02-19-2009, 09:14 AM
I'm having a hard time finding much that changes my opinion.
"Mr. Obama's housing plan may keep millions in their homes, but is unlikely to help the housing market stabilize, analysts warned yesterday."
"This bailout is likely to simply delay a day of reckoning for the banks, at great cost to taxpayers and little obvious benefit to homeowners," warned Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.
Staving off foreclosures could actually get in the way of the market's stabilization, some economists suggested. "The mad attempt to avoid any and all foreclosures is counter-productive," said Barry Ritholtz, director of equity research at forecaster FuisonIQ. "The foreclosure process is how an overpriced market returns to normalcy ... and excess interference will only slow down the eventual return to a healthy economy."
Oops, I almost left out the inspirational counterargument:
"While this crisis is vast, it begins [with] just one house and one family at a time," Mr. Obama said in Mesa, Ariz., where he unveiled the plan.
Contrary to the "gov't must find a solution now" attitude:
"Economists do see a glimmer of hope in two trends: Homes are getting cheaper, making them more affordable to average Americans than they been in years, and secondly, the inventory of unsold homes is slowly shrinking to normal levels."
All this is from one article, but at least it's something. kj.
"Mr. Obama's housing plan may keep millions in their homes, but is unlikely to help the housing market stabilize, analysts warned yesterday."
"This bailout is likely to simply delay a day of reckoning for the banks, at great cost to taxpayers and little obvious benefit to homeowners," warned Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.
Staving off foreclosures could actually get in the way of the market's stabilization, some economists suggested. "The mad attempt to avoid any and all foreclosures is counter-productive," said Barry Ritholtz, director of equity research at forecaster FuisonIQ. "The foreclosure process is how an overpriced market returns to normalcy ... and excess interference will only slow down the eventual return to a healthy economy."
Oops, I almost left out the inspirational counterargument:
"While this crisis is vast, it begins [with] just one house and one family at a time," Mr. Obama said in Mesa, Ariz., where he unveiled the plan.
Contrary to the "gov't must find a solution now" attitude:
"Economists do see a glimmer of hope in two trends: Homes are getting cheaper, making them more affordable to average Americans than they been in years, and secondly, the inventory of unsold homes is slowly shrinking to normal levels."
All this is from one article, but at least it's something. kj.