Voting Question: Didn't Congress create the Federal Housing Authority, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to help the public buy homes?

Didn't Congress create the Federal Housing Authority, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Banks for the purpose of helping the public buy homes? Im kidding, right? What happened is that clever businessmen schemed with members of Congress to create privileged lending institutions so they could get rich off the public's labor. In return, members of Congress got big campaign contributions from the privileged corporations and, as a bonus, even more votes. The public's welfare had nothing to do with it. Who celebrated when Congress passed the latest housing bill? Answer: "The California Mortgage Bankers Association applauded Congress for permanently increasing the size of loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy...." (USA, 7/28) The legislation exists to "protect the nation's two largest mortgage companies...." (NYT, 7/24) Who took out full-page ads to encourage Congress to "enact housing stimulus legislation now"? Answer: the National Association of Home Builders. Who celebrated when the administration "unveiled a new set of best [sic] practices designed to encourage banks to issue a debt instrument known as a covered bond"? Answer: "[Treasury Secretary] Paulson was joined at the news conference by officials from the Federal Reserve [and] the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.... Officials from banking giants Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. issued a joint statement saying, 'We look forward to being leading issuers'" (AP, 7/29) of covered bonds. And voters still believe that Congress is there to help the needy.  more

Voting Question: Who agrees we need to hold Democrats responsible per their refusal to regulate Fannie Mae?

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E3D6123BF932A2575AC0A9659C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print At least McCain co-sponsored and tried to get a bill passed in 2005 to address this: 1/26/2005--Introduced. Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005 - Amends the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 to establish: (1) in lieu of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), an independent Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Agency which shall have authority over the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Banks, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac); and (2) the Federal Housing Enterprise Board. Sets forth operating, administrative, and regulatory provisions of the Agency, including provisions respecting: (1) assessment authority; (2) authority to limit nonmission-related assets; (3) minimum and critical capital levels; (4) risk-based capital test; (5) capital classifications and undercapitalized enterprises; (6) enforcement actions and penalties; (7) golden parachutes; and (8) reporting. Amends the Federal Home Loan Bank Act to establish the Federal Home Loan Bank Finance Corporation. Transfers the functions of the Office of Finance of the Federal Home Loan Banks to such Corporation. Excludes the Federal Home Loan Banks from certain securities reporting requirements. Abolishes the Federal Housing Finance Board. *** http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s109-190  more

Resolved Question: What are the FACTS when comparing experience: Obama/ Biden to McC/Palin?

Don't be misled, look for yourself. Don't just listen to the -hmm umm yahoos! : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama#State_legislator.2C_1997.E2.80.932004 OBAMA Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996, succeeding State Senator Alice Palmer as Senator from the 13th District, which then spanned Chicago South Side neighborhoods from Hyde Park-Kenwood south to South Shore and west to Chicago Lawn.[26] Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws.[27] He sponsored a law increasing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.[28] In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor Ryan's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures,[29] and in 2003, Obama sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations.[28][30] Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, and again in 2002.[31] In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one.[32][33] In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority.[34] During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms.[35] Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the US Senate.[36] 2004 U.S. Senate campaign See also: United States Senate election in Illinois, 2004 In mid-2002, Obama began considering a run for the U.S. Senate, enlisting political strategist David Axelrod that fall and formally announcing his candidacy in January 2003.[37] Decisions by Republican incumbent Peter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessor Carol Moseley Braun not to contest the race launched wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates.[38] Obama's candidacy was boosted by Axelrod's advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and an endorsement by the daughter of the late Paul Simon, former U.S. Senator for Illinois.[39] He received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.[40] Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race in June 2004.[41] In July 2004, Obama wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.[42] After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a World War II veteran and a beneficiary of the New Deal's FHA and G.I. Bill programs, Obama spoke about changing the U.S. government's economic and social priorities. He questioned the Bush administration's management of the Iraq War and highlighted America's obligations to its soldiers. Drawing examples from U.S. history, he criticized heavily partisan views of the electorate and asked Americans to find unity in diversity, saying, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America."[43] Broadcasts of the speech by major news organizations launched Obama's status as a national political figure and boosted his campaign for U.S. Senate.[44] In August 2004, with less than three months to go before Election Day, Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan.[45] A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination.[46] In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest victory margin for a statewide race in Illinois history.[47] U.S. Senator, 2005–present Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 4, 2005.[48] Obama was the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history, and the third to have been popularly elected.[49] He is the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus. Joe Biden has been in the service of the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT in 1972 So 36 years and 12 years for O/B FORTY EIGHT YEARS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEVELEXPERIENCE John McCain since 1982 to present = 26 years FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL Sarah Palin , uh, well 2days if you count since her being named by Senator McCain TOTAL FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL EXPERIENCE Mc/Pal = 26 years +//- 2 DAYS! Who has the more experience to lead the country ???? Read the Question TOTAL FEDERAL EXPERIENCE boys and girls Truth hurts? Remember what I said about the SHOUTING Yahoo!'s Oh and FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE BRANCH includes Senators but not Governors or Mayors. Quit chatting  more

Resolved Question: My FICO TU Score is 789. Will I get a private student loan? Which loan companies pull TU?

789 is a great score, of course. But lenders consider other factors. I have no co-signer. In my 30s. Income/yr 40K. At the same job over 2 years. Same address for 2 years. No negs - collections, etc. But not much credit history established. A Discover Card w/ no lates and a $6500 credit limit, btw 1996-2001. But I never used it. High Balance: 0. And a new BOA credit card w/ no lates and a $500 credit limit, just opened in 4/08. That's it. No other credit cards, no auto loans, no home mortgages, no school loans. So, how do you think I'll fare going for private student loans? As someone with good credit or not enough established? And which lenders pull which scores for private student loans? TU is my best. I heard Chase pulls TU for most people. Thanks. P.S. No comments on the evils of private student loans. I know to max out other sources first - federal, scholarships, grants - and I plan on working part-time, and full-time summer, for extra cash flow. P.S.S. No spammers!  more

Resolved Question: The FED bought What ??

The Fed Bought What? By John Paul Koning Posted on 8/13/2007 | Subscribe or Tell Others | The US Federal Reserve injected $38 billion dollars into the economy via temporary open market operations this Friday. This is the largest number of temporary repurchase agreements (specifically, one business day repos) entered into by the Fed since September 11, 2001. Back in 2001, Fed purchases of treasuries exceeded $30 billion for the four consecutive days after the collapse of the World Trade Towers, total temporary injections into the banking system amounting to a whopping $295 billion. What is significant about Friday's repurchase agreements is not so much their size, but the securities that the Fed exchanged for money: mortgage-backed securities (MBS). Indeed, the entire $38 billion dollar injection went to MBS purchases, the largest open market purchase of this asset type ever conducted by the Fed, smashing the previous record of $8.6 billion set back in September of 2005. See chart, above.[1] The type of mortgage-backed securities the Fed bought are created when bundles of individual mortgages originated by commercial banks are guaranteed by quasi-governmental agencies such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), then split apart and sold to investors. Homeowners pay interest on these mortgages, interest payments flowing through to the final holders of MBS. For those who have gone through the Economics 101 treatment of the Fed, the sudden appearance of MBS in Fed open market operations might seem odd. Professors have always taught that when the Fed expanded the money supply it did so by buying government bonds and bills. Indeed back in September 2001, the Fed provided liquidity by buying what it has always traditionally bought; treasury securities. So why is the Fed buying MBS now, and when did it acquire the authority to do so? First a note on how open market purchases work. The Fed uses what are called open market operations to control the Federal Funds rate, the rate at which large commercial banks lend cash to each other overnight to fulfill their reserve requirements to the Fed. The Fed sets a target for the federal funds rate and defends it by either withdrawing or injecting money according to the requirements of commercial banks. It injects by buying securities from the banks with freshly created checking deposits, or money. This injection increases the reserves commercial banks hold, allowing these banks to expand credit to businesses and consumers. The Fed withdraws money by selling securities to commercial banks and receiving money as payment, thereby reducing reserves and removing credit from the system. The Fed conducts both temporary open market operations and permanent ones. Permanent, or outright operations, inject cash and remove securities from the banking system forever. The Fed keeps the securities it has acquired outright in the System Open Market Account, aptly initialed SOMA (in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, the drug soma is produced to keep citizens in a steady state of happiness, much like the Fed's SOMA). Temporary operations, the ones entered into this Friday, involve 1–14 day repurchase or reverse repurchase agreements whereby the Fed purchases (or sells) securities in return for cash with an agreement that the commercial bank on the other side of the deal will buy back (or sell back) the securities after a period of days. Temporary reverse repurchase operations, the short-term withdrawal of money from the banking system, are rare. The Fed has only engaged in 16 reverse repos since late 2000, versus 1247 repurchases. This imbalance means that the Fed is almost always augmenting commercial bank reserves by buying securities, allowing the banks to use their larger reserves to expand credit and borrowing. Thus the rate defended by the Fed is lower than the rate at which the commercial banks would be willing to lend each other if the Fed did not exist. Back to Friday's MBS purchases. Historically, the Fed's open market operations have been confined to US Treasuries. Clauses 3 to 6 of the Guidelines for the Conduct of System Operations in Federal Agency Issues ensured that Federal Reserve operations could not engage in temporary purchases of securities issued by federal agencies like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.[2] In an August 1999 Fed meeting officials temporarily suspended clauses 3 to 6, giving themselves the authority to freely purchase Ginnie Mae–, Freddie Mac–, and Fannie Mae–issued MBS on a provisional basis without hindrance on size and timing. The reason given: it needed full reign to inject money into the banking system in preparation for the year 2000 crisis.[3] The period for which the temporary suspension was to extend was from October 1, 1999 through April 7, 2000. The year 2000 crisis proved a dud. But rather than removing the temporary suspension on buying MBS, the Fed renewed the suspension in 2000 and 2001 before permanently striking off clauses 3 to 6 in 2002. In recent Fed documents, only clauses 1 and 2 are listed. This storyline may sound familiar to Fed watchers. The Fed was founded in response to the crisis of 1907, and had its ability to increase the money supply dramatically increased during another crisis, the Great Depression, where gold convertibility was suspended. $26 Since the Orwellian rewriting of the Guidelines the Fed has been gradually expanding its MBS purchases, which reached a crescendo this Friday. This (relatively) new power of the Fed is startling given the current liquidity crisis prevailing in the mortgage markets of late. By openly stating its willingness to buy thousands of mortgages and temporarily to expose itself to the financial health (or lack thereof) of the homeowning public, and doing so when the rest of the world is shunning them, the Fed is propping up mortgage markets, and thereby the housing market. This despite the fact that open market operations are not supposed to support individual sectors of the market or channel funds into issues of particular agencies[4] While the purchases are only temporary — the cash must be returned by Monday — one wonders how long before the Fed grants itself the power to buy MBS permanently. Either way, the Fed's response shows that it is worried about the growing mortgage crises and willing to do anything to buy its way out of it. Unfortunately, by buying up MBS and propping up the market the Fed will only cause more harm than it already has. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Paul Koning writes for Pollitt & Co, a brokerage based in Toronto, Canada.  more

Resolved Question: Help Me! Want to buy a preforeclosure but not sure if I should!?

My husband is a licensed in every handyman job there is. This would be our first home or flip or rental. I have found a house that has 2 mortgages. And I know the approx value: about $100K, plus $32K in Federal Tax, and $10 K in other tax. With lots of liens on it (the mowing of the yard, etc). I pass by and I see one light turned on it the house and a big lock in the front. It has a basement because it has a door to go to it. I know this area well, because I rent here. The houses are going for about $300K at least. I have the address of the wife, and the loan co. told me by spring, it should be in foreclosure. I'd like to talk to the lady first, but I don't know if it is recomended and I don't know what I'd say. I'd like advice on what I can tell her and if there is a specific type of loan I can get. Thanks for all and any advice and help.  more