Put simply, Wall Street has more than recovered while the American people sink further and further away from economic security.
Loren Berlin | Posted 05.25.2012
If you're looking for good news about the housing market, you're going to have to wait awhile longer, as new research continues to paint a grim pictur...
Carl Gibson | Posted 05.16.2012
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.
Jared Bernstein | Posted 04.26.2012
Suppose you are going to repair your damaged home and your only tool on hand is a roll of duct tape. Your resourceful neighbor points out that you could probably also use a hammer, a drill, and a saw. If you're the FHFA, you tell him, "I can do a better job with just my duct tape, so thanks but no thanks." That, in a nutshell, is the problem with the most recent analysis by this key regulator of the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac when it comes to adding the tool of principal reduction to their anti-foreclosure toolkit. They've made progress in their evaluation of the costs and benefits of loan forbearance and loan forgiveness, but, somewhat bewilderingly, they appear to be comparing the two as if they were mutually exclusive.
Dean Baker | Posted 04.19.2012
It's often said that the difference between the powerful and the powerless is that the powerful get to walk away from their mistakes while the powerless suffer the consequences. The first-time homebuyers' tax credit, which was added to President Obama's original 2009 stimulus package, provides an excellent example of the privilege of the powerful. Many of the 11 million underwater homeowners in the country can blame the incentives created by the first-time homebuyers credit for their plight. This was really bad policy, which should have been apparent at the time. Unfortunately, it is only the victims who are suffering, not the promulgators of the policy. Welcome to Washington.
Aaron Sankin | Posted 04.11.2012
In a unanimous 11-0 vote on Tuesday afternoon, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an official resolution calling for a moratorium on all fo...
Jane White | Posted 04.01.2012
While many in the media have blamed the failures on reckless borrowers, the real driver of the crisis is lawless banks offering "bait-and-switch" adjustable rate mortgages.
Mary Jo Kilroy | Posted 05.29.2012
The Federal Housing Finance Agency needs to stop being an obstacle and instead empower Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to take reasonable measures to rewrite underwater mortgages, including principal reductions.
Gordon Whitman | Posted 05.21.2012
Ed DeMarco is overdue on his promise to tell whether he will reverse his stubborn opposition to principal reduction -- a practice that allows underwater homeowners to refinance their mortgages at the real value of their homes.
Loren Berlin | Posted 03.19.2012
Do you owe more on your mortgage than your home is worth? If so, you are not alone. Nearly one out of every four Americans who has a mortgage is trapp...
Rep. Charles Rangel | Posted 05.07.2012
Congress must not let the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act expire at the end of the year. Today 12 million Americans are on the verge of losing their homes because they owe more money than their home is worth.
HuffingtonPost.com | Ben Hallman | Posted 02.28.2012
High-level efforts to convince federal housing regulator Edward DeMarco to support a foreclosure prevention technique championed by the Obama administ...
Jose Suarez | Posted 04.22.2012
The big banks recently agreed to pay $25 billion to the victims of foreclosure abuse. Yes, $25 billion might sound quite impressive. But here in Miami, the virtual "ground zero" of the foreclosure crisis, we're wary.
HuffingtonPost.com | Ben Hallman | Posted 02.22.2012
Like many dangerous addictions, the government's reliance on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make real the American dream of homeownership has turned in...
HuffingtonPost.com | Ben Hallman | Posted 02.16.2012
After a year of arguing with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the benefits of loan write-downs, the Obama administration is taking another approach: sh...
HuffingtonPost.com | Bonnie Kavoussi | Posted 02.13.2012
Top law enforcement officials in several states are signaling they will pressure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to correct what is widely seen as one of t...
HuffingtonPost.com | Bonnie Kavoussi | Posted 02.09.2012
Fannie Mae executives are refusing to forgive part of homeowners' mortgage debt because they are "philosophically opposed" to the idea, according to a...
Gordon Whitman | Posted 04.08.2012
Large-scale principal reduction is a win-win for homeowners and the economy. It would stabilize housing values and prevent foreclosures, while putting cash in the wallets of struggling families.
HuffingtonPost.com | Alexander Eichler | Posted 02.02.2012
The percentage of people moving for new jobs fell to a near-historic low in the second half of 2011, according to a recent report, as the housing bust...
HuffingtonPost.com | Michael McAuliff | Posted 02.02.2012
WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner thinks it's about time for the government to stop trying to aid people with underwater mortgages. Respondi...
Mark Steitz | Posted 03.25.2012
Tonight, the president announced a plan to allow for the refinancing of the mortgages of every responsible homeowner -- and many of the primary beneficiaries of this plan would be Republican voters in Tea Party districts. Shouldn't Republicans in Congress line up?
HuffingtonPost.com | Loren Berlin | Posted 01.24.2012
In Tuesday night's State of the Union address, President Barack Obama is expected to tout a settlement between states' attorneys general and five of t...
Van Jones | Posted 03.23.2012
Rumor has it that on Monday, after months of negotiation with big banks, the White House may announce a settlement that would let the banks off the hook for their role in the foreclosure crisis. We hope these rumors are untrue.
The Huffington Post | Jillian Berman | Posted 01.21.2012
Newt Gingrich's alleged request for an open marriage and Mitt Romney's tax returns took center stage at last night's Republican debate, but perhaps th...
Posted 12.21.2011
The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is actively considering a proposal that would allow for a reduction in the outstanding mortgage debt ...
Tracy Van Slyke | Posted 05.25.2012