Some people just don’t learn from history – even if it was just 8 years ago (I guess history doesn’t exist, for Progressives, pre-Obama other than “It’s Bush’s fault!”. When word came out that the Feds (re: Obama Administration) were thinking about buying mortgages of those who were going into foreclosure, people went nuts. Why would those that had played with the risk/reward and took out mortgage after mortgage, refinancing over and over and pocketing the cash from house appreciation (and staying mortgaged to the hilt) be bailed out when those that had played by the rules had to fork over the tax monies to make that happen? WHY should I have to pay for the stupidness and profligateness of others?
So now they want to do it again (emphasis mine, reformatted):
NYC to Buy Unpaid Mortgages to Protect Residents From Foreclosure
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is taking a novel approach to addressing enduring pockets of the home foreclosure crisis by buying long-unpaid mortgages, with plans to help owners stay in their homes if possible or use the properties as affordable housing if not, officials say. It’s among the first cities to pursue buying such loans directly from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, officials say. Housing advocates and some lawmakers have pressed HUD to make it easier for cities and nonprofit groups, as opposed to investors, to buy troubled mortgages.
We’ve been through this before with the CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) back in the late 1990s and early 2000s , along with loosened mortgage requirements from Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae (really, Govt making sure that people that couldn’t afford mortgages got them? And the ACORN style “advocates” forcing issues – and those folks got foreclosed on. Yep, Government and Progressives at their cruelest).
New York is announcing the $13 million program Thursday. Details of the program were provided to The Associated Press ahead of a planned afternoon announcement.
So far, the program involves just 24 properties, containing a total of 41 homes and apartments. Officials say the cost includes millions in reserve for repairs that may not be required, and they cast the program as an experiment they hope to expand.
“It puts government squarely on the side of struggling families, so they can keep their homes,” Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement.
So says one of the most Leftist leaning Progressives in the Country. No, it puts the Government against those oNew Yorkers that played by the rules and honored their comittments to their loan-holders. Look, there already is a process in place to handle this and its called bankruptcy. While I have empathy for those that may be losing their homes for reasons beyond their control (job loss, loss of a spouse), I have zero for those that may have done it to themselves. Nothing in life is a given and yes, bad things sometimes happen to good people. But it isn’t up to me to make them whole.
Nor is it the Proper Role of Government.
