WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) and Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), both members of the Senate Banking Committee, and Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-Oklahoma), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced legislation to end the Housing Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
The program was intended to help over 7 million homeowners modify their mortgages to avoid foreclosure. Instead, HAMP has only permanently modified just over half a million loans while leaving thousands of Americans worse off. A record 2.9 million homes were foreclosed on in 2010 with a projected 20% increase expected in 2011. In contrast, the Financial Services Roundtable reports that the private sector has completed nearly 9.8 million mortgage modifications since 2007, and over 1.2 million in 2010 alone.
Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Neil Barofsky harshly criticized HAMP in Congressional testimony on March 2 stating that the program’s “failed trial modifications often leave borrowers with more principal outstanding on their loans, less home equity, depleted savings, and worse credit scores.” SIG Barofsky went on to say there is “near universal agreement that the program has failed to meet its goals” and concluded “there is little reason to hope things will get better.”
“Congress should move swiftly to end the President’s disastrous mortgage program. It has funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to big banks and Fannie Mae while taking struggling homeowners on a wild goose chase as foreclosures increase,” said Senator DeMint. “My office has heard from numerous South Carolina families who went to HAMP for help, but after months of false promises and mountains of paperwork they were left in worse financial shape. HAMP is just the latest failure of President Obama’s big government experiments. HAMP has not even reached ten percent of its intended goal of helping 7 million American homeowners modify their loans, but it has succeeded in pushing hundreds of thousands of other Americans closer to foreclosure and personal bankruptcy.”
“Taxpayer dollars shouldn’t have been used to finance loan modifications that the private sector is performing on its own far more successfully,” said Senator Corker. “By almost every measure, the HAMP program has fallen short of its stated goals. Let’s end this program and restore the private incentives that already exist to keep families in their homes.”
“Like so many other big government programs, HAMP started with good intentions but has burdened homeowners and taxpayers,” said Dr. Coburn. “The administration pledged to help three to four million homeowners facing foreclosure but have rejected more requests than they have accepted. In many cases, the program has done nothing but string along homeowners and increase their hardship. Instead of leading homeowners through a maze of regulations and forcing them to run a gauntlet of incompetence, the federal government should help taxpayers by reducing spending, beginning with the $50 billion dedicated to this failing program.”
A January 2010 article about HAMP’s failure in the New York Times, headlined “U.S. Loan Effort Is Seen as Adding to Housing Woes” stated that, “[D]esperate homeowners have sent payments to banks in often-futile efforts to keep their homes... Some borrowers have seen their credit tarnished while falsely assuming that 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.”
Under the program, more mortgage modifications have failed than been successful. Out of 1,466,500 temporary modifications, more than 792,500 have failed. That means HAMP has a failing rate of 54 percent.
“The real story here is that the free market is working where the government is failing,” said Senator DeMint. “Private sector mortgage modifications successfully helped more than twice as many homeowners as HAMP last year, and nearly 10 million since 2007. It’s time to stop HAMP from hurting more homeowners and allow the housing market to finally recover without the government picking winners and losers.”
My Comment
As one who has first hand knowledge of the HAMP program, I can attest that it has been a frustrating failure.
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| Will Canterbury |
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| Steve Glover |
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| Ken Jakes |
With the new activism of the unionist, I was concerned but we won! The momentum is still with our side! Congratulation Kerry Roberts!
On Saturday, the Davidson County Republican Party held its district caucuses at the Maxwell House Hotel. We had a good event. There was very little confusion and it did not last too long. The Maxwell House Hotel was very helpful and the meeting facility was set up correctly and on time and and we did not run out of coffee. I commend the meeting facility staff.
After the caucus meetings, about a dozen of us went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast. The breakfast buffet was still out but the staff said we could not eat from the breakfast buffet as if was time to put out the lunch buffet but we could order breakfast from the breakfast menu. This made no sense to me. There was still plenty of food on the buffet and it still looked fresh. No one was lined up waiting for the lunch buffet. Anyway, we ordered breakfast from the menu.
It seemed to take a long time to get served and to get our order. The staff was not prompt in keeping our coffee filled. When the food finally arrived, everyone got their order except Louella and I. Finally, we got our order but by that time almost everyone else in our party was finished eating. When my order did arrive, it was wrong. I had ordered light scrambled eggs and got over-easy eggs. They offered to take it back and replace it, but I had waited so long already I did not let them.
To further add insult to injury, when I got my bill there as an automatic 18% gratuity added. I would not recommend eating at the Maxwell House Hotel.
Last night I went to the movies, which I seldom do, and saw Black Swan. I had heard good things about it. Boy, was I disappointed!
Here is the movie in a nutshell: Good dancer discovers sex, becomes great dancer, has a nervous breakdown, becomes delusional and psychotic, turns into a swan while dancing or thinks she does, dies from an apparently self-inflicted stab to the stomach with a glass shard.
I hope I didn't ruin it for you. Don't waste your time watching it.
by Ken Jakes
After hundreds of hours in the fight to help Save our Fair Grounds and watching the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce lobby all it's forces for the Mayor's redevelopment Plan of the Fair Grounds, the question entered my mind. I wonder how much tax monies have been provided to the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce ?
The following public record request was made by me to Rich Riebeling of the Metro Finance Department.
Please provide this public record request for inspection and review.
Any and all documents regarding any grants or tax monies provided to the Nashville area Chamber of Commerce for the years 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 .
I am providing this as a public service for all you people who fear creeping sharia in America. Here is something else to stay awake at night and worry about. Ready? Muslim-only cemetery coming to Long Island!
As long as my tax dollars are not used to pay for it, I could care less. Jews have had Jewish-only cemeteries for years. I don't worry a lot about dead Muslim. I am still worried about Kosher dill pickles at Krogers however.
Yesterday while on the hill at the capitol overlooking the unionist rally below, the unionist played the Beatles song Revolution. I overheard one tea party person say to another, something to the effect, "Yea, Revolution. How appropriate for that bunch."
Now, I don't know if the people at the unionist rally have actually ever listened to the song and I don't know if the people who chose the song had given any thought to it. I doubt the two tea party people I overheard have ever listened to the words. For many years I also thought this was a leftist song extolling revolution then I actually listened to it. It is really an anti revolutionary song. It has a great message. In the turbulent 60's it was a message young people needed to hear.
Many people only vaguely know a song and think they know what it is about. I once heard a "cheating song" played as a romantic love song at a wedding receptions. Born in the USA I have hear played as a patriotic song at Republican gathering. It is not a patriotic song. Listen to it. Sean Hannity's theme song, Independence Day is about child abuse and arson. It is not a political song. This Land is Your Land is not appropriate for a Republican gathering. It is a protest song that advocates socialism.
Revolution
You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destruction
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
Ah
ah, ah, ah, ah, ah...
You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead
But if you go carrying pictures of chairman Mao
You ain't going to make it with anyone anyhow
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
all right, all right, all right
all right, all right, all right
Mike Turner: "Gov. Haslam, if you're listening, please stop this terrorism against our teachers."
What? Mike, Mike, please tone down the rhetoric. "Terrorism?" That is not helpful. No one is sitting off car bombs outside the teacher's lounge. No one is fire bombing teacher's homes. No one is assassinating teachers. No one is beating up teachers.
Terrorism? We are talking about ending collective bargaining rights for public school teachers and ending guaranteed lifetime employment and such things as that. You may disagree, but is that terrorism against teachers? Most people do not have those benefits. To curtail these privileges so we can have educational innovation and and get rid of bad teachers and advance good teachers is hardly terrorism. Is it?
Here is a common accepting definition of terrorism: The calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear.
Now Mike, Governor Haslam seems like a nice man. If someone was committing terrorism against teachers, I am sure it would not be with the approval of Governor Haslam or within his power to stop it. You are implying that this supposed terrorism you see is being done with Haslam'a approval.
Mike, I am sure that when the adrenaline is flowing and you are speaking to a cheering crowd it is easy to let yourself get carried away and say things that you really did not mean to say. Maybe you wish you would have chosen your words more carefully.
Mike I hope your constituents will help you see the errors of you way and let you know they do not appreciate such inflammatory rhetoric. They can contact you at 301 6th Avenue North Suite 17 Legislative Plaza Nashville, TN 37243, Phone (615) 741-3229, rep.mike.turner@capitol.tn.gov and do so.
Mike, what you are doing might incite violence. Now, the teachers at the event on Saturday, while passionate, did not look like they were that prone to violence. Most of them looked like .... Well, they looked like teachers. However, some of those union steelworkers and the pipe fitters looked a little dangerous. Please don't incite them to violence.
Mike, I think you owe Governor Haslam and the people of Tennessee an apology for your use of inflammatory rhetoric. Please, in the future do not further inflame passions. As an elected leader you should act more responsibly.
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