60 Minutes and Obama Focus on Keeping People in Their Homes

Submitted by Jake Berliner on 12/15/08

It has now become conventional wisdom that the housing crisis is at the root of the financial meltdown – an argument NDN has been making since September. 60 Minutes gave voice to that shared sentiment last night, devoting almost the entire program to housing issues and President-elect Barack Obama discussed the very same topic in his weekly YouTube address.

The first 60 Minutes segment, an interview of House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, discusses the broad range of issues facing the influential Massachusetts Congressman, including the current financial and housing crises.

The second segment sheds light on the dark underbelly of the mortgages crisis and asks if a second wave of mortgage resets on "Alt-A" and "option ARM" loans could cause another mortgage disaster. 60 Minutes calls this a "ticking time bomb."


Finally, in his weekly YouTube address, President-elect Barack Obama gives us his plans and names his choice for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: