Foreclosure Woes Have No Time to Think About Politicians
Photo by Alancleaver_2000
Voters weighed down with foreclosure woes have no time to think about politicians in America. In the Phoenix region, like the others Jen Pollock saw her neighbours go away one by one, victims of foreclosure. Like many others she and her husband are underwater on their mortgage – the loan amount being greater than the value of the house.
They are reluctant to walk off but want somebody to help them restructure the mortgage loan. Jen in her mid thirties with a small playful son said, “The banks keep telling us they won’t talk to us unless we miss some payment. But that would ruin our credit”.
None of the presidential candidates were offering any solution. When she was asked if this had upset her she said she had no time to give a thought to politics.
Right across the country there are demonstrations asking for more government action while some are saying that less action would help the housing market. Meanwhile a broad section of the middle class that have been badly mauled by the housing crash in prices is resigned and has given up all hopes of getting any relief – especially from the politicians.
The Mayor of Mesa, Scott Smith who had hosted in 2009 Barack Obama when he kicked off his first plan to tackle the foreclosure problem said that no one has come forward with any tangible solution.
He said, “People are just holding on and thinking that that as life generally is, somehow this thing will work its way out. I think they have zero confidence in the politician’s ability to work it out for them”. Republican Smith is leading a suburb dominated by Republican voters.
Very recently Obama announced the release of another plan in Las Vegas – the city that is being referred to as the foreclosure capital of the America. It has made the eligibility factor easier for those like Pollock who are underwater. The banks are not expected to take part in it and this has raised questions about its effectiveness. Will it produce results unlike the other steps that have failed during the last four years?
Professor emeritus Jay Butler of Arizona State University (W. P. Carey School of Business ) said, “Most of the programmes have been based on ideas of reducing your monthly payments for a period of time. I think a lot of these ideas started in the Bush administration”. At that time the general idea was that the problem would go away soon and would not continue beyond a year or two; everything would be great and full of glory again.
Find more Phoenix Foreclosures
