Fannie Mae: No appraisal,credit below 580, A OK!

Lets see, Fannie is 79.9% government owned (because 80% makes the government have to show Fannie on their books…)

Our government owns her and instructs her to make shaky loans, of exactly the kind that are failing horribly. When these loans default, don’t worry, taxpayer picks up the tab. Oh, wait…

Read the whole thing at (godhelpus, there is really a site called efanniemae.com)

https://www.efanniemae.com/sf/guides/duguides/pdf/current/rndodu71aprupd.pdf

Oakland “Miracle” Shows Better Path Than “Hope For Homeowners’” Utter Failure

OAKLAND, Calif. – At 6:00 in the morning on Wednesday, February 4, more than 30 members of ACORN gathered at the home of Eddie and Martha Daniels in West Oakland, armed with prayers, cell phones, and the hope that Wednesday would not be a day in which yet another family who had done no wrong was claimed as a victim of the raging foreclosure crisis. Since 2006, the Daniels had paid their rent each month to their landlord, who had not told them that he was not in turn paying the mortgage on time. The landlord’s lender had foreclosed on the property and terminated the lease, and on Wednesday the Sheriff was scheduled to come to their home and evict the Daniels, a family on the verge becoming another statistic in the national economic catastrophe.
ACORN members rallied their neighbors, spoke with local media, including one radio station that broadcast live from the home, and flooded the Sheriff’s office with calls urging compassion and forbearance of the scheduled eviction. At the same time, ACORN Housing Corporation was working furiously behind the scenes with the lender to negotiate a stay on the eviction, which successfully came through. This remedy alone would put the Daniels among the fortunate few who are able to get reasonable solutions from lenders, but what happened next was truly unique: ACORN Housing Corporation was able to counsel the Daniels and determine their eligibility to apply for a VA loan that would enable them to purchase the very property from which they were almost evicted earlier that day, and the foreclosing lender has agreed to sell.
“This shows the power of communities coming together to fight back against the foreclosures that are taking our homes and ruining our neighborhoods,” said Maude Hurd, ACORN President. “Oakland is showing the nation a new way forward, one in which community-based civil disobedience combined with savvy counseling and advocacy can take a family on the verge of eviction and help them become homeowners. While this kind of same-day miracle is rare today, ACORN believes that hundreds of thousands of families across the country just like the Daniels, innocent renters and predatory lending victims who are losing their homes at a record pace, can fight back by getting organized and defending their homes through old-fashioned community organizing. This system is broken and it’s time we throw a wrench in it.”
The Daniels hope to close on the sale in the coming weeks, and are relieved and thankful to be able to stay in their home. “Yesterday morning, I was so scared to be losing my home,” said Eddie Daniels. “Tonight, I am still sleeping in my own bed under my own roof, and that is no small miracle. I am so grateful and fortunate that my neighbors and ACORN came to defend our home. Millions more families need this kind of help.” Families facing eviction or foreclosure can call ACORN for help at 1-866-67-ACORN or visit www.acorn.org.
As ACORN members celebrate this miraculous victory in Oakland, they mourn the ongoing federal inaction and failure in the face of the foreclosure crisis. Bloomberg News is reporting today that only twenty-five (25) loans have been refinanced through the much-touted Hope for Homeowners program, which was originally expected to help between 300,000 and 400,000 families avoid foreclosure. Hope for Homeowners is the only federal program designed to fight foreclosures created in the year and a half since foreclosures reached record levels.
“Even as the federal government works to correct serious flaws in the program, Hope for Homeowners will still rely on voluntary industry participation, and therefore remain doomed to failure,” said Hurd. “We desperately need changes in federal policy that will force mortgage lenders and servicers to stop unnecessary foreclosures, both by lifting the ban on judicial modifications for primary residences and by requiring bailout recipients to modify loans in an economically rational way, as Citigroup has agreed to do. As even Republicans have recently taken to arguing, no successful economic recovery will be possible without directly targeting the mortgage mess that lies at the heart of our economy’s failure. Across the country, ACORN is working with families to save homes and fight foreclosures, and it sure would be nice to have a federal government doing the same.”

Representative Dr. Ron Paul has introduced HR 833 into congress entitled: To abolish the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal reserve banks, to repeal the Federal Reserve Act, and for other purposes.

The bill has been introduced and referred to committee on Monday Feb. 3rd. Currently the bill does not have co-sponsors.

Hon. Ron Paul (R, TX-14) – 2-3-09
(Transcript)

Madame Speaker, I rise to introduce legislation to restore financial stability to America’s economy by
abolishing the Federal Reserve. Since the creation of the Federal Reserve, middle and working-class
Americans have been victimized by a boom-and-bust monetary policy. In addition, most Americans
have suffered a steadily eroding purchasing power because of the Federal Reserve’s inflationary
policies. This represents a real, if hidden, tax imposed on the American people.

From the Great Depression, to the stagflation of the seventies, to the current economic crisis caused by
the housing bubble, every economic downturn suffered by this country over the past century can be
traced to Federal Reserve policy. The Fed has followed a consistent policy of flooding the economy
with easy money, leading to a misallocation of resources and an artificial “boom” followed by a
recession or depression when the Fed-created bubble bursts.

With a stable currency, American exporters will no longer be held hostage to an erratic monetary
policy. Stabilizing the currency will also give Americans new incentives to save as they will no longer
have to fear inflation eroding their savings. Those members concerned about increasing America’s
exports or the low rate of savings should be enthusiastic supporters of this legislation.

Though the Federal Reserve policy harms the average American, it benefits those in a position to take
advantage of the cycles in monetary policy. The main beneficiaries are those who receive access to
artificially inflated money and/or credit before the inflationary effects of the policy impact the entire
economy. Federal Reserve policies also benefit big spending politicians who use the inflated currency
created by the Fed to hide the true costs of the welfare-warfare state. It is time for Congress to put the
interests of the American people ahead of special interests and their own appetite for big government.

Abolishing the Federal Reserve will allow Congress to reassert its constitutional authority over
monetary policy. The United States Constitution grants to Congress the authority to coin money and
regulate the value of the currency. The Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate
control over monetary policy to a central bank. Furthermore, the Constitution certainly does not
empower the federal government to erode the American standard of living via an inflationary monetary
policy.

In fact, Congress’ constitutional mandate regarding monetary policy should only permit currency
backed by stable commodities such as silver and gold to be used as legal tender. Therefore, abolishing
the Federal Reserve and returning to a constitutional system will enable America to return to the type of
monetary system envisioned by our nation’s founders: one where the value of money is consistent
because it is tied to a commodity such as gold. Such a monetary system is the basis of a true free-
market economy.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand up for working Americans by putting an end
to the manipulation of the money supply which erodes Americans’ standard of living, enlarges big
government, and enriches well-connected elites, by cosponsoring my legislation to abolish the Federal
Reserve.

We learn from Der Spiegel:
“The trees provide roughage that helps keep the animals regular.”

“The zoo received 300 trees from traders this year for its three fully grown African elephants, and they have finished devouring them.”

“We fed them one or two trees each per day,” said Kauffels. “If we gave them 10 at a time they’d get picky and would only eat the tips.”

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,605502,00.html

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday announced the extension through October 30, 2009, of its existing liquidity programs that were scheduled to expire on April 30, 2009. The Board of Governors and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) took these actions in light of continuing substantial strains in many financial markets.

The Board of Governors approved the extension through October 30 of the Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (AMLF), the Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF), the Money Market Investor Funding Facility (MMIFF), the Primary Dealer Credit Facility (PDCF), and the Term Securities Lending Facility (TSLF). The FOMC also took action to extend the TSLF, which is established under the joint authority of the Board and the FOMC.

In addition, to address continued pressures in global U.S. dollar funding markets, the temporary reciprocal currency arrangements (swap lines) between the Federal Reserve and other central banks have been extended to October 30. This extension currently applies to the swap lines between the Federal Reserve and each of the following central banks: the Reserve Bank of Australia, the Banco Central do Brasil, the Bank of Canada, Danmarks Nationalbank, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank, the Bank of Korea, the Banco de Mexico, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, the Norges Bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Sveriges Riksbank, and the Swiss National Bank. The Bank of Japan will consider the extension at its next Monetary Policy Meeting. The Federal Reserve action to extend the swap lines was taken by the Federal Open Market Committee.

The current expiration date for the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) remains December 31, 2009. Other Federal Reserve liquidity facilities, such as the Term Auction Facility (TAF), do not have a fixed expiration date.

The AMLF provides loans to depository institutions to purchase asset-backed commercial paper from money market mutual funds. The CPFF provides a liquidity backstop to U.S. issuers of commercial paper. The MMIFF supports a private-sector initiative to provide liquidity to U.S. money market investors. The PDCF provides discount window loans to primary dealers. Under the TSLF, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York auctions term loans of Treasury securities to primary dealers. The TALF will support the issuance of asset-backed securities collateralized by student loans, auto loans, credit card loans, and loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. Under the TAF, Reserve Banks auction term discount window loans to depository institutions.

Tokyo, Japan — Hitachi changed their forecast from profitability to a 4.1-billion-dollar quarterly loss.

Hitachi is one of the world’s largest corporations. It was founded in 1910 by Namihei Odaira as an electrical repair shop. They succeeded in manufacturing three 5hp (3.6775 kW) electric motors as the company’s first products.

Today, they manufacture consumer products:
* Home Appliances
* AV Products
* Personal Computer / Mobile Phones
* Home Equipment / Life service

And, business products:
* Information Technology
* Security
* Electronic Devices / Materials
* Public / Urban / Transportation
* Medical / Health Care / Biotechnology
* Environment / Power / Industrial

Because of economic conditions, they plan to lay-off 7,000 workers.

Texas Straight Talk – A weekly column
Congressman Ron Paul (R) – TX 14 – 02/02/09

I have recently had several opportunities on various news programs to discuss the economy and what is wrong with the so-called economic stimulus package. I have said over and over what we shouldn’t be doing, and now I’d like to explain what we should be doing.

But to improve the situation, you must first have a solid grasp of how we got here. Government policies and central planning created the housing bubble, now going bust. About a decade ago the government made expanded homeownership and affordable housing a public goal. Through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the secondary mortgage market the government incentivized creative, low down-payment, more widely available mortgage products, and discouraged the market-proven lending standards of the past. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates artificially low, which added more fuel to this fire. Many related sectors temporarily flourished because of this, and many people got into homes they otherwise could not have afforded. The increased demand for housing sent prices soaring until in many markets housing became even more unaffordable, necessitating even more creative mortgages, and impossibly leveraging homeowners. Many risky investment vehicles such as mortgage-backed securities, derivatives, credit default swaps grew out of this unsustainable situation. As the foreclosures began, the house of cards started to tumble. Too many people have confused the symptoms and the pain of the bust with the problematic policies that caused the bubble, which is really what needs to be treated.

First of all, just as the best cure for a hangover is not to drink so much, the best cure for a recession is a recession. It is time to sober up and return to free market sanity, risk and reward, supply and demand, without political intervention. Politicians are good at catering to the needs of special interests, but very bad at determining what needs to take place in the market. Government should stick to punishing fraud and enforcing contracts. When they use the tax code, bureaucratic departments and their manipulative rules and regulations to dictate social and economic behavior, we end up with distortions and malinvestments. Bailing out banks, continuing failed Fed policies and strapping the taxpayer with toxic debt will worsen the pain, and punish the innocent.

If Congress really wanted to do something helpful, it would cut taxes. Ideally, we would repeal the income tax altogether and get the IRS off the economy’s back, which would be a huge boon. We should also cut spending. Cut every unconstitutional department and program, every wasteful governmental encroachment on the people’s liberty and money, starting with our massive overseas empire. The cost of our empire is bringing us to our knees, just as the Soviets’ empire did to them. Congress should also abolish the Federal Reserve and take back its responsibilities to ensure sound money, safe from the manipulations of powerful banking interests.

These things would constitute real change, real economic stimulus. The plans being bandied about Washington are just more of the same. As long as no one seriously considers the cure, we are unfortunately destined to prolong the disease.

TRENTON, N.J., (Jan 29, 2009) – The 3rd annual Teal Tea will be held May 3, at the Trenton Marriott, Lafayette Yard. Tickets are $50 per person and proceeds go to help find a cure and raise awareness of ovarian cancer. The Tea includes individual competitions for the most beautifully decorated tea table, a best hat parade, and music by Thursday Night Jazz and members of the Hun School Chamber Orchestra. To purchase tickets, contact Amy Cellini, acellini@ets.org or Jean Shipos, 215-295-4315.

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Visit the Health and Wellness Network

The People’s Daily brings us vignettes.

“With the money saved, I could buy more than 10kg of mutton.”

“The rebate made me resolve to spend 1,950 yuan on a new TV”

“…scrapping of the 2,600-year-old agricultural tax in 2006…”

“We have to think about whether we can afford the cost of running a refrigerator.”

“But we farmers have to think whether it is necessary to store so little food in refrigerators at such a cost.”

“But they do not have retirement pensions, which is why most choose to save”

“…farmers could enjoy the convenience of warm water if solar water heaters were added to the subsidy list”

Read the whole thing at

http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90778/90857/90862/6583290.html

n the weekly address, President Barack Obama addressed the latest economic news and urged the passing of an America Recovery and Reinvestment Plan.

He also announced that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is preparing a new strategy for reviving our financial system — which will not only ensure that CEOs aren’t abusing taxpayer dollars, but also get credit flowing and lower mortgage costs.

ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT
TO THE NATION
January 31, 2009

This morning I’d like to talk about some good news and some bad news as we confront our economic crisis.

The bad news is well known to Americans across our country as we continue to struggle through unprecedented economic turmoil. Yesterday we learned that our economy shrank by nearly 4 percent from October through December. That decline was the largest in over a quarter century, and it underscores the seriousness of the economic crisis that my administration found when we took office.

Already the slowdown has cost us tens of thousands of jobs in January alone. And the picture is likely to get worse before it gets better.

Make no mistake, these are not just numbers. Behind every statistic there’s a story. Many Americans have seen their lives turned upside down. Families have been forced to make painful choices. Parents are struggling to pay the bills. Patients can’t afford care. Students can’t keep pace with tuition. And workers don’t know whether their retirement will be dignified and secure.

The good news is that we are moving forward with a sense of urgency equal to the challenge. This week the House passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, which will save or create more than 3 million jobs over the next few years. It puts a tax cut into the pockets of working families, and places a down payment on America’s future by investing in energy independence and education, affordable health care, and American infrastructure.

Now this recovery plan moves to the Senate. I will continue working with both parties so that the strongest possible bill gets to my desk. With the stakes so high we simply cannot afford the same old gridlock and partisan posturing in Washington. It’s time to move in a new direction.

Americans know that our economic recovery will take years — not months. But they will have little patience if we allow politics to get in the way of action, and our economy continues to slide. That’s why I am calling on the Senate to pass this plan, so that we can put people back to work and begin the long, hard work of lifting our economy out of this crisis. No one bill, no matter how comprehensive, can cure what ails our economy. So just as we jumpstart job creation, we must also ensure that markets are stable, credit is flowing, and families can stay in their homes.

Last year Congress passed a plan to rescue the financial system. While the package helped avoid a financial collapse, many are frustrated by the results — and rightfully so. Too often taxpayer dollars have been spent without transparency or accountability. Banks have been extended a hand, but homeowners, students, and small businesses that need loans have been left to fend on their own.

And adding to this outrage, we learned this week that even as they petitioned for taxpayer assistance, Wall Street firms shamefully paid out nearly $20 billion in bonuses for 2008. While I’m committed to doing what it takes to maintain the flow of credit, the American people will not excuse or tolerate such arrogance and greed. The road to recovery demands that we all act responsibly, from Main Street to Washington to Wall Street.

Soon my Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, will announce a new strategy for reviving our financial system that gets credit flowing to businesses and families. We’ll help lower mortgage costs and extend loans to small businesses so they can create jobs. We’ll ensure that CEOs are not draining funds that should be advancing our recovery. And we will insist on unprecedented transparency, rigorous oversight, and clear accountability — so taxpayers know how their money is being spent and whether it is achieving results.

Rarely in history has our country faced economic problems as devastating as this crisis. But the strength of the American people compels us to come together. The road ahead will be long, but I promise you that every day that I go to work in the Oval Office I carry with me your stories, and my administration is dedicated to alleviating your struggles and advancing your dreams. You are calling for action. Now is the time for those of us in Washington to live up to our responsibilities.