Matt Taibbi: From an Unlikely Source, a Serious Challenge to Wall Street

[sabrina 1]

20. Yes, but as the article points out, if this works the Banks will be back

and they can't pull out of everywhere.

This is basically the plan:

Desperate for a way out of a housing collapse that has crippled the region, officials in San Bernardino County … are exploring a drastic option — using eminent domain to buy up mortgages for homes that are underwater.

Then, the idea goes, the county could cut the mortgages to the current value of the homes and resell the mortgages to a private investment firm, which would allow homeowners to lower their monthly payments and hang onto their property.

It sounds appealing and as the article points out, it's not just San Bernadino that is showing an interest. Suffolk Co. LI is also interested, and apparently other areas of the country.

So what objection can the Banks have to a plan to improve the economy when they have nothing to offer but years of economic stagnation?

Maybe it is Congress who should be threatening the Banks now, with prosecutions and investigations for what they did. If small municipalities start the turnaround, then maybe Congress will get the message, that if they are going to just sit there protecting Wall Street while Main Street continues to decline, then Main Street will take matters into their own hands, and maybe, finally decide whose side they are on.

If the Banks had been willing to do the same thing, which they could have and should have, someone else would not have had to come up with a solution.

And it may also be time to reevaluate the other issues, such as Student Loans and Pensions etc. If this can be done with the housing market, someone is likely to come up with a way to start taking away those powers from Banks that are not willing to be part of the solution.