AARP Eye Center
Relief for Some?
By Jill Greenberg, November 6, 2007 04:08 PM
The House Financial Services Committee is voting on a bill today that is supposed to reform the mortgage industry and prevent the kind of abusive practices that have been widely reported over the last months.
Both the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal today have something to say about the bill. Neither of the editorial pages likes it, albeit for different reasons. The Times says the bill doesn't hold Wall Street accountable enough; the Journal says Congress is trying to punish business for the "excesses of the unscrupulous few," which will give fewer would-be home buyers a shot at the cornerstone of the American Dream.
What both editorials seem to get is that something's gotta give - bad lending practices led to the credit market crunch and reform is needed.
We'll see what comes out of the committee today, but whether you read the Times or the Journal, it's clear the bill needs stronger accountability AND opportunity for both sides. And they're not mutually exclusive.