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tagged w/ FORECLOSURES
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A president who doesn't even try
by Ted Rall
The President's progressive critics blame him for continuing and expanding upon his Republican predecessor's policies. His supporters point to the obstructionist, Republican-controlled Congress. What can Obama do? He's being stymied at every turn.
The first problem with the it's-the-GOP's-fault defense is that it asks voters to suffer short-term memory loss. In 2009, you probably recall, Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. By a sizeable majority. They even had a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate. His approval ratings were through the roof; even many Republicans who had voted against him took a liking to him. The media, in his pocket, wondered aloud whether the Republican Party could ever recover. "Rarely, if ever, has a President entered office with so much political wind at his back," Tim Carney wrote for the Evans-Novak Political Report shortly after the inauguration.
If Obama had wanted to pursue a progressive agenda—banning foreclosures, jailing bankers, closing Guantánamo, stopping the wars, pushing for the public option he promised in his healthcare plan—he could have. He had ample political capital, yet chose not to spend it.
Now that Congress is controlled by a Republican Party in thrall to its radical-right Tea Party faction, it is indeed true that Obama can't get routine judicial appointments approved, much less navigate the passage of legislation. Oh-so-conveniently, Obama has turned into a liberal-come-lately. Where was his proposed Buffett Rule (which would require millionaires with huge investment income to pay the same percentage rate as middle-class families) in 2009, when it might have stood a chance of passage?
Team Obama's attempt to shore up his liberal base also falls short on the facts. Progressives were shocked by the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling, along party lines, that legalized strip-searches and body cavity rapes by police and private security firms who detain people suspected of any crime, even minor traffic infractions.
"What virtually none of this…commentary mentioned," reported Glenn Greenwald in Salon, "was that that the Obama DOJ [Department of Justice] formally urged Court to reach the conclusion it reached…this is yet another case, in a long line, where the Obama administration was able to have its preferred policies judicially endorsed by getting right-wing judges to embrace them."
"Liberals don't blame Obama for not winning. They blame him for not trying. When he does crazy things like authorizing the assassinations of U.S. citizens without trial, progressives have to ask themselves: Is this guy kowtowing to the Right? Or is he one of them?"
No wonder Obama stayed mum.
Which brings us to the biggest, yet least discussed, flaw in the attempt to pin Obama's inaction on the heads of Congressional Republicans: the bully pulpit.
Whether Donald Trump likes it or not, Barack Obama is still president. If he calls a press conference to call attention to an issue, odds are that reporters will show up. But he's not walking tall or even talking big.
Responding to fall 2011 polls that indicated softening support among the younger and more liberal voters who form the Democratic base, Obama's reelection strategists began rolling out speeches inflected with Occupy-inspired rhetoric about class warfare and trying to make sure all Americans "get a fair shot." But that's all it is: talk. And small talk at that.
Instead of introducing major legislation, the White House plans to spend 2012 issuing presidential orders about symbolic, minor issues.
Repeating Clinton-era triangulation and micro-mini issues doesn't look like a smart reelection strategy. The Associated Press reported: "Obama's election year retreat from legislative fights means this term will end without significant progress on two of his 2008 campaign promises: comprehensive immigration reform and closing the military prison for terrorist suspects at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Piecemeal presidential directives are unlikely to make a sizeable dent in the nation's 8.6 percent unemployment rate or lead to significant improvements in the economy, the top concern for many voters and the issue on which Republican candidates are most likely to criticize Obama. In focusing on small-bore executive actions rather than ambitious legislation, the president risks appearing to be putting election-year strategy ahead of economic action at a time when millions of Americans are still out of work."
Of course, Obama may prevail. Romney is an extraordinarily weak opponent.
For progressives and leftists, however, the main point is that Obama never tries to move the mainstream of ideological discourse to the left.
Obama has been mostly silent on the biggest issue of our time, income inequality and the rapid growth of the American underclass. He hasn't said much about the environment or climate change, the most serious problem we face—and one for which the U.S. bears a disproportionate share of the blame. Even on issues where he was blocked by Congress, such as when Republicans prohibited the use of public funds to transport Gitmo detainees to the U.S. for trials, he zipped his lips.
It isn't hard to imagine a president launching media-friendly crusades against poverty or global warming. FDR and LBJ did it, touring the country, appointing high-profile commissions and inviting prominent guests to the White House to draw attention to issues they cared about.
In 2010, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez invited flood victims to move into his presidential palace. Seven years after Katrina, Gulf Coast residents are still waiting for help. What if Obama opened up the Lincoln Bedroom to a homeless family? The media couldn't ignore a PR stunt like that.
Obama has mostly shunned the time-honored strategy of trapping your opposition by forcing them vote against your popular ideas. In 2009, for example, it would have been smarter politics—and better governance—to push for real socialized medicine, or at least ObamaCare with the public option he promised. He would either have wound up with a dazzling triumph, or a glorious defeat.
Liberals don't blame Obama for not winning. They blame him for not trying. When he does crazy things like authorizing the assassinations of U.S. citizens without trial, progressives have to ask themselves: Is this guy kowtowing to the Right? Or is he one of them?
~~~~~by Ted Rall The President's progressive critics blame him for continuing and... more-
- JanforGore
- added this
- 1 month ago
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- 105 comments
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The Federal Reserve Makes Money Disappear
Washington, DC -- Say goodbye to the almighty dollar. In a unanimous decision, the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors has voted to abolish the use of money in the United States, effective immediately.
“The world’s economic system is broken beyond repair and none of the band-aids that we’ve applied are working,” the governors said in a joint statement. “It’s time to start fresh, so it’s out with the old and in with the very old.”
In place of cash transactions, the Federal Reserve suggests use of the barter system. “It worked in the Middle Ages and it could work even better now,” one Fed Governor explained.
“You could walk into the store and barter your hat, let’s say, for a bag of Doritos and a Diet Coke. How do you like that trade, Wall Street?”
There was no official comment from the Wall Street “investment” firms, which apparently have all gone out of business since their sole purpose of grabbing every dollar they could get their hands on has become completely pointless.
“Could you describe that Doritos deal again?” a former trader asked. “I think I want a taste of that.”
On the home front, the banking industry is being forced to suspend all foreclosures, since a ban on money means no one owes anything. Savings accounts, credit cards, car loans and checking accounts also have become obsolete.
“We’re thinking about getting into the prison business because we’re good at locking things up,” one banking executive said. “Does anyone have the governor’s number?”
But the nation’s politicians have lapsed into a stunned silence, since the political action committees (PACs) that fed them dollars and directed their every move have all gone under.
“I used to get my opinions from the most generous donors,” said one senator who wished to remain anonymous. “But they’ve stopped the bucks from stopping here. So I’ve got nothing to say.”Washington, DC -- Say goodbye to the almighty dollar. In a unanimous decision, the... more -
Resolving The Foreclosure And Unemployment Crisis
To Catherine Cortez,
Pam Bondi,
Kamala Harris,
Eric T. Schneiderman
Attorney Generals of the States of Nevada, Florida, California
and the State of New York
Thank you for standing firm on not settling with the banks, and the others that have damaged our lives, and our economy
Please consider the new mortgage terms, and principal reduction policy outlined in this paper, before any settlement with the servicers, and other parties involve in the fraud case the States have filed against them.
Please forward this information to all the AGs that are participating in other lawsuits in other States.
If at all possible please confer with President Obama
Thank You
Leonard C. Tekaat, Economic Scholar
RESOLVING THE FORECLOSURE AND FORECLOSURE CRISIS
We are in a national economic slump caused by national policies! We must change national policies to resolve national problems.
Main St., the middle class, the working class, small businesses, and people in general have been financially decimated by the current financial crisis. Their disposable income , and confidence have been decreased.
This financial crisis has created one of the longest down turns in US economic history.
The vacant, and abandoned homes that are in our neighborhoods are similar to food that is rotting in the fields. We can do better than this for our citizens, when you consider that so many families need better housing.
The buzz on the housing market is: Sell the foreclosed homes to investors. Rent the foreclosed homes to previous home owners and tenants. Sell the homes with underwater mortgages by short sale, to deal with the foreclosure crisis.
Let me ask you, Do we really want a nation of investors, and renters?
Short sales are ok, and renting is appropriate for some people, but we need to help the majority of people stay in their homes, if at all possible, to maintain the American Dream of home ownership.
Sure we screwed up this time, but wise people learn from their mistakes, and make the necessary corrections to stop repeating the same mistake we have been repeating for the last 100 years.
Lately there has been talk about a national refinance plan that would help heal the primary home market.
Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, and Elizabeth Duke have made speeches in favor of the government doing more to stabilize the housing market. President Obama mentioned a national refinance plan in his 2012 State Of The Union speech.
I believe the private financial sector needs to step-up, and help resolve the foreclosure, and unemployment crisis they helped create.
We need to go beyond just a refinance plan. The economy needs a principal reduction plan to quicken recovery. We cannot wait 30 years until all the underwater mortgages are paid off, or the homes are foreclosed, or abandoned.
Every qualified homeowner with an underwater mortgage must be included in the national refinance plan, and the principal reduction policy. Which is approximately 25% of current homeowners.
The economy needs a principal reduction plan to unload the burden that the Big banks, Wall ST. and the government helped create to increase their profits, and tax revenues.
Homeowners are not innocent, but the working, and middle class people should not be the only ones suffering to clean up the mess the "BIG BOYS" MADE.
WE; Have to change that! The Big Boys got the "Gold Mine" WE got the BILL!!
The Committee For Economic Reform and A Better Economic Future has developed a PRIVATE SECTOR SOLUTION TO JOB CREATION AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
WE CALL IT "THE PEOPLE'S ECONOMIC RECOVERY PLAN.
The Plan has basically two parts. Get the economy on a healthy path to recovery, and change the policies that helped create the financial crisis.
To help prevent another financial crisis from occurring, we need to stop relying on the Federal Reserve to slow the economy down, when it is getting out of balance, and the amount of money, and credit that is being created is growing too fast. Instead we need to use the income tax to control inflation psychology, and excessive hard capital asset appreciation.
We believe that the financial sector, investors, and the people will embrace the "PLAN", because it will help heal the economy, and the primary home market. Improving the primary home market will decrease the unemployment, and the foreclosure rate, without increasing the deficit, like a government jobs program, or another government stimulus program will do.
We do not want to leave our children, our grand children, and our great grand children a legacy of debt to pay off with higher taxes, or an inflation tax, which will make us all poorer, create more poverty, and more government social liabilities.
You are correct, if you believe the foreclosure crisis will not correct itself quickly, without direct action. There are three things we can change, to speed up recovery.
1. Change the bankruptcy law. 2. Increase aggregate demand, without increasing the deficit. 3. Change the guiding policies (income tax policies) of our enterprise economy.
We need to convince the financial sector that it is to their benefit to make changes to their mortgage terms, and the bankruptcy laws to prevent more foreclosures, and improve the economy. Banks are only as financially strong as their customers. Their customer can be a government, or a homeowner. Greece, and the other PIGS countries are a perfect example of this. Their government debt problems can crash the world's banking system if their government debt, and their citizens debt obligation are not restructured as soon as possible.
Purchasing the new mortgage, or lowering principal balances should not cost the taxpayers a dime.
Reducing principal balances would be a way of helping the economy to rebalance itself, and for the financial sector to pay for the damage it did to our economy. The 25 billion is only tiny portion of what is needed to repair the damage that has been done by the banks and financial sector. The "Plan" includes all current home owners. Those families that have lost their homes illegally should receive a direct payment for damages.
For more info. go to foreclosurecrisissolved.wordpress.comTo Catherine Cortez, Pam Bondi, Kamala Harris, Eric T. Schneiderman Attorney... more-
- FirstOccupier
- added this
- 4 months ago
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- 2 comments
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Its Time To Foreclose On the Foreclosurers
ITS TIME TO FORECLOSE ON FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC
Its time to foreclose on the foreclosurers!!!
Occupy Fany.Fredy is calling for direct action to end the unnecessary foreclosures. We the people are calling for a joint effort to occupy Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to force Congress to foreclose on F&F to facilitate, and economic recovery in our country, if they do not agree to a monthly mortgage principle reduction policy and the use of new mortgage terms.
For more information go to:http://goo.gl/tMfAWor www.foreclosurecrisissolved.wordpress.com/
LEARN HOW FREDDIE MAC HAS BEEN BETTING AGAINST YOU MAKING YOUR MORTGAGE PAYMENT.
http://www.npr.org/2012/01/30/145995636/freddie-mac-betting-against-struggling-homeowners?sc=fb&cc=fp/
There is article, after article written about how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the giant mortgage securitization corporations, are unwilling to reduce principle balances on underwater mortgages they hold, even tho other financial businesses
have been able to reduce foreclosures by using principal reduction to keep families in their homes.
Still have doubts, read the article, posted on my web site "Fannie and Freddie Stand In The Way Of Debt Reduction" is the headline of an article that recently appeared in the New York Times.
Here is a few paragraphs from that article.
LIMITED IMPACT
(Any settlement would not apply to mortgages owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which together own or guarantee most of the U.S. mortgage market. The regulator that controls the two government-sponsored enterprises has resisted cutting their loans, arguing it would cost U.S. taxpayers more money than other options would.
But lawmakers and top administration officials have pushed for a broader principal reduction program, and this settlement could lay the groundwork for that if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are swayed to test it out themselves as an alternative to the costly process of foreclosing on struggling borrowers.
Earlier on Wednesday, House Democrats sought to force the housing regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to explain its calculations in deciding not to offer principal reductions.
In addition, the Federal Reserve said in a rare 26-page white paper delivered to Congress this month that lawmakers need to do more to stabilize the housing market. But it stopped short of endorsing any plans to have Fannie and Freddie slash borrowers' loan balances)
Still have doubts, read the article "Fannie and Freddie Stand In The Way Of Debt Reduction" is the headline of an article that recently appeared in the New York Times.
Banks are trying to limit their responsibility for the damage the have done to people lives and our economy, as pointed out in his paragraph from an article Published on Monday, January 23, 2012 by Common Dreams says it all!
Obama's Choice on Housing: A Sweetheart Deal for the 1% or a Fair Deal for the 99%
by Van Jones and George Goehl
Rumor has it that as early as today, after months of negotiation with big banks, the White House may announce a settlement that would let the banks off the hook for their role in the foreclosure crisis -- paying a tiny fraction of what's needed in exchange for blanket immunity from future lawsuits.(Daniel Goodman / Business Insider
Now is the time to demonstrate, petition, convince, and occupy F&F to change their policy of no principal reduction. This is where the occupy groups should focus all their efforts to end the foreclosure and unemployment crisis.
Millions of American families are being kicked to the curb by the banks, and the financial sector. It is our contention that most foreclosures, and home abandonment's are unnecessary, or preventable.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hold the key to improving the primary home market, and the economy, as explained in The "People's Economic Recovery Plan". www.foreclosurecrisissolved.wordpress.com
We should occupy, march, and hold demonstrations at Fany & Fredy headquarters.
We are not alone in this effort. The Federal Reserve, and members of Congress are putting pressure on the GSEs to reduce principal balances, and lower the interest rate on mortgages. Our efforts to bring attention to this inaction by F&F will reinforce our Representatives in Congress that are working to solve the foreclosure and unemployment crisis.
Occupy Fany.Freddie invites all the Occupy, and other concerned groups to join your fellow citizens to convince F&F, for their own benefit, and for your benefit, to change their mortgage terms and adopt a policy of principal reduction.
If we want to help millions of people stay in their homes, and find employment, F&F must purchase the "Ascending Interest Rate Mortgage" (AIRM), from banks and mortgage originators, and adopt the monthly principal reduction plan for underwater mortgages. If F&F will purchase the new mortgage, the banks and mortgage originators will offer the new mortgage terms to homeowners and home buyers. There-by eliminating the foreclosure inventory, and improving the primary home market and the economy.
F&F owe taxpayers over 150 billion dollars. If F&F do not agree to purchase the "AIRM" from the mortgage originators, the tax payers of the United States of America should kick their executives, and Mr.DeMarko, the head of Federal Housing Finance Agency, to the curb, and foreclose on them by petitioning President Obama, and the US Congress.
We the people should then adopt the "Plan" ourselves to facilitate an sustainable economic recovery, to put people back to work in the private sector, and prevent more foreclosures.
The "Plan"outlines three changes that need to occur to empower the people to create their own economic recovery. Changes to the bankruptcy laws, a change to mortgage terms, and a change to the income tax, as outlined in the "Plan".
View and sign our Petitions to "Stop Unnecessary Foreclosures" at: http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-the-unnecessaryforeclosures-and-uneployment-crisis-with-new-mortage-terms/
To view a video about bankruptcy go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7YPR_p7DYQ%2F
If you want to increase job opportunity, and reduce foreclosures without increasing the deficit, please become a friend of Occupy Fany.Fredy and "Like" us at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-FanyFredy/177079029043062?sk=wall
Not ready to get involved yet? What if it was your home, or your family's home that was being foreclosed? The way the economy is going, you could lose your job tomorrow, and your home could be in foreclosure in a few months. Help others now, to improve the economy, so it doesn't happen to you.
This is important!!Please forward this information to your friends, contacts, the news media, other occupy groups, and concerned organizations. Thank You!ITS TIME TO FORECLOSE ON FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC Its time to foreclose on the... more-
- FirstOccupier
- added this
- 4 months ago
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- 0 comments
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What Goes Around: Firm that Mocked Foreclosure Victims Closes
Not too long ago, The Stew wrote about the law firm of Steven J. Baum, which held a Halloween bash in “honor” of their foreclosed-on victims. They even went so far as to dress up and mock their victims, showing up in costume as homeless people, adding insult to injury, as they ran slip-shod through peoples’ lives and uprooted them from their homes.
http://veracitystew.com/2011/11/22/what-goes-around-firm-that-mocked-foreclosure-victims-closes/Not too long ago, The Stew wrote about the law firm of Steven J. Baum, which held a... more-
- StewSteve
- added this
- 6 months ago
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- 0 comments
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President Obama is on the brink of cutting a backroom deal that would give bankers broad immunity for illegally throwing tens of thousands of Americans out of their homes. : politics
To help expose the looming cash-for-immunity deal between the Obama administration and big banks, there will be a march from Liberty Square to the U.S. Court House Building at Foley Square on November 5th.
The march will gather at 2:00pm on the east side steps at Liberty Square (Zuccotti Park), and will arrive at Foley Square at 3:00pm. Join the Facebook event page
President Obama is on the brink of cutting a backroom deal that would give bankers broad immunity for illegally throwing tens of thousands of Americans out of their homes. The Administration is pressuring state attorneys general to abandon an ongoing investigation into the massive "robo-signing" fraud, in exchange for a relatively small payoff by the banks.To help expose the looming cash-for-immunity deal between the Obama administration and... more -
Massachusetts High Court to Banks--Your Forclosures are Illegal!!
This is HUGE!!!
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-houston-weve-got-problem-bevilacqua
From the article:
"On Oct. 18th, 2011 the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court handed down their decision in the FRANCIS J. BEVILACQUA, THIRD vs. PABLO RODRIGUEZ – and in a moment, essentially made foreclosure sales in the commonwealth over the last five years wholly void."
"Given the fact that more than two-thirds of all real estate transactions in the last five years have also been foreclosed properties, this creates a small problem.
The Massachusetts SJC is one of the most respected high courts in the country, other supreme courts look to these decisions for guidance, and would find it difficult to rule any other way in their own states. It is a precedent. It's an important precedent.
Here are the key components of the Bevilacqua case:
1. In holding that Bevilacqua could not make "something from nothing" (bring an action or even have standing to bring an action, when he had a title worth nothing) the lower land court applied and upheld long-standing principles of conveyance.
2. A foreclosure conducted by a non-mortgagee (which includes basically all of them over the last five years, including the landmark Ibanez case) is wholly void and passes no title to a subsequent transferee (purchasers of foreclosures will be especially pleased to learn of this)
3. Where (as in Bevilacqua) a non-mortgagee records a post-foreclosure assignment, any subsequent transferee has record notice that the foreclosure is simply void.
4. A wholly void foreclosure deed passes no title even to a supposed "bona fide purchaser"
5. The Grantee of an invalid (wholly void) foreclosure deed does not have record title, nor does any person claiming under a wholly void deed, and the decision of the lower land court properly dismissed Bevilacqua's petition.
6. The land court correctly reasoned that the remedy available to Bevilacqua was not against the wrongly foreclosed homeowner but rather against the wrongly foreclosing bank and/or perhaps the servicer (depending on who actually conducted the foreclosure)
"Re-bidding on these properties in a re-foreclosure scenario would be done in what is soon to be a new inflationary environment (most originally bid in a deflationary environment for housing), thus making the "re-foreclosure" blank threat all the more unconvincing and unlikely."
"Certainly when the SJC handed down their opinion affirming Bevilacqua, perhaps hundreds of thousands, and ultimately millions of people who previously thought they were not affected, were suddenly well, affected. That is because there has been about six million foreclosures since the current economic crisis began, and those foreclosures may have resulted in many more interested parties, as was the case in Bevilacqua, who sold the subject property to four new owners, thus multiplying the number of parties involved, and ultimately the number of legal actions which could be brought. It is not hard to see where six million voided foreclosures might well result in new lawsuits in excess of that number – and if the courts advice is taken, these complaints would be directed, and properly so, at banks and servicers."
Oh my, that's going to leave a mark.This is HUGE!!!... more -
Fannie Mae knew early of abuses, report says
Gretchen Morgenson: "Fannie Mae, the mortgage finance giant, learned as early as 2003 of extensive foreclosure abuses among the law firms it had hired to remove troubled borrowers from their homes. But the company did little to correct the firms’ practices, according to a report issued Tuesday."Gretchen Morgenson: "Fannie Mae, the mortgage finance giant, learned as early as... more-
- Cabal
- added this
- 8 months ago
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California breaks from 50-state probe into mortgage lenders
"Harris has faced increasing pressure in recent weeks from inside and outside the state to reject any deal that was considered too weak, particularly as the foreclosure crisis in the Golden State appears to be worsening.""Harris has faced increasing pressure in recent weeks from inside and outside the... more-
- Cabal
- added this
- 8 months ago
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Grandmother nearly loses condo to foreclosure after $4.70 fee balloons to nearly $3,000 | FLORIDA TODAY | floridatoday.com
For Geeta Ramcharitar, the ordeal began with a past due balance of $4.70 owed to her condominium association in Melbourne’s Venetian Village — and ballooned from there.
The threatened end: foreclosure on her two-bedroom condo.
The 56-year-old grandmother got lucky. County Court Judge William McLuan tossed out the foreclosure case brought by her condo association, ordering each side to pay their own attorney’s fees.
But while Ramcharitar’s situation sounds extreme — a foreclosure case that began over what initially was such a paltry sum — she’s hardly alone.
Condominium associations, as well as homeowner’s associations, always have had the right to move for foreclosure for nonpayment of dues.
And with condo and homeowner’s associations under greater financial pressure because of the poor economy, many are moving more aggressively to recover money owed them, experts say, even as foreclosure remains a last resort.
“The old rules of engagements have changed,” said Donna Berger of Katzman, Garfinkel & Berger in Fort Lauderdale, who was not involved in Ramcharitar’s case.
“What I am saying is, associations should absolutely take advantage of some of the tools at their disposal. The goal is not to be punitive but they have to make an attempt to recoup their losses.”
Officials at the Venetian Village said they do work with delinquent homeowners to come up with payment plans and that efforts were made with Ramcharitar. They declined, however, to give the details of her case.
Marlene Kirtland, the attorney representing Becker & Poliakoff, the law firm representing the condo association, also declined to comment.
The exact origins of Ramcharitar’s dispute are unclear, but records show she owed a past due balance of $4.70 to the association in August 2009 and became subject to monthly late fees.
By November of that year, certified letters sent by Becker & Poliakoff said the association intended to foreclose for nonpayment of dues.
At the time, her total outstanding fees were $1,248.89. Of that total, $760 were for attorney fees. By the middle of 2010, the attorney fees for all the paperwork sent to her had ballooned to about $3,000.For Geeta Ramcharitar, the ordeal began with a past due balance of $4.70 owed to her... more-
- figgdimension
- added this
- 8 months ago
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Taking Back the Wall Street Bonuses & Stopping Foreclosures Dead In Their Tracks
What is fair market value for the services that states and counties provide to banks to foreclose on us?
Amid reports of record profits and record bonuses in the billions for Wall Street bankers, middle class citizens mourn the loss of 8 million jobs, millions of foreclosures and the looming bankruptcy of our counties and states.
As Wall Street bankers toast to their "success" and great fortune acquired by our loss; as they "celebrate", one might wonder how we might possibly get that money back.
Let’s see... what do we control that Wall Street bankers want – in fact need?......
Through state taxes we finance the court systems that Wall Street banks use to collect our properties (foreclose); and through property taxes, local property owners finance county sheriff departments that enforce collection (evictions). These appear to be essential services for Wall Street banks and a possible untapped revenue source for states and counties. What would national mortgage servicers do without these services?
What is fair market value for these services?
Perhaps if we asked nicely they would offer to contribute more? No?
#1 Privatizing Municipal Court Overhead – $25,000 Foreclosure Filing State Surcharge Proposed
Based on their obscene glut of profits and bonuses and our states and communities facing bankruptcy, clearly we’re not charging enough. Of course they could choose to not pay the $25,000, which would stop foreclosures dead in their tracks. Nice. But Citibank, BofA, Wells Fargo, etc., shareholders might prefer to use that bonus money to recover shareholders’ assets instead.
This new revenue could be used to subsidize community banks to make well collateralized loans for citizens to buy back foreclosed homes (based on the appraised value after foreclosure) at affordable monthly rates, sticking Wall Street with the 20-40% equity loss they created, as well as the $25,000 fee, and slowly but surely states would regain control of their own land and property again. In addition to saving citizens’ homes and balancing budgets, perhaps this could also build a firewall of protection from what appears to be an increasingly unregulated, predatory national investment banking system.
#2 Privatizing Sheriff Department Overhead – $5,000 Eviction County Surcharge Proposed
Sheriff Departments act as collection enforcement agencies for Wall Street bankers by conducting foreclosure evictions and Sheriff sales of properties. Financed through property taxes, we pay for our own evictions. Why? While laying-off Deputies in counties facing bankruptcy, how can County DA’s, Sheriffs and our state legislature justify appropriating any resources to service the collection of "assets" on behalf of out of state Wall Street Banks free of charge – or anything short of "fair market value"?
What This Strategy Could Mean For Oregon and Other States
In 2009 Oregon reported about 34,000 foreclosure filings. If half of them result from Wall Street Banks that would be $425 million per year coming back into Oregon community banks and $85 million/year for our counties, all of which would barely put a dent in Wall Street bonuses (3%?), however, multiplied by 50 states it could cost Wall Street banks $25 billion, or more. Sound familiar? How much were their 2010 bonuses again? Pooof. Are we getting a warm fuzzy yet?
We will likely need exemptions for local income property/lien-holders, ie., these fees only apply to entities that conduct more than "x" number of foreclosures per year. Or perhaps the distinction between a holding bank and a holding/investment bank could be where to draw the line; or perhaps geographic location of headquarters could be where to draw the line. Certainly their would have to be regulations including no passing this cost through and if you fail to keep lending, you lose your license.
This could be accomplished should we enact Political Finance Reform.
Recent reports reveal that Wall Street Banks make more money by foreclosing on loans rather than by servicing them! That would explain nefarious robo-foreclosure assembly lines ensnaring homeowners who can’t get a straight answer from lenders while desperately trying to refinance, even homeowners who are current on their payments. At any time anyone could be forced to defend themselves from wrongful foreclosure practices, a time consuming and expensive proposition where, reportedly, you’re guilty until you prove your innocence. Perhaps this strategy could also help stop that crap too.
If it’s possible for Wall Street Banks to unethically game the system to steal from us and hold us hostage, then it must be possible to get ethical legislation that will protect us from overly aggressive, apparently insufficiently regulated foreclosure practices and to, at the very least, equitably share in the expense of our own demise.
"Free Market Capitalism" should work both ways, don't you think?
JP Sayles
http://politicalfinancereform.org/
______________________What is fair market value for the services that states and counties provide to banks... more-
- JPSayles
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- 12 months ago
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With $42 billion and seven homes, why are the Kochs buying our democracy?
Charles and David Koch are worth $42 billion and make $13 million every day while vulnerable Americans struggle to afford shelter and groceries. Meet three Florida seniors who rely on Social Security and are fighting back against the Koch brothers attempt to make them homeless. They told the Kochs what's on their minds. What would you tell the Kochs? Have your say at http://kochbrothersexposed.com/kochmansionsCharles and David Koch are worth $42 billion and make $13 million every day while... more-
- bravenewfilms2
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- 1 year ago
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Beyond Foreclosure-Gate & our Lawless Elite
Michael Collins -
The surface scandal is about fraudulent business practices and a systematic assault on homeowners by lenders, servicers, and the legal system. A much broader picture must be viewed in order to understand the utter contempt that the ruling elite has toward citizens and the depraved tactics used to express that contempt, all to serve endless desire to accumulate more money and power.
The set up began when we heard about the ownership society in the 2004 presidential election. President Bush defined ownership as taking the government out of our lives so more people could own homes and control their destinies. The foundation was home ownership. As Bush said on the campaign trail, "We're creating a home -- an ownership society in this country, where more Americans than ever will be able to open up their door where they live and say, welcome to my house, welcome to my piece of property" October 2, 2004"
The Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the president ratified the real estate bubble, already underway at the time, as political and financial doctrine. The advice was clear. Get an ARM, own your piece of the American Dream and spend that equity. Housing prices never go down, right?
Freddie Mack, Fannie Mae, Wall Street and the big banks provided the back room. Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) derivatives were vastly expanded. This made it easy for more homebuyers to qualify for mortgages they might not otherwise get, credit standards dropped. Those with good credit saw an array of tantalizing zero interest loans and other mortgage products to maximize available cash and feed the stock market.
It was all good until it wasn't.
The real scandal is the unfathomable loss of wealth and opportunities by the vast majority of citizens and the vicious attack on the most vulnerable citizens as a part that process. The attack continues and is worthy of review.
Before Congress passed the 2005 bankruptcy reform act, homeowners could avert foreclosure in many states by filing for bankruptcy. Not just anyone could qualify. The process of qualifying was difficult and, oftentimes humiliating. But homes were saved and families were preserved with a chance to start over.. The alleged abuse of the system became the excuse for a major overhaul of bankruptcy law. The legislation passed the Senate with 74 yes votes and soon became law.
The changes since the 2005 legislation provide substantial benefits to creditors. Morgan et al summarized the direct benefits to creditors in a forthcoming publication in the New York Fed's Economic Policy Review. Before bankruptcy reform, the filer of a bankruptcy claim used to determine Chapter 7 or 13 filing status. That makes a difference in the amount and type of debt relief. The legislation imposes means test that determines precisely which chapter (7 or 13) filers must use. Significantly, chapter 13 filers retain more debt from medical and other unsecured credit.
Legal costs ranged from $600 to $1500 before bankruptcy reform. Legal fees now range between $2800 and $3700. Previously, there was no requirement for credit counseling prior to filing.
Under the old law, only bankruptcy trustees appointed by the federal court could file claims of abuse by the filer. Under the new legislation, anyone can file a claim of bankruptcy abuse, which can lead to a dismissal of the cause. This is a huge benefit to lenders who wanted to keep citizens from realizing debt relief.
The new law makes it harder to file a claim, doubles costs, and gives the creditors a say in claiming fraud on the part of those who file claims. Significant delays in filing for bankruptcy became the norm.
Time is money for loan servicers. A long delay before a bankruptcy filing, allows servicers the opportunity to add on special fees, many of which the borrower can't comprehend.The majority of filers made between ten and forty thousand dollars a year before reform. That has remained virtually unchanged. The big spending abusers were and remain a mythical construct; the centerpiece of a diversion strategy to keep attention away from this never-ending gift to creditors.
These newly empowered creditors were the same creditors who hired debt collectors to try and frighten people out of their filings. A major study found that 24% of filers reported that debt collectors told deliberate lies to avoid bankruptcy. They herd that filing for bankruptcy would lead to jail, job loss, or an IRS audit. Some were told that it was illegal to file for bankruptcy.
The deck was stacked early against citizens and protection from creditors disappeared under the new law. The creditors, who so recklessly precipitated the economic collapse, came out on top. They were free to profit in any way they could from their new market,
What Causes Bankruptcy - Financial Shocks from Medical Expenses
Prior to the new law, the major cause of bankruptcy stemmed from medical care expenses and the resulting disruptions to families. Rather than the mythical big spender contrived by Congress, for nearly half of filers, major medical expenses, family tragedies, were the tipping point to a loss of financial viability.
The Consumer Bankruptcy Project audited a representative sample of bankruptcy filers in 2001. The audit found that 46% cited a "major medical cause" for bankruptcy. This includes the direct cost of uncovered medical bills for major illness or injury, lost work due to the same, and the need to mortgage the family home to cover medical costs.
Did Congress review this data? Were they intent on making it harder to file bankruptcy as a result of illness? When bankruptcy is delayed or simply not attainable, less money is available for needed medical care. Were the members supporting bankruptcy reform indifferent to the suffering compounded by their thoughtless legislation?
The situation is worse now. A comprehensive survey of those who filed bankruptcy in 2007 showed the increasing desperation of those faced with medical problems. When individuals or family members are in dire need of medical care, do they just sit home and suffer?
Nearly two thirds of bankruptcies result from medical care that people can't afford or losses in income from medically required leave. Where are the big spending cheats?
Nihilists at the Helm
The big banks, Wall Street, the politicians they own, and the Federal Reserve Board created the real estate bubble in bad faith.
What did the nihilists of the financial elite and their hit men walking the halls of power do with all this knowledge? They went ahead with the real estate bubble, fostered it, deregulated meaningful controls on the financial industry, and crafted a new bankruptcy law to stick it to filers. They knew or should have known that data from 2001 showed a very high rate of filings due to the financial stress of medical care. Did they care? Do they care now? Has anything been done to correct this injustice?
While citizens suffer in financial distress, often due to illness, at the behest of influential bankers and investors, the Department of Justice crafts a settlement with lenders and their representatives to relieve them of the stern justice due for their specific crimes and the larger horrors they visit upon citizens, all in the name of short term profit.
We are most emphatically not a nation of laws. We are a nation where the law is used by a very few for their own purposes, without regard for the well being of the nation or its citizens. We are a lawless nation...(links sources and more at figrd)Michael Collins - The surface scandal is about fraudulent business practices and a... more-
- figgdimension
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- 1 year ago
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Banks Must Pay Victims of Botched Foreclosures, Regulators Say
The 14 largest U.S. mortgage servicers must pay back homeowners for losses from foreclosures or loans that were mishandled in the wake of the housing collapse, according to a consent decree released today.
The agreement between the servicers and U.S. regulators imposes more substantial penalties than early reports of the deal indicated. It could also help the U.S. Justice Department determine the size and scope of any future fines for the flawed practices, regulators said.
The banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), agreed in the settlement to conduct a review of all loans that went into foreclosure in 2009 and 2010. They also agreed to improve their foreclosure, loan modification and refinancing procedures by hiring staff, upgrading document-tracking systems, assigning a single point of contact for each borrower and policing lawyers and vendors.
(more at link)The 14 largest U.S. mortgage servicers must pay back homeowners for losses from... more-
- Vierotchka
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- 1 year ago
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MERS May Have Swallowed Your Mortgage
Ack! Just when you didn't think the mortgage crisis could get any worse, you learn that there is a database in Reston, Virginia that might have eaten your mortgage. In fact, the database itself claims to OWN more than 50% of US mortgages (about 60 million loans).
Created 16 years ago by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, the Mortgage Electronic Registration System (MERS) is, thankfully, beginning to run up against a few judges in foreclosure proceedings who are finally Just Saying No.
But that may not stop MERS in its tracks. This is a very involved story about the securitization of mortgages, but well worth the read for a deeper understanding of just how bad this mortgage crisis really is and the potential for it to get a lot worse.
For example: in a deposition, an officer of the company revealed that this corporation has THOUSANDS of Vice Presidents.
The NY Times article also states that "Federal bankruptcy courts and state courts have found that MERS and its member banks often confused and misrepresented who owned mortgage notes. In thousands of cases, they apparently lost or mistakenly destroyed loan documents."
Feeling better?
Read the whole story at the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/business/06mers.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=business.Ack! Just when you didn't think the mortgage crisis could get any worse, you... more-
- kerriberri
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Subprime Foreclosures and the 2005 Bankruptcy Reform
Is it just coincidence that subprime foreclosures surged right after the bankruptcy abuse reform (BAR) took effect in October 2005?
http://calculatedriskimages.blogspot.com/2010/10/personal-bankruptcy-filings-sept-2010.html
This article presents arguments and evidence suggesting that it is not. Before BAR, any household could file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and have its credit card and other unsecured debts discharged. By sidestepping their unsecured debts, households retained more income to pay their secured debts, such as mortgages. BAR blocks that
maneuver by presenting a variety of obstacles, including a means test that forces better-off households that demand bankruptcy protection to file Chapter 13, where they must continue paying unsecured lenders.
Read more about the New York Federal Reserve's report:
http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/epr/forthcoming/1102morg.pdfIs it just coincidence that subprime foreclosures surged right after the bankruptcy... more-
- Schnookums
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The Wealth Gap: Chickens, Pots, and the American Dream
Regardless of how the economy is doing it seems the super-rich come out ahead and to prove it, Wall St. has set yet another new pay record and the wealth gap widens.Regardless of how the economy is doing it seems the super-rich come out ahead and to... more-
- omnipotentpoobah
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- 1 year ago
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Tea Party on Foreclosure: “They Bought Houses They Couldn’t Afford”
We already know some Tea Party members don’t believe renters should vote.
But how do they feel about foreclosure? And, where does the Tea Party stand on the real estate crisis that has almost brought the American financial system to a standstill?
CNBC’s Rick Santelli’s now famous rant is credited with kick-started the Tea Party movement, even though Santelli has denied he is a part of the party and that his comment was anything other than spontaneous combustion (i.e., great TV).
Santelli yelled: “Why don’t you put up a website to have people vote on the Internet as a referendum to see if we really want to subsidize the losers’ mortgages. Or would we like to at least buy cars and buy houses in foreclosure and give them to people that might have a chance to actually prosper down the road, and reward people that could carry the water instead of drink the water?”
But it turns out that kicking folks out of their homes is a core tenant of the Tea Party movement.
Follow the link for the full story on CBS MoneyWatchWe already know some Tea Party members don’t believe renters should vote. But... more-
- IlyceGlink
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- 1 year ago
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Banks Create Undead!!!...for nefarious purpose!!!
Woman Deceased in 1995 Continued to Robo Sign Till at Least 2008 yes an undead robosigner that's a new one...
How, may you ask, can a woman who has been dead since 1995 sign documents more than a decade later? Normally, one would hazard to guess that stamps with her signature on them were still in use (this is more common than you would think in foreclosure land). That would be plenty troubling.
But this little account comes from the debt collection realm, a cesspool of bad practices. Here, the credit card company's... (more of story at link) and yes Foreclosure-gate has given you the robo-signing LIVING DEAD!!! (FIGRD!) http://www.figrd.blogspot.comWoman Deceased in 1995 Continued to Robo Sign Till at Least 2008 yes an undead... more-
- figgdimension
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- 1 year ago
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HUD So-Cal
HUD So-Cal http://www.vimeo.com/17821136 www.NewAmericaMedia.org-
- YouthOutlookMultimedia
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- 1 year ago
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