May 28. 2009

President Barack Obama

According to newspaper reports of recently published facts, the stimulus is failing. I kept writing for several months on this website that this was going to happen. The nation is not going to get out of debt by spending more money.

With careful planning, cost cuts and a neutral approach to evaluating each financial aspect of the economy, the nation would have been placed on a quicker path to recovery. Currently, the nation is not on the right track.

Too many entities received bailout money, when only a select few should have been given funds. To make matters worse, many of them squandered and misappropriated taxpayer funds. Therefore, it was a double loss. The government has taken on too much expansion in the form of initiatives, when this is a time to reduce, repair and restructure.

It's not too late to turn around, regarding these massive spending initiatives. A lot of money has been wasted, but there is still a small window of time to halt this exorbitant cash grab and rein in spending. 

America is supposed to be a democracy, not a socialist country (no disrespect intended to the socialists). Socialist spending is not going to work here, as American society is not structured for it.

America functions in a different manner and if one applies socialist ideals to it, while significant portions of the nation run their businesses in a democratic format, you're going to have dire problems. It is an ill-fated match.

Unemployment, foreclosures and bill delinquencies continue to rise at an alarming rate. It was reported today that 1 in 8 homes in America are in foreclosure.

"5.4 million of 45 million home loans" are reportedly in trouble, either delinquent or in foreclosure, but the number of distressed loans may grow even higher, if some of the home loans that are in trouble, bear second mortgages.

Obama Touts Stimulus Bill's First 100 Days (1.6 million jobs lost)

5/27/2009 - Posted on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 11:18:25 PM - One hundred days after signing the $787 billion economic stimulus package, President Obama declared Wednesday in a Las Vegas speech, "we are already seeing results."

The president called the stimulus package "the most sweeping economic recovery act in history -- a plan designed to save jobs, create new ones and put money in people's pockets." He said it already has created or saved nearly 150,000 jobs.

And later, at an evening fundraiser in Southern California, Obama asserted, "It's safe to say we have stepped back from the brink."

But a Republican congressman responded seconds after the speech by saying, in effect, not so fast, Mr. President.

Texas Rep. John Culberson called the stimulus package "a fiscal flop and nothing to celebrate," and he said that since the bill was signed Feb. 17, "1.597 million jobs have been lost and unemployment numbers at their highest levels in two decades."...

http://www.freerepublic.com

Exploding debt threatens America

Published: May 26 2009 20:48 - Standard and Poor’s decision to downgrade its outlook for British sovereign debt from “stable” to “negative” should be a wake-up call for the US Congress and administration. Let us hope they wake up.

Under President Barack Obama’s budget plan, the federal debt is exploding. To be precise, it is rising – and will continue to rise – much faster than gross domestic product, a measure of America’s ability to service it.

The federal debt was equivalent to 41 per cent of GDP at the end of 2008; the Congressional Budget Office projects it will increase to 82 per cent of GDP in 10 years. With no change in policy, it could hit 100 per cent of GDP in just another five years...

http://www.ft.com

More Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

Published: May 28, 2009 - More homeowners than ever before are falling behind on mortgage payments and sliding into foreclosure, according to figures released Thursday, a sign that the housing crisis is spreading through the ranks of previously stable borrowers.

About 5.4 million of the country’s 45 million home loans were delinquent or in some stage of the foreclosure process in the first three months of the year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. About 12.07 percent of all mortgages were delinquent or in foreclosure, up from 11.93 percent at the end of 2008.

http://www.nytimes.com

Mortgage Delinquencies, Foreclosures, Rates Increase

May 28 (Bloomberg) -- Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures rose to records in the first quarter and home-loan rates jumped to the highest since March this week as the government’s effort to fix the housing slump lost momentum.

The U.S. delinquency rate jumped to a seasonally adjusted 9.12 percent from 7.88 percent, the biggest-ever increase, and the share of loans entering foreclosure rose to 1.37 percent, the Mortgage Bankers Association said today. Both figures are the highest in records going back to 1972. Fixed rates rose to 4.91 percent, Freddie Mac said, and an increase in bond yields earlier this week shows rates may continue rising.

http://www.bloomberg.com

About 12 pct of US homeowners late paying or foreclosed

Thu May 28, 2009 1:13pm EDT - NEW YORK, May 28 (Reuters) - One of eight U.S. households with a mortgage ended the first quarter late on loan payments or in the foreclosure process in a crisis that will persist for at least another year until unemployment peaks, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.

U.S. unemployment in April reached its highest rate in more than a quarter century and is still rising, helping propel mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures to record highs.

Such economic weakness drove up foreclosures of prime fixed-rate loans, which are made to the most creditworthy borrowers. The foreclosure rate on those loans doubled in the last year and represented the largest share of new foreclosures in the first three months of this year.

"We clearly haven't hit the top yet in terms of delinquencies or the bottom of the housing market," Jay Brinkmann, the association's chief economist, said in an interview...

http://www.reuters.com