National financial debacles take their toll on the local housing....
Read the latest housing news from the Columbus Board of Realtors below:
http://www.columbusrealtors.com/16496.cfm
Read the latest housing news from the Columbus Board of Realtors below:
http://www.columbusrealtors.com/16496.cfm
4% mortgage rate plan scrapped (article from The AP and OC register)
Posted 02-10-2009 at 12:21 PM by bsimonelli
4% mortgage rate plan scrapped (article from OC Register and the Associated Press)
February 6th, 2009, 10:38 am · posted by Mathew Padilla, Reporter
The Associated Press reports:
A plan by Republicans in the Senate aimed at pushing mortgage rates lower has gone down to defeat at the hands of Democrats.
The plan by Nevada Republican John Ensign would have encouraged banks to issue mortgages with interest rates of 4 to 4.5 percent. The government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have bought the mortgages on the secondary market. Jumbo loans would have been ineligible.
Democrats killed the idea Thursday night by a 62-35 vote.
The plan also contained an assortment of expensive tax cuts such as cutting the bottom 10 percent income tax rate in half for two years.
New York Democrat Charles Schumer said the plan was too expensive and would provide a windfall to banks charging fees to refinance mortgages.
This is good news to Ed Glaeser, an economics professor at Harvard University who has an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal today assailing the GOP plan. He writes that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell embraced a plan for 4% fixed mortgages to credit-worthy home shoppers as an alternative to Barack Obama’s stimulus package. Glaeser writes:
“Our nation needs Mr. McConnell’s leadership, but this idea is bad economics and not a real alternative to the vision of America offered by Democrats. It also stands at odds with all that is good in Republicanism.”
February 6th, 2009, 10:38 am · posted by Mathew Padilla, Reporter
The Associated Press reports:
A plan by Republicans in the Senate aimed at pushing mortgage rates lower has gone down to defeat at the hands of Democrats.
The plan by Nevada Republican John Ensign would have encouraged banks to issue mortgages with interest rates of 4 to 4.5 percent. The government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have bought the mortgages on the secondary market. Jumbo loans would have been ineligible.
Democrats killed the idea Thursday night by a 62-35 vote.
The plan also contained an assortment of expensive tax cuts such as cutting the bottom 10 percent income tax rate in half for two years.
New York Democrat Charles Schumer said the plan was too expensive and would provide a windfall to banks charging fees to refinance mortgages.
This is good news to Ed Glaeser, an economics professor at Harvard University who has an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal today assailing the GOP plan. He writes that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell embraced a plan for 4% fixed mortgages to credit-worthy home shoppers as an alternative to Barack Obama’s stimulus package. Glaeser writes:
“Our nation needs Mr. McConnell’s leadership, but this idea is bad economics and not a real alternative to the vision of America offered by Democrats. It also stands at odds with all that is good in Republicanism.”
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[SIZE=3]Deregulation of our financial institutions and markets over the past eight years has been disastrous; it is why we are now facing these perilous economic times. The basic purpose of the stimulous plan is to get people spending again. Our economy is unlike any other economy because 70% of it is composed of consumer spending. The Federal Government will sell Treasury Securities to other countries, who obviously still think the dollar is worth holding and who value the securities as secure investments. Yes, we will have to pay those counties back when the bond matures, but that will not be for another ten to thirty years.[/SIZE]Posted 02-12-2009 at 01:24 PM by Jacob525
