Paulson: Many foreclosures "not preventable"
It's not usually news when someone states an obvious truth, but if you haven't noticed, stating the obvious is often considered risky behavior in Washington.
That said, I felt this worth of passing along, from the AP: " 'Many of today's unusually high number of foreclosures are not preventable,' Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson (pictured) said in prepared remarks to a mortgage-lending forum meeting in Arlington, Va. 'There is little public policymakers can, or should, do to compensate for untenable financial decisions.' "
More: "Paulson said that there were 1.5 million home foreclosures started in 2007. He said some economists estimate there will be about 2.5 million foreclosures started this year."
Relatedly, the head of the FHA today warned Congress not to "dump bad loans on us." From Bloomberg News: "Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Brian Montgomery criticized legislation being considered by the Senate this week that would expand the agency's role in curbing foreclosures."
More: " 'Some in Congress want to turn it into a mega-mortgage agency, in effect federalizing the mortgage market,' Montgomery said at a conference today hosted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in Arlington, Va. 'Some want to dump bad loans on us, many that never should have been made in the first place.' "
Your thoughts? Comments? E-mail story tips to peter.viles@latimes.com.
Photo credit: Getty Images
To Nick,
Yes, the IMF cannot force any country to have the review. The US has now volunteered to do so with Bush's approval.
Posted by: Robert in Palm Springs | July 09, 2008 at 02:53 PM
Laker is right. Paulson is right 'There is little public policymakers can, or should, do to compensate for untenable financial decisions.'
I think the lending institutions should have to pay for their mistakes. I think the irresponsible borrowers should pay for their mistakes.
If they get bailed out, the first thing they'll do is, well, do it again!
Maybe thier brains should have to detect "Wow, this really hurts! I shouldn't do this again! "
Posted by: anonymous | July 09, 2008 at 02:53 PM