Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Redistribution tries again

An opinion piece in the Newsday calls The First Dope’s efforts to stem the foreclosure tide “ineffective” – accurate and kind at the same time. Neil Baron, who Newsday calls a former Reagan appointee, has a solution: reduce the outstanding principal on mortgage loans to at or near current value. He does not specify the criteria for doing this, only that people who can pay their existing mortgage would not qualify for the reduction. Mr. Baron admits that this would incense the people who have been responsible in their borrowings and would not be helped, even criticizing Republicans who he anticipates would stoke the outrage.
In Mr. Baron’s world, he justifies this with an Orwellian double think: By helping those who were irresponsible, the plan actually helps those who are not eligible for help because lowering the foreclosure rate is good for everyone. And somehow this would all save taxpayer money.

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