This is my understanding that President Obama's new plan is to help homeowners refinance their homes at lower interest rates. These homeowners are CURRENT in their payments. When the housing bubble burst, the market value of their homes dropped sharply. The equity in their homes disappeared. If they are foreclosed upon, they lose all the investment they have in their homes. If they stay, they are stable and they can hope to wait out the market and see their home grow equity again. Home equity is the primary investment of the middle and working classes.
Interest rates on mortgages have dropped. People want to refinance and take advantage of reduced interest payments. They are denied refinancing because their principal amount exceeds the current market value, and are effectively frozen out of the refinancing market. Obama's plan would authorize the Federal Housing Administration to insure the mortgages. No charge to human tax payers; the banks will have to pay fees/taxes of $5 to 10 billion dollars.
The banks and the Republicans uniformly opposed this plan within hours. It costs taxpayers nothing. The banks would pay five to ten billion dollars to fund the program. As we chanted at our Occupy Birmingham march in October, "the banks got bailed out, we got sold out". It is time for the innocent bystanders who lost home equity due to market manipulation get a fair deal.
VOTE AGAINST THE GREEDY BASTARDS who caused this economic disaster.
Among those are Alabama’s own Rep. Spencer Bachus, who is Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. That means he is high muckety- muck. Bachus voted for TARP then complained about its implementation. He denounced Obama’s plan and expressed concern for the markets, i.e. the banks. Bachus committee is where some ideas that help human people should originate, but instead Bachus squelches any attempts that don’t please the banks and lenders.
Alabama 6th district voters, please get informed and vote for an oppoent to Bachus. The primary election is MARCH 13TH. There are primaries for Republicans and Democrats, and this is the first real opposition Bachus has had for ten years (Willam Barnes and Penny Huggins Bailey for the Democrats, Scott Beason and others for the Republicans.
In ten years running virtually unopposed, Bachus has received contributions from corporate and private bankers and lenders. It is time he had to spend some of that money by challenging him. Contributions are welcome by all these candidates.
IMHO, a Democrat is more sympathetic to human people than to corporate people. Getting corporate money out of politics is another discussion.
