Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Government at Work - Fixing things?
And I thought just having a "middle man" was bad...
The Wall Street Journal provides this in an editorial:
"To put it bluntly, this may be the worst-run program in Washington. So why are Senators making it a centerpiece of this week's housing splurge? Because just about every dollar of the $4 billion will not remain at HUD, but will instead be routed to state and local governments, which can then share the wealth with 'nonprofit' (i.e., politically favored) organizations. And while state and local pols will get the money ASAP – within 90 days of the bill's enactment into law – there is less urgency to address the housing crisis once these recipients cash the checks. They don't have to buy the foreclosed properties for another 18 months.
Senator Richard Shelby (R., Ala.), mindful of the program's appalling history, was able to secure a partial rewrite of the bill last week. Any profits from the resale of homes bought in foreclosure must now be recycled back into buying other foreclosed properties. What remains unclear is exactly how much of the $4 billion will stick to the various fingers touching these dollars along the way."
