Help The Middle ClassNews and Information For The Heart Of America
Walking Away From Your Mortgage (The New York Times)
John Courson, president and C.E.O. of the Mortgage Bankers Association, recently told The Wall Street Journal that homeowners who default on their mortgages should think about the “message” they will send to “their family and their kids and their friends.” Courson was implying that homeowners — record numbers of whom continue to default — have [...]
LATEST NEWS: Obama’s TSA Nominee Erroll Southers Withdraws (Washington Post)
Erroll Southers, President Obama’s nominee to lead the Transportation Security Administration, has withdrawn his name from consideration, the White House said Wednesday.
Southers’s nomination had faced fierce opposition from Republicans, especially since revelations that he may have misled Congress about an incident in the late 1980s involving a background check of the boyfriend of his ex-wife.
As [...]
Boston Tea Party Redux: GOP Lands A Victory Blow Against Obama (Fox News)
Republican Scott Brown's victory could grind President Obama's agenda to a halt and portend unexpected losses for Democrats in the November midterms.
Washington was waking up Wednesday to a new Senate make-up, one featuring Republican Massachusetts Senator-elect Scott Brown, who defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in a victory few thought possible just a month ago.
The race for [...]
BANKING WORLD UPDATE: Even The Rich Are Getting Turned Down For Mortgages (CNN)
The wealthy have money problems, too — yeah they do.
Even refinancing a mortgage for their fancy digs or getting a new loan can be near impossible these days thanks to skittish lenders. And the higher the loan value, the more they worry.
Still, that people with high six-figure incomes, stellar credit histories and gobs of assets [...]
BREAKING NEWS: Republican Brown Wins Massachusetts Senate Race (CNN)
Republican Scott Brown has won Tuesday’s special election for the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by liberal Democrat Ted Kennedy, CNN projects based on actual results.
Brown, a Massachusetts state senator, had 52 percent of the vote to 47 percent for state Attorney General Martha Coakley, the Democratic contender, with over 69 percent of precincts reporting [...]
UN Envoy Bill Clinton in Haiti, Meets Survivors In hospital (AFP)
UN special envoy Bill Clinton on Monday defended the pace of incoming foreign aid and praised doctors working in shocking conditions as he toured the devastation in Haiti’s capital.
“I’ll be surprised and disappointed if 48 hours from now we’re not feeding and bringing fresh water to dramatically larger amounts of people,” Clinton told reporters here.
The [...]
THE STORY THE WHITE HOUSE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO READ: Road Projects Don’t Help Unemployment (Yahoo! Finance/AP)
Ten months into President Barack Obama’s first economic stimulus plan, a surge in spending on roads and bridges has had no effect on local unemployment and only barely helped the beleaguered construction industry, an Associated Press analysis has found.
Spend a lot or spend nothing at all, it didn't matter, the AP analysis showed: Local unemployment [...]
Obama Foreclosure Plan Falling Far Short On Goals (Washington Post)
The Obama administration disclosed on Friday that it has made little progress in helping struggling homeowners attain long-term relief under its signature foreclosure-prevention effort, reaching only 18 percent of the target announced just six weeks ago.
On Nov. 30, the administration kicked off a “Mortgage Modification Conversion Drive” to help distressed borrowers in the trial phase [...]
20 Easy Ways To Lower Your Stress Level (Healthy Living On Shine)
When we’re stressed, we tend to become more stressed. That’s because when we’re rushed and harried, we cut corners. We don’t take the time to do the little things that, though not difficult or time-consuming themselves, can end up saving enormous amounts of time and trouble.
For example, buying stamps isn’t stressful, and buying a roll [...]
States On The Brink Of A Budget Crisis (CNN Money)
California is hurtling into the budgetary abyss — and it’s not alone.
Across the nation, state tax collections in the first three quarters of 2009 posted their steepest decline in at least 46 years, according to a report this month from the public policy research arm of the State University of New York.
At least 30 states [...]
