“Do Something
Or Get Out Of The Way”
Obama’s Failure On Housing Policy Has Democrats
Fuming And Demanding Action

DEMOCRATS ARE DEMANDING OBAMA’S HOUSING DIRECTOR STEP DOWN AFTER LEARNING HE HAS NEVER MET SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN FORECLOSED UPON

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) Was “Shocked” To Learn Edward DeMarco, Chief Regulator For Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac, Had Never Met Someone Who Was Foreclosed Upon. CUMMINGS: “When he told us that he had never talked to somebody who had been foreclosed upon — or was in danger of [being foreclosed upon] — to be honest with you, that shocked me.” (Mike Lillis, “Frustrated Democrats Suggest Top Obama Housing Official Resign,” The Hill, 10/6/11)

Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) Said That DeMarco’s Failure To Meet With A Single Foreclosed Homeowner Is “Unacceptable.” “The members of Congress are talking about 1 in 3 of their constituents who come to their office in tears telling us about their problems, and the person in charge of the program has never talked to a foreclosed Individual. That’s Unacceptable.” (Mike Lillis, “Frustrated Democrats Suggest Top Obama Housing Official Resign,” The Hill, 10/6/11)

• Rep. Cardoza: “Either Do Something Or Get Out Of The Way.” “Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), who spearheaded the meeting along with Cummings, delivered a nearly identical message. ‘Either do something or get out of the way,’ Cardoza said. ‘And if you’re incapable of doing it, then find somebody who isn’t.’” (Mike Lillis, “Frustrated Democrats Suggest Top Obama Housing Official Resign,” The Hill, 10/6/11)

DeMarco’s Meeting With Democrats Was “Punctuated By Loud Voices And An Occasional Fist Pounding On The Table.” “In a meeting punctuated by loud voices and an occasional fist pounding on the table, according to participants, DeMarco absorbed the rhetorical punches and then promised to come back by the end of the month with a new plan. ‘He knows we're not satisfied,’ Costa said.” (Michael Doyle, “Valley Dems Blast Federal Housing Official,” The Fresno Bee, 10/6/11)

• Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA): “He Knows We're Sick And Tired Of The Administration's Inability To Provide Meaningful Fixes For The Housing Crisis.” (Michael Doyle, “Valley Dems Blast Federal Housing Official,” The Fresno Bee, 10/6/11)

DeMarco Revealed To Lawmakers That The Agency Does Not Have A Plan To Help Homeowners In Danger Of Being Foreclosed Upon. “DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) — an agency independent of the White House — met Thursday with 17 House Democrats in the Capitol, ostensibly to brief them on FHFA’s enhanced efforts to help struggling homeowners. Instead, he revealed that the agency doesn’t yet have such a plan.” (Mike Lillis, “Frustrated Democrats Suggest Top Obama Housing Official Resign,” The Hill, 10/6/11)

• DeMarco “Won’t Stand Up And Take Authority.” “‘[DeMarco] has the market power, with 30 million mortgages, to do much broader work than he’s doing, and he won’t stand up and step up and take authority,’ Cardoza said. ‘And he didn’t deny that he had that capability.’” (Mike Lillis, “Frustrated Democrats Suggest Top Obama Housing Official Resign,” The Hill, 10/6/11)

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA): “There Has Been A Complete Failure On The Part Of The Obama Administration To Address The Catastrophic Wave Of Home Foreclosures Across The Country.” “There has been a complete failure on the part of the Obama administration to address the catastrophic wave of home foreclosures across the country, leaving families in despair and wreaking havoc in countless communities,’ Eshoo wrote in an email. ‘In order for our economy to expand, an effective policy must be put into place to turn this devastation of housing around. The administration’s weak responses have barely touched ‘the tip of the iceberg.’” (Mike Lillis, “Frustrated Democrats Suggest Top Obama Housing Official Resign,” The Hill, 10/6/11)

OBAMA’S POLICIES HAVE FAILED MISERABLY TO STEM THE WAVE OF FORECLOSURES TANKING HOMEOWNERS AND THE ECONOMY

“The Alphabet Soup Of Housing Assistance Programs To Date -- HAMP, HARP, EHLP, 2MP -- Have Been Too Poorly Administered And Too Limited In Scope And Eligibility To Slow Or Halt The Slide In The U.S. Housing Market.” “Only 2 percent of President Obama's speech to Congress on Sept. 8 dealt with the plight of underwater homeowners, but those 72 words could do as much or more for the flagging U.S. economy as the entire $447 billion jobs bill. Especially if the White House is willing to think big. That's a big if, given that the alphabet soup of housing assistance programs to date -- HAMP, HARP, EHLP, 2MP -- have been too poorly administered and too limited in scope and eligibility to slow or halt the slide in the U.S. housing market.” (Eric Wieffering, “Fixing Economy Requires More Work On Housing,” Star Tribune, 9/17/11)

President Obama Promised That His Housing Program – The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) – Would Prevent 7 To 9 Million Families From Foreclosure. “And we will pursue the housing plan I'm outlining today. And through this plan, we will help between 7 and 9 million families restructure or refinance their mortgages so they can afford—avoid foreclosure.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks On The Home Mortgage Industry In Mesa, Arizona, 2/18/09)

• But As Of August, Only 690,969 Homeowners Had Received Permanent Modification Through HAMP. “The number of borrowers who received permanent aid through the Obama administration's signature foreclosure relief program ticked up slightly in August. A total of 690,969 borrowers had received active permanent modifications through the Home Affordable Modification Program by the end of August, up 2.3% from July, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.” (Alejandro Lazo, “More Borrowers Gain Permanent Mortgage Relief In August,” Los Angeles Times’ “Money & Company,” 10/5/11)
• The Treasury Department Has Only Spent $1.85 Billion Of The $46 Billion It Was Given To Prevent Foreclosures. “As part of the bank bailout, the Treasury Department was given $46 billion to spend on keeping homeowners in their houses; to date, the agency has spent about $1.85 billion.” (Andrew Martin, “For Jobless, Little U.S. Help On Foreclosure,” The New York Times, 6/4/11)

Treasury Secretary Geithner Admitted That The Administration’s Housing Programs Have Not Lived Up To Expectations. “Mr. Geithner said that he agreed that the administration’s efforts had not met expectations, and he pointed to efforts by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to reduce barriers to refinancing, which he said could be introduced next week. ‘We are doing as much as we can with the authority we have to help people caught up in this crisis,’ Mr. Geithner said.” (Binyamin Appelbaum, “Treasury Secretary Urges Quick Action On Jobs Plan,” The New York Times, 10/6/11)

• Geithner: “But Our Programs Have Dramatically Underperformed What We Thought. … We Are Very Disappointed And Frustrated By It And We Have A Lot Of Challenges Ahead.” (Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Testimony Before The House Financial Services Committee, Washington, D.C., 10/6/11)

Economy...

[H/T Tom]

• Economy bleak and Obama administration wants to raise taxes
• Unemployment levels higher than the Great Depression.
• Gas prices reaching an all time high
• Food prices escalating
• A stock market plunge of 50% OR MORE that may eradicate life savings and retirement funds.
 • A second housing crisis drastically more severe than the one we've just lived through could leave a sea of empty homes in every neighborhood.
http://youtu.be/b3S9jxBvNYQ

CLASSIFIED -----LEGAL HELP

CLASSIFIED LEGAL

NEED EXPERIENCED

ATTORNEY

Acorn got busted doing there job of helping locate and financing housing for those in need of shelter....

Financing a house of prostitution for underage illegals and giving advice on how to evade taxes. We don't know if they were busted for financing a house of prostitution or giving advice on how to evade paying taxes... When will everyone stop picking on these civic minded folks and let then save the country?
It appears they may need an experienced attorney ......their previous lawyer is busy on another assignment until 2012

In the south we would say bless their heart, they can't hep it just doing their job.
30

HOW IT REALLY HAPPENED AND WHO DID IT!!!!!

It is mandatory that each and every one of us learn who committed the acts that created this mess.
1977: Pres. Jimmy Carter signs into Law the Community Reinvestment Act the foundation and cornerstone for the impending disaster.. The law pressured financial institutions to extend home loans to those who would otherwise not qualify.
The publicized premise: Home ownership would improve poor and crime-ridden communities and neighborhoods in terms of crime, investment, jobs, etc.
The Results: Statistics bear out that it did not help.
How did the government get so deeply involved in the housing market?
Answer: Bill Clinton wanted it that way.
1992: Republican representative Jim Leach (IO) warned of the danger that Fannie and Freddie were changing from being agencies of the public at large to money machines for the principals and the stock-holding few.
1993: Clinton extensively rewrote Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's rules turning the quasi-private mortgage-funding firms into semi-nationalized monopolies dispensing cash and loans to large Democratic voting blocks and handing favors, jobs and contributions to political allies. This potent mix led inevitably to corruption and now the collapse of Freddie and Fannie.
1994: Despite warnings, Clinton unveiled his National Home-Ownership Strategy,whichbroadened the CRA in ways congress never intended.
1995: Congress, about to change from a Democrat majority to Republican. Clinton orders Robert Rubin's Treasury Dept to rewrite the rules. Robt. Rubin's Treasury reworked rules, forcing banks to satisfy quotas for sub-prime and minority loans to get a satisfactory CRA rating. The rating was key to expansion or mergers for banks. Loans began to be made on the basis of race and little else.
1997 - 1999: Clinton, bypassing Republicans in Congress, enlisted Andrew Cuomo, then Secretary of Housing and Urban Dev elopement, allowing Freddie and Fannie to get into the sub-prime market in a BIG way. Led by Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd, congress doubled down on the risk by easing capital limits and allowing them to hold just 2.5% of capital to back their investments vs. 10% for banks. Since they could borrow at lower rates than banks their enterprises boomed.

With incentives in place, banks poured billions in loans into poor communities, often "no doc", "no income", "no assets", requiring no money down, no verification of income, no nothing . Worse still was the cronyism: Fannie and Freddie became home to out-of work-politicians, mostly Clinton Democrats. 384 politicians got big campaign donations from Fannie and Freddie. Over $200 million had been spent on lobbying and political activities. During the 1990's Fannie and Freddie enjoyed a subsidy of as musch as $182 Billion, most of it going to principals and shareholders, not poor borrowers as claimed.
Did it work? Minorities made up 49% of the 12.5 million new homeowners but many of those loans have gone bad and the minority homeownership rates are shrinking fast.

1999: New Treasury Secretary, Lawrence Summers, became alarmed at Fannie and Freddie's excesses. Congress held hearings the ensuing year but nothing was done because Fannie and Freddie had donated millions to key congressmen and radical groups, ensuring no meaningful changes would take place. "We manage our political risk with the same intensity that we manage our credit and interest rate risks," Fannie CEO Franklin Raines, a former Clinton official and current Barack Obama advisor, bragged to investors in 1999.

2000: Secretary Summers sent Undersecretary Gary Gensler to Congress seeking an end to the "special status". Democrats raised a ruckus as did Fannie and Freddie, headed by politically connected CEO's who knew how to reward and punish. "We think that the statements evidence a contempt for the nation's housing and mortgage markets" Freddie spokesperson Sharon McHale said. It was the last chance during the Clinton era for reform.

2001: Republicans try repeatedly to bring fiscal sanity to Fannie and Freddie but Democrats blocked any attempt at reform; especially Rep. Barney Frank and Sen.Chris Dodd who now run key banking committees and were huge beneficiaries of campaign contributions from the mortgage giants.

2003: Bush proposes what the NY Times called "the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago". Even after discovering a scheme by Fannie and Freddie to overstate earnings by $10.6 billion to boost their bonuses, the Democrats killed reform.

2005: Then Fed chairman Alan Greenspan warns Congress: "We are placing the total financial system at substantial risk". Sen. McCain, with two others, sponsored a Fannie/Freddie reform bill and said, "If congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system and the economy as a whole". Sen. Harry Reid accused the GOP of trying to "cripple the ability of Fannie and Freddie to carry out their mission of expanding homeownership" The bill went nowhere.

2007: By now Fannie and Freddie own or guarantee over HALF of the $12 trillion US mortgage market. The mortgage giants, whose executive suites were top-heavy with former Democratic officials, had been working with Wall St. to repackage the bad loans and sell them to investors. As the housing market fell in '07, subprime mortgage portfolios suffered major losses. The crisis was on, though it was 15 years in the making.

2008: McCain has repeatedly called for reforming the behemoths, and Bush urged reform 17 times. Still the media have repeated Democrats' talking points about this being a "Republican" disaster. A few Republicans are complicit but Fannie and Freddie were created by Democrats, regulated by Democrats, largely run by Democrats and protected by Democrats. That's why taxpayers are now being asked for $700 billion!!
Postscript: ACORN is one of the principlal beneficiaries of Fannie/ Freddie's slush funds. They are currently under indictment or investigation in many states. Barack Obama served as their legal counsel, defending their activities for several years. Last year the democratic congress gave ACORN $500 million and attempted to sneak in $20 BILLION (Yes BILLION) into the first version of the bailout. That's why Republicans voted no.!!!

These are the same people that have been selected to correct the problem and oversee Freddie and Fannie!!! How dumb is that?