Of course. What else would you expect from Big Business stooge Peter Goodman? The Federal mortgage loan program that was aimed at saving thr homes of people who'd been scammed by the banksters for the sake of quick dirty $$$ was never big enough, wasn't well sold by the Admin, and didn't cover anything like the number of victims it needed to cover to reverse what the banksters had done. So, naturally, it never should have been in the first place because it's counterproductive.
Since President Obama announced the program in February, it has lowered mortgage payments on a trial basis for hundreds of thousands of people but has largely failed to provide permanent relief. Critics increasingly argue that the program, Making Home Affordable, has raised false hopes among people who simply cannot afford their homes.
As a result, desperate homeowners have sent payments to banks in often-futile efforts to keep their homes, which some see as wasting dollars they could have saved in preparation for moving to cheaper rental residences. Some borrowers have seen their credit tarnished while falsely assuming that loan modifications involved no negative reports to credit agencies.
Some experts argue the program has impeded economic recovery by delaying a wrenching yet cleansing process through which borrowers give up unaffordable homes and banks fully reckon with their disastrous bets on real estate, enabling money to flow more freely through the financial system.
And who are these "experts"? Turns out they're the same sick, greedy fucks that produced this crisis in the first place. Does that surprise you?
“The choice we appear to be making is trying to modify our way out of this, which has the effect of lengthening the crisis,” said Kevin Katari, managing member of Watershed Asset Management, a San Francisco-based hedge fund. “We have simply slowed the foreclosure pipeline, with people staying in houses they are ultimately not going to be able to afford anyway.”
A fucking hedge fund manager. Now there's a disinterested party for you. Not like they want to see the $$$ rolling down the chute into their pockets again, right? But there must be another "expert"? Yes, there is.
“I don’t think there’s any way for Treasury to tweak their plan, or to cajole, pressure or entice servicers to do more to address the crisis,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com. “For some folks, it is doing more harm than good, because ultimately, at the end of the day, they are going back into the foreclosure morass.”
Moody's was balls-deep in a conspiracy to hide from consumers first the banks' rotten assets and then their loss of value. Not exactly objective. Not exactly honest, either.
Here's what we're really dealing with: there was never a sensible commitment to the mortgage-saving program because Obama and his Wall Street Gang were too busy bailing out the banksters who'd caused it. Wanna know what they did with the $$$$? Besides vacations, they're ready to claim $billions$ in tax breaks for the bonuses they paid themselves. (Via Mark)
2009 closed with the stock market rebounding 61 percent from its March lows, and “Wall Street is ready to pat itself on the back for its huge gains with big bonuses,” potentially surpassing the record payouts of 2007. Analysts estimate that Wall Street’s 2009 bonus pool could total $200 billion — led by Goldman Sachs’ $23 billion — as the New York Times reported today, the return to big bonuses will also allow Wall Street banks to claim billions in tax breaks:
Many American banks already pay minuscule federal income taxes, because of various deductions and clever tax planning; the payout-related breaks will reduce their tax bills further in coming years…Altogether, the top three Wall Street banks — Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley — will gain nearly $20 billion in tax breaks based on their employee compensation this year.
Compensation related tax deductions will total about $80 billion across Wall Street, according to New York City tax analyst Robert Willens. In 2008, Goldman Sachs paid an effective tax rate of just 1 percent thanks to a variety of deductions and keeping profits offshore.
Let's just boil this down to its essence, shall we? The NYT doesn't want Obama to continue the mortgage program, lame as it is, because there are a few problems with it? No. They want to discontinue it because there's a pittance going to someone other than their bankster constiuents and the bankers don't like that. They know best and they might lose a dollar or two if those mortgages are brought down to a level where they're actually, you know, affordable. Fuck that, say the banksters. WE WANT IT ALL!
And that's what it's really about. Limitless greed, a complete disinterest in the economy they've just ruined and the society they've maimed. WE WANT IT ALL.
And just entre nous, as a reminder? NOT ONE OF THE BANKSTERS WHO COMMITTED THE FRAUD THAT CREATED THE MORTGAGE CRISIS HAS GONE TO JAIL. Not. One. No CEO who created and pushed the scam, not one salesman who lied on the fraudulent forms, not one auditor who helped them hide the rotten assets and pass them on down the line, not one enabler charged with oversight, every one of whom closed their eyes to what was going on rather than become that ignominious, career-ruining animal called "a whistleblower". Not. One.
And the NY Times is here to cover for them and keep the theft going. Makes you feel good to know we got a press looking out for our interests, don't it? Personally, I wouldn't remember what that felt like, it's been so long.
"moving to cheaper rental residences"... yeah, right... what are those?
Posted by: PurpleGirl | January 05, 2010 at 11:36 AM