No Jobs, No Housing, No Bull

This is my first post for AOL Real Estate. I am honored to be part of the new AOL.

But if this is AOL Real Estate, why then am I writing about jobs? Because employment growth is key to ending the real estate depression (yes, depression) we have all been suffering through for more than a year. The key to real estate recovery is more jobs, simple as that. And unfortunately, according to my friends who attended this week's White House Jobs Summit, we can expect little to no real help on jobs from the Obama Administration.

This White House event was a sham, a photo op meant solely to influence public opinion without actually doing anything, according to attendees. This can be seen, for example, in the coverage by USA Today, which proudly quoted statements by the President about what had been accomplished in the sessions, yet USA Today said their interview took place two hours before the event even started.

How could Obama know in advance what would be accomplished?

According to people who were there (and spoke to me anonymously because they want to be invited back) the President reportedly made no real connection with people in the room. He knew at least half of them personally, yet addressed them in the small space reading from a teleprompter. In the private breakout sessions he breezed through, Obama said there was no federal money to help jobs, not much anyway. That's hardly what he said in his public remarks, which were much more upbeat.

Which position is the truth?

Nobody I talked to from the meeting came away with a sense of optimism, that anything of substance had been accomplished or even set in motion. They felt used.

This doesn't bode well for a real housing recovery that can be sustained after the first-time home buyer tax credits finally expire next year.

And it may seem a small point, but why did the Administration invite all these leaders to meet for six hours (it was scheduled from 11:30-5:30 and ended on-time) yet offer them no breaks and nothing to eat or drink, not even a bottle of water? Attendees are treated better than that each weekend in the Avoiding Foreclosure seminars down at the Holiday Inn. Couldn't Obama have hired a couple of caterers?

That would have been two jobs down, 10 million to go.

By Robert X. Cringely
Dec 11th 2009 @ 10:00AM

Rec'd via email...

Rep Mike Rogers on Healthcare. Love it.

Number of Democrats in Nation Declines During March

In March, the number of Democrats in the nation fell two percentage points while the number of Republicans fell by half-a-point. Democrats continue to have a sizable advantage in terms of partisan identification, but the advantage is smaller than it’s been since December 2007...

Click here to read Rasmussen article

Interesting that more Democrats are unwilling to 'fess up to Party affiliation. I'm thinking the Republican half-point decline may be because more and more people are considering themselves Libertarian or trying to leave all government behind. Saw a headline yesterday where Newt Gingrich was talking about current events making third party alternative more attractive (only saw it in passing, didn't read the article).

I took a survey yesterday from the Republican National Committee. I took the opportunity to share my feelings about those in Washington. For the first time in my adult life since deciding I was a Republican, I'm willing to entertain the idea of moving outside the fold. Our Republicans in D.C. had better continue to move in the right direction or there's going to be a mass exodus to a third party.

-amc

Heritage Foundation: Another $275 Billion Down the Drain

The House of Representatives is set to vote on a bill today that would round out the legislative authority necessary for President Barack Obama to institute his $275 billion mortgage bailout plan. Taken together the plans three main components (enabling some select borrowers to refinance their loans through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, enabling other select borrowers to modify their loans at the cost of taxpayers and lenders, and changing bankruptcy law to allow mortgage cram downs) will bailout the most irresponsible borrowers, raise the cost of borrowing for honest and prudent home buyers, and do nothing to stop the inevitable and necessary correction in housing prices.

Bailing Out the Most Irresponsible: Obama's mortgage bailout bestows new and costly benefits on those who took on more debt (including credit cards, auto loans, and mortgages) than they could handle. Worse, the value of the benefits vary in direct proportion to the degree borrowers were financially irresponsible. Borrowers with as high a debt service payment to income ration of 55% will be eligible for the taxpayer bailout.

Increasing Costs for Honest Borrowers: There are two ways Obama's mortgage bailout hurts honest home buyers. First, the portion of the plan that makes lenders responsible for half of all mortgage rate reductions will deter private sector investment in all but the best mortgages. Second, the mortgage cram down provisions would create additional risks for lenders who will be forced to compensate for that risk by making new mortgage rates more expensive for future home buyers. First time home buyers and those with moderate incomes would be hardest hit.

Failing to Stop the Housing Price Correction: Our current economic crisis was created by the inevitable popping of a housing bubble. Our financial system and economy will not recover until housing prices correct themselves. The sharp decline in housing prices is largely confined to just five states (Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan, and Nevada). And the drop in housing prices in these localities is so steep that few borrowers will qualify for Obama's bailout. Hence home prices will only keep self-correcting. Also mortgage lenders are already at full capacity refinancing borrowers who do not need government aid. There is simply no way the existing industry has the capacity to refinance another 8 million homeowners in time to stop the market correction. Finally, the re-default rates on mortgages that have already undergone mortgage modifications suggest Obama's mortgage bailout will be, at best, just a temporary band-aid.

For over a year, first the Bush Administration and now the Obama Administration, have been throwing billions of taxpayer dollars at a problem that does not have a big, invasive, government solution. The road back to economic prosperity lies in an honest assessment of our future spending liabilities, cutting spending, and not raising the tax burden on the American entrepreneurs who have always been the true source of our economic growth.

W.A.M. Keeps Pressue On Washington and Media

With your help, W.A.M. intends to keep the pressure on cleaning up Washington & Media corruption!

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Nancy and Barack

Rep. Tom Price Outside of Pelosi's Office

Rep. Tom Price Outside of Pelosi's Office: This is a great video from Rep. Tom Price shot outside of Nancy Pelosi's office earlier today. He shows you how the GOP was locked out of the Stimulus deal.

"We will make mistakes.": Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has most certainly made his share of mistakes. And his latest one’s a doozy.

(I've been trying to figure out who Geithner reminds me of... is it Wally from Leave it to Beaver maybe? His face isn't as round, but he has that same dopey earnest look... )

Both of the above are from NetRight Daily. Be sure to sign up for updates if you like what you see when you click the links above.