Housing Accord Puts Builders First; Strapped Homeowners Offered Little Aid

[tpsbmam]

Source: Washington Post

Senate Democratic and Republican leaders rushing to address the nation's housing crisis reached agreement yesterday on a package that would provide billions of dollars in tax rebates to the slumping home-building industry while offering little to homeowners threatened with foreclosure.

After working through Tuesday night to flesh out a bipartisan agreement, lawmakers unveiled a bill that rejects the most ambitious plans for aiding distressed homeowners, including a Democratic proposal to permit bankruptcy judges to modify the mortgage on a person's primary residence.

Instead, lawmakers settled on a sharply scaled-back array of measures that would provide $4 billion in grants for cities to buy foreclosed properties, temporary tax breaks worth up to $7,000 for home buyers who purchase foreclosed properties, and new tax deductions for almost every American who owns a home. The package, which would cost about $15 billion over the next 10 years, also would jump-start stalled legislation to streamline the Federal Housing Administration, one of the top priorities of the Bush administration.

Families who cannot afford to repay their home loans -- the group at the heart of the mortgage meltdown -- would benefit mainly from $100 million to expand foreclosure counseling services and greater latitude for local housing authorities to use tax-exempt bonds in refinancing subprime loans.

Home builders and other businesses suffering losses in the flagging economy, meanwhile, would get the lion's share of federal spending in the bill: $6 billion in tax rebates.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/02/AR2008040202293_pf.html

[OregonBlue]

1. Like the pharma bill, this is just another taxpayer rip-off and give-away to the rich.

"temporary tax breaks worth up to $7,000 for home buyers who purchase foreclosed properties=SPECULATORS.

Better our illustrious leaders do nothing than pass this piece of crap.

I just don't believe the Dems will allow the Repukes to snooker them again. They don't seem to understand that they are in the MAJORITY.

[Lorien]

11. Sadly, it looks more and more as if they are all on the same side, and it

ain't OUR side.

Check out this political compass:



Now here's one for all the primary candidates (none exists for congress as a whole):



If you want to see where you rank, you can take the test here: http://politicalcompass.jpagel.net/test

I'm guessing that most DUers would score closer to Kucinich and Gandhi than to our candidates or Hitler.

[fed-up]

2. this is insane-foreclosed properties in Chico are ALREADY selling 25-50% lesswhat was owed bank nt

[Robbien]

3. Rewarding those who got us into this mess

And sending strapped homeowners off to "get counseling".

What a slap in the face. And it appears this dog of a bill will probably pass, as soon as all our Congresscritters add enough of their pork projects to it.

Homebuilders and Banks get billions, while those oh so helpful counselors are going to get several million to laugh in the faces of homeowners.

[jayfish]

4. Man, I'm So Glad We Won The House And Senate In 06'.

:eyes:

Jay

[acmavm]

7. So help me Jayfish, that is EXACTLY what I thought the second

I saw this thread.

[jayfish]

8. I Can't Offer Much Help.

All I can do is, begrudgingly, accept that there was no way to get a more consumer-friendly bill through with our current majority and hope that things will change if/when we expand that majority and take the WH. :shrug:

Jay

[Baby Snooks]

5. The New America

We've gone from "by the people, for the people" to "by the corporation, for the corporation" to "by the crooks, for the crooks."

The new America.

[nealmhughes]

6. Dick Durbin was just addressing the death of his bankruptcy provision this early am in the Senate.

He said that it "mysteriously died" when the bill was marked up last night.

[Robbien]

12. The reason it disappeared is because

"it would raise interest rates for all homeowners". Or at least that is what the GOP says. And of course the Democratic led Senate always obeys what the GOP demands.

Giving billions to predatory home builders doesn't cost average joes a thing, but giving a break on interest rates to homeowners caught in predatory loans would of course be a burden on the average homeowner. Just send the distressed homeowners off to get counseling.

[AP]

16. "predatory home builders"??? Huh? Without them, house prices would have been higher

because you would have had the fuel of more demand thrown on top of all that cheap money banks were throwing at unqualified borrowers.

Builders didn't cause this problem. The benefited from it, sure, but they're weren't the primary cause.

They're getting rewarded now only because they have powerful lobbyists.

[kestrel91316]

9. In the finest Republican tradition, robbing from the poor to give to the rich.

I'm on the verge of suing the builder/developer who bought the rental house I lived in for 8 years. He evicted me for DEMOLITION purposes and then took $475 out of my rental deposit refund for "general cleaning", "repainting", and "carpet replacement". Then demolished the house, of course, within weeks.

I guess the $50 million he brings in every year just ain't cuttin' it. He's gotta STEAL $475 from one of the Little People.

[tanyev]

13. No CEO Left Behind.

[flashl]

10. We are better off if that place (Congress) was shutdown. nt

[mopinko]

14. making it easier to grab people's homes

temporary tax breaks worth up to $7,000 for home buyers who purchase foreclosed properties

how about tax breaks up to $7000 for people to KEEP THEIR F'ING HOMES!!!!!

[4dsc]

15. Fucking BAILOUTS!!!

I'm really sick and tired of the well to do getting bailed out in this country while the little guy suffers..