Dear Mr. President,
I believe the key to solving the housing and foreclosure crisis is by simultaneously reforming FICO credit scoring (Fair Isaac Corporation) and the banking and credit card company practices that have turned tens of millions of Americans into debt slaves.
This will allow more qualified people to get low interest, fixed-rate mortgages, and free them from the debt slavery that is bringing down the country as sure as Jefferson Davis did 150 years ago (Study your history Mitch McConnell. You and your conservative Congressional colleagues never renounced Jefferson Davis. Rather, you, Eric Kantor, Michelle Bachman et al have been blaming minorities for the housing crisis).
This will stimulate the economy, job growth, and create more personal wealth for many more Americans than ever before.
Most people don't realize that FICO neglects crucial income information and bill paying history that could greatly increase people's scores if included. An entrepreneurial non-profit firm called Just Price Solutions solves this problem and provides a great alternative to the FICO monopoly.
Also, FICO penalizes people who don't use credit cards much and/or have few loans in their history. The growing use of high interest credit cards helped produce the "debt slavery" that has created a cycle of economic collapse for so many Americans. Many are now unemployed and can't pay their bills or they pay them late.
This destroys their FICO credit scores and prevents them from getting low interest, fixed rate mortgage loans and low credit card rates in the future, thus undermining other reforms being discussed in Congress and by your Administration to stimulate the economy.
Now we find out that FICO is tightening its grips and monopoly on credit scoring at the worst possible time.
And the legislation supposedly reforming some of the most egregious credit card company practices (commences in July 2009) will only make it more difficult for people to get low interest credit cards and help stimulate the economy. Why? It does nothing about FICO scores. So only people with the highest scores will get the best terms and credit limits.
This is based on the tired old "trickle-down" theory of economic stimulus that has done nothing but transfer more and more wealth to fewer and fewer people. Most economists have cited this as not only a threat to the capitalist system but to democracy itself.
Mr. President, like Lincoln, you could issue an Emancipation Proclamation and free tens of millions from debt slavery to the banks, credit card agencies, and FICO. You could free up the tremendous "bottom-up" stimulus potential of the people.
You could direct the Comptroller of the Currency of the Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board to make sure the true strength of borrowers is considered in ways that still protect lenders. Free us from the FICO monopoly and insure that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac become part of a realistic and prudent solution.
"We the people" are now "we the shareholders" whether the banks and credit card companies like it or not. They've taken 100's of billions of our taxpayer money and spent billions on their bonuses. It's time to hold them accountable.
We are also the government and deserve not only credit at reasonable rates and terms, but as taxpaying shareholders in these "Bailout Banks," we should share the profits, not just their socialized losses.
Mr. President, please help us create "a more just and perfect Union" from the "bottom-up." You can be the Lincoln of our times and free us from the greed and "top-down" bondage that has brought us to the Event Horizon we now face.
We stand ready to respond to your "call to arms."