The fed is dropping the prime rate and politicians are gnashing their teeth at the prospect of a recession. The full extent of the subprime mortgage crisis is not yet known, although it is certain that hundreds of thousands of Americans will now lose their homes.
Forget for a moment the ethics of the banks, mortgage companies and usurious lenders who are complicit in the so-called subprime crisis and consider whether a $600 to $1,200 cash infusion will help those people facing foreclosure.
A check from the government, approved by House and Senate now and not likely to be in your wallet until June, is not going to do much to keep the wolves from the door when facing foreclosure.
A $600 to $1,200 check from the government will help pay off this winter's heating bills and might allow people to pay off credit card debt or fix their cars or take care of small household expenses and jobs.
If the current economic instability is due to housing market instability, wouldn't it be more prudent to try to stabilize that market rather than giving taxpayers $600 to $1200?
Is there any way to stop and then reverse the avalanche of home foreclosures using that $150 billion by creating no- or low-interest revolving loan funds to help people keep their homes? Could such funds be augmented by penalties assessed on the most egregious of the subprime lenders?
It's great to get money back from the government, but is it really what is needed right now to stabilize the economy?
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