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Ear to the Ground

Billions to Business in Foreclosure Bill

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Posted on Apr 16, 2008
Escape Forelosure
publicradio.org

The Senate’s glaringly inadequate bill is likely to be redrawn by House critics, who claim it favors businesses and home builders over homeowners.

With a mind-set reminiscent of the Bush administration’s recent bailout of mortgage lenders, the Senate last week approved the Foreclosure Prevention Act, a bill that provides billions of dollars in tax breaks to big businesses like Ford and General Motors but takes only modest steps in addressing the plight of homeowners.


The New York Times:

The Senate proclaimed a fierce bipartisan resolve two weeks ago to help American homeowners in danger of foreclosure. But while a bill that senators approved last week would take modest steps toward that goal, it would also provide billions of dollars in tax breaks—for automakers, airlines, alternative energy producers and other struggling industries, as well as home builders.

The tax provisions of the Foreclosure Prevention Act, which consumer groups and labor leaders say amount to government handouts to big business, show how the credit crisis, while rattling the housing and financial markets, has created beneficiaries in the power corridors of Washington.

“The Senate legislation gave corporations and Wall Street billions in tax breaks,” Terence M. O’Sullivan, the president of the Laborers International Union of North America, said at a news conference on Tuesday to denounce the bill.

“Tax breaks for corporate home builders won’t help stabilize the housing market, won’t create jobs and won’t prevent a single foreclosure,” he continued. “If anything, this multibillion-dollar windfall will make things worse.”

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By PatrickHenry, April 16, 2008 at 5:15 pm #

Instead of tax breaks it should be subsidizing newer alternative fuel motors as a reqirement for government fleet vehicles, school buses and mass transit buses.

Rewarding bad business deals with taxpayer funds is becomming the norm in Washington, this is due to the lack of politicians with prior (successful) business experience.

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By Aegrus, April 16, 2008 at 4:01 pm #

Here in Florida, many people are proposing a new state flag. Millions have decorated their lawns with this new banner of state solidarity. It says, FOR SALE.

Some people are rebelling against the popular flag by branding a opposition ensign which states simply, “FORECLOSED.”

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By Stephen Smoliar, April 16, 2008 at 2:18 pm #

Since it as a bit long for a comment, I have posted my reaction at:

http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2008/04/victimizing-victims.html

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By tyler, April 16, 2008 at 1:51 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

is anyone surprised?

once again, the fabled ‘bipartisanship’ has tried and failed to save face.

i think that the entire elected assembly in washington has long been bipartisan, only not in the ‘right vs. left’ sense, but in the ‘us, the facilitators of the financially elite vs. them, the common middle to low income americans’.

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By DennisD, April 16, 2008 at 1:45 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

Billions to Business in Foreclosure Bill -

Maybe it might wake people up in this country if the newz media was required to include the words “of taxpayers money” in every giveaway Congress makes to their corporate benefactors.

They’d also have to include “borrowed from China.”

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