- $3 billion allocated for jobless homeowners, By Julia Love, August 12, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “The Obama administration announced Wednesday that as part of an effort to stabilize housing markets it will send a $3-billion lifeline to jobless homeowners struggling to make mortgage payments. Tapping into resources from the $700-billion Wall Street bailout, the Treasury Department will add $2 billion to its Hardest Hit Fund, assisting the 17 states that have unemployment rates higher than the national average, along with Washington, D.C. California will receive $476 million, the most of any state…”
- U.S. plans more aid for jobless homeowners, By David Streitfeld, August 11, 2010, New York Times: “In an acknowledgment that the foreclosure crisis is far from over, the Obama administration on Wednesday pumped $3 billion into programs intended to stop the unemployed from losing their homes. The housing market, which usually helps lead the country out of a recession, is this time helping hold the recovery back. Interest rates are at record lows, but too few can afford to buy or refinance. Unemployed homeowners who live in communities where values have fallen sharply are often unable to sell. Their foreclosures weaken neighborhoods and create a vicious circle by further undermining the market…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty