[THS] US Deficit Reduction Painful, Commission Chiefs Warn

[The Harder Stuff in news and commentary]

1 Million American Households Likely to Lose Homes to Foreclosure This Year

By Associated Press

Nearly 528,000 homes were taken over by lenders in the first six months of the year.
By comparison, lenders have historically taken over about 100,000 homes a year.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25952.htm

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US Deficit Reduction Painful, Commission Chiefs Warn

Eliminating mortgage interest deduction being considered

By Donna Smith

Restoring U.S. fiscal balance is going to be a painful process that mostly requires
spending cuts, but also some tax increases, the leaders of President Barack Obama's
deficit commission said on Wednesday.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25943.htm

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The IMF Is Coming for Your Social Security

By Dean Baker

Last week, the IMF told the United States that it needs to start getting its budget
deficit down. It put cutting Social Security at the top of the steps that the country
should take to achieve deficit reduction. This one is more than a bit outrageous for
two reasons.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25951.htm

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Republicans Don't Give a Damn about the Deficit

By Sahil Kapur

The GOP's blocking of jobless benefits in the US Senate, while supporting huge tax
cuts for the rich, shows its stance is political.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25947.htm

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Government for Sale:
How Lobbyists Shaped the Financial Reform Bill

By Steven Brill

Along a marble corridor in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, I
watched about 40 well-dressed men (and two women) delivering huge value for their
employers. Except that we, the taxpayers, weren't employing them. The nation's
banks, mortgage lenders, stockbrokers, private-equity funds and derivatives traders
were.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article25948.htm

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