Hostile Lawmakers Criticize Fed's Mortgage Plan

Concerns about the U.S. mortgage crisis and turmoil in global credit markets intensified, with U.S. policy makers seeking to clamp down on the practices that created the crisis and Europe's central bank pouring an unprecedented half-trillion dollars into an effort to soothe markets.

The Federal Reserve proposed new rules that would sharply curtail the kinds of high-risk mortgages largely responsible for the global credit crunch. But the proposal drew a lukewarm, and occasionally hostile, reaction from lawmakers and other critics, who called for more-aggressive action.

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See the list of new rules here.

Comments

[Earl]

It's 24.99% credit card debt that is sending people over the edge, not an extra $200 a month on a mortgage payment. People are walking from their houses and mortgages in order to get out from under ALL debt, because the cycle of running up the credit card debt and refinancing the home to pay the cards off no longer works. Bankruptcy in which you get to keep your house is only a restructuring of debt - you still have to pay what you owe. If you want to cancel your debt, then you walk from your house. In the past, this has kept people from walking, because the home value normally increases. But now, why not walk away? When you have negative equity (you owe more than the house is worth) and you can rent for less, it makes sense. Where will you be in two years if you keep the house? Under crushing debt and still upside down on your mortgage? More and more people have a goal of just being broke instead of being underwater. A noble goal! At least when you're even, you can start over.

[MilwaukeeDan]

Question for the "Lawmakers", where have you been for the last 10 years?

[americaforme]

Greed and avarice...­I once had a beautiful doll on display on the piano,through the years she grew old. I proped her up,time and again. She still had classic beauty,I remembered her early years...Wh­en her structure was sound, she had volume...t­oday she is a rag and a hank of hair,nothing to prop up...Money hungry hedge fund idiots wanted more...Eve­ry company wanted to make easy bucks, extending credit in vast amounts to poor folk...Whe­n the wolf was at the door,29% could not be paid. You brilliant global eco. will have to trash credit cards....y­ou did it, you have know one to thank but yourselves­...Your Doll is too old to prop up...get on down the road.

[mrcontinental]

Don't give loans to people with no verifiable income or job...bril­liant.