Popular Support for Mortgage Jubilee

A suspension of foreclosures is the leading edge of Jubilee, since it is an affirmation of the idea that people should be allowed to stay in their homes, even if they can't pay. As you can see from the survey results, it is very popular.



Fifty-six percent (56%) of Americans favor a plan forcing banks to stop all mortgage foreclosures for the next six months, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Thirty percent (30%) oppose such a plan, while 13% are not sure if it's a good idea or not.

Among homeowners, 54% favor a six-month moratorium on all mortgage foreclosures, while 34% oppose the idea.

According to a Fox News report, 52 million Americans have home mortgages, and more than 2.3 million homeowners faced foreclosure in 2008, last year, up 81% from the year before.

Seventy-one percent (71%) of Democrats support a plan forcing banks to stop foreclosures for six months, and a majority of unaffiliated adults (51%) agree. Forty-two percent (42%) of Republicans support a moratorium on foreclosures, but 46% are opposed.

Forty-nine percent (49%) of investors like the idea, along with 65% of non-investors.

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California has initiated a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures, and Ohio is considering a temporary halt to foreclosures for up to six months. Several banks, among them Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, have taken similar steps. Also, a number of law enforcement officials around the country have temporarily stopped enforcing foreclosures.

Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has said he supports legislation for a government-imposed moratorium on some foreclosures.

Seventy-five percent (75%) of African-Americans favor a six-month moratorium on foreclosures, as do 51% of whites. Fifty-two percent (52%) of married Americans support a temporary halt on foreclosures, compared to 63% who are not married.

The findings follow President Obama's announcement last week of a $275-billion federal government program to help up to nine million homeowners who are most at risk of being foreclosed on. The plan includes subsidizing their mortgage payments, an idea which most Americans think helps people who bought more house than they could afford and thus rewards bad behavior.

Forty-five percent (45%) oppose the federal government subsidizing mortgage payments for financially troubled homeowners.

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This telephone survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted by Rasmussen Reports February 21-22, 2009. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/-3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence (see methodology).

Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.