Another Week, Another Bailout: Homeowners Get Their Turn

It seems like every time we turn around, the big bad bailout that everyone's having such a hard time swallowing is extended just a little bit further. The most recent notch up? The homeowner-rescue plan— maybe all those rhetorical questions about why we're not "bailing out the homeowners" actually hit home somewhere in Washington. Plan A, spearheaded by the FDIC: Use up to $50 billion of the $700 billion bailout to guarantee loans for homeowners whose annual income is worth 38 percent of the debt on their house. Loan terms would ideally be adjusted so that said homeowners can continue to actually, you know, own their homes. Plan B: Just expand existing HUD assistance programs. People in the know warn against expecting any rabbits to be pulled out of any hats. "We're not doing anything for people who are under water. ... There are foreclosures that will go forward." And so it goes.
· The Next Bailout: Helping Homeowners in Distress [TIME]
· Morning Thinkage: But What About Main Street?! [Curbed SF]
· WTF?: Federal Housing Package Redux [Curbed SF]For more stories from Curbed SF, go to sf.curbed.com.