Another day, another desperate throw of the dice (17)

Here's another instalment in my occasional series on how the government is doing its best to make sure that the priced out generation stay priced out, with the added bonus that this scheme would also increase taxpayer indebtedness as well as enlarging the power of The State ...

Prime Minister Gordon Brown should buy homes on the verge of repossession to add money to the British economy and save families from being thrown out onto the street, two former Bank of England economists said.

The plan would cost about 50 billion pounds ($76 billion) over five years, Fathom Financial Consulting economists Shamik Dhar and Danny Gabay said in a report today. The program would also provide a new economic policy tool as the central bank’s interest rate approaches zero...

The government should step in and "set a floor" under house prices, protecting taxpayers by paying below-market prices for houses and distressed homeowners by paying more than "vulture purchasers," Fathom said "The average discount will probably be in the region of 10 percent to 20 percent below what asking prices are in the locality for similar properties"...