Upon gaining the presidency, Senator McCain would make the federal government spend part of its bailout money on bad home mortgages, allowing homeowners to stay put and make payments that reflect their homes' lessened values.
"Under the plan, the government would buy failing mortgages from homeowners and provide new fixed-rate mortgages. As a policy matter, the plan would likely have greater support among Democrats than Republicans. Economists with the liberal Center for American Progress have been pushing a similar idea for some time.
[McCain economic adviser Douglas] Holtz-Eakin said the plan would help stabilize the plunging values of mortgage-backed securities that have been at the heart of the crisis in the financial markets.
'Sen. McCain believes this is exactly the right kind of policy,' Holtz-Eakin said. 'Provide direct help to homeowners; at the same time, support the financial markets and keep them from further damaging the availability of credit to Main Street America, one of the - the real threats to the economy at this point in time.
The Treasury's current plans for the money, however, could be well under way by the time a new administration is sworn in next year, leaving fewer options for a new administration.'"
Read the full story: McCain plan would buy bad homeowner mortgages
Biden Proposes Gas Tax Holiday to Reduce Gas Prices
President Biden asked Congress on June 22 to suspend federal fuel taxes, unchanged since 1993, for three months to provide motorists 'relief' at the pump. Additionally, he asked states to follow suit and for oil companies to increase refining.
Army Corps to the Rescue!
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand
For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.
NYC cools commuters with city's first rain garden above a bus stop
New York City officials say the plants in the rain garden can absorb 16 gallons of rainwater during heavy storms.
Brightline West’s future may rely on $6 billion federal loan
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FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association