Foreclosure relief is needed to stem the rise but the unemployment rate needs to go down to allow people to earn money to pay their mortgages. Recent statistics may be getting less worse but the economy is still shedding jobs and there are increasing numbers of foreclosures.
Eventually the numbers will turn around, but the question is, when will we get foreclosure relief and a reduction in the unemployment rate?
Each week, I receive dozens of letters from readers. The vast majority of them are in trouble financially, mostly because they’ve lost their job and can’t pay their bills. I get the sense from reading these emails that each of these homeowners wishes desperately he or she could rely on a paycheck each week. The anguish comes through as they describe their dearest wish: to get caught up with their mortgage payments and continue living their lives.
As we pick through the rubble of this greatest recession, it’s easy to stumble on the idea that it’s over and done with. The big banks on Wall Street are reporting record profits and setting aside astounding numbers to pay bonus that are three times as big as the median home price. The stock market reached 10,000 in mid-October, up more 50 percent since the low in early March. It’s less frightening to see stock market losses of 25 percent than 47 percent.
When it comes to foreclosure, the problem isn’t just the 7.2 million jobs that have been lost during this great recession. There are millions of Americans who took a huge pay cut to keep their companies going. Unpaid furloughs and 10 to 25 percent pay cuts mean tens of millions of Americans are having a much harder time paying their bills – and their mortgages are at risk as well.
To read the full article, or for more information on foreclosure relief and unemployment, logon to ThinkGlink.com.
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