Out: Pass This Jobs Bill! — In: We Can’t Wait!
**Written by Doug Powers
“Pass this jobs bill” has been abandoned in favor of something with a little more urgency: “We can’t wait!” It’s called “We can’t wait” because “Who needs Congress” sounded too brazen.
From CBS News:
With Republicans continuing to stall action on President Obama’s $447 billion jobs bill, the White House is taking action to help jump-start the economy with the message “We can’t wait.”
President Obama is going to begin a series of executive branch actions that will not require action from Congress – or the assent of Republicans.
With recovery in the housing market tied to economic recovery, Mr. Obama will today announce what senior officials are calling a “major overhaul” of the government’s underused refinance program for federally guaranteed mortgages, in order to aid homeowners having difficulty refinancing their housing loan.
[...]
Dan Pfeiffer, the president’s communications director, told The New York Times that truly attacking the country’s economic troubles requires “bold, bipartisan action in Congress,” but that Mr. Obama “believes we cannot wait, so he will act where they won’t.”
Last month President Obama said he’d like to work his way around Congress, so let’s at least not accuse him of failing to properly telegraph his intentions.
Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but I don’t want somebody who has presided over a $4 trillion increase in the national debt since taking office helping me with my finances. But I’m picky like that.
In any case, here are the five eligibility requirements for a mortgage re-fi through the Bank of We Can’t Wait by way of the Federal Housing Finance Authority:
-The mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.
-The mortgage must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009.
-The mortgage cannot have been refinanced under HARP previously unless it is a Fannie Mae loan that was refinanced under HARP from March-May, 2009.
-The current loan-to-value (LTV) ratio must be greater than 80%.
-The borrower must be current on the mortgage at the time of the refinance, with no late payment in the past six months and no more than one late payment in the past 12 months.
Over at Hot Air, Ed Morrissey writes that the focus here is all off:
The real problem in the housing crisis isn’t mortgages, it’s unemployment. Even an underwater mortgage is still manageable as long as the debtor maintains an income level that affords the payments. Foreclosures don’t happen because of devaluation of property — they occur because payments don’t get made. Further, if homeowners have steady incomes, banks don’t need government interventions for refinancing and restructuring mortgages; they have plenty of motivation to perform those on their own.
In a manner of speaking, they’re trying to force-feeding the cat because the dog is starving. But the intent of course isn’t necessarily to fix a problem but rather to assign blame anywhere and everywhere except at the White House going into 2012. Saying mortgage problems are a cause of the economic downturn rather than a symptom incompetent and/or self-serving decision-making in Washington over the years helps to blame banks, which then leads to pointing the finger at Wall Street. And in the process, if Team Obama can bring the Peggy demographic back on board where they were in 2008, all the better.
Speaking of “We can’t wait,” two can play that game.
Update: From the President’s speech announcing the mortgage initiative:
The plan I’m announcing focuses on rescuing families who have played by the rules and acted responsibly: by refinancing loans for millions of families in traditional mortgages who are underwater or close to it; by modifying loans for families stuck in sub-prime mortgages they can’t afford as a result of skyrocketing interest rates or personal misfortune; and by taking broader steps to keep mortgage rates low so that families can secure loans with affordable monthly payments.
[...]
It will not be easy. But if we move forward with purpose and resolve – with a deepened appreciation for how fundamental the American Dream is and how fragile it can be when we fail in our collective responsibilities – then I am confident we will overcome this crisis and once again secure that dream for ourselves and for generations to come.
Did I mention that speech was from February of 2009?
**Written by Doug Powers
Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
See what others have said
Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.
 |
GOP Texas primary fight: Desperate Dewhurst slimes conservative challenger Ted Cruz
May 25, 2012 07:31 PM by Michelle Malkin
8 CommentsWho’s funding Brett Kimberlin?
May 25, 2012 01:52 PM by Michelle Malkin
28 CommentsObama’s Land of the LOST
May 25, 2012 01:42 PM by Michelle Malkin
56 CommentsObama’s latest campaign angle: I’ve been saving America from wild Republican debts
May 24, 2012 04:33 PM by Doug Powers
55 Comments
Senate finally passes a budget approves bill striking word ‘lunatic’ from federal law
May 24, 2012 11:22 AM by Doug Powers
193 CommentsStammertime: Jay Carney asked if Chicago protests have soured Obama’s support for OWS
May 23, 2012 07:44 PM by Doug Powers
54 Comments
S.E. Cupp, Hustler, and the four stages of conservative female abuse
May 23, 2012 02:13 PM by Michelle Malkin
142 CommentsBiden: Tea Party stopped us from growing the economy
May 23, 2012 01:55 PM by Doug Powers
44 Comments
Pig Maher’s boy Bill Burton mocks my support of Hatch challenger Dan Liljenquist
May 23, 2012 11:37 AM by Michelle Malkin
32 Comments
Categories: 2012 Campaign,Barack Obama,Politics
JustOneMinute
» Barack, Youthful Leader!JustOneMinute
» Patterico And The Brett Kimberlin GangBabalu Blog
» U.S. Manned Space Flight in The 21st CenturyVillainous Company
» Must Read Post of the Day. Possibly, the Year
Reichstag. Matches. Some assembly required.
Barry hits rock bottom and starts to dig. He looks less Presidetial each day.
Don’t just do something, stand there!
please
He can and will work his way around CONgress as long as CONgress lets him do so. CONgress, by its own inaction in regard to what this admin is doing, is making itself irrelevant. Not that the Dems in both houses would really attempt to derail this admin if it can avoid doing so, since they are content, for the most part, with what this admin does on its own.
OHdumbo, alias Hugo Obayme.
GOP in COngress, confused and addled: “Oh, what to do? What to do? Quick, get out the Sternly Worded Letter!!!!”
Daily I don’t think bho can outdo his krap to crater our nation more and more, but by golly he does not disappoint! Why does not any person in dc try to stop the things he is doing? He goes behind congress and the courts, and dares anyone to even try to stop him. I detest bho with a passion and I’m being nice here as to how I feel!
L
#ICan`tWait till the day after election day 2012, when the results show a shellacking of the dim party, we have taken over both houses of CONgress and can work around Obeyme until 1-20-13, when a truly conservative President is inaugurated !
Amen. And lets pray we get there peacefully. I have doubts.
I lost my house this month. I blame the EPA.
I lost my job because the delivery service I worked for as a dispatcher couldn’t afford the $4/gallon gasoline prices, and went out of business. Had we been allowed to drill domestically, gas prices almost certainly wouldn’t have spiked.
Since I was unemployed, I went on unemployment and looked for similar work. I drew unemployment, but not for any 99 weeks.
Eventually, especially when the unemployment ran out, I began looking for any kind of work. By this time, nobody around here was hiring except for specialized work. I began failing my house payments.
Eventually, although still looking for work, I started teaching myself Android OS and Java, in hopes of developing applications as a side income until I did find work. My first little game didn’t sell (although the free version had a few thousand downloads). I’ve an exercise app I hope to put on the market soon (development delayed due to the necessities of finding a place to live and moving a houseful into a 10 x 15 storage facility and a small apartment). Meanwhile, I still look for work; I’m hopeful, as there appears to be more and more diverse employment opportunities around here now. I’d rather devote myself full-time to app development, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
Had I not lost my job, and/or been able to find another quickly enough, I would not have lost my house. Ed Morrissey is dead right. It’s the unemployment, stupid.
I think it’s time to take a cue from Jesse Jackson Jr. and declare the TOTUS in rebellion, start impeachment proceedings, defund the office and freeze all executive orders pending further review. Congress has the power of the purse. Defund.
Hiraghm,
We are all very sorry to hear that. At the same time we’ve got to admire your tenacity! Hang in there.
I’m advocating for all my conservative friends to not worry so much about the yard, gutters etc. between now and the next election anyway.
Think about it, we’re on the verge of beating back The Soft Coup (TM) but you can’t attend a rally or volunteer b/c you were painting your garage!? Think about it…
Doug Powers said:
Amen to that. More conflicted, His longtime natural ally, Steve Lerner has been advocating quite the opposite ‘approach’. A community organized National Mortgage Strike to force banks to renegotiate the loans!
Unreal. He tries to sell his snake oil by saying he’s helping people underwater in their mortgages.
What a pile of crap.
As stated above, being underwater on paper is irrelevant. The people meeting their mortgage payments, assuming I even agree with this concept, which I don’t… the people making their payments don’t need to refinance.
If I was a liberal I’d be saying the people that need help are the ones NOT current in their payments but with some help could get current and stay there.
This program does NOTHING for someone in that situation.
Maybe Barry’s buddies are looking to get better rates on their mortgages and want this program passed. I’d say that’s more likely.
Otherwise, this is just window dressing meant to deceive voters as 2012 approaches.
Nothing more.
So true. I bought a house that I could afford and have kept up with payments (I am actually nearly 4 years ahead on payments). Even though my house is slightly underwater the bank that my mortgage is through dropped my mortgage interest rate by 1% (which brings it in line with the lower interest rates we see today) as my wife pointed out that we have been good reliable customers. The bank agreed and dropped the interest rate, no closing costs and no government intervention.
Hiraghm,
Stick with learning Java and try to find something entry level. IT hasn’t suffered as bad as other professions and Java is pretty marketable.
Best of luck to you. Things will get better.
“We can’t wait” now, but jobs weren’t so important during the months of the Obamacare debate?
How many times now has he focused “like a laser” on jobs?
He already spent $800 billion for jobs that didn’t work. What makes him think $400 Billion more of the same will work?
GOP, you’d better crank up you ‘down twinkle’ machine!
If Obama had authority to act without Congress’ authority, why did he wait so long?
How does loosening the regulatory choke-hold on Housing help his VOTE BANK – Teachers, Police, Firefighters – save their JOBS?
The most BRILLIANT President ever (and all the ivy league brainiacs on his team) can not come up with one coherent message!
Think for a moment. These are the geniuses who are educating our young and impressionable kids as future bureaucrats!
I view Water, Sewage, Gas & Electric services as more important than all else domestic. Losses can lead to havoc.
So far, Obama he has hurt gas, electric, and to a lesser extent water (drilling, power plants & California irrigation).
And he’s worried about underwater loans??
Yep, you folks sure got that Obama fella all figured out.
Here’s my question: how come he’s going to win a second term if he’s not even smarter than you folks?
Thanks,
ILMC
he#20
Look in the mirror?
I was just talking sports with a coworker, and he correctly pointed out that the impending NBA labor dispute is going to affect a lot more things than players and owners. Arena employees and concession suppliers, and even the local tax revenues will be impacted.
Just another hit to the economy.
If Obama just can’t wait to implement new rules without congressional input, then I suggest that congress not wait until 2012 to get rid of him. We can’t wait that long. If Obama tries to legislate from the Oval office or spend money that Congress has not authorized, impeach him Fast and Furious.
Dex, it didn’t even rise to that level of consideration! Nothing was more important than Doh’Care. Where I can see some benefit is, by taking any borrower’s int. rate and by extension payment down, it generates more liquidity into the broader economy.
Bubble bloggers have long argued that. But in this instance, it looks to me another kiss me for the Gov. workers in and around DC.
He’s not just incompetent……he’s evil.
Out: US Constitution
In: Fascism
OOOOOOPS…….
My comment was going to be:
You assume there will be reflection.
Q: How branches of Government are there?
5th Grade girl: Three, the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial!
Obowmao: Wrong! Stupid little girl! It’s me! I am smarter than a 5th grader! Nyah! Nyah! Na nyah! Nyah!
The only reason he won a first term was because the press didn’t properly vet him. Can you realistically imagine a GOP candidate not releasing his transcripts?
More than “didn’t” – they refused to vet him. All that energy went to vetting Palin and family.
Can you realistacally imagine a GOP candidate being succesful in the company of ’60′s radicals and Chicago political machine operatives as mentors?
Last week we went to a client’s house and saw a For Sale sign out front.
We were told the client tried to get his mortgage re-financed under the ‘affordable mortgage modification program’. He was told to stop making payments to the mortgage company (which he really shouldn’t have).
When he stopped making payments, the bank issued a foreclosure notice. The next question from us was “Do you have equity in the house?” The answer was yes. The bank wanted to foreclose to get the equity. If there is no equity in the house, the tenents can/will stay in the house for a year or more before eviction. ANOTHER of our clients did exactly that. They stayed rent/payment free in their foreclosed home for a year and a half.
Luckily, the first client put the house on the market as soon as the foreclosure notice came and sold it. He didn’t get what he wanted but $30K walkaway money isn’t too shabby.
He’s in home construction and moves into crappy houses, fixes them up while living there and sells them when he’s done. Up until the bubble burst, he was doing fine. I’ve seen his work and it’s amazing.
Bottom line here is “DON’T BELIEVE ANYTHING THE GOVERNMENT TELLS YOU.
Hey Ma, don’t forget to pick up some duracells for my spelunking hardhat!
He doesn’t wear a helmet….nothing there that needs protection, no need thanks to the unusual thickness and density of his cranium.
I am so impressed with the President’s re-election strategy. /sarc
He is hoping to so impress and so energize the 20% kook fringe left in the hope that these 20%, plus another 15% who are just stupid, and coupled with the creation of enough voter fraud, he can overcome the other 65% who he is totally alientating.
Talk about desperation……
Oh Stop it Doug… we’re trying to have a serious conversation here and your kidding isn’t helping the matter….
Some business only for Fannie and Freddie.
If you’ve not made any late payments for 12 months then you’re probably not in trouble to begin with. This doesn’t sound like it would help people who need it. Just another political ploy.
And where is the hidden restrictions – Can’t afford the payments? No problem. Just pay what you can and we’ll foreclose in 12 months, but, what the hey! At least you have a place to stay for awhile.
Sooner if you have equity in the house. The more equity, the faster the foreclosure. They want their grimy fingers on the equity.
Isn’t ANYONE going to stand up and stop this man?!?!?
Just another reason NOT to make extra payments on the mortgage. Take the opportunity costs for the ‘extra payments’. You could have used that money on something else. Unless, of course, you are determined to pay off the mortgage to the detriment of any other ‘perks’ in life. It’s worth thinking about. And… you can’t take the house with you
His mama puts a helmet on him to protect the furniture, hawk.
Whirled Peas said:
Somewhat agree. I’ve heard it explained there should be (2) schools of thought here. Think of it as busy street. On one sidewalk you have people making min. pymts and stuffing the bal. into 401k’s etc.
On the other side of the street you’ve got couples taking extra jobs, dumping everything they can into paying down the loan!
The third group ( most of us ) are basically playing in traffic. Make sense?
ILMC, that’s an interesting observation you’ve made. Now time to back it up.
In small words so you can write them, what makes you think Obambi is going to win a second term?
In real terms, things are not actually better. His new focus on yet another spending bill is unlikely to create any net job growth, especially the lasting variety, and it doesn’t look as though it will make it into law anyway.
His foreign policy “victories” of late belong to Bush and the Brits+French, not him. (Hints: Bush finished off things in Iraq so that a pull-out could occur, and the Brits and French were the ones that asked for American CnC support for an air war to support the Libyan rebels. Obama was in the office at the time, but he actually made no action that caused the outcomes.)
Are you taking you’re ‘medication’ prescribed by that doctor right next to the place that sells funny tasting brownies?
Pretty sad what an errant skull in free fall can do to cherry, oak and stainless steel.
Think bong hit and breath holding until eyes bug out….
He’s daring someone. Keeps drawing a line in the sand, and when CONgress keeps taking a step back, he takes one step forward.
Too many cowards or co consipirators in CONgress.
We have three brances of government supposedly to keep each other in check. What does one do when at least two of the three are derelict in their constitutional duty?
Try Depends. Could mean a whole new life for ya. Meanwhile, thanks for the defecation. You’re kinda cute when ya poop yer librocrap.
Out: “I will not rest….”
In: “We can’t wait”
WTF? Is the idiot serious? Catch phrase after catch phrase after…well, you get the point. I’d bet he trash talks like this playing hoops too!
So what if you’re loan isn’t owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac? My house is underwater and by God’s grace I have a job and am making the payments without issue but where’s the love for me? Isn’t some of my tax money going to help these others? Where’s mine? Just askin’…
Obama is honestly turning out to be exactly what many of us feared. I think of some of my conservative friends confiding in me that “Glenn Beck is a little histrionic and alarmist” and so on.
Looks like Glenn wasn’t that far off…
I can see it now…
Obama on the court: I will not rest till I score a basket.
Obama’s daughters (thinking): We can’t wait till dad scores a shot so we can go in and have fat free, sugar free ice cream.
Remove them. Whatever the doom&gloomers say the system still works. The fact the Zero can’t ram his sheistenkaka down our throats is a good sign. One term president.
Watch for it. Work for it.
Haven’t you learned that poking a rattlesnake with a stick isn’t good for your health?
Wait! You’ve been bit before! Ah, that explains it now.
Major O,
That Phony & Fraudie queered w/ me right out of the gate. This looks like another encrypted msg. to all the Gov. employees in the DC area. To look at their home prices you’d never know there’d been a recession?
If anyone else happens to benefit from one of Rammie’s ‘programs’ it was pure coincidence I assure you.
Mrs. O, (thinking): I can’t wait to eat that whole pizza.
“Forgive me Lord, and help feed all the starving pygmies in New Guinea”
You may be right. I saw that the Dem’s in the Senate (along with some help from the GOP) passed a bill upiing the amount that Freddie and Fannie can finance to nearly $750,000 and said it was to help the middle class. How much you want to bet that bill, along with O’s refi plan, is going to go a long way to helping out the connected in DC.
Excellent observation, Hawk. Although I doubt the pResident can get his carp done anyway, he’s going to keep walking forward while congress keeps saying “you better not!”, but steps backward.
If congress will just stand up to the little Urkel, and not worry about what the press says, we can beat this nerd until he gets un-elected next year.
ILMC’s clairvoyance notwithstanding.
O/T but just saw this:
***
HI HIRAGHM–#10. Good luck in your job hunt and retraining efforts. My daughter is in the same boat–works for a year or so and the company folds. Three cycles so far. When nothing comes up she returns to her previous bartending skills. Good looking ladies have an advantage in this field.
***
The motivated people always come through.
***
John Bibb
***
Uh oh,
B-I-G
W-O-R-D
A-L-E-R-T,
ILoveMyChumBucketOnMyHead.
The Dems are starting to run away from him in droves…
Anyone doubting the validity of our claims of favoritism..!
Bingo! According to the Case-Shiller CME Housing Futures that eliminates just about every broader housing market save for (1) DC. Maybe downtown SF and NYC.
For everyone else, this is the sleeves from the vest.
Yeah, I don’t expect the orc to understand such multi-syllable talk.
But you have solved a mystery we’ve been working on today. It’s not a helmet on ILMC’s head, IT’s A CHUMBUCKET!
“We Can’t Wait”?!?
I wouldn’t be surprised by this group of Gangster Charlatans if they used
“One People, One Country, One Leader”
(perhaps better known as “Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Führer”)
This guy doesn’t do one damn thing about jobs except focus on them for 3 years now and he wants everything done yesterday. What a way to run a gov’t.
Barbossa: [to Elizabeth] Jack’s one of the nine pirate lords. You have no right.
Elizabeth Swann: King!
Yep. The Cabinet all threw in their pieces of eight and elected Obama the King. That makes it all OK.
Congress can go home now, and the courts can all line up behind him and declare everything he does to be constitutional.
As for the rest of us, we don’t need to worry our pretty little heads about anything. King O will take good care of us…
Can you imagine the screaming coming from the press if Bush had said he was going around the congress.
I can’t wait for SPEAKER BOEHNER (yes, our House Republican leader) to hold a vote on HR 2885, the most significant jobs bill, which costs ZERO tax dollars and frees up at least 7 million jobs for legal workers.
A bill “with benefits”: it also encourages 7 million families, like Obama’s illegal uncle, to go home. Last report I saw, he was back at work at the liquor store (sic!!).
FIFThem.
can you imagine the screaming from some in CONgress:
“IMPEACH! IMPEACH!! IMPEACH!!!”
On October 24th, 2011 at 3:39 pm, swede said:
Ilovemyfecalincontinence said:
Try Depends. Could mean a whole new life for ya. Meanwhile, thanks for the defecation. You’re kinda cute when ya poop yer librocrap.
Ha ha ha! That made my day. I might have to use that one!
Thanks for the words of support and encouragement, everyone.
If you read the Constitution, it separates the powers pretty clearly. As originally intended, only the legislative branch has the authority to write laws and regulations. It’s the job of the Executive branch to Execute the laws, not write them.
To put it another way, the President is only allowed to do what the Legislators direct him/her to do.
Yes, I know that the Senate and Congress have abdicated their role and intentionally written laws that give the President vast powers to write law, but that’s not what was intended.
“We can’t wait!” … and yet we were forced to wait until Ogoldbricker finished his vacation.
“We can’t wait!” … but Harry Reidiculous made us all wait while Ocondoner silently assented, looking the other way.
“We can’t wait!” … but we will wait and wait and wait for Ohindering-obstructor and his corrupt admin and DOJ to respond to Solyndra/Lightsquared/Fisker, Fast and Furious, stimuslush, as-yet-unnamed-no-yet-revealed-scandals … like waiting for Godot who’s out on his taxpayer-paid
campaigntour bus.The real tragedy is we have been kept waiting three years now while tens of thousands more have lost homes, hundreds of thousands more have lost jobs–but wait, there is hope for some real change …
“We can’t wait!” … but we did and Odawdler waited until Nov 2010 when he lost his Dimbecile majority in the House and his filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
So we will wait, patiently, and work diligently: 379 days until election day 2012, then 57 days until the Republican-majority 113th Congress convenes, then another 18 days until 354 days from today when our new truly conservative President is inaugurated and real patriots take back America!
Won’t happen. Sir Swoop and Poop comes in long enough to regurgitate his liberal talking points then leaves. He knows his idol Odumbo is done for. He just can’t bring himself to admit it. November 2012 will come too fast for ILoveToWearRubberPants.
Tiger Lady #77,
I`ve noticed, as have you I`m sure, that most all of ILoveMyGranny`sPanties story links are to HuffPo, TalkingPointsMemo, etc., all those “bastions of unbiased-truth and undeniable facts”.
Delusional beyond belief !
Obama, OTP, #WeCantWait
“We Can’t Wait” either. Obama can leave tomorrow. Works for me.
“We Can’t Wait”
The Marxist Man Child Who Cried Wolf
Our situation exactly.
Rates are so low now that we could save a good chunk of change by refinancing. But the house is underwater, and the mortgage has nothing to do with FHA, Fannie, Freddie, etc…so, it looks like we are SOL.
We’re just the chumps financing it for others.
Same here, Granite. We put 15% down, and the market dropped 35%, leaving us 20% under. Still have a job, so we can’t claim “hardship” and it’s not through Fannie or Freddie, so we’re just riding it out.
In a twisted, inside-out way, I’m almost hoping for runaway inflation for one specific reason: If the value of the dollar drops enough and the payments required to the bank for the home remain constant, then my home value will eventually rise again, as will my income. The rest of life will be horrid, but at least my home won’t be as negative as Obama’s approval rating.
Yes, like a good little goose-stepping liberal, he knows all the talking points but never stops to realize how enslaved he is to an ideology of despair. God help us if these progressives get what they want and our great nation falls to her knees.
That’s exactly what a number of fellow residents were doing during my residency training years back in the late 70s – Carter’s misery index stagflation years.
They were extolling the virtues of buying/mortgaging a house, and then paying off the mortgage in subsequent years in inflation-diluted dollars.
‘Course, the wife and I didn’t have quite enough saved up at that time to “get in on the action”, so to speak…we were sort of “SOL” back then, too.
No complaints, though!
Since he has placed himself above the law and is choosing to act unilaterally, without congress and totally on his own, ignoring the constitution and the rule of law, then we ALL can do the same. Let’s ignore all EPA laws and rules and start drilling where ever we wish and get this economy rolling and put people back to work. WE CAN’T WAIT….