Time to ‘Save Families and Stop Foreclosures’

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/03/11/time-to-save-families-and-stop-foreclosures/

by James Parks, Mar 11, 2008

More than 300 members of the national grassroots community organization ACORN, union members and their allies took the nation’s mortgage foreclosure crisis to the steps of Capitol Hill today, demanding that lawmakers protect homeowners who were victims of years of predatory lending.

Millions of America’s homeowners are facing disaster after years of predatory lending. This is the first time since the Depression of the 1930s that so many U.S. homeowners owed more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. And the activists delivered the message that now is the time to act to save our homes.

The AFL-CIO and ACORN are working together to shine the spotlight on the “do-nothing” policy of Republican presidential nominee John McCain regarding the foreclosures that are affecting hundreds of thousands of working families.

Looking over a sea of signs that read, “Save Families! Stop Foreclosures,” Toni McElroy, president of ACORN’s Texas chapter, told the crowd at the “Save Our Homes/Stop Foreclosures” rally:



We want to give a voice to all those who are being ignored, to all those who have lost their homes, to all those whose communities have been devastated. The government protects people who have yachts and second homes and vacation homes. Let’s protect people in their primary homes.

The rally was part of ACORN’s national legislative conference March 8–13. Tomorrow, participants will lobby their senators and representatives to pass legislation that would prevent foreclosures on subprime mortgages and allow bankruptcy judges to modify subprime mortgage loans for low- and moderate-income families facing financial ruin.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told the crowd that the difference in the way the Bush White House and congressional Democrats responded to the mortgage crisis speaks volumes about the importance of the 2008 elections:

Only when the foreclosure crisis spread from Main Street to Wall Street did President Bush start thinking about doing something. The fights here in Washington, D.C., are about whether we want a president who will end this war and start putting that $3 billion a week into cities across the country and start putting our country back together.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said the mortgage crisis is worsened by the exporting of American jobs and employers’ efforts to prevent workers from forming unions.

FULL story at link.

[bbinacan]

1. As long as there was no fraud

by the lenders, I say sorry. You guys fucked up. You have a net income of "Y" and you take out a mortgage with payments of "X". Do the math. It's not that hard.

[localroger]

2. I bought a house I could afford

Paid on it faithfully, and paid it off years ahead of the end date (much to the obvious chagrin of the mortgage holder, who wouldn't tell me exactly what was left on balance until it was like $89.) So if this largesse and generosity is to be extended to people who were too fucking stupid to figure out that they might have a problem with a $800/month payment that would balloon to $2000/month whether they ever got a raise or not, what do I get for behaving responsibly? Sounds like the plan is for my tax dollars to go to these people who, yes, should never have been extended such insane loans, but who also if they had any brains should never have accepted them either.

[taught_me_patience]

3. At some point people have to take resonsibility for themselves

and their own finances.

[4_TN_TITANS]

4. I have to agree with the sentiment here...

We spent 14 years in a trailer and paying off debt just waiting for this to happen. We got a great deal on a house back in July.