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Home News, Real Estate News, Housing News, Apartment News |
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 US
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Jackson
Home News Real Estate News, Housing News, Apartment News
Homes
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Estate News
HOME News:
 John
McCain -  Barack
Obama -  Financial
-  Law
-  Veterans
-  Housing
-  Energy
- 2008
Election -  US
-  Iran
"McCain has not sponsored a banking bill this Congress." ... "[2008 Election] Republican presidential nominee John McCain has not introduced any banking or housing bills in the 110th Congress, while [2008 Election Presidential] Democratic rival Barack Obama has proposed five." ... "Obama’s legislation calls for bolstering housing assistance for veterans, amending the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 to provide shareholders with an advisory vote on executive compensation, halting mortgage transactions that promote fraud, authorizing local and state governments to crack down on companies that invest in Iran's energy sector and authorizing a pilot program to prevent at-risk veterans from becoming homeless." -By Bob Cusack -TheHill.com
John
McCain -  Rick
Davis - Corporate
-  Politics
-  Federal
- Housing
-  Va
- Law
- 2008
Election
"Unsevered Ties? Regulatory filings indicate that [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain campaign chief Rick Davis remains an officer with his lobbying firm." ... "Rick Davis, John McCain's campaign manager, has remained the treasurer and a corporate director of his lobbying firm this year, despite repeated statements by campaign officials that he had ended his relationship with the firm in 2006, according to corporate records." ... "The McCain campaign this week criticized news stories disclosing that, since 2006, Davis's firm has been paid a $15,000-a-month consulting fee from Freddie Mac, the troubled [housing] mortgage giant recently put under federal conservatorship. The stories, published Tuesday by NEWSWEEK, The New York Times and Roll Call, reported that the consulting fees continued until last month even though, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement, neither Davis nor anybody else at his firm did any substantial work for the payments." ... "Filings made by "Davis Manafort Partners" with the Virginia Corporation Commission as recently as April 1, 2008, show that Davis was still listed as one of only two corporate officers and directors of the firm, according to records on the commission’s Web site [PDF] reviewed by NEWSWEEK. That filing records Davis as the "treas/clerk" of the firm; his business partner, Paul Manafort is listed as the president and chief executive officer." ... "Another filing by “Davis Manafort, Inc.” [PDF] (with the same Alexandria, Va. [Virginia] address, and recorded on Oct. 17, 2007) also lists Davis as an officer and director of the firm, reporting his position as "T/Clerk," a reference to his formal title as corporate treasurer and clerk." ... "Both filings are annual reports of basic corporate information that are required by Virginia state law." -By Michael Isikoff -Newsweek
John
McCain - Rick
Davis - Corporate
- Politics
- Federal
- Housing
-  Wisconsin
- 2008
Election
"McCain Transition Head Lobbied for Freddie Mac Before Takeover." ... "The lobbying firm of the man Republicans say [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain has chosen to begin planning a presidential transition earned more than a quarter of a million dollars this year representing Freddie Mac, one of the companies McCain blames for the nation's financial crisis." ... "Timmons & Co., whose founder and chairman emeritus is William Timmons Sr., was registered to lobby for Freddie Mac from 2000 through this month, when the federal government took over both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae." ... "Newly available congressional records show Timmons's firm received $260,000 this year before its lobbying activities were barred under terms of the government rescue of the failed [housing] mortgage giant. Timmons, 77, is listed as a lobbyist for Freddie Mac on the company's midyear financial-disclosure form." ... "McCain has labeled Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae as prime culprits in creating the financial storm that has roiled Wall Street and Washington." ... "``At the center of the problem were the lobbyists, politicians, and bureaucrats who succeeded in persuading Congress and the administration to ignore the festering problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,'' he said last week in Green Bay, Wisconsin." ... "``Using money and influence, they prevented reforms that would have curbed their power and limited their ability to damage our economy,'' he said. ``And now, as ever, the American taxpayers are left to pay the price for Washington's failure.''" ... "The McCain camp was also dealing with reports about the lobbying work of campaign manager Rick Davis." ... "The New York Times reported yesterday that Davis was paid almost $2 million in fees over five years by a group primarily funded by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae that was intended to help stave off more stringent federal regulation of the housing companies. " -By Jonathan D. Salant and Timothy J. Burger -Bloomberg
Housing
- Consumer
-  People
-  Working
-  Families
"Millions spend half of income on housing." ... "[Al] Ray is one of more than 7.5 million people — almost 15 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage — who are spending half of their income or more on housing costs, according to 2007 data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. That is up from nearly 7.1 million the year before." ... "Traditionally, the government and most lenders consider a homeowner spending 30 percent or more of their income on housing costs to be financially burdened. But that definition now covers almost 38 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage — 19 million of them." ... "Though home prices have fallen this year, in the most expensive markets where home prices tripled during the boom, many working families still cannot afford to buy a home." ... "More than 4 million homeowners were at least one month behind on their loans at the end of June, and almost 500,000 had started the foreclosure process, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association." -By Adrian Sainz and Alan Zibel with contributions by Allen Chen -AP via -Yahoo
John
McCain -  Cindy
McCain - Barack
Obama -  Auto
- Workers
- Homes
-  Michigan
- 2008
Election
"All the Candidates’ Cars." ... "When you have seven homes [McCain], that's a lot of garages to fill. " ... "And based on public vehicle-registration records, here's the score. John and Cindy McCain: 13. Barack and Michelle Obama: one." ... "One vehicle in the McCain fleet has caused a small flap. United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger, an Obama backer, accused McCain this month of "flip-flopping" on who bought daughter Meghan's foreign-made Toyota Prius. McCain said last year that he bought it, but then told a Detroit [Michigan] TV station on [September] Sept. 7 that Meghan "bought it, I believe, herself." (The McCain campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.)" ... "Obama's lone vehicle also is a green machine, a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid." -By Keith Naughton and Hilary Shenfeld -Newsweek
American
International Group - Government
- Politics
- Housing
"Tab for Government Rescues Rises to $900 Billion." ... "The U.S. [United States] Federal Reserve stepped in to rescue insurance giant American International Group from bankruptcy with an $85 billion loan on Tuesday, the latest in a series of bailouts and loans for the financial and housing sectors." ... "The action brings the total tab for government rescues and special loan facilities this year to more than $900 billion." -Reuters via -CNBC 
 Gordon
Smith - Illegal
- Immigration
- Business
-  Food
- Workers
- Politics
-  Agriculture
- Property
-  History
-  Oregon
-  Md
-  Hawaii
-  Utah
-  Wash
"Señor Smith: Low-wage Latino workers keep [Oregon Republican Senator] Sen. Gordon Smith’s family business humming. Not all of them are legal." ... "Up on a hill overlooking this Eastern Oregon town of 701 people, Smith Frozen Foods turns raw produce from the surrounding fields into ready-to-eat products." ... "Smith’s goods appear in grocery stores under other brand names. But in tiny Weston [Oregon], a water tank emblazoned with the capital letters S-M-I-T-H sits like a sentry greeting travelers on nearby Highway 11." ... "Gordon Smith, a United States senator from Oregon and the only Republican senator representing a West Coast state, has owned the plant his grandfather founded in 1919 for nearly 30 years." ... "“Son,” father Milan Smith once said, according to Gordon Smith’s 2006 memoir, “you can sell ice to Eskimos and coals to Newcastle.”" ... "Today, Smith Frozen Foods generates millions in income for the senator, according to Smith’s 2007 financial disclosure report." ... "And in this town, Smith’s wealth looms large, even though the 56-year-old lawmaker seldom visits and calls nearby Pendleton [Oregon] his home. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Smith is the 12th-richest member of the U.S. [United States] Senate, with an estimated net worth between $8 million and $39 million—wealth that’s allowed him to buy a $3.5 million mansion in Bethesda, Md. [Maryland], property on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, a Park City, Utah, condominium and—more famously—four antique golf clubs worth $1.25 million." ... "The workers at Smith Frozen Foods, who clean the machinery, monitor production and pack upward of 50 million pounds of produce each year, earn about $80 a day, four or five days a week, 10 months a year—if they’re lucky." ... "One other thing—some of them appear to be illegal immigrants." ... "WW recently spent several days in Weston, and the nearby cities of Milton-Freewater [Oregon] and Walla Walla, Wash. [Washington], where most of Smith’s employees live. WW spoke to dozens of current and former Smith workers, Latino advocates, court personnel, public defenders, educators, police administrators, church officials, social service agents and business owners and determined that some portion of Smith’s workforce comprises undocumented immigrants." ... "It’s a revelation that may not be newsworthy around Weston, where most people this reporter interviewed knew, or assumed, that the agricultural processing plant hired illegal immigrants." ... "Additional interviews and review of public records reveal that Smith’s company appears to have employed illegal immigrants for decades, stretching back as far as the 1980s." -By Beth Slovic -WWeek.com
 Sarah
Palin - John
McCain - Housing
- Market
- Government
-  Alaska
-  Colorado
- 2008
Election
"Palin Makes Her First Gaffe." ... "[2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Gov. Sarah Palin made her first potentially major gaffe during her time on the national scene while discussing the developments of the perilous housing market this past weekend." ... "Speaking before voters in Colorado Springs [Colorado], the Republican vice presidential nominee claimed that lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, as McClatchy reported, "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization."" ... "Economists and analysts pounced on the misstatement, which came before the government had spent funds bailing the two entities out, saying it demonstrated a lack of understanding about one of the key economic issues likely to face the next administration." ... ""You would like to think that someone who is going to be vice president and conceivable president would know what Fannie and Freddie do," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. "These are huge institutions and they are absolutely central to our country's mortgage debt. To not have a clue what they do doesn't speak well for her, I'd say." " -By Sam Stein -HuffingtonPost.com  WATCH:
Palin falsely asserted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "too big and too
expensive to the taxpayers." John McCain applauded the false assertion.
 Henry
Paulson
- Government
- Money
- Housing
- Politics
- Historic
"U.S. seizes Fannie and Freddie: Treasury chief Paulson unveils historic government takeover of twin mortgage buyers. Top executives are out." ... "Federal officials on Sunday unveiled an extraordinary takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, putting the government in charge of the twin mortgage giants and the $5 trillion in home loans they back." ... "The move, which extends as much as $200 billion in Treasury support to the two companies, marks Washington's most dramatic attempt yet to shore up the nation's housing market, which is suffering from record foreclosures and falling prices." ... "The sweeping plan, announced by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, places the two companies into a "conservatorship" to be overseen by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Under conservatorship, the government would temporarily run Fannie and Freddie until they are on stronger footing." ... "Freddie CEO Richard Syron and Fannie CEO Daniel Mudd will no longer run the agencies, while the FHFA will assume control of the boards." ... "The government, in agreeing to backstop the firms, said it would receive $1 billion in each company's senior preferred stock. The government will also receive a quarterly dividend payment and the right to own 79.9% of each company." ... "Fannie and Freddie have become virtually the only source of funding for banks and other home lenders looking to make home loans. Their ability to do so is crucial to the recovery of the battered home market and the broader U.S. economy." ... "The two firms buy loans, attach a guarantee, then sell securities backed by the loans' income stream. All told, they own or back $5.4 trillion worth of home debt - half the mortgage debt in the country." ... "The cost of the government intervention remains unclear however. Experts argue that it will depend in large part on the structure of the rescue, the direction of home prices and mortgage default rates." ... "Still it seems almost certain it will run into the billions and will most likely eclipse such other high-profile government bailouts including than the Federal Reserve's $29 billion backing of Bear Stearns assets when it was taken over by J.P. Morgan Chase." -By David Ellis with contributions by Tami Luhby and Patricia Sellers -CNN
Cindy
McCain - John
McCain -  Fashion
- Politics
-  Arizona
- Houses
- 2008
Election
"Cindy McCain's $300,000 Outfit." [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain's wife Cindy and Republican President George Bush's wife Laura at the Republican National Convention.] "Laura Bush"Wow! No wonder McCain has so many houses: his wife has the price of a Scottsdale [Arizona] split-level hanging from her ears." ... "(All prices except Laura’s shoes and Cindy’s watch are estimates, and the jewelry prices are based on the assumption that the pieces are real.)" -VanityFair.com 
John
McCain - Houses
- Economy
- Car
-  Internet
- US
-  Foreign
- Gas
- Torture
- Guantanamo
- Prison
- Stem
Cells -  Health
Care - Politics
- 2008
Election
"Trust Me." ... ""You’re the Republican candidate for president and you want to fix the country's problems even though you don’t know much about the economy, you don’t know how to use the internet, you don’t know how many houses you own or what kind of car you drive, you admit you don’t think clearly when you’re tired, you make frequent gaffes on foreign policy, you think offshore drilling is a short-term solution to high gas prices, you support torture and keeping the Guantanamo prison open, you make rash decisions and statements from which you have to quickly backtrack, you have an explosive temper on a hair trigger, your idea of health care reform is 'wear more sunscreen,' you're for stem cell research except when it's done on stem cells because you consider them all American citizens, and you voted to support the policies of the worst president ever 100 percent of the time this year?"" ... ""Trust me, my friends. I was a POW."" ... "Only in Republicanland." -Bill in Portland Maine -DailyKos.com
John
McCain - Housing
- Politics
- Arizona
-  California
-Virginia
- 2008
Election
"A housing issue: McCain not sure how many they own." ... "Days after he cracked that being rich in the U.S. [United States] meant earning at least $5 million a year, [2008 Election] Republican presidential candidate John McCain acknowledged that he wasn't sure how many houses he and his wealthy wife actually own." ... ""I think — I'll have my staff get to you," McCain responded to a question posed by Politico, according to a story Thursday on the publication's Web site. "It's condominiums where — I'll have them get to you."" ... "Later, the McCain campaign told Politico that McCain and his wife, Cindy, have at least four in three states, Arizona, California and Virginia. Newsweek recently estimated the two owned at least seven properties." ... "On the campaign trail, McCain doesn't refer to his wife's wealth, estimated by some at $100 million and based on her late father's Arizona beer distributorship." ... "According to her 2006 tax returns, Cindy McCain had a total income of $6 million." -By Douglass K. Daniel with contributions by Phil Elliott and Ann Sanner -AP via -Yahoo
John
McCain - Homes
- Money
- Politics- 2008
Election - Working
- Families
"McCain owns so many homes, he’s lost count." ... "It’s one thing to be so extraordinarily wealthy that you own multiple homes. It’s another to be so extraordinarily wealthy that you can’t even remember how many homes you own." ... "By one count, the actual number [of homes owned by 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain] is actually 10." ... "But in most respects, the exact number isn’t especially relevant. The point is a) McCain is so rich he owns a lot of homes; b) McCain is so out of touch he can’t even remember the number of homes he owns; and c) despite his extravagant wealth, McCain is anxious to push an agenda that favors the rich even more while screwing over the middle class and working families." -By Steve Benen -TheCarpetbaggerReport.com
John
McCain - Money
- Politics
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- Condo
- 2008
Election
"Two Become One." ... "I was wondering yesterday how it is that you manage to spend almost $4.7 million on a condo in Phoenix [Arizona], and the answer turns out to be that the McCains bought two luxury condos and combined them. The $4.66 million figure is the combined price of his cribs. What’s more, at 2211 Camelback you’re not just paying for a swanky pad, you’re getting top-notch amenities like an edgeless rooftop pool and a concierge staff prepared to cater to your every whim:" "* Laundry and dry cleaning service with pick-up and delivery"" -By Matthew Yglesias -ThinkProgress.org/Wonk Room
Michigan
- Economy
"Foreclosure fallout: Houses go for a $1." ... "One dollar can get you a large soda at McDonald's, a used VHS movie at 7-Eleven or a house in Detroit [Michigan]." ... "The fact that a home on the city's east side was listed for $1 recently shows how depressed the real estate market has become in one of America's poorest big cities." ... "And it still took 19 days to find a buyer." ... "The sale price of the home may be an anomaly, but illustrates both the depths of the foreclosure crisis in Detroit and the rapid scuttling of vacant homes in some of the city's impoverished neighborhoods." ... "The home, at 8111 Traverse Street, a few blocks from Detroit City Airport, was the nicest house on the block when it sold for $65,000 in November 2006, said neighbor Carl Upshaw. But the home was foreclosed last summer, and it wasn't long until "the vultures closed in," Upshaw said. "The siding was the first to go. Then they took the fence. Then they broke in and took everything else."" ... "The company hired to manage the home and sell it, the Bearing Group, boarded up the home only to find the boards stolen and used to board up another abandoned home nearby." ... "Scrappers tore out the copper plumbing, the furnace and the light fixtures, taking everything of value, including the kitchen sink." ... "So desperate was the bank owner of 8111 Traverse Street to unload the property that it agreed to pay $2,500 in sales commission and another $1,000 bonus for closing the $1 sale; the bank also will pay $500 of the buyer's closing costs. Throw in back taxes and a water bill, and unloading the house will cost the bank about $10,000." -By Ron French -DetNews.com
 Hillary
Rodham Clinton -  Dick
Cheney - Halliburton
KBR -  Blackwater
- Corporate
- Government
- Disaster
- Politics
- Military
- Peoples
- Health
-  Investigators
- Hurricane
Katrina - Housing
- US
-  Iraq
-  Cayman
Islands
"No Crisis Is Immune From Exploitation Under Bush." ... [By HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON:] "Tucked away on the Cayman Islands sits Ugland House, an unassuming, nondescript building of modest scale and size. However, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), this five-story office building is home to more than 18,000 corporate entities, nearly half of which have U.S. [United States] ties." ... "In the past few years, the number of corporations flocking to places like the Cayman Islands to evade U.S. taxes has exploded. One of these companies, [Republican Vice President Dick Cheney's] former Halliburton subsidiary KBR, has used offshore tax havens to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in federal taxes. To no one's surprise, instead of cracking down on KBR, the [Republican President] Bush administration has rewarded the company in April of this year with a 10-year, $150 billion contract in Iraq." ... "There appears to be no crisis, tragedy or disaster immune from exploitation under the Bush administration. The examples of the waste, fraud and abuse are legion -- from KBR performing shoddy electrical work in Iraq that has resulted in the electrocution of our military personnel according to Pentagon and Congressional investigators, to the firing of an Army official who dared to refuse a $1 billion payout for questionable charges to the same company. In another scam, the Pentagon awarded a $300 million contract to AEY, Inc. [Incorporated], a company run by a 22-year-old who fulfilled an ammunition deal in Afghanistan by supplying rotting Chinese-made munitions to our allies." ... "But the fraud and waste are not limited to the war. In the weeks after Hurricane Katrina, for example, FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] awarded a contract worth more than $500 million for trailers to serve as temporary housing. The contractor, Gulf Stream, collected all of its money even though they knew at the time that its trailers were contaminated with formaldehyde." ... "While touting fiscal responsibility, [Republican] President Bush and his administration have lined the pockets of political cronies like Halliburton and Blackwater. While calling for earmark reform, the president has allowed no-bid and questionable contracting throughout the federal government to dwarf earmark spending by a 10-to-1 ratio." -By Hillary Rodham Clinton -WSJ.com 
US_Debt
- Government
- Money
- Countrywide
Financial Corporation - Real
Estate -  North
Carolina -  New
York - US
-  United
Kingdom
"Fewest Treasury Traders Since 1960 Hit Taxpayers (Update4)." ... "For the first time since 1960, when it created the network of securities firms obligated to buy and sell Treasury bonds, the U.S. government has the fewest bond traders making markets in its debt and a bigger burden for American taxpayers financing record federal deficits." ... "The number of so-called primary government securities dealers declined to 19 last month when Bank of America Corp., based in Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired the troubled Countrywide Financial Corp. The sale was the climax of dozens of bank failures, triggered by the biggest decline in residential real estate since the Great Depression and the seizing up of credit markets from New York to London [United Kingdom's capital]. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the agent of the U.S. Treasury, plans to shrink the dealers again when JPMorgan Chase & Co. completes its takeover of Bear Stearns Cos." ... "The paucity of primary dealers coincides with the largest borrowing requirement in American history and the acknowledgment by the administration of [Republican] President George W. Bush that the U.S. will finance a budget deficit totaling a record $482 billion next year. When the dealer system began 48 years ago with 18 firms, the U.S. had a $300 million surplus. The group has shrunk from a peak of 46 in 1988. " -By Sandra Hernandez -Bloomberg
Consumer
- Financing
"Home prices fell at record pace in May: S&P." ... "Falling home prices are seen at the crux of a growing crisis in foreclosures as homeowners find themselves "underwater," with the value of their homes now less than their loans." ... "Expectations that prices will continue to fall into 2009 also makes refinancing of loans tougher, leaving homeowners in high-cost mortgages peddled during the housing boom." -By Al Yoon with contributions by Theodore d'Afflisio -Reuters
Homes
-  Nevada
-  Florida
- Phoenix
- Arizona
- Los
Angeles - San
Diego - San
Francisco - California
- Florida
- Michigan
-  Minnesota
-  Illinois
-  Ohio
-  Georgia
- New
York - Seattle
- Washington
-  Massachusetts
- Portland
- Oregon
- Colorado
-  Texas
- North
Carolina
"Home prices down 15.8% in past year, S&P says: Seven of 20 cities tally monthly price gains in May, Case-Shiller data show." ... "Prices in 10 cities fell 16.9% in the past year." ... "Prices thus are at the same levels as they were in the summer of 2004, which means four years of appreciation have been effectively wiped out. Prices are down 18.4% from peak levels seen two years ago." ... "Here's a list of the 20 cities in the Case-Shiller index with the annual decline through May: Las Vegas [Nevada], down 28.4%; Miami [Florida], down 28.3%; Phoenix [Arizona], down 26.5%; Los Angeles [California], down 24.5%; San Diego [California], down 23.2%; San Francisco [California], down 22.9%; Tampa [Florida], down 20.2%; Detroit [Michigan], down 17.4%; Washington [DC], down 15.4%; Minneapolis [Minnesota], down 14.8%; Chicago [Illinois], down 9.4%; Cleveland [Ohio], down 8%; Atlanta [Georgia], and New York [City, New York], both down 7.9%; Seattle [Washington], down 6.3%; Boston [Massachusetts], down 6.2%; Portland [Oregon], down 5.2%; Denver [Colorado], down 4.8%; Dallas [Texas], down 3.1%; and Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina], down 0.2%." -By Rex Nutting -MarketWatch 
 Jim
Adkisson -Political
-  Terrorism
-  Tennessee
- Out-of-Work- Homeless
- Food
- Gay
- Churchgoers
-  Women's
- Rights
- Children
"Police: Man shot churchgoers over liberal views." ... "An out-of-work truck driver accused of opening fire at a Unitarian church [in Knoxville, Tennessee], killing two people, left behind a note suggesting that he targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal policies, including its acceptance of gays, authorities said Monday." ... "[Jim] Adkisson, a 58-year-old truck driver on the verge of losing his food stamps, had 76 rounds with him when he entered the church and pulled a shotgun from a guitar case during a children's performance of the musical "Annie."" ... "The Unitarian-Universalist church advocates for women's rights and gay rights and has provided sanctuary for political refugees. It also has fed the homeless and founded a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, according to its Web site." -By Duncan Mansfield-AP via -Yahoo 
Housing
- Market
- History
- "Rise
in Renters Erasing Gains for Ownership." ... "Driven
largely by the surge in foreclosures and an unsettled housing market, Americans
are renting apartments and houses at the highest level since President
Bush started a campaign to expand homeownership in 2002." ... "The percentage
of households headed by homeowners, which soared to a record 69.1 percent
in 2005, fell to 67.8 percent this year, the sharpest decline in 20 years,
according to census data through the end of March. By extension, the percentage
of households headed by renters increased to 32.2 percent, from 30.9 percent."
... "The figures, while seemingly modest, reflect a significant shift in
national housing trends, housing analysts say, with the notable gains in
homeownership achieved under Mr. Bush all but vanishing over the last two
years." ... "Many of the new renters, meanwhile, are struggling to get
into decent apartments as vacancies decline, rents rise and other renters
increasingly stay put. Some renters who want to buy homes are unable to
get mortgages as banks impose stricter standards. Others remain reluctant
to buy, anxious that housing prices will continue to fall." ... "The confluence
of factors has largely derailed what Mr. Bush called “the ownership society,”
his campaign to give millions of people — particularly minority and lower-income
families — a shot at homeownership by encouraging lenders to finance more
home purchases." ... "“We’re not going to see homeownership rates like
that for a generation,” said Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s
Economy.com, a research company." (1, 2)
-By Rachel
L. Swarns -NYTimes
Barack
Obama - John
McCain - Money
- Politics
- Workers
-  Retirees
- Homeowners
-  Students
- Farmers
- Families
- US_Debt
- Law
- Illinois
- Arizona
- 2008
Election
"A Preliminary Analysis of the 2008 Presidential Candidates' Tax Plans." [Full Report PDF] ... "Senator [from Illinois and 2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama would permanently extend certain provisions of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts primarily affecting taxpayers with incomes under $250,000; increase the maximum rate on capital gains and qualified dividends; and enact new and expanded targeted tax breaks for workers, retirees, homeowners, savers, students, and new farmers. Senator [from Arizona and 2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain proposes to extend permanently the AMT "patch" that has prevented most individuals and families with incomes below $200,000 from being affected by the tax, and in our interpretation of his proposal, Senator Obama would do the same." ... "Although both candidates have at times stressed fiscal responsibility, their specific non-health tax proposals would reduce tax revenues by $3.7 trillion (McCain) and $2.7 trillion (Obama) over the next 10 years, or approximately 10 and 7 percent of the revenues scheduled for collection under current law, respectively. Furthermore, as in the case of [Republican] President Bush's tax cuts, the true cost of McCain's policies may be masked by phase-ins and sunsets (scheduled expiration dates) that reduce the estimated revenue costs. If his policies were fully phased in and permanent, the ten-year cost would rise to $4.1 trillion, or about 11 percent of total revenues." -TaxPolicyCenter.org 
Money
-  Accounting
- Politics
- Investigation
- Maryland
- Home
-  Construction
"Former NRCC [Republican] Treasurer Embezzled $500,000, Court Papers Say." ... "The former treasurer of a key Republican campaign committee embezzled more than $500,000 over a five-year period, using it to fund mortgage payments and a six-figure remodeling of his Bethesda [Maryland] home, according to court documents filed yesterday." ... "The papers were filed by federal prosecutors in an attempt to force the former treasurer, Christopher J. Ward, to forfeit his home to the government." ... "The government alleges that Ward, who had worked for National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) since the 1990s, made numerous unauthorized diversions of funds from its accounts and joint accounts set up with Senate Republicans. He often shifted money into his personal account just as payments for his mortgage or home remodeling were due, according to the court filing." ... "Ward, who was fired earlier this year, has not been charged with a crime, but the civil action filed yesterday seeks to seize his home in the 6300 block of Massachusetts Avenue. Such efforts prevent subjects of investigations from selling properties that were allegedly part of their crimes and hiding the proceeds." -By Paul Kane and Del Quentin Wilber -WashingtonPost
Consumer
- Home
- Legislation
- Politics
"`Sliced, Diced' Mortgages More Likely to Default, Offit Says." ... "Most of the 5.85 million subprime [home] mortgages in the U.S. are in danger of defaulting in the next 12 months because of restrictions on changing terms of the loans, according to Offit Capital Advisors." ... "About 80 percent of the loans are in bonds that ``slice and dice'' rights to a mortgage's interest or principal in multiyear segments, said Todd Petzel, chief investment officer for the New York-based firm, which manages $5 billion. Lifting restrictions on loan modifications spelled out in the securities requires the agreement of everyone who has invested in them, Petzel said." ... "``If you could get all the investors in the same room, there's no limit to the modifications that could be made to a loan, but that's not likely to happen,'' Petzel said. ``Once you cut up a pig into pork chops and loins and hams it's nearly impossible to put the pieces back together.''" ... "Anti-foreclosure legislation in the [United States] U.S. House and Senate asks lenders to voluntarily reduce mortgage principal and banking regulators are urging lenders to modify loan terms to stem the worst surge of foreclosures in seven decades. About half of the subprime adjustable mortgages in securities had payments delinquent for more than 60 days or was in foreclosure, according to a report on the Federal Reserve's Web site." ... "The collapse of the subprime market that began last year caused at least $380 billion of asset writedowns and credit losses and damaged the economy. Measured annually, U.S. economic growth probably will reach a seven-year low of 0.9 percent in 2008, Fannie Mae, the world's largest mortgage buyer said in a May 8 forecast. " -By Kathleen M. Howley -Bloomberg
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