If he pursues this (legitimately), he gets credit where credit is due from me:
[i]Responding to the collapse in home prices and the huge number of foreclosures, the Obama administration is pursuing an overhaul of government policy that could diverge from the emphasis on homeownership embraced by former administrations.
â??In previous eras, we havenâ??t seen people question whether homeownership was the right decision. It was just assumed thatâ??s where you want to go,â?? said Raphael Bostic, a senior official in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. â??Youâ??re not going to hear us say that.â??
Bostic, who has published leading scholarship on homeownership, added that owning a home has a lot of value, but â??what weâ??ve seen in the last four years is that there really is an underside to homeownership.â??
The administrationâ??s narrower view of who should own a home and what the government should to do to support them could have major implications for the economy as well as borrowers. Broadly, the administration may wind down some government backing for home loans, but increase the focus on affordable rentals.
The shift in approach could mean higher down payments and interest rates on loans, more barriers to lower-income people buying houses, and fewer homeowners overall, government officials said. But it could also pave the way for a more stable housing market, one with fewer taxpayer dollars on the line and less of a risk that homeowners will not be able to pay their mortgages. And it could spell changes throughout the financial markets, as investors choose new places to put their money if the government withdraws some incentives for investing in the U.S. mortgage market.[/i]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/20/AR2010072005946.html