Is the housing market improving? According to Elizabeth Warren, chair of The Congressional Oversight Panel, it’s not. While the market has shown signs of improvement in some areas, the overall picture is still quite grim. According to Warren, as many as 10 to 12 million homes could be lost to foreclosure, the consequences of which could be “disastrous.”
Continued foreclosures will cause a ripple effect throughout the economy, as homes in those areas hardest hit see values slide even further. In a recent report, Warren described the government’s foreclosure modification efforts as “inadequate,” but it appears that nothing will be done to improve a system hell-bent on propping up bank profits on mounds of foreclosure victims.
While I like the spunk with which Warren attacks what she perceives as flaws in the program, it appears her words are just that, impotent criticisms without the power to effect change, falling on the unprincipled ears of politicians more interested in saving their political skins than creating beneficial change.
The Congressional Oversight Panel or COP was established to oversee the original TARP program which ultimately abandoned the purchase of “troubled assets” and became a simple bailout of big banks. And the not so aptly named COP board seems as effective as a policeman with a booming voice, but no gun.
I suspect that Warren is correct about the potential for additional waves of foreclosures, but doubt that her words will slow the tide. Like footprints on a deserted beach, they’ll soon be forgotten.
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