News

Moody’s: Privatizing Mortgage Finance Will Cost Borrowers. If Congress shuts down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, borrowers likely will end up paying slightly higher mortgage rates. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, suggests that, as a result, typical borrowers could pay about $75 per month in extra interest payments—or about half a percentage point more—under the Senate proposal, and about $135 more under the House plan.  That could be the average on a conforming loan of about $200,000 with a 20 percent down payment. Realtor Mag

Where Education Is ‘Sold to the Highest Bidder’. The attack on the spirit of higher education is exemplified in the installation of former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, a neoliberal archfiend of public schooling, as president of Purdue University. Truthdig

Fighting Back The Privatization Machine (VIDEO). America’s public education system has been under attack from corporations and Republicans for years, and the attacks have grown more and more intense over the last 24 months. Ring of Fire

AL: Selma city councilman wants to privatize public works dept. City records show it takes about a million dollars a year to run the public works department and thousands more on equipment repairs.  Earlier this year the city of Selma privatized the garbage service, and according to Williamson, no one lost their jobs. The same thing, he feels, could be done with public works.   WSFA