Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama Visits San Antonio 2-19 for a Roundtable Discussion on the Housing Crisis and a PublicTown Hall Meeting
---transcription by Brooke Palmer, photos by Heather Croxton
Barack Obama
Just before 1pm on Tuesday, February 19th, Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama met with local citizens and press at the Guadalupe Center in San Antonio’s west side for a roundtable discussion on the current housing economic crises in America. The Roundtable Discussion was attended by three local citizens struggling with housing loan deceptions and a member of local organization ACORN—Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now—which provides free counseling and mediation to families in need of help in these crises. All told their stories while Obama asked questions and responded.
Here is a recap of his opening remarks to the press:
Over the last few weeks we’ve heard a lot about how our economy is sliding into recession. I’ve seen the face of the economy…one thing we have to remember is it didn’t have to be this way. We’d been warned that the problemss in the housing market could spill over. The Bush administration was an enabler.
Over the last several years while predatory lenders were tricking families…some lenders were spending 185 million dollars lobbying Washington... the CEO of the largest subprime lender was promised a hundred-million-dollar severance package at a time when more than 2 million Americans were facing foreclosure, including nearly 14,000 right here in San Antonio...It’s time we had a president who knows it’s an outrage. Clinton and I agree it’s a problem but we don’t agree on how to solve the problem. Her approach will reward people who’ve made this problem worse and reward the wealthy who don’t need it… A blanket freeze will drive rates through the roof…Experts say the value of homes will fall even more and even more families will face foreclosure. We should be cracking down on banks who engage in reckless lending and helping borrowers who played by the rules in a game that was rigged against them.
The fact is, Americans can’t afford to wait for relief until I’m president.
I’ve called for an immediate 10 billion relief fund…Lenders will also have to do their part, show some flexibility to people trying to sell or refinance their houses. Lenders will have to make long-term home modifications. Everyone knows that, including the lenders. We need to find common ground…reductions in interest…freeze some foreclosures for 30 days…but we need to do more. 30 days is not enough time to work out a loan modification…We’re in need of more than a change in policies...If the last few months have taught us anything, it’s that we can all suffer from the excesses of a few. We need to restore balance and fairness in our economy.
