Bailout Rejected

Just a suggestion for an additional provision to the $700 billion bail out plan would be a form of downsizing and a shuffling of the deck. It goes as follows:

Take two types of homes:

a) Homes that have already been foreclosed

b) Homes headed for certain foreclosure

A new government regulated process, with accountability and transparency, oversees the transference of a current homeowner facing foreclosure into a smaller home that is vacant due to foreclosure. This would be done only if both parties are in agreement. The homeowner’s equities would be transferred accordingly to this foreclosed property. However, said property would have to be re-appraised to current values. The homeowner would have to be re-qualified based on their abilities to meet their current debt load and the new loan payment on said foreclosed property.

The new loan should be a (proposed) 30 year loan equivalent to the current interest rate (approximately 6%), but should be fixed so there can be no surprises later. No ARMS! This allows the current homeowners to retain their credit, their assets, and their will to continue making payments on all of their debts. The loaning institutions would benefit by slowing down this tremendous foreclosure rate and by eliminating some of their foreclosed properties as well as freeing up loaning monies.

This would bolster the economy in many ways. Debtors would continue to make good on their current debts and loaning institutions would be able to continue to make new loans. Maybe with this change and a few others this $700 billion bail out would not be so large or as necessary. The tax payers would be freed from incurring this burden and our economy might be able to rebound.

Thank you, Byron

Byron in Utah of UT 12:41AM September 30, 2008

My problem, as I try to understand the nature and depth of the world financial crisis, is that I don't know who to believe. I'm left with the unpleasant feeling that our 'representatives' in the House and Senate are less about doing what's right than they are about making certain they get re-elected. And that's not a new phenomenon; reactionary and self-serving decisions seem to rule the how and why things do or do not get done in this country. I believe that this behavior is the only truly bi-partisan activity in Congress. Perhaps this financial crisis, which will have effects, up close and personal, for every one of us, is the catalyst that will lead to true rehabilitation for our democracy which is, I believe, very frail and maybe even in its death throes.

Becky Hedstrom of MN 6:24PM September 29, 2008

13 votes short of Passage

95 Democrats voted against it.

If it was such a great bill why couldn't the Democratic leadership (?) get 13 of 95 Democrats to vote for it.

Billie of TX 5:52PM September 29, 2008

Because of the panic the Dems are hoping to take advantage and push these items into the bailout. The Reps are standing up for the American people and their money and not allowing it!

TRIAL LAWYERS – Instead of investigating the scandal-plagued American trial lawyer industry, the Democratic Congress has showed it in pork, tucking special benefits into major bills to benefit the industry at the expense of American taxpayers – and the economic rescue bill has been no exception. Working drafts of the bill include so-called 'cramdown' provisions allowing bankruptcy judges to reduce mortgage principal under the guise of helping those at risk of foreclosure. If enacted into law, the provision would be a bonanza for trial lawyers and undercut the effectiveness of any economic recovery effort by making it even harder to value mortgage-backed securities.

WASHINGTON LABOR BOSSES – Washington’s powerful big labor bosses – another special-interest constituency closely aligned with the Democratic Party – also get a big handout in the working draft of the bailout bill. So-called “say on pay” or “proxy access” provisions have been added to the bill by Democrats proposing to mandate a nonbinding shareholder vote on proxy access and other issues for all companies in which the Treasury Department buys a direct stake in certain assets. The proposal can and should include restrictions on executive compensation for participating firms in a responsible manner without allowing Washington labor bosses to have an undue say on corporate governance at the expense of American workers and their prosperity.

ACORN – The draft bill includes a left-wing giveaway that would force taxpayers to bankroll a slush fund for a discredited ally of the Democratic Party. At issue is the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now – better known as ACORN – an organization fraught with controversy for, among other scandals, its fraudulent voter registration activities on behalf of Democratic candidates. Rather than returning any profits made in the long-term from the economic rescue package, Democrats want to first reward their radical allies at ACORN for their (often illegal) help in getting Democrats elected to office. Families, seniors, small businesses, and all American taxpayers deserve better.

MORTGAGE INDUSTRY BAD ACTORS – The draft of the bill includes “foreclosure mitigation” provisions that essentially establish a preference for purchasing assets with the goals of modifying or restructuring loans. House Republicans believe the goal of the rescue legislation should be to stabilize the markets and protect taxpayers – NOT to use taxpayer dollars to identify assets to purchase in order to improve loan workouts. Congress has already enacted one irresponsible housing bailout to deal with the mess created by the Democrats’ refusal to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We don’t need another.

Northwestern of WA 5:23PM September 29, 2008