Two from Truthout::
Government Has Spent Small Fraction of $50 Billion Pledged for Loan Modifications
Paul Kiel, ProPublica: "When the Obama administration launched its flagship foreclosure prevention program in early 2009, it pledged to spend up to $50 billion helping struggling homeowners. But the government has so far only spent a tiny fraction of that. A recent Treasury Department report summarizing TARP spending put the total at $600 million through October. Although the Treasury Department posts the maximum amount that could go to each mortgage servicer on its website, it doesn't report the details of the spending. So we filed a Freedom of Information request for the data, and can now show for the first time exactly how much money has gone to each servicer."
Read the Article
News in Brief: Release of House-Bound Burma Opposition Leader Anticipated, and More ...
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning democracy leader may be nearing release; Clinton avoids mention of settlement building at US-Israel talks; Nordic countries investigate alleged US spying; Rep. John Shimkus not worried about climate change because of God's promise to Noah; Sunni walkout threatens Iraq's governing agreement; pilots' union encourages opting-out of invasive full-body scan.
Read the Article
Robert Reich | Why We Should Beware Budget-Deficit Mania
Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog: "We're in for another round of budget-deficit mania. The first draft of the President's deficit commission, written by its co-chairmen Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, is a pastiche of ideas - some good, some dumb, some intriguing, some wacky. The only unifying principle behind their effort seems to be to throw enough at the wall that something's bound to stick."
Read the Article
Paul Kiel, ProPublica: "When the Obama administration launched its flagship foreclosure prevention program in early 2009, it pledged to spend up to $50 billion helping struggling homeowners. But the government has so far only spent a tiny fraction of that. A recent Treasury Department report summarizing TARP spending put the total at $600 million through October. Although the Treasury Department posts the maximum amount that could go to each mortgage servicer on its website, it doesn't report the details of the spending. So we filed a Freedom of Information request for the data, and can now show for the first time exactly how much money has gone to each servicer."
Read the Article
News in Brief: Release of House-Bound Burma Opposition Leader Anticipated, and More ...
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning democracy leader may be nearing release; Clinton avoids mention of settlement building at US-Israel talks; Nordic countries investigate alleged US spying; Rep. John Shimkus not worried about climate change because of God's promise to Noah; Sunni walkout threatens Iraq's governing agreement; pilots' union encourages opting-out of invasive full-body scan.
Read the Article
Robert Reich | Why We Should Beware Budget-Deficit Mania
Robert Reich, Robert Reich's Blog: "We're in for another round of budget-deficit mania. The first draft of the President's deficit commission, written by its co-chairmen Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, is a pastiche of ideas - some good, some dumb, some intriguing, some wacky. The only unifying principle behind their effort seems to be to throw enough at the wall that something's bound to stick."
Read the Article
Comments