Posted on 06/16/2002 6:31:16 AM PDT by SBeck
Bush Touts Low - Income Homes Plan
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- President Bush pitched a plan to make it easier for black people and Hispanics to become homeowners through government incentives and grants to help on down payments.
In his weekly radio address Saturday, the president said he wants to remove obstacles ``that prevent minorities from owning a piece of the American dream.''
Bush noted that while three-quarters of white Americans own their own homes, fewer than half of all black and Hispanic Americans are homeowners.
``We must begin to close this homeownership gap by dismantling the barriers that prevent minorities from owning a piece of the American dream,'' said Bush, spending Father's Day weekend at his own home on his Texas ranch.
Bush has proposed giving developers almost $2.4 billion in tax credits over five years for building affordable single-family homes in low-income areas. The White House estimates the tax incentive could translate into construction of 200,000 lower-cost homes in the period.
Addressing his radio audience, Bush proposed a $200-million expansion to the American Dream Down Payment Fund, first outlined in January and awaiting action by Congress. It would provide grants to help about 40,000 families a year pay down payments or closing costs on houses. Most grants would be less than $5,000. The money would be distributed by state and local housing programs.
The radio address was a preview of a speech Bush is to make Monday in Atlanta to promote his broad housing agenda, which he summarized as ``empowering people to help themselves and to help one another.''
Bush plans a stop at south Atlanta's Pryor Road area, where housing development is replacing dilapidated and crime-ridden strip malls.
The program currently has a budget of $50 million and is to begin offering grants in July.
``The single greatest hurdle to first-time homeownership is a high down payment requirement that can put a home out of reach,'' Bush said Saturday. ``When a low-income family is qualified to buy a home but comes up short on the down payment, the American Dream Down Payment Fund will help provide the funds.''
Bush also urged better consumer education to help would-be buyers avoid pitfalls that often arise to obtaining affordable mortgages.
``Education is the best protection for families against abusive and unscrupulous lenders,'' Bush said.
``Financial education and housing counseling can help protect home buyers against abuses, greatly improve the loan terms they are offered and help families get through tough times with their homes intact.''
Another program that will end up costing BILLIONS of our dollars with 20% of us paying for it thru higher taxes in the future.
As for those of you who support this man with blind loyalty , I remind you that the dem's domestic programs are being implemented, so, please tell me where there is a difference between the parties.
He's backsliding on his own doctrine on terrorism also.
He is creating a incredible voting block with all these handouts. Who would be foolish enough to vote against their own paycheck? Give people who need it a hand, not a handout and make them pay it back when they get on their feet.
Once the "passion of patriotism" subsides, this man will have nothing, but, what the hey, I wear a tin foil hat.
I guess he doesn't need his base anymore, you know, those who work their butts off to provide for their families, which includes saving for a down payment on a home.
Yet hardly a question is raised or an eyelash batted... not by the press, not by the public, not by anyone. A few disgruntled folks on a thread at FR, and that's about it.
So what can you say? Welcome to post-constitutional America, I guess.
At least president Bush keeps his pants on; for that I am thankful.
Yes, I'm thankful for that too, but I'd like it if he kept his hand out of my wallet at the same time.
It does seem the destrucion of the middle class is the goal of far too many politicians. The dem's disdain for the middle class has been apparent for years, but I thought the republicans were on the side of the middle class. I guess I was wrong.
Middle class seems to be a world view rather then a matter of material possessions. It seems the Great Society programs were such a failure at least in part because they were only concerned with the redistribution of wealth rather then the recipients attitudes towards work, family, etc.
I don't blame him! All liberal entitlement programs reward undesirable behaviors and punish desirable behaviors.
Personally, I'd rather see a black family helped to acheive home ownership--as a family-- than have them paid to have illigitiment babies.
I would hope that someone was a self-reliant citizen first. This only reinforces dependency on government. The response will be "the government got me my home."
I live in a middle-class townhouse development of which most of the owners are recent immigrants. I applaud all of them that have worked hard and saved to be able to make their first home purchase (although I wish that some had left the third world back in the third world). How are they able to do it while other minorities have not? Perhaps different ethics - work hard and save?
I would be more accepting of some type of tax break for all Americans to help them save up for a down payment. It took us every nickel we had to get ours together and making the payments with the PMI is not easy, but we are doing it.
What this does is simply put one group against another. If I choose not to live in a "low-income area" I can't qualify. Of course, being a white male would probably disqulaify me outright. So my money is being extracted to give to someone else so they can simply ask for the down payment money while we scrimped and saved to get ours.
Also, what about minorities that want to get a house so they can escape the high crime and degradation of the inner cities? I was recently in Charlotte looking at houses. We were not completely familiar with all of the surrounding areas so we drove to several locations that had home listings priced where we could afford them. The first place we went was beautiful. Every home was immaculate (at least the outsides). They must have put untold hours into maintaining their yards. Then we noticed that all of the owners were black. These people worked hard and saved so that they could escape the problems of the ghetto and none of them would have gotten any help from this program.
I see this as nothing but another feel-good, doomed to failure, handout program. Kemp tried some similar deal with his "enterprise zones" that failed miserably. The only way to make a difference along these lines is to alter the mindset of people that aren't doing the right thing.
I am furious at this administration. He has one good appointee - Rumsfeld. The rest only qualify as better than what we had under Clinton (or only marginally less of an embarrasment). To me, that is just not good enough. He is using the same tactics Clinton did. Just go along with the other party to steal their thunder. Given a choice it might be better to have a Democrat that goes along with the Republican initiatives rather that a Republican that goes along with all of the Democrat initiatives.
I had to hold my nose to vote for Bush in 2000. Will I be able to hold my nose again in 2004. The way things are going, it is going to be much more difficult.
Remember the S&L "scandal"? That was over $300 billion, mostly in real estate scams. Remember that $59 billion dollars that HUD still can't account for?
All of it paid for with your and my tax money. Who benefited? Hint: it wasn't Democrats or Republicans, it was both. The only difference betweens the Rs and the Ds anymore is the same difference there is between the Gotti family and the Bonanno family. It's still organized crime, IMHO. Where do I sign up? When do I get a chance to play?
Bingo!! He also says he cant get a job even if he was able to work because they would cancel his insurance. He is on the list for a liver transplant and there is no way he can afford it.
He did sell his home to stay on welfare.
There used to be a concept in this country, I can't remember the name of it, where private businesses could make a profit by providing goods ands services to people. Now, it takes special credits and tax breaks. What was that called?
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