It is easy to be pessimistic. These are extraordinarily difficult times, and the collective psyche is teetering. But we are closer to righting the wrongs that got us into this economic mess than most of...

I only have two things in my life, my family and work. If there’s any time left over, then I play sports.

The extension and expansion of the payroll tax holidays for workers would be number one on my list and key to avoiding recession.

The discussion in Washington has changed dramatically. I mean, it’s no longer a question of should we address entitlements – it’s no longer a question of do we need to reduce spending in the future.

It is time to move on. House prices won’t rise and the economy won’t fully engage until more distressed properties are resolved and put back into ordinary use.

President Obama’s reelection started the countdown for lawmakers to address the fiscal cliff and the statutory debt limit. Unless the President and House Republicans can agree on changes to current law, the U.S. economy will...

I’m a registered Democrat.

It is hard to be enthusiastic about the economy’s prospects when house prices are falling: Households spend less, small business owners can’t use homes as collateral for loans and local governments are forced to cut...

No one should expect the value of their house to appreciate quickly – counting on your home to be a significant part of your retirement saving isn’t a winning strategy – but it is reasonable...

They called me the sexiest economist in America, and that was years ago, when I had hair and body mass and my teeth were shiny.

I’ve done work for both Democrats and Republicans.

The biggest culprits in the housing fiasco came from the private sector, and more specifically from a mortgage industry that was out of control.

The key to house prices is the share of foreclosure or short sales in the total housing market. When that share rises, house prices will fall, because distressed properties sell for significantly less – currently...

Indeed, the FHA was born out of the Great Depression, which was also caused in significant part by a foreclosure crisis. Mortgages in the early 1930s were mostly three- to five-year ‘bullet’ loans, which did...

My policy is I will help any policymaker who asks, whether they be a Republican or a Democrat.

Defaulting on the nation’s debt would be cataclysmic. The U.S. Treasury’s Aaa rating is the one constant in the world’s financial system. When times are bad anywhere on the planet, global investors flock to Treasury...

There is no better way to quickly buoy hard-pressed homeowners than helping them take advantage of the currently record low fixed mortgage rates and significantly reduce their monthly mortgage payments.

It’s time to pull the bandage off America’s foreclosure problem. The economy is ready to emerge from its recent dark period, but to make it happen soon we need to speed the resolution of millions...

There are different flavors of recession. You can get into some pretty dark scenarios pretty quickly.

Buying a home wouldn’t make much sense if house prices were likely to decline further; no one wants to catch a falling knife.

Too-easy credit and millions of bad loans made during the U.S. housing bubble paved the way for the financial calamity and Great Recession that followed. Today, by contrast, credit is too tight. Mortgage loans are...

The clearest way to cut some of this fiscal drag would be to extend the current payroll tax holiday and increase it – as proposed by President Barack Obama. This would cut the fiscal drag...

Yes. I don’t think it would be appropriate at this point to raise taxes on anyone, certainly not in 2011.

Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don’t have anything useful to say.

We’re getting job creation in healthcare and educational services. We’ve been getting that all along. It’s demographically driven, it’s funded by the government, and that’s held up.

There is plenty of blame to go around for the U.S. housing bubble, but not much of it belongs to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The two giant housing-finance institutions made many mistakes over the...

The average credit score of today’s FHA borrowers is higher than the average American household with a score. As it becomes more costly and difficult to get a FHA loan, loans from private mortgage lenders...

Our economy isn’t going to recover until the housing market finds its footing.

Potential home buyers have a two-step decision process. First, they determine whether they can afford to make a purchase – does their income safely cover their mortgage payment? Then they determine whether owning is a...

In the fourth grade, my history teacher gave us a project: Why was the auto industry located in Detroit, Michigan? I didn’t know I was going to be an economist, but I knew I was...

The FHA’s success provides strong evidence that government can and should play a role in the nation’s mortgage finance system. It also demonstrates that although government intervention in the economy during the Great Recession was...

The Bush tax cuts should be extended permanently for families with annual incomes of less than $250,000 and should be phased out slowly for those making more than that. Raising taxes on anyone now, when...

Lenders look at potential borrowers from many angles before extending credit: How much of its income will a household need to put into debt repayment? How large is the down payment? Does the borrower have...

The most important point is, in a time of crisis, there is no way out but for the government to be bold and aggressive.

We need to get rid of the debt ceiling law. It’s anachronistic and it’s a problem.

The Tea Party was born out of the disgust many Americans felt early in the financial crisis upon learning that the federal government was even contemplating reducing the principal on some troubled mortgages.

A housing renaissance has begun. This may be hard to believe after the dizzying, six-year-long crash in home sales, construction and house prices. But housing turned the corner last year, and it will take off...

The Obama administration deserves credit for quickly ending the housing free fall. In particular, Obama empowered the Federal Housing Administration to ensure that households could find mortgages at low interest rates even during the worst...

Housing was ground zero for the Great Recession. Between early 2006 and Obama’s inauguration in 2009, average house prices fell by a third across the country. In certain areas, including cities as diverse as Akron,...

Investor demand for distressed property has been healthy, as rents rise to levels that can cover investors’ costs while they wait for properties to appreciate. Giving investors a small tax break should further juice up...

In a normal time, I don’t think economic policy makes a large difference one way or another. But in times of crisis it makes all the difference in the world.

It has become fashionable to rail against government intervention in the economy, and the FHA is a favorite example by those trying to show the government’s overreach. In reality, the FHA shows how government action...

Distressed properties are often vacant and in disrepair, and thus sold at significant discounts. As the share of distressed sales grows, home prices fall.

Past experience with fiscal austerity at home and overseas strongly suggests that it is best for the economy’s long-run performance to restrain government spending rather than raise taxes.

A home is still the biggest asset that most Americans own.

The principal linkages between Japan and the U.S. global economies are trade, financial markets, and commodity markets.

Now, I do think when we move into 2012 and ’13 when, presumably, the economy is on firmer ground, I would allow the tax rates for upper-income individuals to revert back to where they were...

In a forbearance, the homeowner pays interest and principal on a smaller mortgage, at least for a time, but still owes the full amount. The lower monthly payment helps with affordability, giving stressed homeowners a...