If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
Last week the Financial Times ran a piece which opened thus: "Greece's banking system is being propped up by an estimated €100 billion provided by the country's central bank -- approved secretly by the European Central Bank." The news barely made it into the U.S. press.
"Homefulness." I'm actually not sure that it is a word yet, but what a great idea! "Homefulness" instead of "homelessness." It's more than just four...
What comes to mind when you think of veterans? What comes to mind when you think of a struggling head of the household, hardly able to afford basic h...
Aside from a dip in March, the recovery is slowly but steadily pushing ahead. The housing market is now 37% of the way back to normal, compared with just 20% back to normal a year ago.
It was almost four years ago that Ben Bernanke, Henry Paul Paulson, and Timothy Geithner ran to Congress warning that the end of the world was near. They said the banks were drowning in bad debt and without a massive bailout they would soon be forced into bankruptcy. Congress quickly coughed up the money in the form of $700 billion in TARP loans. The Fed contributed trillions more. Undoubtedly most of the bad debt was due to stupidity, which does not seem to be in short supply on Wall Street despite the high paychecks. But there was more than just stupidity involved here. There was an epidemic of mortgage fraud that was identified by the FBI as early as 2004. And yet, in its first three years, the Obama administration did almost nothing to investigate criminal practices that contributed to the bubble and the subsequent meltdown.
The housing market today is unpredictable which raises the question: how will the unstable housing market affect first-time homebuyers as they enter the market?
If you're making a big move and looking at markets across the country, don't ignore the job market. Unless you're retired, buying an investment property, or are expecting to live off your Facebook shares, remember that markets with great housing deals tend to have higher unemployment.
I caught up with Ed and one of his best college friends, Abby Sigal, over coffee to discuss something near and dear to both of their hearts and minds: affordable housing.
Bain Capital was Wall Street at its worst. But the Obama team, in the White House and in the campaign, in order to win on the Bain attack, needs to face -- and turn around -- the perception that the administration has been weak on Wall Street.
George Lucas, worth $3.2 billion as of 2011, may have ruined his reputation with his fans by creating Jar Jar Binks, but his latest move may be the finest moment of his career.
Some recent reports suggest that homelessness is not increasing significantly. This is due to both flaws in the data they rely on and the narrow way they define homelessness. The result is confusion and misguided policies.
As market pressures increase, buyers are well advised to double down on due diligence.
In Washington, I will fight to hold Wall Street accountable.
The bailouts only helped the banks, buried Americans further in debt they will never payoff, and froze economic growth.
The rest of the country is inching forward on tangible progress, but Edward DeMarco could do more than anyone. The need is as urgent now as it ever was.
This week, thousands are descending on North Carolina for the Bank of America shareholders' meeting. Just as important as the mass action are the homeowners across North Carolina who are building a grassroots resistance network to keep the pressure on the banks.
