Barack Obama has announced an initiative based on limited things he can do by executive order. So far, it involves changing regulations to make it easier for homeowners to refinance and for students to qualify for student loans. One might hope Republicans would support this, since it involves easing regulations, that they claim to hate so much, but that is not the case. The Republican Party oppose only those regulations that protect citizens from corporate criminals.

After the Senate blocked consideration last week of Mr. Obama’s jobs proposal, the administration has moved to Plan B: bypass Congress and enact change via executive-branch measures. On Monday, the federal government announced new rules for some “underwater” homeowners, to make them eligible for lower interest rates. The president will discuss the new program in a speech in Las Vegas Monday at 5:30 p.m., Eastern time. Nevada has both the highest unemployment (13.4 percent) and foreclosure rates in the United States, and it’s a crucial swing state in next year’s presidential election. In the “We can’t wait” initiative, the administration is “taking and highlighting a series of executive actions to show that we’re doing everything we can do to get the economy moving to help middle-class families and create jobs,” said Dan Pfeiffer, White House communications director, in a call with reporters. At the same time, Mr. Pfeiffer said, the administration will continue to pressure congressional Republicans to pass the president’s $447 billion jobs bill, the American Jobs Act, either in its entirety or piece by piece… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Christian Science Monitor>

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