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See the solutions suggested by Feldstein to the crisis in a series of articles.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 09/12/2007
How to Stop the Mortgage Crisis
Wall Street Journal 03/07/2008
Wall Street Journal 02/20/2008
Enough With the Interest Rate Cuts
Wall Street Journal 04/15/2008
The Problem Is Still Falling House Prices
Wall Street Journal 10/04/2008
Martin Feldstein - The Stimulus Plan We Need Now
Washington Post 10/30/2008
Federal regulators and the Bush and Obama administrations failed miserably to help homeowners achieve loan modifications. This with the false belief that putting homeowners out of their homes would actually speed up a recovery, considering the huge scale of foreclosures in the USA , the high unemployment and other problems hitting the economy. Feldstein's consistent arguments for homeowner relief throughout 2008 and 2009- considering the large number of homeowners under water- as the mortgage crisis unfolded, were ignored by the Bush and Obama administrations. See the comparisons to Japan's lost decade, as the lack of recovery in housing adds to problems with job losses. The lawsuits, legal action and mortgage settlements facing banks as they make their way through the mortgage mess.
Grouped Articles
A Toxic Subprime Mortgage Bond's Legacy Lives On
Wall Street Journal 09/13/2013
Wall Street Journal 12/31/2013
Fannieâs and Freddieâs Foreclosure Oversight Questioned
New York Times 10/19/2010
Banks Keep their Mortgage Litigation Reserves a Secret
New York Times 01/16/2014
The Case Against the Bernanke-Obama Financial Rescue
New York Times 05/16/2014
BP’s Cuts May Wound Portfolio Recovery
Wall Street Journal 02/04/2015
Legal action against large financial institutions over mortgage losses.
Grouped Articles
Big Banks Face Suits on Mortgage Bond Losses
Wall Street Journal 09/03/2011
U.S. Said to Be Ready to Sue Banks Over Mortgages
New York Times 09/01/2011
Wall Street Journal 09/07/2011
California Pulls Out of Foreclosure Talks
Wall Street Journal 09/30/2011
U.S., Banks Agree on Foreclosure Pact
Wall Street Journal 02/09/2012
Settlement Lifts Hopes For Housing Recovery
Wall Street Journal 02/10/2012
Peter Coy of Bloomberg Business Week calls for debt forgiveness in the August 2011 issue of Business Week. Stretching out the debt issues without writedowns says Coy, only leads to austerity programs, stagnant growth and drags the issues out over many years. Better solutions can be found by starting anew with writedowns now and arrangements to make this possible, and returning to growth sooner. What about moral hazard? There is moral hazard in letting the banks bear no cost for reckless lending decisions, they are as likely to repeat this behaviour says Coy, as Greece or the underwater mortgage borrower in the U.S., if they did not have to bear the consequences of their decisions.
Grouped Articles
How Righteousness Killed the World Economy
New York Times 10/12/2014
Greece’s new prime minister wants Germany to pay for Nazi war crimes - The Washington Post
Washington Post 01/26/2015
For Europe’s Sake, Keep Greece in the Eurozone
New York Times 07/06/2015
How to Undo the Damage in Greece
New York Times 07/06/2015
Personalities Clashing Over How to Handle New Greek Bailout
New York Times 07/23/2015
BusinessWeek 08/10/2011
Grouped Articles
Regulator Resists Mortgage Reductions
Wall Street Journal 08/01/2012
Failure of the Making homes Affordable plan announced by the Obama administration in early 2009. Only 2000 of 500,000 loan modification applications in progress in October under this program have become permanent according to a Congressional oversight panel.
Grouped Articles
New York Times 07/17/2011
High Default Rate Seen for Modified Mortgages
Wall Street Journal 06/16/2010
Wall Street Journal 12/31/2013
Fannieâs and Freddieâs Foreclosure Oversight Questioned
New York Times 10/19/2010
New York Times 05/19/2014
Wall Street Journal 07/29/2015
The large failure of a program launched by the Obama administration to reduce home foreclosures in the U.S. Only $1 billion of the $75 billion estimated for the program when it was launched in 2009 has been spent. Only 680,000 of the 2.7 million homeowners seeking to participate received loan modifications with lower monthly payments.
Grouped Articles
New York Times 07/17/2011
A Toxic Subprime Mortgage Bond's Legacy Lives On
Wall Street Journal 09/13/2013
High Default Rate Seen for Modified Mortgages
Wall Street Journal 06/16/2010
Plunge in Home Sales Stokes Economy Fears
Wall Street Journal 08/25/2010
Wall Street Journal 12/31/2013
Fannieâs and Freddieâs Foreclosure Oversight Questioned
New York Times 10/19/2010
The dim prospects for mortgage loan modification programs of the Obama administration. Two out of three loan modifications under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) program expected to fail, and the failure under HAMP to move quickly by dealing directly with homeowners.
Grouped Articles
Wall Street Journal 12/31/2013
The Case Against the Bernanke-Obama Financial Rescue
New York Times 05/16/2014
High Default Rate Seen for Modified Mortgages
Wall Street Journal 06/16/2010
New York Times 08/21/2010
Obama Successes Outweighed by Job Losses
New York Times 10/26/2010
State Attorneys General Take Helm in Mortgage Mess
New York Times 10/29/2010
The cost would be an estimated $350 billion to cancel some of the mortgage debt of homeowners. Feldstein says this is a necessary step to revive the U.S economy. Letting the forest fire of foreclosures burn itself out would damage the U.S. economy further. Feldstein says this is not an option.
Grouped Articles
A Toxic Subprime Mortgage Bond's Legacy Lives On
Wall Street Journal 09/13/2013
Wall Street Journal 12/31/2013
The Case Against the Bernanke-Obama Financial Rescue
New York Times 05/16/2014
New York Times 05/19/2014
New York Times 05/04/2009
How to Stop the Drop in Home Values
New York Times 10/12/2011
The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the US.
Grouped Articles
Fannie, Freddie: Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em
Wall Street Journal 05/04/2013
F.H.F.A. Nominee Smith Must Fight Bank Influence
New York Times 12/11/2010
Government Stays Glued to Mortgage Market
Wall Street Journal 06/20/2011
An Accidental Housing Chief Embraces the Power of 'No'
Wall Street Journal 08/31/2011
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Self harm
Economist 09/03/2011
Regulator Resists Mortgage Reductions
Wall Street Journal 08/01/2012
The Federal Housing Finance Agency was formed in 2008 by merging two existing regulatory agencies and given additional powers. Later that year Fannie and Freddie were taken over by the U.S. government. FHFA acts as the independent regulatory agency for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. FHFA's head, Edward DeMarco, sees his mandate as protecting the taxpayer from losses and this leads to reluctance to support steps to help underwater mortgage borrrowers with reduction in payments. Sheila Bair, former head of the FDIC, says she understands its not the FHA's mandate to provide fiscal stimulus, and the Obama administration has been all over the place in its policies for troubled homeowners. The result of the muddled policies of the federal government and agencies is the lack of help for troubled homeowners, and larger headwinds to Fed policies to give the U.S. economy momentum.
Grouped Articles
Big Job: Agency Oversees Half of Nation's Mortgages
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2013
Fannie, Freddie: Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em
Wall Street Journal 05/04/2013
The Case Against the Bernanke-Obama Financial Rescue
New York Times 05/16/2014
Federal Housing Administration in the Black for First Time Since 2011
Wall Street Journal 11/18/2014
An Accidental Housing Chief Embraces the Power of 'No'
Wall Street Journal 08/31/2011
Big Banks Face Suits on Mortgage Bond Losses
Wall Street Journal 09/03/2011
Share prices of both companies drop precipitiously and could leave shareholders with pennies.
Grouped Articles
Fannie Mae to pay $59.4B to Treasury - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/09/2013
Fannie Chief: Payout Must Not Delay Revamp
Wall Street Journal 05/10/2013
The Housing Market Is Still Missing a Backbone
New York Times 08/10/2013
Fannie, Freddie Payments Nearly Match Aid
Wall Street Journal 11/08/2013
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Unfinished business
Economist 07/24/2010
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Fannie?
Wall Street Journal 12/24/2013
Efforts by the Office of the Comptroller fo the Currency (OCC) to ensure that accounting and law firms with cozy ties to the mortgage servicing banks are kept out of the independent review of the mortgage servicing process in 2011-2012.
Grouped Articles
Conflicts Seen in Mortgage Reviews
Wall Street Journal 07/18/2011
New York Times 08/22/2011
States Negotiate $26 Billion Agreement for Homeowners
New York Times 02/08/2012
Settlement Lifts Hopes For Housing Recovery
Wall Street Journal 02/10/2012
Regulator Resists Mortgage Reductions
Wall Street Journal 08/01/2012
The Obama administration foreclosure relief programs were designed for subprime lending situations and not for the high unemployment. As a result few unemployed homeowners have benefitted.
Grouped Articles
A Toxic Subprime Mortgage Bond's Legacy Lives On
Wall Street Journal 09/13/2013
Wall Street Journal 12/31/2013
The Case Against the Bernanke-Obama Financial Rescue
New York Times 05/16/2014
New York Times 05/19/2014
New York Times 05/04/2009
New York Times 06/02/2009
Failure of the Obama administration to reduce foreclosures and help homeowners. A worsening foreclosure situation leads to a continuing decline in housing prices and hampers an economic recovery in the U.S. This is something Martin Feldstein grasped very early during the 2008 financial crisis and made proposals for helping homeowners under water.
Grouped Articles
Washington Post 09/06/2011
Book portrays dysfunction in Obama White House - The Washington Post
Washington Post 09/17/2011
A Toxic Subprime Mortgage Bond's Legacy Lives On
Wall Street Journal 09/13/2013
Plunge in Home Sales Stokes Economy Fears
Wall Street Journal 08/25/2010
Wall Street Journal 12/31/2013
Charlie Rose Talks to Robert Reich
BusinessWeek 10/21/2010
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