Clinton promotes freeze on foreclosures for homeowners

[Algorem]

Source: Toledo Blade

Article published Wednesday, February 27, 2008


LORAIN - ...

Mrs. Clinton has made Ohio's home foreclosure crisis a centerpiece of her effort to win the state in Tuesday's primary election - something her surrogates have said is critical to keeping her presidential ambitions alive against Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama. She said 150,000 homes have gone into foreclosure in Ohio because of people's inability keep up the mortgage payments.

Mrs. Clinton is proposing to set a 90-day freeze on foreclosures to allow owners a chance to work out a payment plan, a five-year freeze on subprime interest rates charged to people with poor credit, and to create a fund to let state governors help people negotiate with lenders...


About 1,500 filled the high school gym in this community about 90 miles east of Toledo on Lake Erie. Lorain Mayor Tony Krasienko said he's backing Mrs. Clinton because she has the "grit" to address the economic issues that have sapped Lorain of jobs over the years.

Questions to Mrs. Clinton from the audience involved lost homes, unpayable medical bills, and the war in Iraq...






Read more: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080227/NEWS09/802270436/-1/NEWS

---

Ohio 10th District (Kucinich) Poll

http://publicpolicypolling.blogspot.com/2008/02/ohio-10th-district-poll.html



Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Ohio 10th District Poll

Voters in Ohio's 10th Congressional District aren't planning to cast a symbolic vote for their Congressman, Dennis Kucinich, for President:

Hillary Clinton 55
Barack Obama 31
Dennis Kucinich 4

Hillary Clinton has a strong advantage in the heavily white district.

But despite a challenge in the primary from four opponents, Kucinich appears pretty safe for reelection:

Dennis Kucinich 55
Joe Cimperman 29
Barbara Anne Ferris 5
Tom O'Grady 4
Rosemary Palmer 1...

[spinbaby]

1. I don't know how much good that will do

People who are upside down on their homes will now get an extra 90 days before they walk away from their homes. I don't know that there is a good solution for this mess.

[YOY]

2. Pardon me for sounding like a Pub but f*** 'em

They got themselves in their own mess and the market is still out of whack for their failure to understand how economics work.

That being said I hope they land on their feet and can find a rent within their price range. If that fails then THAT is when the government needs to step in to ensure that the homeless population doesn't go any higher than it has to.

Of course the idiot in the finance companies who started the whole thought those ARMs were a great way to make money needs to be flogged as well.

[madmom]

3. apparently you don't realize that not everyone who is about to loose their home is not

about the recent "housing bubble" In Ohio we lost thousands of good paying jobs, jobs that were used to pay mortgages. Now that these jobs are gone so is the money for payment. Lots of people went from jobs paying upward from $18 an hour to minimum wage jobs, just to be able to eat and keep warm. How's this their fault? There is ALWAYS more than one side to every story! Oh and by the way....thanks for the compassion!:banghead:

[YOY]

4. Yes, I know. As an Ohioan I left the state because of the situation

I have a few friends who could have left too.

They didn't. They even harped on my for voting for Kerry. They expected to have all the middle class luxury our parents had...when things turn around...

I have told them they can leave any time they want. I've offered to put a few of them up for the night if they need a place to stay before they can find an apartment.

Apparently it's that mentality that the ship isn't sinking.

It's sunk. It's not turning around.

Leave the state. It's turning into Alabama II.

And most of the folks I'm seeing caught up in foreclosure are dupes who got hit by the slick ARM salesmen. I see a strong number of folks who had no knowledge of how these things work.

[madmom]

6. Not every one has the resources to just pick up and leave.

[YOY]

7. It didn't cost me all that much but you are right about many.

Those people I know have the means. If they didn't/don't they have relatives who they could loan the money from.

Of my parents' 4 children, 3 of us are doing well out of State. The 4th lives close by and works retail for crappy pay. I tell my brother to leave every time we talk. He says all his friends are here.

My father still votes Republitard with one side of his face and complains that his kids don't live close with the other. We all call him a fool for it.

[madmom]

8. As I said many can not afford it, my SO and I are planning a grant exodus just

as soon as he is able to retire, hopefully this year.

[LanternWaste]

19. Yeah... you're right-- it's their own damn fault

Yeah... you're right-- it's their own damn fault for getting fired, not engaging in a mass exodus out of OH and getting behind on mortgage payments. :sarcasm:

Because when things get tough at home, the only valid and viable solution is to run away-- otherwise,m as you said, fuck 'em for staying and trying to fight through this.


and some more :sarcasm: 'cause one just wasn't enough...

[YOY]

20. Yes I'm a real jerk...

"Run Away"...It's hard to "run away" from nothing. I didn't run away. I left. Good riddance to it. I am not sorry I did. I do not feel sorry for a couple of Republican friends who stayed and are now experiencing hardship because of a provincial mentality and inability to adapt.

And I didn't say "f*** 'em for staying and trying to fight through this." I said "f*** 'em if they got themselves into this mess (as in everyone who bought into ARMs and bought in 2005-2006.)"

Apparently you are imposing that I think "f*** 'em" for very different reasons that I do indeed think "f*** 'em" and they are apparently different groups of people who are getting "f***ed."

[Yupster]

11. But to those people who lost those good jobs

with no other good jobs in sight, what good will a 90 day freeze do?

[madmom]

16. I'm not saying it will do any good, I'm just saying you can't blame them

or all of them for their current circumstance, ie. foreclosure.

[Jack_DeLeon]

12. I agree...

I dont want my tax dollars going to people who mismanaged thier money.

[LostinVA]

18. Are there no jails? Are there no workhouses?

[Zachstar]

21. Yes YES go after peoples emotions! Just like the ones who got us into IRAQ used!

You ought to be ashamed of yourself.

90 days will hardly help anyone and will likely harm a hell of alot more.

Anything to get Clinton in eh?

[Bonhomme Richard]

5. There is zero interest in helping the homeowners.

What there is interest in is helping the mortgage holders If the mortgage holders new they would be stuck with unsaleable product they will work out there own deals to keep people in these houses until something can be done to fix this mess, um like decent paying jobs.
No, right now they are counting on the taxpayer to bail them out under the guise of helping those poor bamboozled people.

[Javaman]

9. LOL

:rofl: 90 days!!! LOL :rofl: a mere fart in the wind!!

see you all at the depression!

[flvegan]

10. Why is she waiting? She's a Senator, if she's serious about this

why doesn't she introduce a Bill in the Senate NOW, as opposed to waiting what would be at least a year to get this rolling?

[SoCalDem]

13. This only puts off the inevitable..

What needs to happen is this..

a real auditing team needs to examine the records of all the companies/banks who made these sketchy loans, and they need to forfeit ALL the profits they made..

This money needs to all go into a trust and the loans that CAN be modified to 30-yr loans should be..and the people who "bought houses they could never really afford", need to be aided in finding appropriate housing they can afford..

If companies/banks need to fold up and die..then so be it .

Subsidizing bad loans for a few years solves nothing..

[khaos]

14. hot air; easy to promote something you know won't happen..

[AlabamaBrightBlueDot]

15. How will Clinton LEGALLY pull this off?

The fact is that Lenders possess a limited amount of funds. They, being commercial entities, will chase the highest returns for their investment. If lenders fear that their investments are going to be kept artificially low (and not just "fear," but it atually happens), they will flee the market. Simple as that.


I am honestly puzzled how Clinton intends to pull this off. Freezing interest rates is a blatant violation of Article I, Section 10 of the federal constitution. I think she needs to give some detail as the basis of her authority to interfere with contracts before she advertises such a plan.



Section 10.


No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.

No State shall, without the Consent of the Congress, lay any Imposts or Duties on Imports or Exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for executing its inspection Laws: and the net Produce of all Duties and Imposts, laid by any State on Imports or Exports, shall be for the Use of the Treasury of the United States; and all such Laws shall be subject to the Revision and Controul of the Congress.

No State shall, without the Consent of Congress, lay any Duty of Tonnage, keep Troops, or Ships of War in time of Peace, enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State, or with a foreign Power, or engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not admit of delay.

[slackmaster]

17. That won't do any good at all

It will only delay the inevitable by three payment periods.