"Most of the money — about $326 million — went to more than 47,000 taxpayers who didn’t qualify as first-time homebuyers because there was evidence they had already owned homes. "
The money should be recaptured and any borrowers who knowingly committed fraud or any mortgage loan officers who committed fraud on behalf of a borrower should be criminally prosecuted and jailed.
I take back the laudatory things I said about the budget deal that avoided a government shut down. Various believable and trusted sources have analyzed the spendnig cuts and the $40 billion in cuts was really only about $352 Million. We were had. We were scammed. I am forgiving of those who voted for the deal, however. Last minute budget crunching to beat a deadline can result in not being sure what you really voted for. They had to vote for it to know what was in it. They fooled you this time; don't be fooled again.
Those who voted against the final deal, since real cuts were only amounted to $352 million, were right. There is another chance to get real cuts and that is in the vote raising the debt limit. Get some real cuts next time. Republicans must take a stand for real cuts. Real solutions beyond one-time cuts will require that everything be on the table, including entitlements and military spending. For a long-term solution, Congress needs to pass the Corker Cap Bill.
Here is an analysis of what really passed from the Patriot Post. Other sources verify the correctness of this analysis. Read this and be disgusted as am I.
"The details of the agreement reached late Friday night just ahead of a deadline for a partial government shutdown reveal a lot of one-time savings and cuts that officially 'score' as cuts to pay for spending elsewhere, but often have little to no actual impact on the deficit."
First, the $40 billion deal included $12 billion in cuts from previous continuing resolutions, bringing the total to just $28 billion. Another $6.2 billion was merely unspent census money. Some $10 billion came from appropriations accounts used for earmarks that Republicans had already agreed to ban. More than 50 federal programs were cut, but the grand total for that was a pathetic $1 billion in savings. Four of Obama's "czars" were also cut, but the catch is that all four had already either resigned or moved to other job titles.
The cuts were thus minuscule to begin with; before long, they became virtually non-existent. The Congressional Budget Office released its analysis and it's not pretty -- the grand total in actual cuts is just $352 million. The government burns through that in about two hours. According to The Washington Post:
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) today announced additional bipartisan, bicameral support for their bill to put an across-the-board, binding cap on all federal spending. U.S. Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) have added their names to the CAP Act, and U.S. Representatives Jimmy Duncan (R-Tenn.) and Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) will be leading the effort in the House to build bipartisan support for the bill.
The CAP Act, S. 245, would, for the first time, set an across-the-board, binding cap on all federal spending. The fiscal straitjacket created by the CAP Act would result in $7.6 trillion less spending over a 10-year period and fundamentally change the way Washington does business.
“I’m delighted our CAP Act to put a fiscal straitjacket on Congress now has the support of Joe Lieberman and Ron Johnson as well as Jim Cooper and Jimmy Duncan in the House,” said Corker. “This growing bipartisan, bicameral support signals momentum and a genuine desire to move the conversation on spending where it must go: from billions to trillions and to enact the kind of dramatic cuts that will be necessary to put our country on a path to fiscal solvency.”
“This is a good place to start the discussion,” said McCaskill. “We need to look at long-term comprehensive restraints on spending to address our debt and deficits. I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that as we address these issues, we work to strengthen, not cut, Medicare and Social Security for current beneficiaries and ensure these programs are around for our grandchildren.”
“We are currently debating spending cuts to the federal budget of a few billion dollars, when our debt and deficits are measured in the trillions,” said Johnson. “Unless we get serious about our fiscal crisis, we will pass a crushing burden of debt on to our children and grandchildren. We are committing intergenerational theft. It is wrong, it is immoral, and it must stop. Economic growth is a critical component to solving this problem. Until we have a credible plan for spending restraint, consumers and businesses will not have the renewed confidence they need to spur investment and job creation. Senator Corker’s CAP Act is the first step in establishing that credible spending plan. It will provide the hard spending cap needed to enforce fiscal discipline and restrain the growth in government. I am happy to cosponsor this important piece of legislation.”
“We can no longer wait to take serious action to reduce the debt and this legislation provides a mechanism for fiscal responsibility,” said Lieberman. “Unless we swallow some deficit reduction medicine our nation’s economy is going to return to the Intensive Care Unit.”
Specifically, the CAP Act would:
On Tuesday, April 19, Kathleen Williams will be honored by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation as the Land Conservationist of the Year. The award will be bestowed at the 46th Annual TWF Conservation Achievement Awards and Legislative Reception in ceremonies at the War Memorial Auditorium in downtown Nashville at 5 p.m. To attend the reception, call 615-353-1133 or email tnwfintern@tnwf.org.
Each year since 1965, the Tennessee Wildlife Federation (TWF) has honored a select group of leaders in the conservation and stewardship of wildlife and their habitat in Tennessee.
“These awards recognize those individuals and organizations that have made truly meaningful contributions to conservation in Tennessee and to TWF,” says Michael Butler, TWF’s chief executive officer. “The great work of our past winners lives on today, and the current generation is building upon those successes. Without their willingness to take action, we would have failed in our mission, and we are proud to honor their contributions.”
Kathleen is Executive Director of The Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation. TPGF is a statewide non-profit organization that seeks to conserve and protect Tennessee’s rich heritage and natural resources. It seeks to identify and protect the most beautiful, ecologically-rich, and historically-significant places in Tennessee. It has protected many beautiful vistas, privately-held waterfalls, critical habitats, and worked to place conservation easements on thousands of acres of land. The Foundation is funded by individual donations, grants, and other tax-deductible gifts.
Last year Kathleen was instrumental in getting the State Legislature to restore the land conservation fund whose dedicated funding had been diverted to the general fund.
Kathleen is my sister and I am very proud of the work she is doing. An added bonus of being her brother is that I get to take some beautiful hikes and see some marvelous waterfalls that are little known and not yet open to the public.
Another fun, tea party fight song by Bruce Bellott. He performs at Nashville tea party rallies.
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