Politics. On Point.

  Is "the state of our union really strong? Are we really building back better than ever? President Biden unveiled his 2023 budget this week with a few familiar focused items. The president is again calling for those who make millions of dollars to pay their fair share of taxes. His 2023 budget makes it plain that billionaires should also do the same.  (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky) Outlining his budget plans the president makes the claim that, " The tax code currently offers special treatment for the types of income that wealthy people enjoy. This special treatment, combined with sophisticated tax planning and giant loopholes, allows many of the very wealthiest people in the world to end up paying a lower tax rate on their full income than many middle-class households. To finally address this glaring problem, the Budget includes a minimum tax on multi-millionaires and billionaires who so often pay indefensibly low tax rates. This minimum tax would apply only to the wealthiest...

 Says,  “America is back, and here to stay.” Ahead of his first one-hundred days in office, President Biden addressed Congress, and Americans, in a live television broadcast Wednesday night where he lauded the actions of his administration and admonished Americans, and both parties, “to work together.” Short of mentioning the stock market, U.S. border crisis , and U.S. homelessness, Biden addressed a host of issues that still plague America but also offered what his administration wants to do, in-the-now, to move the country forward on the issues. President Biden addressed climate change, education, police reform, taxes , China, infrastructure , health care , vaccine roll outs, Afghanistan. All the topics that, for years, have been addressed by previous presidential administrations . Here are a few highlights from the speech. Infrastructure. The president said his American Jobs Plan would also “replace 100% of the nation’s lead pipes and service lines so every American, so ...

The wheels that grind this country's racist ways have to come to an end.   Over the last days and weeks America has started to see the country move in that direction.   From discussions over whether or not the Confederate flag that flies at the state capital in South Carolina is a sign of racial hatred, prompting its removal, to fighting disparities in housing , healthcare , and same-sex marriage . Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that disparate-impact standard has worked to combat systemic discrimination in the case of  Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project Inc .  (See Supreme Court Syllabus here ). America, the equal?  A flag symbolizing equality flies in front of the Supreme Court. Under the Fair Housing Authority, "it is unlawful to refuse to sell, rent or otherwise make unavailable or deny a dwelling to a person because of race, or other protected characteristic." Attorney General Loretta Lynch we...

Get 'Er Done! Congress must finish a few loose ends before going on summer recess.   A list of demands, outlining what is expected, comes from the Commander in Chief. Speaking today at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering State University of New York Albany, New York President Obama outlined what he'd like to see Congress take care of before their summer break. Going through 'the list' Obama pointed out at five items he'd like to see get done. "First, Congress needs to help the millions of Americans who have worked hard, made their mortgage payments on time, but still have been unable to refinance their mortgages with these historically low rates.  This would make a huge difference for the economy", explained the president. Two, helping responsible homeowners afford their home mortgages. Three, "Congress should help small business owners by giving them a tax break for hiring more workers and paying them higher wages." ...

"No more red tape."  "Fairness and responsibility." In a Town Hall Twitter session at the White House last July President Obama, when asked what he would have done differently since he became president answered, "I wish I could have done more to help homeowners stay in their homes ." President Obama holds up a proposed one-page mortgage application at James Lee Recreation Center in Falls Church, Va. Speaking today, speaking at the James Lee Recreation Center in Falls Church, Virginia, the president outlined his plan to help responsible homeowners, those he described as those who "paid their mortgages on time", and played by the rules, recover from a housing bubble that saw many Americans lose their homes due to unfair practices by credit lenders and mortgage companies. "It was wrong.  It triggered the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes.  And it has been the single biggest drag on our recovery from a terrible recession", ...

The Department of Justice today filed its largest residential fair lending settlement in history to resolve allegations that Countrywide Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries engaged in a widespread pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Hispanic borrowers in their mortgage lending from 2004 through 2008.  More than 200,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers who qualified for Loans were charged higher fees or placed into subprime loans.   The settlement provides $335 million in compensation for victims of Countrywide’s discrimination during a period when Countrywide originated millions of residential mortgage loans as one of the nation’s largest single-family mortgage lenders. The settlement, which is subject to court approval, was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in conjunction with the department’s complaint which alleges that Countrywide discriminated by charging more than 200,...

Either the president is a man of his word, or he was using yesterday's Twitter Town Hall event to plug his next program effort. Yesterday, the president, when asked what he would do differently about handling the recession America experienced the last two years, answered that he would have tried to prevent more people from losing their home. Today, the White House Press Office put out a statement that Obama officials will convene a media conference call with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan to announce new housing program improvements to help unemployed homeowners.  The program will require home loan servicers to extend the forbearance period for unemployed homeowners with Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured loans to 12 months. Servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA) will also be required to extend the forbearance period for unemployed borrowers to 12 months wherever possible und...