (Applause.)
And I picked a good man to help realize that goal, in Mel Martinez. I don’t know if you know Mel’s story, but — (applause) — it’s an interesting story. Mel was born in Cuba. (Applause.) Yes. Mel brought his cousins with him. (Laughter.) All two of them, anyway. (Laughter and applause.)
But Mel’s mother and daddy — Mel’s mother and dad put him on an airplane to come to America when he was a young boy, because they didn’t want his son growing up in a country that wasn’t free. Think about that, think about the courage of a mom or a dad, and their love for freedom — love freedom so much, they had put their child in the hands of loving Americans, and mom and dad eventually came. And here he now sits, as a member of the President’s Cabinet. What a great country we have. (Applause.)
My point is, Mel understands what it means to dream, and then to work to realize the dreams. I’ve also picked a fine friend of mine from Texas, named Alphonso Jackson, to serve as the Deputy of HUD. And where are you, Alphonso? There he is; I appreciate you. (Applause.) These are can-do people. So when we set a goal, they understand their job is to work toward that goal.
I also want to thank the Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, Shirley Franklin, thank you for coming Madam Mayor. (Applause.) Much of the success of this program is going to depend — depends upon the ability for the federal government to work with state and local governments. And I know the Mayor has got a strong commitment to housing for all people, and to end the ownership gap. Madam Mayor, thanks for coming.
I appreciate as well Johnny Isakson and John Linder, members of the Georgia congressional delegation for coming today. Thank you all for being here. (Applause.) I want to thank Franklin Raines, of Fannie Mae and Leland Brendsel of Freddie Mac. Thank you all for coming. (Applause.)
Today I had the pleasure of seeing an entrepreneur’s work first-hand. An Atlanta citizen who also dreamt a dream, and that is to develop a piece of blighted property, so others could benefit from her vision and hard work. Masharn Wilson is here. (Applause.) She is a President and CEO — Masharn is the President and CEO of her own company. Part of the economic security is not only owning a home, part of it is if you have the entrepreneurial instincts is to own your own business, as well. (Applause.) So I want to appreciate you, Masharn. I appreciate your hard work.
And one other person I want to announce is a fellow named Darryl Hicks. Where are you, Darryl?
MR. HICKS: Right here.
THE PRESIDENT: There you are. Darryl Hicks is here. I want to — Darryl is — one of the things I remind our fellow citizens, if you’re interested in defeating evil, do some good. You see, we’re going to fight with our military, but we can also fight with our hearts. And a country which has been under attack can respond by loving your neighbor like you’d like to be loved yourself.
And this man right here is a fellow — Darryl Hicks — who works for Habitat for Humanity programs. He’s interested in lending his heart and his talents to helping a neighbor in need. America can be changed one heart, one soul, one conscience at a time, so long as we are willing to love a neighbor like we’d like to be loved ourselves. (Applause.)
I want to thank you, Darryl. I want to thank Darryl for being a soldier in the army of compassion. And I also want to thank Reverend Dr. Thomas Bess for opening up this beautiful church. You know, one of my passions is the faith-based initiative. It is important that Congress not fear faith-based programs, but welcome faith-based programs, so we can help change people’s lives. (Applause.)
I find it most interesting that we would be talking about how we help people in a church. After all, that’s why churches exist.
AUDIENCE: Mm-hmm.
THE PRESIDENT: And so I am — I want to thank the church staff for opening up this beautiful facility to the army which follows me around. (Laughter.)
I do believe in the American Dream. I believe there is such a thing as the American Dream. And I believe those of us who have been given positions of responsibility must do everything we can to spotlight the dream and to make sure the dream shines in all neighborhoods, all throughout our country. Owning a home is a part of that dream, it just is. Right here in America if you own your own home, you’re realizing the American Dream.
You know, today I went to the — to some of the home — met some of the homeowners in this newly built homes and all you’ve got to do is shake their hand and listen to their stories and watch the pride that they exhibit when they show you the kitchen and the stairs — so people like Ken Beatty, who is an environmentalist; or Al Smith, a probation officer; or Geary Jefferson a data base administrator; or Darrin West, an Atlanta police officer, Tamika Henry — Tomika Henry Cole.
These are all people that I’ve met; they’ve come over here today. They showed me their home. They didn’t show me somebody else’s home, they showed me their home. And they are so proud to own their home and I want to thank them for their hospitality, because it helps the American people really understand what it means.
And what we’ve got to do is to figure out how to make sure these stories are repeated over and over and over again in America. Three-quarters of white America owns their homes. Less than 50 percent of African Americans are part of the homeownership in America. And less than 50 percent of the Hispanics who live here in this country own their home. And that has got to change for the good of the country. It just does. (Applause.)
And so here are some of the ways to address the issue. First, the single greatest barrier to first time homeownership is a high downpayment. It is really hard for many, many, low income families to make the high downpayment. And so that’s why I propose and urge Congress to fully fund the American Dream Downpayment Fund. This will use money, taxpayers’ money to help a qualified, low income buyer make a downpayment. And that’s important.
One of the barriers to homeownership is the inability to make a downpayment. And if one of the goals is to increase homeownership, it makes sense to help people pay that downpayment. We believe that the amount of money in our budget, fully approved by Congress, will help 40,000 families every year realize the dream of owning a home. (Applause.) Part of the success of Park Place is that the city of Atlanta already does this. And we want to make the plan more robust. We want to make it more full all across America.
Secondly, there is a lack of affordable housing in certain neighborhoods. Too many neighborhoods, especially in inner city America, lack affordable housing units. How can you promote homeownership if people can’t afford a home?
And so what I’ve done is propose what we call a Single Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit, to encourage the development of affordable housing in neighborhoods where housing is scarce. (Applause.) Over five years, the initiative amounts to $2.4 billion in tax credits. And that will help. It will help a lot to build homes where people can — where when fully implemented, people will be able to say, I own my home.
A third major barrier is the complexity and difficulty of the home buying process. There’s a lot of fine print on these forms. And it bothers people, it makes them nervous. And so therefore, what Mel has agreed to do, and Alphonso Jackson has agreed to do is to streamline the process, make the rules simpler, so everybody understands what they are — makes the closing much less complicated.
We certainly don’t want there to be a fine print preventing people from owning their home. We can change the print, and we’ve got to. We’ve got to be wise about how we deal with the closing documents and all the regulations, but also wise about how we help people understand what it means to own their home and the obligations and the opportunities.
And so, therefore, education is a critical component of increasing ownership throughout America. Financial education, housing counseling, how to help people understand that there are unscrupulous lenders. And so one of the things we’re going to do is we’re going to promote education, the education of owning a home, the education of buying a home throughout our society. And we want to fully implement the Section 8 housing program, homeownership program. The program will provide vouchers that first-time home buyers can use to help pay their mortgage or apply to their downpayment.
Many of the partners today, many of the people here today, many of the business leaders here today are creating a market for the mortgages where Section 8 vouchers are a source of the payment. And that’s good — see, it’s an underpinning of capital. It helps move capital to where we want capital to go.
And so these are important initiatives that we can do at the federal government. And the federal government, obviously, has to play an important role, and we will. We will. I mean, when I lay out a goal, I mean it. But we also have got to bring others into the process, most particularly the real estate industry. After all, the real estate industry benefits when people are encouraged to buy homes. It’s in their self interest that we encourage people to buy homes. (Applause.)
And so one of the things that I’m going to talk about a little bit today is how to create a sustained commitment by the private sector that will have a powerful impact. First of all, we want to make sure that we help work to expand capital available to buyers, and as I mentioned, overcome the barriers that I’ve delineated, as well as provide the education component. In other words, this is not just a federal responsibility.
That’s why I’ve challenged the industry leaders all across the country to get after it for this goal, to stay focused, to make sure that we achieve a more secure America, by achieving the goal of 5.5 million new minority home owners. I call it America’s home ownership challenge.
And let me talk about some of the progress which we have made to date, as an example for others to follow. First of all, government sponsored corporations that help create our mortgage system — I introduced two of the leaders here today — they call those people Fannie May and Freddie Mac, as well as the federal home loan banks, will increase their commitment to minority markets by more than $440 billion. (Applause.) I want to thank Leland and Franklin for that commitment. It’s a commitment that conforms to their charters, as well, and also conforms to their hearts.
This means they will purchase more loans made by banks after Americans, Hispanics and other minorities, which will encourage homeownership. Freddie Mac will launch 25 initiatives to eliminate homeownership barriers. Under one of these, consumers with poor credit will be able to get a mortgage with an interest rate that automatically goes down after a period of consistent payments. (Applause.)
Fannie Mae will establish 100 partnerships with faith-based organizations that will provide home buyer education and help increase homeownership for their congregations. I love the partnership. (Applause.)
The Enterprise Foundation and the local initiative support corporation will increase efforts to build and rehabilitate more homes in inner cities at affordable prices by working with local community development corporations.
In my home state of Texas, Enterprise helped turn the once decaying ideal neighborhood of Dallas into a vibrant community, by building homes that were sold to residents at affordable prices. The National Association of Home Builders will team up with local officials, home builder associations and community groups in 20 of our nation’s largest housing markets, to focus on how to eliminate barriers, and encourage homeownership.
The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation will dramatically expand financial and home buyer education efforts to 380,000 minority families. The Neighborhood Housing Services of America will raise $750 million to promote homeownership initiatives in many communities. We’re beginning to use the Internet better, so that realtors all across the country will be able to call up programs all designed to help minority home buyers understand what’s available, what’s possible, and what to avoid. The National Realtors Association will create a central data bank of affordable housing programs, which will be made available to agents, real estate agents, to help people.
So these are some of the beginnings of a national effort. And I want to thank all those who are responsible for the organizations I just named for lending your talents to this important effort for America. You know, one of the things Presidents can do, is they can call the old conference. So I’m going to call one — (laughter) — just to make sure people understand, not only are we serious, but to let them check in. If they’ve signed up and said they’re going to help, this will give everybody a chance to say, here’s what I’ve done to help. It’s what we call accountability. (Applause.)
And so this fall, we’re going to have a White House conference. It is a White House conference specifically designed to address the homeownership gap. It is a White House conference that will not only say, what have you done to date, have you got any new ideas that we can share with others as well. I’m serious about this. This is a very important initiative for all of America. See, it is a chance for us to empower people. We’re not going to talk about empowering government, we’re talking about empowering people, so they have got choices over their lives. (Applause.)
I want to go back to where I started. I believe out of the evil done to America will come incredible good. I believe that as sure as I’m standing here. I believe we can achieve peace. I believe that we can address hopelessness and despair where hopelessness and despair exist. And listen, I understand that in this great country, there are too many people who say, this American Dream, what does that mean; my eyes are shut to the American Dream, I don’t see the dream. And we’d better make sure, for the good of the country, that the dream is vibrant and alive.
It starts with having great education systems for every single child. (Applause.) It means that we unleash the faith-based programs to help change people’s hearts, which will help change their lives. (Applause.) It means we use the mighty muscle of the federal government in combination with state and local governments to encourage owning your own home. That’s what that means. And it means — it means that each of us, each of us, have a responsibility in the great country to put something greater than ourselves — to promote something greater than ourselves.
And to me, that something greater than yourself is to love a neighbor like you’d like to be loved yourself. In order to change America and to make sure the great American Dream shines in every community, every community, we must unleash the compassion and kindness of the greatest nation on the face of the earth.
I’m honored to be here today. I want to thank you for your interest. God bless you all, and God bless America. (Applause.)
Thanks!
Hey Jim, scroll down here... covered:
http://astuteblogger.blogspot.com
It is not for lack of regulation that lending institutions are in deep doo-doo, but rather too much "guidance" from such as HUD and its subordinate agencies, in a misguided attempt to make every American part of the "ownership society." This delusion is bipartisan, race-neutral and totally against every sound economic principle.
As Ludwig von Mises observed way before the welfare state became the American way of life, each government intervention has unintended consequences which eventually leads to a demand for more intervention. The first intervention was creation of the pseudo-private mortgage guarantee corporations, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which all along have been run by political hacks. Now we see both Obama and McCain proposing additional regulations -- and new regulatory agencies to match -- in answer to the unfolding crisis.
The only lasting solution to the banking/real estate/debt morass we're in is for the government to butt the heck out of it and let the dominoes fall.
Jim, it is a sad place we are indeed.
With the rush that Bush has put on the bailout bill I fear we have already lost the battle against socialism in America.
We are bailing out worldwide investors who took a risk and lost.
No where do I hear Bush or others saying anyone will be prosecuted.
All who caused this mess will retire with millions of stolen dollars.
I fear for the Republic.
I see almost no way to stop the evil that has engulfed our nation.
Bush and Paulson should have stopped this long ago.
Now just may be too late.
When all of this started a year ago then the Dems forced even more crap onto the backs of Fannie and Freddie. Now as the leaders all sit down there in DC working on this “Bailout” Bill for banks. The Dems can’t resist the temptation to add even more support of this nonsense into the bill.
Jim - the Democrats are definitely to blame. However, the goons on Wall Street should be blamed too. Their greed and desire to make impossible loans based on leveraged funds is the primary cause of this socialist mess on Wall Street.
Ping
We can thank Bill Clinton and his cronies for two things: not corraling Bin-Laden when he had the chance, and unleashing an almost fatal virus into the nation’s financial system. Formerly I was ready to give Clinton a pass on the economy because of the stock market growth and the capital gains tax cut (which was what balanced the budget). Now I can’t even give him credit (ha, ha) for that. Clinton now ranks in the bottom tier of worst presidents in history.