Senator Harry Reid: Republicans Want to Destroy the Economy and Government

Senator Harry Reid stood before the press exasperated at the Republican's audacity to eliminate programs that are useless and a waste of taxpayer monies. The man from Searchlight, Nevada just couldn’t comprehend why the program HAMP is slated for elimination:


“Why can’t they work on things that help the economy?” Reid asked. “Why do they have to work on things that hurt the economy? Why would they want to eliminate a program like that? Just because it came from the White House? This is hard for me to understand why they’re so fixated on destroying our government and economy.”

Wow! This man is one clueless bastard.

My question is why didn’t you do something to help the economy. As far as destroying the government, you Democrats have done a good job of discrediting yourselves and the federal government as an institution. You have shown yourselves to be completely incompetent and untrustworthy to manage the nation’s affairs.

To address why the Republicans are eliminating this program, I’ll quote Edward Pinto, Fannie Mae’s chief credit officer, who testified before the House Oversight Committee as reported by The Washington Independent:

Among the harsh points he made: HAMP’s program requirements are so arcane that servicers have trouble complying:


The Treasury Department…promised “clear and consistent loan modification guidelines that the entire mortgage industry can use.” There are only two words to describe HAMP’s guidelines: numbing complexity. At last count HAMP had 800 requirements and servicers are expected to certify compliance. With-ever changing regulations, a constant need to re-evaluate past decisions in light of new regulations, and multiple appeals, it is no wonder that the HAMP pipeline became clogged through no substantial fault of servicers.


Ultimately, the program should help just 6 or 8 percent of the initial target of homeowners:


[In previous testimony I noted] that the then-current HAMP pipeline would likely yield only 250,000 homeowners who would ultimately avoid foreclosure under HAMP — only about 6 percent to 8 percent of the original goal. It now looks like my projection will be pretty close to the mark. HAMP activity has slowed markedly, with the number of new monthly trial modifications declining by two-thirds between December 2009 and May, 2010. The number of new permanent modifications in May 2010 was 30 percent below the April 2010 count. As of May 31, there were 340,000 active permanent modifications. Assuming a 40 percent re-default rate, only 200,000 of these permanent modifications will likely be successful over the long-term. There are another 468,000 active trial modifications. Of these, perhaps only 75,000 will become successful long-term permanent modifications. Discounting all the spin, a slowing HAMP pipeline will yield about 275,000 successful long-term permanent modifications, with perhaps another 100,000 successes resulting from future trial modifications. Today, I reiterate my warning about Treasury’s propensity for applying a rosy gloss.


He also said that HAMP has, perversely, ginned up the number of strategic defaults and simply “extended” the length of the market correction:


HAMP’s flawed design and implementation along with Treasury’s early efforts to “shame and blame” the mortgage servicers promoted strategic defaults, as many borrowers came to expect a modification and blamed their servicer for not getting one. HAMP has also slowed down foreclosure processes, pushing the level of heightened foreclosure activity out to 2013 or 2014 and likely extending the period for the market to correction.


All in all, the hearing today has solidified the view that HAMP has largely failed, and in some cases made the housing crisis worse


Source: http://cnsnews.com/news/article/sen-reid-republicans-fixated-destroying

http://washingtonindependent.com/88229/former-fannie-exec-batters-hamp-as-a-failure

Governor Beverly Perdue's Patronage is Stickier Than Tar

North Carolina’s Governor’s mansion must be built on a solid foundation. The election that sent shockwaves throughout the state apparently didn’t faze its current resident. Beverly Perdue acts as though nothing happened. The state currently has a $3.7 billion budget shortfall, and what does she do? She hires recently defeated Democratic congressman Bob Etheridge of the notorious ‘Who Are You’ video. Mr. Etheridge will be granted an annual salary of $98,000. It must be nice to have friends in high places.


Patronage is stickier than tar when it comes to the heels in the Democratic Party. Short term tax increases are about to sunset in June, and Bev’s buddies are clamoring for her to do something. Now who benefits from taxpayers wallets? The Carolina Journal tells you exactly who the leeches are:



RALEIGH — Two high-profile public relations campaigns urging Gov. Bev Perdue to extend more than $1 billion in temporary taxes are dominated by Democratic Party donors, left-leaning advocacy groups, unions, government contractors, and nonprofits that receive taxpayer funding.


The PR messages have been launched as the new Republican majority in the General Assembly has vowed to close a multibillion-dollar 2011-12 budget deficit by not raising taxes and by allowing $1.3 billion in temporary tax increases to sunset as scheduled in June.


The organizations behind these campaigns largely endorse liberal causes and Democratic candidates, or are nonprofits and government contractors that receive taxpayer funding.


One group, TogetherNC.org, styles itself as “a broad and diverse collection of nonprofit organizations, service providers, and professional associations who have come together to promote wise choices for shared prosperity for all North Carolinians.” It has produced a YouTube video urging the General Assembly not to cut spending. The News & Observer of Raleigh published an op-ed this week by representatives of two member organizations, saying the state’s budget concerns are “a revenue problem” — suggesting that current tax collections are not sufficient to cover essential services — and that “a cuts-only approach [to deficit reduction] would cut out our state's economic heart.”


Any diversity within the group is not ideological, however. According to whois.net, the group’s website is registered to Debra Tyler Horton of the N.C. Justice Center, a left-wing advocacy group based in Raleigh. The list of Together NC’s “endorsing organizations” includes more than 100 groups. Among them:


• Every major public employee organization and labor union in North Carolina, including the North Carolina Association of Educators, the State Employees Assocation of North Carolina/Service Employees International Union, UE 150 – NC Public Service Workers Union, the National Association of Social Workers - NC Chapter, NC AFL-CIO, and Teamsters Local 391.


• Social service agencies or other nonprofits that receive public funding, including United Way of North Carolina, North Carolina Community Action Association, Legal Services of Southern Piedmont, Self-Help Credit Union, Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina, and NC Conservation Network.


• Liberal groups that lobby for higher taxes and more government spending, such as NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, Planned Parenthood of Central NC, NC NAACP, Capital Area Friends of Transit, Common Cause NC, Democracy North Carolina, NC Social Justice Project, NC Justice Center, North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, and North Carolina National Association for Women

I think I know why Governor Perdue hired Bob Etheridge. He’s pretty handy with his hands, and will fit right in with the union goons who like to intimidate their opponents.





Source: http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=7360

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/02/04/966742/an-expensive-job.html#ixzz1D0j2TLOy

North Carolina Republicans Gutting Cash Cow

North Carolina state senators are about to disembowel a liberal cash cow. One of the biggest organizations , The Golden LEAF Foundation is about to have a serious amputation, as reported by Carolina Journal:


The measure would transfer $142 million in cash balances and unexpended revenues from the three recipients of North Carolina’s tobacco settlement in 1998 — the Golden LEAF Foundation, the Health & Wellness Trust Fund, and the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund.


Golden LEAF would take the largest hit. It would lose a $67-million annual allotment due April 15. The Health & Wellness Trust Fund would lose $12 million, and the Tobacco Trust Fund $3 million.


The legislation wouldn’t impact Golden LEAF’s future allotments, nor would it touch the group’s corpus valued at $555 million.


For years, Republicans and limited government advocates have criticized Golden LEAF as a political slush fund, but Democrats at the committee hearing defended it as a job-creator.

Democrats are protesting this frontal assault:

“The Golden LEAF fund was designed for tobacco-dependent counties, the poorest counties in the state, to put money back in those counties for job creation,” said Sen. Michael Walters, D-Robeson. “We’re taking that assurance that we’ve given those folks away from them again. We’re going to push these poor countries back into recession further than we ever thought we would.”

I wonder if Senator Michael Walters had anything to do with the smoking ban in North Carolina bars and restaurants. That law went into effect last year. Can you imagine how much of an economic impact that had on the poor tobacco dependent counties.  Don't worry farmers, Sen. Michael Walters wants to send a welfare check to you, courtesy of The Golden Leaf fund and your fellow taxpayers.

Source: http://www.carolinajournal.com/articles/display_story.html?id=7351

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7475886/

Voting Shenanigans in New Bern, North Carolina

It looks like we are getting the usual funny business at polling places.  A New Bern, North Carolina man pushed a straight Republican ticket and instead got Democratic.  This according to the Sun Journal:                                                                                                                                                                                       

A Craven County voter says he had a near miss at the polls on Thursday when an electronic voting machine completed his straight-party ticket for the opposite of what he intended. 

Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern said he pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked. He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result, he said. Then he asked for and received help from election staff.


“They pushed it twice and the same thing happened,” Laughinghouse said. “That was four times in a row. The fifth time they pushed it and the Republicans came up and I voted.”

Not only are we getting some funny shenanigans here in North Carolina, voters in Nevada are finding out that someone has chosen Harry Reid for them before they even begin to push the lever.  Isn't that thoughtful?

You've got to love those jackasses and their little pranks.  They know how to make every election cycle a barrel of laughs.

Source: http://www.fox5vegas.com/news/25511115/detail.html
http://www.newbernsj.com/articles/machine-91656-screen-voter.html