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I'd like to interrupt this presidential contest's regularly scheduled mudslinging with your policy questions about the economy:
BlogHer Voter Manifesto
Topic: America's economic future
Questions:1. Will you give a tax credit to people who are self-employed and need to buy health insurance?
2. How will you address predatory lending practices to ensure Americans buy homes they can really afford?
3. How will you create federal public policy that helps families break the cycle of poverty?
Read all 12 questions
I'm going to focus on question #2, in honor of BlogHer member Suzanne Suzannadanna, who published the story of her family's foreclosure on her blog, Suzannesez and on BlogHer this week:
"We've all heard about the astronomical numbers of foreclosures currently clogging our courts. All over the US, people are in dire straights and losing their homes. Folks, count us in those numbers. Today, I'm going to tell you our story to put a face on what is happening everywhere..."
* Foreclosure, a personal story
* A day later
* Seek, then seek some more
* School choice makes our neighborhood choice
* Scratching them off the list
* The punch list, version 1.0
* We'll take it
When I took Suzanne's situation to the Web sites of presidential candidates, seeking their solution to the mortgage crisis, here's what I found -- in alphabetical order, first by party and second by last name:
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Democrat
Senator, New York state
Site: www.hillaryclinton.comBlogHer Voter Manifesto question: How will you address predatory lending practices to ensure Americans buy homes they can really afford?
Answers by Candidate Clinton:
12/5/2007
Hillary Calls On Wall Street To Address Housing Crisis"Hillary goes to the Nasdaq stock exchange today to call on Wall Street to help clean up the housing foreclosure crisis it helped create. Wall Street not only enabled reckless mortgage lending, it encouraged it - 1.8 million home foreclosure notices have been filed this year, a 74% increase from 2006. Now it’s time for lenders, homeowners and investors to come together to solve this crisis and stem the tide of foreclosures.
Hillary will challenge lenders and financial institutions to take three immediate steps today: 1) Voluntarily support a moratorium of at least 90 days on home foreclosures; 2) freeze the fluctuating rates on subprime loans for at least 5 years until they can be converted into fixed rate, affordable loans; 3) Require regular status reports on the progress they’re making in converting unworkable mortgages into loans families can afford so we have real accountability.
Hillary is proposing a comprehensive work out - not a bail out - that would end the foreclosure crisis. If Wall Street refuses to act, Hillary will propose legislation to tackle the problems in the housing market head on..."
More: Video
Barack Obama
Democrat
Senator, Illinois state
Site: www.barackobama.comBlogHer Voter Manifesto question: How will you address predatory lending practices to ensure Americans buy homes they can really afford?
Answers by Candidate Obama:
From BarackObama.com on Economy: "Create Fund to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosures: Obama will create a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The fund will be partially paid for by Obama's increased penalties on lenders who act irresponsibly and commit fraud."
This section leads to a two-page PDF entitled "Protecting homeownership and cracking down on mortgage fraud, which begins:
"Barack Obama recognizes that the real victims in the subprime mortgage crisis are not the lenders, but the
millions of borrowers who followed the rules and whose only crime was taking out mortgages that lenders told
them they could afford... [Followed by sections on]:
I. Create a foreclosure prevention fund to help Americans keep their homes
II. Close the bankrupcy loophole for mortgage companies
III. Provide a new motgage interest tax credit
IV. Combat mortgage fraud and subprime loans
V. Mandate accurate loan disclosure
Mike Huckabee
Republican
Former governor, Arkansas state
Site: www.mikehuckabee.comBlogHer Voter Manifesto question: How will you address predatory lending practices to ensure Americans buy homes they can really afford?
Answers by Candidate Huckabee:
Note by Lisa: I had a little trouble identifying explicit answers to this question on Candidate Huckabee's site or on other sites, so I've provided the following questions and links below.
From MikeHuckabee.com: "I'd like you to join me at the best "Going Out of Business" sale I can imagine - one held by the Internal Revenue Service. Am I running for president to shut down the federal government? Not exactly. But I am running
