You're right about the lenders. They won't modify unless you're 60 days or more behind. They feel as long as you're current, they're receiving the interest, and won't do anything until you fall behind. The attitude seems to be "we don't care what this bumbling administration wants, they don't know their a** from a hole in the ground." They may be right about that. This recession won't end until home prices bottom out. This administration cares about jobs, not homeowners. Too bad. It's the homeowners who pay for everything in this country. Wait 'til the bill comes due.

Maybe they should cut our tax rate and then you can give your money to anyone you want to!

I completely agree with you. But the way i'm reading the article.. the economy may get better..lol...but things won't really start to recover by mid-end of next year. I certainly hope not since I was laid off in this past Feb...hhmm I think I will go and watch Robin Hood..I mean CNN..instead of taking from the rich and giving to the poor..its the complete opposite...so it would "Hood Robin"...heck just thinking, don't have anything else to doo...

Chuck, you are so right !!!! I would like to hear from the people directly. Show me the people who have been helped and have been able to save their home and have been able to restructure their debt in order to survive this catastrophy that was caused by men who could not care less about the havoc that they caused and the lives that they destroyed. Until we get first hand, verified accounts by the banking institutions, we will still be the American lambs led to slaughter by corporate greed.

IMO- Banks are holding onto foreclosed home because they see no reason to let these go at the maximum loss now that they have been given TARP money.. There is no incentive to shed all toxic assets from their books just yet...they are wanting to cash in for as much profit as they can when the market turns around.

"It's the homeowners who pay for everything in this country. Wait 'til the bill comes due." .... What homeowner? Skip a few mortgage payments and see who is the homeowner.

I totally agree. I think the banks are also hoarding cash instead of loaning in anticipation of a future interest rate increase. It's an economics 101 fact that when more money is put into circulation eventually interest rates have to be increased otherwise inflation will spin out of control. Every dollar that is printed and pumped into the system makes the value of a dollar worth less. When it takes $5 to buy a loaf a bread the only way to offset it is to make borrowing money less appealing by raising interest rates and thus decreasing the amount of money in circulation. Banks don't want to loan their money at 6% when they know the inevitable threat of inflation will force the treasury to have to, at the very least, double that rate as the economy begins to recover. Its easy to print more money and dump it into the pot but there is only one way to reel it back in. Loans banks made at 6% when the present rate has jumped to 10% or higher is a profit killer. But so is a loaf of bread that costs 6 bucks. A fast recovery can be more devasting to an economy than a rapidly slowing one. It's a huge quadmire that the fed does not want to address to avoid raining on the recovery parade.

Banks are still ripping us off and very few of the ones who pulled the original scam are lending or modifying loans. People who lost jobs are the direct result of this scam and now not only do we have to deal with major unemployment but the very banks who caused this are getting tax dollars from the people they hurt the most. Also the stress test results will be hidden from us because the great Bernak thinks we are not smart enough to understand them. We are living in a dictatorship where a bankers says what will be acceptable veiwing by the American taxpayers. Insults on top of theft. This country needs major changes back to a simpler time and smaller government with no federal reserve or IRS.

Amen to that brother!!

Why should I feel sorry for people who tried to buy more than they could realistically afford? They aren't the only "victims". The rest of us had to pay for their stupidity LITERALLY! All taxpayers had to bail out the stupid and greedy people who started this mess. Why aren't the crooked house appraisers being arrested left and right? The overinflated house estimate value was something that screwed everybody. Get the people who really made money on the house flipping scheme. Let's not forget the scum on Wall Street who just keep betting on their hedge funds.

I can't feel that sorry for someone who actually signed their name onto an ARM or a interest only loan with a balloon payment at the end they knew they couldn't afford. If that's all you qualified for then you shouldn't try to buy a home. It's that simple. People need to stop living beyond their means.

If you want to help the economy from falling: Bring our auto jobs back that went away because of taxes they had to pay in Michigan. And for cheaper pay.
And maybe we will buy cars again. And stop pumping money into GM for the top people to have a cushy life. Let GM go bankrupt and start over like most of us has had to do to survive.
Most of us have lost everything and were still going. Not very well but it is a new start and were surviving, So will they. We need jobs to get the economy going. Or move out of the state before our unemployment is gone.

You are an idiot. Businesses losing money to sell you products does not help the economy. If they make less money, they buy less product. The company that produces the product lays off people. The people who got laid off and can't find a job, go on welfare. All because of a**holes like you my taxes go up.

Looking at it one way stocks are way up. Looking at it another and they have regained about 10% of what they lost. I think the 2nd is the better way to look at things just now. Many of the stock prices are ridiculously low. People through out the good with the bad. I think we'll see the market crawl back up to 10,000 over the next few years.

Were you this upset when the Dow was losing 4-5% in one day? When businesses were closing their doors? Some lost more than 90% and it took less than 6 months. So when it goes the other way, that is not right?