Posted 2/24/2009 05:47:00 PM by Douglas

I've got a great idea to help the economy! Let's take public money, give it to underqualified borrowers to artificially inflate their credit score so they can get a mortgage! Then, we give loans to people we know are higher risk for defaulting in areas of town no one want to live? We get people to buy houses no one wants with money we know won't get paid back!! What could go wrong?!? Oh yeah, everything!

The “Credit Score Enhancement Program” would have given up to $3,000 in grants to individuals who are trying to qualify for mortgages through the city’s homebuyers assistance program. City officials say some applicants fall short of eligibility by only 10 or 20 points on their credit scores, and paying off some debt balances can quickly improve their numbers.

The city has three programs that provide grants for down payments and closing costs for qualified homebuyers. The most generous one offers a $37,500 grant to buy a home that costs $135,000 or less, but only in certain disadvantaged Houston neighborhoods the city is trying to revitalize. Participants cannot earn more than 80 percent of the Houston median income.

First off, where does 'extra' money come from? There are still people homeless from Ike for crap's sake. And just how STOOPID do you have to be to come up with this plan? Propping up someone's credit rating to get a mortgage? That's what a fucking credit rating is for!

When I first read this, I thought it was an early April Fool's Day joke, or someone at the Onion.com pulled one over on the Chronicle. Sadly, that was not the case.

Even more sad is that this jack-assery had to get national attention from Drudge before the city council realized how blisteringly stupid it was.

There is no hope for this country.