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" Eventually, you just can&amp;#039;t muster up the rage any more. I&amp;#039;m not at that point yet, however. Instead of helping homeowners as promised under agreements with the U.S. Treasury Department, Bank of America stalled them with repeated requests for paperwork and incorrect income calculations, according to nine former Urban Lending employees. Some borrowers were sent into foreclosure or pricier loan modifications padded with fees resulting from the delays, according to the people, all but two of whom asked to remain anonymous because they signed confidentiality agreements. HAMP was the centerpiece of President Barack Obama&amp;#039;s attempt to prevent foreclosures by lowering distressed borrowers&amp;#039; mortgage payments. Under the program, homeowners are given trial modifications to prove they can make reduced payments before the changes become permanent. The accounts of the former employees help explain why Obama&amp;#039;s plan fell far short of the 3 million averted foreclosures targeted in 2009. Relying on the same industry that sold shoddy mortgages during the housing bubble and improperly sped foreclosures afterward, HAMP resulted in still-active modifications for 905,663 homeowners as of the end of August, or 13 percent of the 6.9 million people who applied. HAMP was a mess. Now we learn that the fundamental mistake the administration made -- indeed, the fundamental mistake the administration has made almost from its start -- was to ignore the obvious fact that the financial services industry is nothing more than an elaborate vehicle for organized thievery. Anything they can steal, they will steal. Put them in a mine and they&amp;#039;ll steal the gold. Put them in a rescue mission, and they&amp;#039;ll wear rubber pockets so they can steal the soup. Maybe the gang at Third Way can tell us again how economic populism is bad for the nation. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a20019/bank-of-america-hamp-mess-121613/>