It’s Again Time for LaRouche’s Homeowners and Bank Protection Act of 2007

Aug. 1, 2021 (EIRNS)—The nationwide eviction ban that has been in place since last September, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ran out yesterday, July 31. There are very few states or local jurisdictions that have backstops in place, either in the form of additional eviction bans or financial aid to tenants and/or landlords, and so a huge wave of actual evictions is expected over the summer. Just how bad it will be remains to be seen: some surveys (Census Pulse Survey Data) say that about 7.4 million Americans face eviction in the next coming months; others (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities) put the estimate far higher, reporting that some 11.4 million tenants—16% of adults living in rental housing—are not caught up on rent. Not all of those are facing eviction... at least not yet.

Note that during the eviction ban, rents were generally not forgiven, just postponed. Which means that there will be huge, impossible back-rents to pay. Landlord bankruptcies are also expected. And the financial chain-reaction effect of defaults on mortgages, MBS, and on up the speculative feeding chain could be dramatic.

This has all the makings of a perfect storm. This is set to occur in the heat of the summer, with a new Delta variant COVID wave sweeping the country. Lyndon LaRouche provided a policy solution to the crisis—14 years ago!

On Aug. 31, 2007, as the 2007-2008 global financial meltdown was just getting underway, LaRouche made a brief but historic statement on the needed emergency response: his proposed Homeowners and Bank Protection Act, or HBPA. LaRouche announced that his proposed legislation “means that no householder, under Federal protection, will be evicted from their home, and that no bank, or chartered bank, whether a Federal bank or a state-chartered bank, will be closed down. That does mean also, that there is no possibility of tolerating putting valuable resources to bail out any other irregular financial institution. The hedge funds must go. The sooner they’re gone, the sooner they’re bankrupted, they’re eliminated, the better off we’re all going to be.

“Because we’re going to have to rebuild this economy, including the physical economy. We’re going to get back our industries. We’re going to get back our agriculture. We’re going to get back our infrastructure. We’re going to get back dignity, and we’re going to take our position of respected leadership among a community of nations in the world. And that’s what we have to do.

“No funny stuff, no tricks, no games. Back to basics. Think like FDR. Act immediately in the month of September. Get the Congress to pass this kind of legislation, which creates a firewall of protection of every essential chartered bank, chartered on the state or Federal level. No matter what their problems are financially, we’re going to keep their doors open. And we’re going to give them Federal protection.

“We’re going to give Federal protection to all householders, who are threatened with eviction. They’re not going to be evicted. The states will help the Federal government do that. That is, the states will be the administrative arm, which locates the people who need the protection, and makes sure they’re protected. But the states will act, through the Governor’s office, on the basis of the support of Federal law. That’s the way to do the job.”