Legal Commentary

The Catch In McCain's Non-HOLC Plan

By Big Tent Democrat

Ah, I should have known there would be a catch in McCain's endorsement of HOLC and Brad DeLong spots it:

[McCain advisor] Douglas Holtz-Eakin says, this morning:

[W]e would in fact be taking the negative equity position and putting it on the taxpayers books instead of putting it on the private lenders books [BTD's emphasis] or the homeowners books. We think the balance of risk has shifted to the point where this is the way to go...

What does this mean? It means that John McCain wants to give $100 billion of taxpayers' money to America's worst-behaving mortgage financiers.

So McCain's idea is to give money to the mortgage lenders, not help the homeowners. No way, no how, no more corporate giveaways McCain. HOLC is this - the government buys the loan at market value, the mortgage lender takes its hit and the homeowner keeps his/her house on new affordable credit terms. That is HOLC. McCain's plan is nonsense.

By Big Tent Democrat, speaking for me only

Full post as published by TalkLeft on October 08, 2008 (boomark / email).