One of the nice things about having a holiday off is that I finally get the opportunity to post a diary during the day. This is a new experience for me. :) This one is about housing. (Big shock, I know.) So, ok. Let's do this. The solution to the housing crisis is at hand. Rejoice. It won't be popular in some circles, but I'm really beyond caring. I'm done trying to accomodate parasites, and our economy has been run by and for parasites for entirely too long. I have the solution.
Many of us here have been following the housing crisis. Subprime loans, foreclosures, blame being flung left and right.... we've seen it. Many of us have also been looking for a solution to the whole mess, but solutions have been few and far between. One of the major problems here is that there is a wide mix of people being hurt by the current mess, some of whom deserve to be hurt by their greed/stupidity/etc and some who don't deserve to be hurt by a situation they were tricked/intimidated/forced into. Separating the latter from the former is.... to put it simply, virtually impossible.
So, time to roll up our sleeves and work on a solution that doesn't require that. Unfortunately what it does require is for Congress to have enough spine to stand up to the lending industry.
This may kill the whole thing right there. I hope not, but it very easily might.
The plan:
- All foreclosures that involve 'creative financing' techniques (such as ARM's) shall be immediately seized by HUD. This shall be considered part of the State's right of Eminent Domain. Financial compensation to the lenders won't be a problem, as there won't be any. They will be given a choice. Accept the terms, or accept a very long prison sentence for fraud and racketeering.
- Write a modern version of the Homestead Act. These seized properties will be distributed to people who are willing to live in them for a minimum length of time. (Selling them at low cost under the same terms would also be acceptable.) The intent here is for people to have settled homes and build community around them. Most of us would agree that this is preferable to entire neighborhoods being empty due to the entire neighborhood being foreclosed.
Now, I realize that this may seem a bit heavy handed. I also realize that if it were to be enacted, we'd see an unholy shriek from the lending industry the likes of which have never been seen before. Given how long they've been fattening themselves at our expense, I can actually live with that. The fact that any such foreclosure would be subject to being taken from the lender should also encourage lenders to work with borrowers to avoid foreclosure entirely.
This solution (like most of mine) is still very much a work in progress. I'm entirely open to suggestions and new ideas. Please feel free to provide them.