"And I think we need a combination of a freeze, potentially, and also we need to sit down with the - with the banking industry and talk to them about ways in which we can help them be able to work those mortgages out, because it's absolutely imperative that we keep people in their homes"
About this Quote
Crisis-language wrapped in committee-room cotton. Wasserman Schultz reaches for urgency ("absolutely imperative") while keeping every lever of action deliberately conditional: "I think", "we need", "potentially". That hedging isn’t verbal clutter; it’s a politician’s airbag. It signals empathy and motion without locking into a policy that can be attacked from either flank: too harsh on banks, or too generous to borrowers.
The key maneuver is the pairing of "a freeze" with "sit down with the banking industry". The freeze nods toward populist anger at foreclosures and exploding rates, a gesture that says, we can stop the bleeding. The sit-down immediately reassures financial actors that nothing will happen without their buy-in. Subtext: the state may apply pressure, but it will do so politely, through negotiation rather than punishment. It’s the language of partnership, not prosecution.
"Help them be able to work those mortgages out" is a carefully chosen euphemism. It avoids the hot words - bailout, cramdown, write-down - that would clarify who eats the loss. By framing banks as needing "help" to do the right thing, she also launders responsibility: lenders aren’t villains so much as institutions temporarily unable to execute a morally obvious outcome.
Context matters: this is the post-housing-bubble era when foreclosure headlines were metastasizing into a legitimacy crisis for government. The quote’s real intent is triangulation with a human face: center the homeowner ("keep people in their homes") while preserving the idea that stability runs through the banking system. The result is a line built to soothe, not to specify - a bridge between public outrage and private negotiation.
The key maneuver is the pairing of "a freeze" with "sit down with the banking industry". The freeze nods toward populist anger at foreclosures and exploding rates, a gesture that says, we can stop the bleeding. The sit-down immediately reassures financial actors that nothing will happen without their buy-in. Subtext: the state may apply pressure, but it will do so politely, through negotiation rather than punishment. It’s the language of partnership, not prosecution.
"Help them be able to work those mortgages out" is a carefully chosen euphemism. It avoids the hot words - bailout, cramdown, write-down - that would clarify who eats the loss. By framing banks as needing "help" to do the right thing, she also launders responsibility: lenders aren’t villains so much as institutions temporarily unable to execute a morally obvious outcome.
Context matters: this is the post-housing-bubble era when foreclosure headlines were metastasizing into a legitimacy crisis for government. The quote’s real intent is triangulation with a human face: center the homeowner ("keep people in their homes") while preserving the idea that stability runs through the banking system. The result is a line built to soothe, not to specify - a bridge between public outrage and private negotiation.
Quote Details
| Topic | Money |
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