Political Quotes

“This week, we watched the settlement unfold between the Department of Justice, the State attorneys general, and the major banks. Twenty-six billion dollars sounds like a lot of money, but given that almost one in four homeowners owe more on their mortgages than the values of their homes--overall losing some $700 billion in value. This is a step in the right direction that will help some people but is not really a major correction. There are still far too few real pressures to get the market right. There is a simple answer that won't cost the taxpayers a dime and which will stabilize the housing depression within a year. It would help reestablish home values and encourage banks to work with their customers whose mortgages are ``under water''. The recent decision of American Airlines to pursue bankruptcy is illustrative. This corporate giant could actually pay its bills. It had some $4 billion in cash and was still taking in revenue, but it made a strategic judgment to use the bankruptcy laws to reposition itself to win market rate loan terms, to modify its union contracts and the pension obligations to its employees because, under the law, a bankruptcy judge can adjust these business relationships to reflect current market conditions--for a business, that is. Curiously, homeowners are treated differently.…”