White House: Too Soon to Discuss Subprime Loan Plan (back-pedaling on August initiatives)

[Amerigo Vespucci]

1 hour, 40 minutes ago



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Friday said it was "premature" to discuss possible new steps to address the mortgage crisis and declined to comment on reports that officials are working on a deal with lenders to freeze interest rates on some loans. "It's premature to talk about those discussions at this point," White House spokesman Scott Stanzel told reporters, when pressed on whether the administration is working on a new initiative regarding the mortgage market.

Stanzel said that administration officials "certainly have been working in close consultation with the private sector and with the industry to look at ways in which we can help people keep their homes."

In August, the Bush administration announced a series of initiatives aimed at preventing homeowners from defaulting on risky mortgages. Those included a tax-relief proposal to make it easier for some homeowners to refinance their home loans.

Economists have become increasingly concerned about the impact of the mortgage crisis, centered on subprime loans extended to riskier borrowers, on the broader U.S. economy. The White House, in releasing its latest economic forecasts on Thursday, acknowledged that the decline in housing had been "more pronounced" than expected.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071130/ts_nm/usa_subprime_bush_dc

[tridim]

1. "You live in a cardboard box ma'am? That's fantastic! Uniquely American."

I hate them. I hate them. I hate them.

[rfranklin]

2. S.O.P....announce a bold initiative and then do nothing....

They do this all the time. Usually there is some politically motivated, hidden stipulation in their "initiatives" which totally voids whatever action they have promised.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

4. "We're working on it..."

The standard response from anyone who is not "working on it." That's as close to a guarantee as you're ever going to get.

[Renew Deal]

3. Will this be Bush's Hoover moment?

Seal his legacy for good.