The War On The Poor, cont...

Dec 9th, 2011

Earlier this week, the NYTimes noted another way the government might just stick it to the most vulnerable next year:

"The draft version of the Section 8 Savings Act released earlier this year by the majority staff of the House Financial Services Committeeincludes several excellent proposals that would cut administrative costs for public housing authorities, allowing them to more efficiently manage the programs that subsidize rents for more than three million of the country’s poorest families. But one damaging provision that crept into the draft would undo all of that good.

The provision would allow housing programs to raise rents on nearly 700,000 of the households that receive federal rent assistance, most by a minimum of $300 a year, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research organization in Washington. This would be a severe and unjustifiable burden for these extremely poor families, the majority of whom subsist on less than $3,000 per year. The report argues that higher rents would force some poor families to divert resources from basic needs like food, clothing and medicine. Others would be unable to cover the new costs forcing them to double up with relatives, move into shelters or into the streets."

Add this to the increasingly likely expiration of current payroll tax rates and a probable failure to extend UI benefits and what we have is the makings of something much worse than a mere double dip recession.

"Robo-Signing" More Widespread Than Previously Thought

Sept 2nd, 2011

We still haven't really gotten to the bottom of the housing collapse. Pallavi Gogoi reports for AP:

"Counties across the United States are discovering that illegal or questionable mortgage paperwork is far more widespread than thought, tainting the deeds of tens of thousands of homes dating to the late 1990s.

The suspect documents could create legal trouble for homeowners for years.

Already, mortgage papers are being invalidated by courts, insurers are hesitant to write policies, and judges are blocking banks from foreclosing on homes. The findings by various county registers of deeds have also hindered a settlement between the 50 state attorneys general who are investigating big banks and other mortgage lenders over controversial mortgage practices.

The problem of shoddy mortgage paperwork, which comprises several shortcuts known collectively as "robo-signing," led the nation's largest banks, including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., and other lenders to temporarily halt foreclosures nationwide last fall."

Read more HERE