Having lived and worked in Washington, DC, for 30 plus years, I’ve run across a lot of “leaders.” For the most part these are intelligent, savvy, talented men and women with wonderful intentions.
Many, however, manifest a major tragic flaw—they think it’s all about them!
To shine a light on how CRA works for America, ReinvestmentWorks…the blog! is hosting a CRA contest and wants to hear from you! Please send us your best CRA success stories and tell us how CRA has made a positive difference in the lives of working families and communities. The winner of the CRA contest will be able to take pictures of community reinvestment projects with this Kodak camera!
Please join me in urging NPR, and all other media outlets to examine President Obama’s record on housing and the foreclosure crisis! President Obama asked us to take an active role in our democracy, pushing him to take needed action. We need to take him up on that challenge - through the media, as well as through all other available methods.
The business sections of this morning’s newspapers are full of encouraging news. Banks are beginning to post profits….Pension funds are posting their first gains in months….Even consumers are demonstrating a bit more confidence.
Yes, it appears the economy is showing some signs of life.
But try to make that case to the millions of families who already have lost their homes to foreclosure—or the four million to eight million more who are at risk of doing so in the next few years…
You may recall that in the fall of 2008, former Secretary Henry Paulson proposed to spend hundred of billions of dollars purchasing troubled assets from banks. Now, the Obama Administration and Secretary Geithner are proposing to resurrect Paulson’s original idea. This time, the Administration proposes that the federal government and private sector investors both buy the troubled assets; the government would have a 50 percent equity stake in the assets.
This is an audacious proposal with enormous risks.
