MANDEL NGAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
WRONG
TURN
sell on the secondary market.
For his stance, he has become
the unlikely boogeyman of the
housing crisis. An activist group
that represents underwater homeowners recently protested outside
his Maryland home and attempted
to deliver him a “pink slip,” suggesting that he should resign.
Geithner, who had previously
expressed many of the same reservations as DeMarco about loan
forgiveness, wrote him a letter expressing his disappointment with
the decision.
To many outside observers, this
HUFFINGTON
11.04.12
about-face by the Obama administration, particularly Geithner, carries the strong whiff of hypocrisy.
“DeMarco is the designated
administration whipping boy,”
said David Felt, the former head
of conservatorship operations at
FHFA. “They know at Treasury
that he is right on the policy, but
politically that is not a position
they want to defend. It is easier for them to say we support
writedowns but this damn person won’t get out of our way.”
Barofsky, the former TARP inspector general, wrote recently
U.S. Treasury
Secretary
Timothy
Geithner
speaks during
a press
conference at
the Treasury
building.