If Bush REALLY Wanted To Help Sub-Prime Victims, He'd DEMAND

I'm sure you've heard by now that today, the Bush administration announced an agreement with the mortgage industry to freeze interest rates on subprime mortgages that otherwise would have risen soon.

While there are probably going to be some families helped by this move, even Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson admits this action is no "silver bullet."

As Associated Press Economics writer Martin Krutsinger notes, this offer would apply only to people living in their homes and who have not missed any payments at the lower rate. It also only would apply to loans taken out between 2005 and this past July 30 and scheduled to rise to higher rates in 2008 and 2009."

Yet if Bush really wanted to make a difference in terms of this subprime crisis and its destructive path of ruined lives for so many American families, here's a few of the things he could have implemented or at least proposed:

A one-year moratorium on ALL residential sub-prime mortage foreclosures. For a President who claims to be a "compassionate conservative," this would mark an exercise of true compassion.

A cost-of-living cap on health-care and pharmaceutical costs. These runaway costs surely have strained the budgets of many families who are also struggling to pay their sub-prime mortgages;

Get going with a substantial downdraw of troops in Iraq. Men come back to their families as wage-earners, and untold billions of dollars are freed up for our domestic needs.

Endorse legislation that would place a moratorium on corporate offshore outsourcing for any government contractor.

Implement a temporary freeze on fuel prices. Families who pay $60 per fillup to get to work, the store, school, house of worship, etc. may not have enough left to afford the mortgage.

Pull out of NAFTA. Remember what Ross Perot used to say about the "giant sucking sound" that would ensue if we signed the damn thing? He was specificlally talking about Mexico, but we're losing jobs to more nations than that. And many whose jobs have been lost are finding it even harder to pay for their mortgages (sub prime or not).

Cap credit card interest rates. Whether for purchases, cash advances or both, many distressed mortgage holders are living on their credit cards. If they still have them, that is.

And in a related business matter, how about helping those at the end of their rope by asking Congress to roll back the strict bankruptcy eligibility "reforms" the Republican-controlled Congress passed in 2006, and you signed?

Yes, but as if.

As if Bush will take on the greedy financial infrastructure that over the years, has kick started this crisis.

Comments

[jgravatt]

Sounds like you think the President can just mandate all financial activity in this country, he can't. That's called communism. I fail to see how the sub-prime "victims" as you call them are blameless in this whole mess. They signed their names on about 100 documents qualifying them for loans they couldn't afford...

[AMolinaro]

More importantly, he should push for stronger regulation on hedge funds and other derivative products, such as mortgage-backed bonds. Over $516 trillion in derivatives were traded in 2006, ten times the amount of actual global economic production.

The financial industry has gone completely off the deep end, and they're gonna take the rest of us with them.

[Luxdem]

To declare a moratorium on forclosures or on interest only hurts bond-holders who thought they were buying AAA bonds. They thought there was little likelyhood the bonds would default. The problem is the concept. Mortgage Backed Securities should be banned. We have to go back to the old system of Savings Banks who had a vested interest in the loans and mortgages. MBS's, a typical non-regulated "innovation", shifted the financial risk to "THE MARKET" meaning to investors who have no control over the repayment. It is a sytemic problem. Now that there are defaults, no one wants the bonds anymore and you can't find a buyer if you want to sell. That's what they mean by no "liquidity". The only way to change this is to stop issuing the MBS. Meantime we can ask the Chinese who have excess dollars if they would agree to buy those rotten bonds and bail out the USA. In return for agreeing to this, the US could agree to bring in a Chinese family for each defaulted property. That would get people off their ass. Yes folks, this is a big big problem and no one is talking about it.

[usna73]

All Mr. Bush did was to attempt to push the problem to the next watch. Democratic prez I hope. Just like Iraq, their wrong bullheaded actions make the majority of Americans suffer. That was the plan from day one in 2001.

Impeach he and Cheney both.

[LeftRight]

but, but, but..... think about the poor companies profits!! Why, they would lose almost half their profit!!!

[Desiderata]

Bush opened this nation for plunder under the 911 banner. As long as there are still some assets of the government and it's citizens still remaining, the plundering will continue.

Soon, there will be a foreclosure sign planted on the United States of America, spelled not in English and/or Spanish, but in Chinese.

[hopeless277]

This is Bush you're talking about, right? George W Bush? The same man who couldn't be bothered to end his vacation while an entire American city drowned? If you actually think he gives a rat's ass about the 'common man' then I have an investment bundle to sell you.