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The Anti-HOLC

By Big Tent Democrat, Section Obama Administration
Posted on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 12:48:33 PM EST
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Like Atrios, I've been screaming about HAMP, the anti-HOLC, since last year. Atrios says it best:

Keeping people in their homes should always have been the goal, and smart people should have set up a reasonable incentive system of carrots and sticks, with that lovely $50 billion budget, to do this. Foreclosures are incredibly costly, both for the people getting kicked out of their homes and the surrounding communities. They're also costly for the investors.

I'm in looking forward mode, so I guess I should be thinking about what should happen now. Seems to me that since most of the HAMP money is still sitting around, the Obama Administration can still do a HOLC. I'd at least find out if I could if I was Obama. What Hillary Clinton said in September 2008 was true then and it is true today:

If we do not take action to address the crisis facing borrowers, we'll never solve the crisis facing lenders. These problems go hand in hand. And if we are going to take on the mortgage debt of storied Wall Street giants, we ought to extend the same help to struggling, middle-class families.

Speaking for me only

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    The Anti-HOLC | 11 comments (11 topical)

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    While it may be irrelevant to ask (5.00 / 1) (#5)
    by Anne on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 01:40:07 PM EST
    this question: why didn't the administration get behind and create a HOLC program at the outset? - I think it has to be a factor in calculating the odds of Obama getting behind it now.

    I just don't see him admitting that the program he created, the one he says has been doing a good job, that people write him complimentary letters about, needs to be scrapped or morphed into something else; I think it's possible he actually believes that HAMP is the right program, and we just need to "give it time."

    More and more, I have come to believe that Obama's vision, and understanding of what is needed to navigate the economy to calmer waters, is not going to align with those of Krugman, Stiglitz, and company, so that the moves we - and they - think are essential to both economic and political recovery are not likely to be made.

    That would leave the Dems in Congress to speak some much-needed truth to power, and the only way I think that happens is if they believe their political future hinges on diverging from the Obama roadmap.

    Can't say as I'm all that confident on that front, either...

    I think Obama answered your first question (none / 0) (#9)
    by ruffian on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 02:05:38 PM EST
    directly a couple of weeks ago. He said in an interview that he thinks it is important to sort out the deserving home-debtors from the undeserving, and to make sure the banks get as good a deal as possible. Those priorities come before applying a massive and fast solution to the problem.

    To be clear I believe the direct opposite.

    Parent

    Read and weep. (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by oculus on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 01:59:17 PM EST
    What Hillary Clinton said in September 2008 was true then and it is true today:
    Yeah, (none / 0) (#11)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 02:51:25 PM EST
    don't wanna go there.

    Maybe that's something for the future.

    Parent

    This would need to be done in the (none / 0) (#1)
    by jes on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 01:00:16 PM EST
    lame duck congress, if possible, no? I thought you were for Hoyer's punt. I'm glad Pelosi is going to run for Minority Leader now because I don't think they should punt if they can help people or the economy in any way.

    Nope (5.00 / 2) (#2)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 01:02:38 PM EST
    Obama has the TARP money. He just needs to use it for HOLC instead of HAMP.

    Parent
    Interesting (none / 0) (#4)
    by MKS on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 01:06:53 PM EST
    A second wave of foreclosures is the biggest risk to the economy.....

    ....bigger risk imo than the negligible cuts to the budget that Republicans could make for show.

    Parent

    And we are not even through the first wave yet (none / 0) (#10)
    by ruffian on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 02:09:53 PM EST
    The number of foreclosures continues to increase every year. The last date I heard for the crest of the wave is sometime in 2012.

    Parent
    Ever hopeful (none / 0) (#3)
    by Ga6thDem on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 01:06:00 PM EST
    BTD meet cynical Ga6th who believes it will never happen with Obama at the helm.

    One of these days I hope to be proven wrong and Obama gets it together and does something for the middle class.

    I don't see it coming out of lame duck congress but if it's going to happen now is about the only chance because it certainly not going to happen with the crying oompah loompah.

    Enough people get actively (none / 0) (#6)
    by Inspector Gadget on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 01:51:09 PM EST
    involved and start writing to congressional members and POTUS, maybe the lame duck congress will dive in and do something.


    Parent
    There have been many creative (none / 0) (#7)
    by ruffian on Fri Nov 05, 2010 at 01:54:19 PM EST
    compromises written about. Here is a summary of a few of them, in an article from Reuters.

    We've seen what has not worked - everything that has been tried up till now. Taking the lead on forging a Marshall Plan plan for the mortgage crisis is good policy and good politics.

    Will Obama seize the opportunity? Well, he hasn't so far...

    The Anti-HOLC | 11 comments (11 topical)

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