On Monday, December 19th, MVOC leaders held a press conference to release a report with the New Bottom Line coalition. It shows the Obama Administration a win/win solution to fix the housing crisis and create jobs. If the President follows the recommendations in Ohio Underwater, over $36 million dollars would enter our local economy and an estimated 545 jobs would be created. Most importantly, homeowners who are underwater in their mortgages - over 20% in Youngstown alone - would pay a fair market price for their loan, rather than the inflated one they currently pay as a result of the Wall Street financed speculative bubble that crashed the economy,

Read the report here: "Ohio Underwater: How President Obama Can Fix the Housing Crisis and Create Jobs."

From the report:

In Ohio, the effects of the crisis have been severe.  More than 315,000 Ohioans lost their jobs since the start of 2008, and 282,000 are expected to lose their homes by the end of 2012...

But the Obama Administration and the banks can do something right now to change all that.  Requiring banks to write down all underwater mortgages to market value could:

• Pump $1.64 billion into Ohio’s economy every year;

• Create more than 24,000 jobs in Ohio;

• Save Ohio families an average of $284 per month on their mortgage payments;

• Decisively fix the foreclosure crisis 

...underwater mortgage debt is one of the primary drags on economic recovery.

The report calls on the President to:

• Conduct a full investigation into the fraudulent and illegal activities of the Wall Street banks that caused the foreclosure crisis and economic meltdown;
• Ensure that the big banks are not let off the hook for their crimes. There cannot be a broad release of claims in any current or future settlement talks with the big banks;

• Require a minimum of $200 - $300 billion from the big banks in principal reduction for underwater homeowners and restitution for foreclosed-on families in State and nationwide; and
• Target principal reduction and restitution to the families hardest hit by the banks’ predatory lending and illegal activities, including communities of color and regions of the country with the highest percentage of foreclosures.