Reporting on the Senate’s new housing bailout bill, the New York Times claims “Senate Republicans, in particular, had felt compelled to move housing legislation quickly after the Federal Reserve’s intervention to avert the collapse of Bear Stearns.” Apparently these Republicans are determined to prove that limited government intervention in the economy does in fact breed a more massive federal role. The Senate is set to consider a slew of new amendments to the bill that could add billions more in spending and grant federal judges new powers to unilaterally rewrite …
The pressure on Congress to “do something” on housing appears so great that many members normally inclined to keep Congress out of the housing market, now feel like that have to vote for something. Even if everyone knows some legislation will actually do very little and will only make the situation worse. To help these members The Heritage Foundation has drafted “Eight Common Sense Standards for Housing Legislation” designed to mitigate Congressional meddling. Following them would reduce the chance that taxpayers dollars would be used to help the wrong people …
Explaining new Republican support for congressional action on housing, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) admitted to Politico: “You always want to be able to vote for something … Most people want to see us doing something and being responsive.” The “do something” mentality seems to be bipartisan on Capitol Hill as Rep. Barney Frank admitted it was “irrelevant” how many people would actually be helped by his plan: “I would hope a million [would benefit]. It’s irrelevant. There’s no downside. Why not try?” Well here is a reason to not try: …
The agreement reached by the Leadership in the Senate to bring housing legislation to the floor is both good news and bad. It is good news in that it is important that Congress be able to move forward with the people’s business. Perpetual deadlock may keep bad things from happening, but it also prevents good legislation from being debated. Unfortunately, there is little chance that anything good will come out of the housing debate. Congress can do very, very little that will will help the housing sector generally regain its …
Congress has returned from their spring break to mounting pressure to “do something” about the current financial turmoil. The Hill reports: “Republican senators have spent the recess hearing complaints from constituents about foreclosures and falling home prices, and they feel pressure to act by passing legislation.” Before Congress starts passing feel good legislation to show they are acting on the issue, they really ought to pay closer attention to what their constituents do no want them to do. In September the NBC/Wall Street Journal asked: “Is it the role of …
The U.S. taxpayer dodged a bullet last night when Senate conservative succeeded in stalling the latest deficit spending project, this time sold as a housing relief package. The bill was a disaster from stem to stern not just for taxpayers, but for anybody who hoped to buy a home in the near future. The most troubling aspects of the bill included: A provision allowing bankruptcy judges to unilaterally rewrite mortgage terms for distressed borrowers at the expense of lenders. The Congressional Budget Office reports this policy would lead to higher …
A new study by University of Washington economics professor Theo Eicher finds middle-class families are being priced out of the Seattle real estate market due to land-use regulations that drive up home prices by more than $200,000 per home. Eicher identifies Washington’s smart-growth-movement-inspired Growth Management Act as one of the main culprits for the inflated prices in the region, but similar land-use regulations are driving down home ownership rates in major metropolitan areas through out the country, creating an involuntary “rent belt” throughout the United States as millions of moderate …
Brian Darling previews President Bush’s final State of the Union address, noting that Iraq, free trade and taxes will be major themes of the speech. Darling also appeared on the National Association of Manufacturers’ “American Business With Mike Hambrick” to share his thoughts about the speech. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIwPLTGppis[/youtube] The White House, meanwhile, released excerpts from the address moments ago.
