CNN - "Fannie, Freddie to fund part of plan" (2-21-09)

"The White House is using only $50 billion from the $700 billion financial industry bailout package to fund the foreclosure prevention program, a senior administration official clarified Friday. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will contribute more than $20 billion to the $75 billion loan modification program, which was unveiled Wednesday. The funds will be used mainly to subsidize interest rates so troubled borrowers' monthly payments can be lowered to affordable levels."

Orange County Register - "Mortgage bailout declared futile" (2-21-09)

"Bob Simpson, president of Imarc Investors Mortgage Asset Recovery Co., an Irvine firm that investigates why home loans go bad, says no federal mortgage rescue plan can save people from having gotten in too deep. Simpson says he’s seen thousands of people fail to pay mortgages for which they were not qualified. He anticipates seeing tens of thousands more this year, no matter what the government does."

Watching the Marcitz - "Obama HURTS 100 Million to Help 9 Million" (2-22-09)

"The net result is that you are charging renters, through the eventual taxes needed to pay for this, for the privledge of NOT being able to afford a house while also raising their current rents. This reminds me of the former Soviet practice of making soon-to-be-victims of execution pay for their own bullets and then charging their families for their burials."

San Francisco Chronicle - "Even Bay Area's high-end home market hurting" (2-22-09)

"While homes that cost $1 million and more haven't seen the same kind of fire sales as the lower end of the market, transactions have all but ground to a halt, according to some real estate agents. Last year 24,436 homes sold for more than $1 million statewide, down 42.5 percent from 2007, according to MDA DataQuick."