Joe on WDET Talking About the Mortgage Crisis

Joe was on the radio today on WDET talking about the mortgage crisis. He tells a story about a woman who needed help and she was able to readjust her budget by stopping her fast food habits at McDonalds and Burger King and voila, she was able to stay in her home. Wow, why didn't I think of that? Cut out fast food and solve the mortgage crisis.

A listener chastises Joe Knollenberg for his vote in favor of the bankruptcy bill.

Knollenberg Mortgage Counseling Proposal Too Little, Too Late

I came across this little story in today's Oakland Press. Joe Knollenberg and some colleagues want to provide funding for people who are at risk of losing their homes for counseling. This reminds of Joe's health care plan, to provide a tax credit to employers who provide wellness training. It's completely, unequivocally inadequate.

I don't know what it is with Republicans. They think people should just be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, without providing the boots. Republican policies on trade have devastated this country and while I love Bill Clinton, NAFTA was a bad idea and we in Michigan have bore the brunt of bad trade agreements ever since. So, excuse me if I greet Joe Knollenberg's announcement of a counseling program for those about to lose their homes with a health dose of skepticism. They don't need counseling, Joe, they need dollars to pay the mortgage, dollars that we are burning through in that little war Joe Knollenberg supports wholeheartedly, to the tune of $12 billion a month. Imagine what $12 billion could do to help people about to lose their homes. $130 million is a spit in the wind, Joe. They need good jobs that pay good wages, not the $14 per hour the two-tier system adopted in the auto industry. It makes me sick what the Republicans and George W. Bush have done to this country's middle class. They have devastated the middle class at every turn and my hope is that the voters of Michigan and across this country reject Republican policies across the board in November so that we can put America on the track to economic recovery and regaining our standing in the world.