Despite the fact that Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) now admits he was a Countrywide Financial “VIP” since 1993, Congress is still barreling ahead with the $300 billion housing bailout bill that Dodd sponsored.
The important thing to remember as the debate over this massive bailout continues is that this bill is really a bailout of Wall Street, not homeowners. Progressive economist Dean Baker explains:
This bill, the central feature of which is having the FHA guarantee new mortgages to replace one’s currently facing default, would first and foremost be helping the banks who hold bad mortgages. All the checks get written to banks, not homeowners. Banks get to decide which mortgages qualify for the program, not homeowners.
