http://www.metafilter.com/tags/trickleup Posts tagged with 'trickleup' at MetaFilter. Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:16:21 -0800 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:16:21 -0800 en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 60 http://www.metafilter.com/75320/Trickle%2DUp%2DBailout <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/30/AR2008093002316.html?hpid=opinionsbox1">Jonathan Koppell and William Goetzmann</a> on why Congress should let Wall Street hang for a bit and use the $700 billion to directly refinance homowners' bad mortgages. Fire away, mefites! Notable points: "Implementation could follow the example of the Home Owners' Loan Corp., which in the 1930s issued new mortgages to a quarter of American homeowners. The government could offer to refinance all mortgages issued in the past five years with a fixed-rate, 30-year mortgage at 6 percent. No credit scores, no questions asked; just pay off the principal of the existing mortgage with a government check." "All this could be done through the Federal Housing Administration, with the help of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have the infrastructure to implement this plan rapidly. An equity participation structure would prevent thousands of foreclosed homes from being dumped on a strained housing market and would allow prices to reach a new equilibrium that is based on realistic demand for houses rather than on easy money or impending foreclosures. " (from today's WSJ) tag:metafilter.com,2008:site.75320 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:16:21 -0800 bailout mortgage trickleup wallstreet puckish