#149 Spring 2007 — Shared-Equity Homeownership

On a Positive Note

House Committee on Financial Services chair Barney Frank’s plan to include provisions for an Affordable Housing Fund in the House version of regulatory reform legislation governing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac […]

House Committee on Financial Services chair Barney Frank’s plan to include provisions for an Affordable Housing Fund in the House version of regulatory reform legislation governing Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks drew an epistolary response from the committee’s ranking Republican, Spencer Bachus, that was high on sensibility but low on sense. Bachus, who has repeatedly questioned the need for the fund, informed Frank in a letter that, “I respect your view” but “do not share it.” His reasoning? The housing program would be “in essence, a tax” on low- and middle-income homeowners. Frank was unmoved by Bachus’s illogic, but said he appreciated the note’s “cordial tone.”

OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

  • Foreclosure Fuzziness Media Watch

    May 4, 2008

    Pity the poor media consumer. It’s nigh-on impossible to understand the burgeoning mortgage crisis rippling through communities around the country if you’re relying on the mainstream press to give you […]

  • MacArthur Foundation Earmarks $25 Million for Housing Research

    May 4, 2008

    The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation plans to invest $25 million over the next five years in research into the causes, effects and solutions to the nation’s affordable-housing […]

  • School House Rocks

    May 4, 2008

    One Missouri school district has given new meaning to “no child left behind.” Discouraged by the number of homeless students in its district, and by the limited shelter options available […]