WASHINGTON - Offering federal help for strapped mortgage holders, President Bush is proposing to aid hundreds of thousands of borrowers hard hit by the housing slump.
The president on Friday was to talk about several initiatives and reforms to help homeowners with risky mortgages keep their homes, a senior administration official said Thursday. Bush also was to discuss efforts to prevent these kinds of problems from arising in the future.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070831/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_housing_slump;_y...
Bush unveiling a rather half-baked mortgage rescue plan just after Bernanke's much awaited Jackson Hole speech? Seems more about politics than sound policy. Suspect the Whitehouse was fearing a tougher stance from Ben and wanted GW to be online to play the role of good cop if the market tanked on Ben's words -- Bernanke ended up sounding like the same old Helicopter Ben. Why fix the mess when you can just delay the day of reckoning. Bernanke is no Paul Volcker; easy money of the Greenspan era looks to continue!
Now this bit about not taxing the debt-forgiveness portion on restructured loans and/or short-sales just might makes some sense. Should help accelerate the deflation of housing and bring some rationality back to the market.
From AFL-CIO Blog
Corporate Welfare Kings Lounging on America