Independent voices from the TWT Communities
A federal housing study finds that when heterosexual married couples look for a place to live, they are slightly more likely to get a favorable response than gay or lesbian couples.
Some of President Barack Obama's political appointees, including the secretary for Health and Human Services, are using secret government email accounts they say are necessary to prevent their inboxes from being overwhelmed with unwanted messages, according to a review by The Associated Press.
The government is already struggling to manage the more than 195,000 foreclosed homes it now possesses and is ill-prepared as a new wave of foreclosures looms on the horizon, according to federal watchdogs who paint a less rosy picture of the housing market than politicians.
The Education and Energy departments are among the big winners in President Obama's fiscal 2014 budget, with each agency receiving a substantial boost in proposed funding.Mr. Obama plans to increase the Education Department by 4.6 percent, to $31.8 billion, including $750 million for expanded universal pre-school services. That initiative would be funded by a new tobacco tax.
Despite the claim that it is “protecting consumers from irresponsible mortgage lenders,” the new Qualified Mortgage rule finalized in January by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau turns out to be simply another and more direct way for the government to keep mortgage underwriting standards low. This sets the country up for a repetition of the mortgage meltdown of 2007 and 2008.
Mark Sullivan , the head of the Secret Service is stepping down after 30 years with the agency.
Conservatives and watchdog groups are mounting a "not-so-fast" campaign against a $50.7 billion Superstorm Sandy aid package that Northeastern governors and lawmakers hope to push through the House this coming week.
Friday's grim financial report from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) -- it's insolvent to the tune of negative $31 billion -- is prompting fresh scrutiny of the government's role in housing, particularly the mayhem caused by federal backing of mortgages involving low down payments and low credit scores.
With thousands of Staten Island residents still without power and facing a long road to recovery after Hurricane Sandy, President Obama put Shaun L.S. Donovan, Housing and Urban Development secretary and a former New York City official, in charge of the federal role in the area's rebuilding.
President Obama vowed Thursday to stick with New Yorkers still struggling 17 days after Superstorm Sandy "until the rebuilding is complete" after getting an up-close look at devastated neighborhoods rendered unlivable.
It's not always easy to tell who's coming or going as the Obama administration starts its second term, but multiple agencies have quietly commissioned artists to paint official portraits of Cabinet secretaries and other top appointees — an expenditure often seen when officials are on the way out the door or already gone.
The federal government has sued Wells Fargo Bank in New York, blaming the nation's largest originator of home mortgages for thousands of loan defaults over the past decade.
Whether you are a highly educated, experienced investor or a young professional eager to become the first homeowner in your family, a homeowner education class can be an invaluable resource.
With the federal government closing in on its fourth consecutive budget deficit in excess of $1 trillion, the national debt is hurtling toward dangerous levels. If the nation is to avert a debt crisis, federal policymakers need to aggressively balance revenues. Business subsidies, or "corporate welfare," are a good place to start.
Hey, include Gary Johnson in the presidential debates and let America have access to a third party, say his allies. Or else.
