McCain's Mortgage Plan
During the debate on Tuesday night, John McCain unexpectedly introduced a proposal for the government to buy up "all the bad mortgages" from banks and reset their conditions to reflect current home values.
It sounds like a break for beleaguered homeowners - a boon to the middle class. But it turns out that this "Homeownership Resurgence Plan" would pay the original value of the mortgage (far in excess of the current value, in most cases) and then rewrite the terms to reflect the current (lower) value. In other words, it's a windfall for the banks financed by taxpayers.
A pseudo-populist gimmick? A hastily arranged, last minute attempt at a "game changer"?
Evidently the base is thrilled.
But here's my question:
Has this plan been properly vetted?
It sounds like a break for beleaguered homeowners - a boon to the middle class. But it turns out that this "Homeownership Resurgence Plan" would pay the original value of the mortgage (far in excess of the current value, in most cases) and then rewrite the terms to reflect the current (lower) value. In other words, it's a windfall for the banks financed by taxpayers.
A pseudo-populist gimmick? A hastily arranged, last minute attempt at a "game changer"?
Evidently the base is thrilled.
But here's my question:
Has this plan been properly vetted?