Clipmarks | merrie's 'congress' clips

"Flipping Rings" Use Illegals As Straw Mortgage Purchasers

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 02:02:50 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Of course, all these people have to live somewhere making such fraudulent mortgages quite attractive.

It isn’t impossible for a foreigner to get a mortgage in the U.S., of course. There is a way but it requires a lot of proof and paperwork.

“Known as ITIN mortgages because applicants must have an individual taxpayer identification number, the fixed-rate loans are designed for immigrants who can prove they are creditworthy and pay taxes even though they don’t have legal permanent residency in the U.S…. The mortgages represent a fraction of the $2.8 trillion mortgage market. ”

“Calling the Old Media: Five Million Illegals Have Illegal Mortgages in U.S.A.!”

What illegal struggling to survive is going to pass up a free house that he can move into without having to present any identification, proof of employment, financial history or even a down payment?

Clip Source: www.stoptheaclu.com

There have been earlier stories of home flipping schemes that made liberal use of illegal aliens as straw buyers and the FBI has followed numerous cases to prosecution and conviction. But the Old Media have not done much with this story.

KFYI reports that these fraudulent straw purchases of mortgages by illegal aliens has affected every state in the union.

The problem began years ago when banks were forced to give mortgages without confirming social security numbers or borrower identification. As a result, illegal immigrants were able to obtain home mortgages which they could not afford.

Lax immigration laws have also helped make this crime easy to perpetrate.

In 1965 a Democrat Controlled Congress under President Lyndon Johnson passed the concept of “chain” immigration into law. A later commission named the Hesburgh Commission convened during Ronald Reagan’s first term, found that this concept statistically allowed each single immigrant to bring into this country 84 of his family members

Tags: acorn, border control/homeland security, congress, elections, ethics/corruption, illegal aliens/immigration, liberal media/bias, multiculturalism/pc

Follow The Money!

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:12:06 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.

John McCain, May 26, 2005

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

The collapse of government backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac caused the financial crisis now gripping the American economy.

Who is to Blame?
How did it happen?

Follow the money.

[Video]

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee overseeing Fannie and Freddie received $165,400 in contributions from individuals and PACS for both mortgage giants since 1989.

That's over $8,000 per year.

But Obamas cash card is much better:

Since taking office in January 2005 hes amassed over $126,000. Thats roughly $32,000 PER YEAR!

Also along for the ride:
Kerry, John $111,000
Reid, Harry $77,000
Clinton, Hillary $76,050
Pelosi, Nancy $56,250
Frank, Barney $42,350
Durbin, Dick $23,750

Schumer, Charles D $24,250

Is it any wonder that the 2005 reforms Senator McCain championed never passed?

Follow the money!

Tags: fannie mae, obama, dodd, frank, schumer, kerry, reid, clinton, pelosi, durbin

Follow The Money & Why Fannie Mae's Reform Was Thwarted

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:04:02 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Is it any wonder that the 2005 reforms Senator McCain championed never passed?

If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole. John McCain, May 26, 2005

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

The collapse of government backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac caused the financial crisis now gripping the American economy.

Who is to Blame?
How did it happen?

Follow the money.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee overseeing Fannie and Freddie received $165,400 in contributions from individuals and PACS for both mortgage giants since 1989.

That's over $8,000 per year.

But Obamas cash card is much better:

Since taking office in January 2005 hes amassed over $126,000. Thats roughly $32,000 PER YEAR!

Also along for the ride:
Kerry, John $111,000
Reid, Harry $77,000
Clinton, Hillary $76,050
Pelosi, Nancy $56,250
Frank, Barney $42,350
Durbin, Dick $23,750

Schumer, Charles D $24,250

Tags: fannie mae & freddie mac, dodd, obama, kerry, reid, pelosi, durbin, clinton, schumer, frank

This Bailout Was A Terrible Idea! Here's Why

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:41:02 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: This lending was a wholesale abandonment of reasonable lending practices in which borrowers with poor credit characteristics got mortgages they were ill-equipped to handle.

Talk of Armageddon, however, is ridiculous scare-mongering. If financial institutions cannot make productive loans, a profit opportunity exists for someone else. This might not happen instantly, but it will happen.

The costs of the bailout, moreover, are almost certainly being understated. The administration's claim is that many mortgage assets are merely illiquid, not truly worthless, implying taxpayers will recoup much of their $700 billion.

The bailout has more problems. The final legislation will probably include numerous side conditions and special dealings that reward Washington lobbyists and their clients.

Anticipation of the bailout will engender strategic behavior by Wall Street institutions as they shuffle their assets and position their balance sheets to maximize their take.

Clip Source: www.lewrockwell.com

It seems that all is not lost. Jeffrey Miron from Harvard explains why this failed bailout is good news, not bad news, and he does it in clear, unmistakable prose:

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts

This bailout was a terrible idea. Here's why

The current mess would never have occurred in the absence of ill-conceived federal policies. The federal government chartered Fannie Mae in 1938 and Freddie Mac in 1970; these two mortgage lending institutions are at the center of the crisis. The government implicitly promised these institutions that it would make good on their debts, so Fannie and Freddie took on huge amounts of excessive risk.

Worse, beginning in 1977 and even more in the 1990s and the early part of this century, Congress pushed mortgage lenders and Fannie/Freddie to expand subprime lending. The industry was happy to oblige, given the implicit promise of federal backing, and subprime lending soared.

This subprime lending was more than a minor relaxation of existing credit guidelines.

Tags: bailout, fannie & freddie subprime loans, government backing, poor-credit borrowers

U.S.Treasury's Kashkari to Lead Bank Bailout Office (Update1)

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 05:02:14 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: ``We need to think through what's the best for securities, for loans, to help strengthen the balance sheet of the institutions.'' Anthony Ryan, the Treasury's acting undersecretary for domestic finance, said in an interview today on CNBC. ``We are focusing on the broader issues, the mortgage- related assets.''

Senate confirmation is required to fill the position for which Kashkari will be nominated. The Treasury hasn't specified the length of Kashkari's tenure, or whether the White House would nominate him officially. The Bush administration remains in office until January.

Ben Dover, "Dewey Screwem and Howe" via tom mcguire

Clip Source: justoneminute.typepad.com

Nice to see the that Hank Paulson and the US Treasury have a sense of humor - the bailout will be run by Neel Cash-n-Carry. Legal counsel to be provided by Dewey Screwem and Howe, I have no doubt.

Clip Source: www.bloomberg.com

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Treasury will name Neel Kashkari, assistant secretary at the department, to run the $700 billion Wall Street rescue program on an interim basis, according to a Treasury official.

Kashkari will be designated the interim head of the new office of financial stability, created in the bailout legislation Congress passed last week. The Treasury aims to buy troubled assets such as home loans and mortgage-backed securities from banks and other financial institutions in an effort to shore up global credit markets.

Kashkari, a former vice president at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., is currently assistant secretary for international economics and development. He has been one of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's key advisers on housing issues.

Tags: paulson, treasury, new office of financial stability, neel kashkari, former vp goldman sachs

Shine "Light Of Scrutiny & Accountability” On The Nation’s Financial System

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:31:49 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Pelosi said,“We want to take our country in a new direction for the middle class.”

Something else that should be looked into: Barney Frank’s relationship with a former Fannie executive named Herb Moses.

Frank told reporters Friday that starting in January, Congress will “have a major role.”

“We have to rewrite housing in America. … It would be highly irresponsible if we were to stop here,” he said. “Now we have to perform more serious reform.”

Yet, she mentions nothing about the accountability of people like Sen. Chris Dodd, or Franklin Raines or Jamie Gorelick, the latter two having made millions off of Fannie while the organization itself was sliding into government conservatorship.

Clip Source: 84rules.wordpress.com

Immediately after the Wall Street Bailout bill passed the House and went to the Oval Office for Presidential signature, Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that there would be hearings on the subject.

According to CNN:

She said Congress will shine a new “light of scrutiny and accountability” on the nation’s financial system to try to prevent a replay of the problems that plunged the nation into a financial crisis.

Reps. Barney Frank, D-Massachusetts, and Henry Waxman, D-California, plan to hold hearings to increase scrutiny of the financial system, Pelosi added.

And what about Barney Frank Co-Chairing these hearings? Will anyone get him to answer questions about the way he blocked reform of Freddie and Fannie over the past several years? Will Pelosi demand accountability and transparency from him? No. She is nothing more than a partisan hack who just managed to cram through the biggest socialist package in American history.

Tags: financial crunch, pelosi, "scrutiny and accountability", frank/waxman hearings

Blood In The Water: Lobbyists Circling Bailout Bill

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:08:04 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Once again, the bailout wasn’t about fixing anything. The bailout was about protecting the status quo from change. The sort of change brought about by free markets when businesses make bad business decisions.

Clip Source: sayanythingblog.com

Why not? It appears as though many of the financial industry giants the bailout was intended for don’t want it any more.

Lobbyists, who had little influence in the development of the $700 billion economic bailout, are angling to play a greater role as Treasury implements the plan and Congress debates how best to strengthen financial market oversight.

“This is going to be a big trend, in all honesty, for the next three to five years,” said Rich Gold, the head of Holland and Knight’s government relations and regulatory practice.

“This one is very, very big,” said Patrick Oxford, chairman of Bracewell & Giuliani.

Tags: industry giants, financial bailout, lobbyists, patrick oxford, bracewell & giuliani chairman

Americans Believe Entrepreneurs Will Revive Economy

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:34:26 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Because they understand the role of entrepreneurs as a creator of jobs, Americans are looking to business leaders instead of government, by a two-to-one margin, to lead the way out of the economic mess. A majority of people (56 percent) trust small business owners to guide the economy, compared with only 14 percent who trust members of Congress.

While, more than 60 percent of people surveyed support the federal government increasing its regulation of the market, more than a third think Congress is in danger of creating too much regulation as it reacts to this crisis.

"History has repeatedly demonstrated that new companies and entrepreneurship are the way to bolster a flagging economy. The American people understand this," Schramm said.

Clip Source: www.kauffman.org

Americans see entrepreneurship as the answer to the current financial crisis—but worries about the economy are deterring them from taking the first step on that path

"Americans in big numbers are looking to entrepreneurs to rally the economy," said Carl Schramm, president and chief executive officer of the Kauffman Foundation. "More than 70 percent of voters say the health of the economy depends on the success of entrepreneurs, and a full 80 percent want to see the government use its resources to actively encourage entrepreneurship in America."

Seventy-one percent of Americans believe that the economic crisis of the past two weeks has made it more difficult to become an entrepreneur. The study shows a gulf between those who see opportunities and those willing to seize them; 49 percent of respondents see opportunities for entrepreneurial ideas in the current economy but only 26 percent said they would actually consider starting a business within the next five years.

Tags: financial crunch, entrepreneurship, rally the economy

Social Welfare Spending

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:44:10 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: with regulation and tax bills close behind. According to Burnside and Whitehurst, other than social welfare and a bit of government regulation, "Obama devoted very little time to most policy areas."

Conventional wisdom has it that John McCain holds a political advantage over Obama on war and foreign policy issues, while Obama is favored to handle the economy. Yet Obama's economic experience is largely limited to social welfare spending. Indeed, precisely because of his penchant for spending, Obama's fingerprints are all over Illinois's burgeoning fiscal crisis. . . .

Illinois's fate may foreshadow the nation's. Obama's small and carefully targeted spending bills were expressly designed to win passage by a Republican-controlled state senate. But if Obama takes the presidency with a Democratic Congress at his back, we'll likely see a grand-scale version of the fiscal mayhem Obama and his colleagues brought to Illinois.

Clip Source: volokh.com

Obama's promotion of government partnerships with private-sector housing contractors (like Antoin "Tony" Rezko) was supposed to open up novel, post-Great Society solutions to the problem of poverty. Yet, as a devastating Boston Globe report on Obama's Illinois housing policy recently showed, the results of Obama's new war on poverty are just as counterproductive as those of the old war on poverty.

Published in the Journal of Black Studies, the results are striking. Burnside and Whitehurst produced two bar graphs, one representing bills of which Obama was the main sponsor, arranged by subject, and a second displaying bills Obama joined as a cosponsor. In the chart depicting bills of which Obama was the main sponsor, the bar for "social welfare" legislation towers over every other category. In the chart of Obama's cosponsored bills, social welfare legislation continues to far exceed all other categories, although now crime-related bills are visibly present in second place,

Tags: obama's illinois bills, social welfare legislation, health care, obama's "national service"

Sen. Reid Cries 'Bankruptcy' In Front Of Reporters

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:43:33 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: The SEC has been issuing subpoenas for an investigation into rumor-driven market manipulation. Of course, Harry Reid stood up in broad daylight to talk about a troubled insurer "with a name that everyone knows," so his contribution was merely obtuse. And predictably destructive. The steep drop in the share prices of insurance companies Thursday destroyed wealth for uncounted middle-class investors holding onto stock in companies still considered healthy.

It calls to mind *Senator Chuck Schumer's public suggestion in July that troubled IndyMac Bank "could face collapse." It did, after a deposit run. Senator Schumer said criticizing his action was akin to blaming "the fire on the guy who called 911." The nation's shareholders would sleep better at night if some Members of Congress enrolled in Arsonists Anonymous.

The $4 Billion Senator*

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121607771017452513.html?mod=article-outset-box

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

Just as U.S. credit markets this week were close to the edge of the cliff, threatening capital-starved businesses large and small, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid stepped in front of reporters and offhandedly announced:

"One of the individuals in the caucus today talked about a major insurance company. A major insurance company -- one with a name that everyone knows that's on the verge of going bankrupt. That's what this is all about." The next day, share prices fell sharply across the insurance industry.

Let us stipulate we do not think it necessary for even U.S. Senators to understand the internal mechanics of credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations. But if we have learned anything amid the panic over Bear, Lehman, Merrill and adventures in naked short-selling, it is that rumors can obliterate economic value, instantly.

Tags: us credit markets, harry reids announcement, chuck schumer, indymac collapse

Thomas Sowell Opines --- Do Facts Matter?

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:41:25 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: So did Bush's Secretary of the Treasury, five years ago.

Yet, today, what are we hearing? That it was the Bush administration "right-wing ideology" of "de-regulation" that set the stage for the financial crisis. Do facts matter?

We also hear that it is the free market that is to blame. But the facts show that it was the government that pressured financial institutions in general to lend to subprime borrowers, with such things as the Community Reinvestment Act and, later, threats of legal action by then Attorney General Janet Reno if the feds did not like the statistics on who was getting loans and who wasn't.

Is that the free market? Or do facts not matter?

Then there is the question of being against the "greed" of CEOs and for "the people." Franklin Raines made $90 million while he was head of Fannie Mae and mismanaging that institution into crisis.

Who in Congress defended Franklin Raines?

Clip Source: www.realclearpolitics.com

The current financial bailout crisis has propelled Barack Obama back into a substantial lead over John McCain--

It raises the question: Do facts matter? Or is Obama's rhetoric and the media's spin enough to make facts irrelevant?

Fact Number One: It was liberal Democrats, led by Senator Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, who for years-- including the present year-- denied that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taking big risks that could lead to a financial crisis.

It was Senator Dodd, Congressman Frank and other liberal Democrats who for years refused requests from the Bush administration to set up an agency to regulate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

It was liberal Democrats, again led by Dodd and Frank, who for years pushed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to go even further in promoting subprime mortgage loans, which are at the heart of today's financial crisis.

Alan Greenspan warned them four years ago. So did the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the President.

Tags: sub-prime mortgage, market collapse, barney frank, chris dodd, barack obama, head of fannie mae, deposed franklin raines, freddie mac

Bailout Bill Loops In Green Tech, IRS Snooping

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 05:41:30 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: • One-year extension for wind and refined coal energy tax credits. A production credit for electricity produced from renewable marine energy sources Energy credits for "small wind properties," geothermal heat pump systems, and energy-efficient residential properties.

• New renewable-energy bonds. Up to $800 billion in energy bonds may be offered to the public...

• Tax credits for "cellulosic biofuels" and for "carbon dioxide sequestration." An extension of an alternative fuel credit. Tax credits for "new qualified plug-in electric-drive motor vehicles." Bicycle commuters get a nod,...

The bailout bill also gives the Internal Revenue Service new authority to conduct undercover operations. It would immunize the IRS... federal laws, including permitting IRS agents to run businesses for an extended sting operation..

Anti-Drug Abuse Act in 1988, the IRS has possessed this authority temporarily, with occasional multiple-year lapses...such undercover authority would be made perma

Clip Source: news.cnet.com

Last week, the Bush administration proposed a three-page bill to bail out Wall Street to the tune of $700 billion. It died in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week.

On Friday, though, the House approved a far bigger, broader, and beefier version of the bill--which has ballooned to a remarkable 442 pages. The vote was 263 to 171, with the bulk of the opposition coming from Republicans. Because the Senate already approved the measure, it immediately went to President Bush, who signed it into law.

The bill has become, in other words, something almost unrelated to the business of bailing out Wall Street. The Beltway term for this is a "Christmas tree bill," meaning everyone gets to hang their favorite spending projects on it--though by the time Congress gets it through, it more closely resembles a slop bucket.

Here's a look a some of the green-tech measures:

IRS undercover operations: Privacy invasion?

Tags: bailout bill, green tech, irs operations, anti-drug abuse act

Bank Loans Have Not 'Dried Up'

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:02:20 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: Such alarming comments never mention any facts. Why not? As Neil Cavuto recently noted on Fox Business News, the Fed reports bank loans every week.

Contrary to many comments, consumer and industrial loans actually increased in the latest week. Troubled giant banks have cut back on lending, but smaller banks have picked up the slack. Consumer and real estate loans dipped insignificantly through Sept. 17, remaining much higher than they were a year earlier.

If all the recent hysterical chatter about lending being "frozen" or "shut down" refers to anything real, it is not about banks loans (through Sept. 17) but about such arcane financial markets as asset-backed commercial paper or loans between banks.
But this too is mainly about financial firms, not Main Street. Non-financial commercial paper increased from $156 billion at the start of the year to more than $204 billion from Sept. 3 to Sept. 17, dipping only modestly since then.

Clip Source: www.cato.org

The frantic congressional push to "do something" about mortgage-backed bank investments has been widely defended with equally frantic claims that U.S. bank lending to business and consumers has been shrinking fast.

On Sept. 24, Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag warned Congress that "short-term lending was virtually shut down." The following day, The Washington Post reported that "tightening [bank] credit conditions are already affecting some consumers and business." Just before the $700 billion deal was announced on Sunday, an alarmed Fox News anchor said, "McDonald's can't even get a loan." (That comment confused a few franchise owners with the company.)

On CNBC Monday, Democrat majority leader Steny Hoyer said the objective of the rescue package is to "unlock the credit" for consumers and business. And a Wall Street Journal editorial writer told CNBC, "Until we get the banks lending again, the economy will continue to contract."

U.S. Bank Loans (Billions of Dollars)

Tags: banks, financial firms, commercial banks, media reports, cbo, short-term lending, federal reserve

Bush Can Act Unilaterally Without Congress

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:21:30 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: In order to contain the bailout and protect taxpayer dollars, companies should be able to use book accounting for assets deemed by the Treasury as “distressed”

3. Direct the Treasury Secretary to determine that capital basis can be adjusted for inflation by taxpayers. There is a body of legal thought which holds that the Treasury Department can do this by executive action. In order to free up needed capital and unlock frozen assets more easily, the Treasury should make this common sense change to tax rules. If there is a legal brief which details Treasury’s objections to capital basis indexation, it should be released for public dissemination.

It’s important to note that all these actions can be done unilaterally by the Executive Branch. There are other reforms which require legislative action (note especially the House Republican Study Committee package), but the above executive steps would do much to alleviate the panic, assure markets, and protect taxpayers.

Clip Source: www.politico.com

Dear Mr. President:

Now that the financial services package is back to the negotiation stage, I wanted to suggest several unilateral steps that could be taken by you to address the root causes of the financial panic. In order to make this bailout the last one, there are several necessary steps that should be taken by the Executive Branch:

1. Repeal the Clinton-era regulations encouraging reckless lending practices under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). In the 1990s, the Clinton Administration used the CRA as a club to pressure lenders into giving loans to marginally-qualified borrowers. The government should not be in the business of pushing lenders into making loans they would not make in a free market

2. Direct the SEC to make mark-to-market accounting voluntary for distressed assets. The mark-to-market accounting regime forces companies to value assets at less than their intrinsic value, merely to reflect current market uncertainty.

Tags: president bush, grover norquist, financial services package,

Sen Coburn Says Root Of The Problem Is Political Greed In Congress

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:06:56 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: .....members of Congress chose to ignore the problem and distract themselves with unprecedented amounts of pork-barrel spending.”

“Taxpayers who want to ensure that this doesn’t happen again should send a very clear message to Washington that it’s time for Congress to live within its means and restore the principles of limited government and free markets that made this country great. I will do everything in my power to ensure that this bill does not lead us down a slippery slope of European style socialism and slow economic growth. I will also promise taxpayers that I will do everything in my power to block what I expect will be hundreds of attempts by politicians in Washington to continue business-as-usual borrowing and spending in the next Congress. In a time of crisis, American families have to make hard choices between budget priorities. So should Congress."

Clip Source: coburn.senate.gov

“This bill does not represent a new and sudden departure from free market principles as much as it represents an emergency response to congressional actions that have ignored free market principles, and our Constitution, for decades. If anyone in Washington should offer their resignation it should be the members of Congress who peddled the fantasy of free home ownership without risk. No institution in our country is more responsible for the myth or borrowing without consequences than the United States Congress.”

“As much as members of Congress want to find scapegoats, the root of this problem is political greed in Congress. Members of Congress from both parties wanted short-term political credit for promoting home ownership even though they were putting our entire economy at risk by encouraging people to buy homes they couldn’t afford. Then, instead of conducting thorough oversight and correcting obvious problems with unstable entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,

Tags: sen tom coburn, free market principles, constitution, rampant spending