It is impossible to fix the monstrosity of fraud that the banks have done. I don’t see anyone performing any miracles to get this country back into shape.

HUFFPO-

The release of former Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner’s new book, Stress Test — his self-serving account of the Obama administration’s effort to address the nation’s economic crisis and mortgage meltdown — has triggered a great deal of controversy and debate. Was the Obama economic team too cozy with, or too sympathetic, to Wall Street? Was the stimulus package large enough? Did Geithner, Larry Summers and Ben Bernanke stifle the views of dissidents within the administration — especially Council of Economic Advisors chair Christina Romer and FDIC chair Sheila Bair (perhaps not surprisingly, both women) — who urged bolder approaches?

But on at least one issue, there is a growing consensus: The Obama administration did too little, too late, to help troubled homeowners, who faced plummeting home prices and the risk of foreclosure.

Obama’s closest advisors wrongly assumed that as the economy improved, Americans would be better able to buy homes and pay the mortgage on existing homes. But the economy recovery was slower than expected, many unemployed people who did find jobs had to settle for less pay than before, and many homeowners found themselves with ballooning mortgage payments or with mortgages worth less than the value of their homes. Between 2006 and 2011, Americans lost about $7 trillion in home equity due to plunging housing prices — the largest overall loss of wealth than at any time since the Depression.

[HUFFINGTONPOST]

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