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In Georgia, the ease with which someone can lose a home is staggering.
A foreclosure-eviction can occur without judicial review in just 35 days, and at 10 a.m. on the first Tuesday of every month, the state's 159 counties hold a sheriff's auction of foreclosed homes.
That translated to 1,500 homes for sale in Atlanta on September 1. Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition--including 125 ministers from throughout the south--were in town to try to stop the auction.
They appealed to both Citibank and Wells Fargo to withdraw homes from the sale. Citi pulled thirty of its forty properties and will restructure those mortgages. Wells Fargo is still considering its response. Jackson commended Citi for taking "courageous action" but also noted that there is a need for a "massive restructuring" to truly stem the tide of foreclosures.
"The systematic hemorrhaging of foreclosures is outdistancing by far the loan modifications," Jackson said in a recent interview. "We've given a massive blood transfusion to the banks, but it's not linked to stopping the hemorrhaging at the bottom. We're taking care of a head wound...but the aorta is gushing."
Indeed, as of June 30, 1.5 million homes had gone into foreclosure and 2.4 million are expected to foreclose by the end of the year. Thirteen million foreclosures are projected over the next five years. The crisis has also spread to prime loans-- they now represent 27 percent of foreclosed loans, "up from 17 percent during the comparable 2008 period," according to McClatchy Newspapers. Nationwide, 23 percent of homeowners are now "under water" --owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Meanwhile, only about 10 percent of homeowners eligible for relief under the Obama administration's anti-foreclosure plan have received help.
"That leaves 90 percent to the bankers without an incentive to restructure loans rather than repossess homes," Jackson said. "Right now, the government is going house by house by house by house--like dipping a spoon in the ocean. There's a structural abnormality...that will not work. It's like if you're going for the right to vote--going city by city by city by city...or do you have a federal restructuring of the right to vote? Period." Jackson is outraged that the banks--even subprime lenders, some of whom engaged in "redlining and targeting, steering and clustering"--received a bailout, and are now profiting, with "no linkage to use the bailout to modify loans."
"Banks are sending out press releases saying they are recovering, but they are being stimulated to recover," he said. "Meantime, we're still losing jobs, and houses, and student loans...and the same banks that are getting 0 percent interest on loans are unwilling to reduce the homeowner rate. They're getting 0 percent money and charging students 16 percent....They're taking a stimulus and getting a fee for free money."
Rainbow PUSH has embarked on an ambitious and focused campaign--to restructure people's loans en masse--to stem the tide of foreclosures. It involves calling on the Federal Reserve Bank to institute an across-the-board interest rate reduction on all residential mortgages (Jackson proposes a 6 percent cap); Congress to give bankruptcy judges the power to modify mortgages (the House passed such legislation but it failed in the Senate); the Department of Justice to enforce fair lending and civil rights laws and prosecute those involved in predatory and discriminatory lending practices; and banks and the private sector to participate in the Obama administration's anti-foreclosure programs in order to modify 75 percent of troubled home mortgages.
The campaign plans foreclosure actions this month in Los Angeles, Antioch, CA, the Federal Reserve in San Francisco, and again in Atlanta. Meetings will be held between key staff of Rainbow PUSH and the Federal Reserve, FDIC, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank.
"We're taking our case to the streets, directly to the people," Jackson said. "An aroused people can make things begin to happen."
The need for these actions at both the local and national level is clear. The foreclosures impact not only the people being thrown out of their homes, but also their neighbors. The Center for Responsible Lending projects that in 2009 alone nearby houses will suffer a $502 billion decline in property values. That means an even greater hit to state and city budgets already devastated by the recession.
"When you lose the homes to foreclosure your neighbors homes lose value," Jackson said. "You shrink the tax base, then money for education, police, teachers, firemen, libraries and right down the river...."
Jackson believes taking on the foreclosure crisis is only part of the equation.
"I really can't separate jobs--the need for stimulation, incentives to reinvest in the infrastructure, reinvest in America--and housing and healthcare and education," he said. "People with jobs can better afford health premiums, and house premiums, and school premiums. We need a targeted stimulus at job creation and we cannot [ignore] the need for revisiting our trade policy....Trade must be fair to be free. And organized labor can't compete with slave labor....When you are dismissive of human rights--workers', women's and children's rights-- you're dismissive of [our] capacity to compete and to grow. I know the trade thing is a harder and higher mountain to climb, but it's a mountain that has to be climbed."
Jackson is right. There is indeed a clear connection between these basic struggles for jobs, homes, health, and education--and a need to address it as a whole. But it's also true that taking on the foreclosure crisis alone will require a herculean effort--the kind of inside-outside strategy we've seen (win or lose) in the health care debate. Jackson and other progressives who understand the power of organizing, mobilizing, and agitating have a vision for how to take on the status quo.
"Begin to resist these auctions en masse and publicly. Make resistance an issue, not just the auction an issue," Jackson said. "Demand bankruptcy reform laws. Fight for a structural change in the mortgage rates. Target a given bank in your area--which may involve civil disobedience, or litigation, or a demonstration--but it does require action. That's what we have to do. Activists cannot be silent in their protest. Our silence betrays our quest for justice."
This article is co-authored by Nation reporter/researcher Greg Kaufmann .
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Katrina vanden Heuvel
Thoughts on politics, current affairs, riffs and reflections on what’s in the news and what’s not--but should be.
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Six months ago I lost my job and health insurance. I have lost county of how many job applications I have filled out. When I lost my job, I called my bank and explained my situation. With every call to my bank I have communicated a strong desire to stay in my house and work out a solution to my mortgage problem. I have been making a partial payment on my mortgage every month. The bank's procedure is to not credit any partial payment to my mortgage and continue to access late charges.
After many calls to the bank that produced no results, I wrote them a letter requesting mortgage modification. Their proposal is to stop the foreclosure process for six months. While this helps keep a roof over my head for now, it does nothing to help me stay in my house for the long run. Late charges continue to pile up, I fall further behind in mortgage payments, my house is not worth what I owe on it.
My unemployment benefits will run out after Christmas so I am looking at losing my car and being homeless. There is no program offered by the bank that will consider that will reduce the principle on my loan and bring me current on my payments. Without a job, I have no options that will stave off homelessness.
So, all the talk about what to do about this crisis ( I know I have LOTS of company) so far has not made one bit of difference. Sure, the banks are showing profits, but I can't find a job to save my soul! Our leaders, elected and otherwise all expound on the issue but NO ONE is proposing a real solution. We will be a nation of millions of residents excluded from full participation in society- unable to work, find housing or retire.
Posted by nkukay at 09/12/2009 @ 3:05pm
Many years ago, (about 1977) I was temporarily employed through a temporary agency in Knoxville, TN.
I was sent out on a job to move some furniture. When I arrived at a public housing project there were officers of the Sheriffs Dept there. They instructed us to place the contents of an apartment on the street.
I was appalled. I asked them why. They told me to get to work and not wonder about "why". I was broke, hungry and desperate. We entered the Apt. And it dawned on me that we were evicting someone. As it turns out, a single black mother with three children.
We told the Sherrif that if they wanted to evict a family, they would have to do it themselves. And we questioned them as to how they could live with themselves. They told us that if we did not do the work they would arrest us. We told them to Fuck Off and walked away.
We were not arrested.
Posted by chaoszen at 09/12/2009 @ 3:13pm
We told the Sherrif that if they wanted to evict a family, they would have to do it themselves. And we questioned them as to how they could live with themselves. They told us that if we did not do the work they would arrest us. We told them to Fuck Off and walked away.
We were not arrested.
Posted by chaoszen at 09/12/2009 @ 3:13pm
While I sympathize with both the story and your response, I just feel there is one element that shows some misplaced anger.
those sheriffs were not the ones who ordered the eviction. They were just carrying out their duties as officers of the court. I doubt they were actually happy to be there.
Posted by antisocialist at 09/12/2009 @ 3:16pm
We live in a sick country. Very, Very Sick. Look at all those moronic teabaggers that are are protesting in Washington. What are they protesting? They don't know. All they know is that they hate black people, and fear that people of color are taking their country away.
Stupid and Ignorant. They are protesting against their own best interests for the sake of bigotry. A bunch of brainwashed idiotic white people who are afraid.
Silly little people..
Posted by chaoszen at 09/12/2009 @ 3:20pm
I'm disgusted with this country. Never liked it much anyway.
I'm moving to Costa Rica within the next six months.
You assholes can have this forsaken place. Meanwhile, I will adopt my own new country.
To Hell with this wasteland of ignorance and stupidity.
Posted by chaoszen at 09/12/2009 @ 3:25pm
We live in a sick country. Very, Very Sick. Look at all those moronic teabaggers that are are protesting in Washington. What are they protesting? They don't know. All they know is that they hate black people, and fear that people of color are taking their country away.
Stupid and Ignorant. They are protesting against their own best interests for the sake of bigotry. A bunch of brainwashed idiotic white people who are afraid.
Silly little people..
Posted by chaoszen at 09/12/2009 @ 3:20pm
You are truly filled with hate for your fellow countrymen if you have those kinds of attitudes that are entirely without basis.
Watching on CNN, there was no racism, no illiterate comments.
They are protesting FOR their best interests.
They are demanding that govt be run according to the constitution.
They said that they are fed up with both parties thinking of themselves instead of the people.
they said that the govt is out of control with spending and giveaways.
But I guess Chaozen, you love protesting, but only if the protesters agree with your own views.
In other words, you hate democracy so it is probably best if you follow your advice and hasten your departure from this country.
We welcome protest in this country from all points of view, not just those we agree with.
Posted by antisocialist at 09/12/2009 @ 3:34pm
Chaozen, you...
are truly filled with hate
you love...
you hate...
Posted by antisocialist-the-hate-&-love-detector at 09/12/2009 @ 3:34pm
on another front: Census Bureau Severs Ties With ACORN, under Bush... I mean not under Bush, under anti-racist, anti-redistributionist, antisocialist, anti-Muslim, anti-Non-citizen, "you lie" anti-liar OBAMA.
Posted by winyahn at 09/12/2009 @ 4:15pm
Jessie Jackson
a black redneck
Posted by bleedingheart at 09/12/2009 @ 4:22pm
I also can sympathize with the plight of people being evicted, actually having a heart, but that's not what we are talking about here. The problem is that too many people have too many children that they expect others to support and since when do banks offer mortgages to people who haven't the means to pay for them? What ever happened to establishing good credit and a job or two or three, saving for a down payment and purchasing within one's limits? It's time to face the truth. Where were these people when they were supposed to be getting educated so that they could get a good job? All of the inner cities have pathetic test scores. Why is that? Is it the teachers fault? I think not.
That's the whole point. We've fostered two full generations or more of people who expect government to bail them out of messes of their own making. That's why tens of thousands of people descended upon Washington today, to say they've had enough. And those are just a small sampling of a larger movement. As I've said before, a sleeping giant has been awakened. This has nothing to do with racism. It has to do with disgust!
Chaozen, good riddence.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/12/2009 @ 5:34pm
Katrina, questions for you. Do you think that people who do not qualify for a mortgage should be given one? Who should pay for the bailout? Who should support their little ones who have such irresponsible parents? Why don't progressives start a fund, with voluntary contribution of course, to pay for these mistakes? Seems to me that there will be tons of money rolling in from liberals and progressives. Problem solved.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/12/2009 @ 5:39pm
Now how about doing a piece about the corrupt ACORN.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/12/2009 @ 5:39pm
gunslinger1: Your comments are filled with generalizations and inaccuracies. The news has been filled with articles about foreclosures that are happening as a result of job loss! For your information, I am educated, was paid a very nice salary, put a nice down payment on my home, my children are grown and self supporting. Most others who are in foreclosure are just like me- hard working, responsible and out of work. No one I know, myself included is asking for a handout or pity. I just want a job so that I am not forced into homelessness. Include all facts when you draw conclusions, not just the ravings of a very small minority.
Posted by nkukay at 09/12/2009 @ 6:29pm
I just want a job so that I am not forced into homelessness. Include all facts when you draw conclusions, not just the ravings of a very small minority.
Posted by nkukay at 09/12/2009 @ 6:29pm
I sympathize with your situation, but it seems like you are wanting to govt to guarantee you a job. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I mean, life isn't always fair. I've been there myself,and may be there again. We just do the best we can and when there is nothing obvious, we get creative as people have always done.
And yes, sometimes that even means starting over.
Posted by antisocialist at 09/12/2009 @ 6:39pm
Posted by nkukay at 09/12/2009 @ 6:29pm
Scale down, rent and get back on your feet. you can't afford to be a homeowner right now. Good luck.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/12/2009 @ 6:50pm
That industry spent decades dumping money and influence into Washington to get the laws changed so they can tell people lies about how much money they can borrow. People at large had every reason to trust the system, it has worked for over 60 years, why not then? Everyone should be able to buy their own home, before corrupted the system it was the most secure investment, and biggest inflation fighter that an American could have. In fact, our entire economy and society was based on it. It has been the key to financial security as a nation since the 1940's. Before that it was a little more spotty, real estate was a great investment in cities, but most people still lived on farms or in rural settings where the home was a given, rather than a property's main feature. My point is that this is not a political debate. This is a war on the American people by a tiny number of people who believe that they have the right to rule us and will commit any crime to make it happen.
Posted by Milhaus at 09/12/2009 @ 6:50pm
gunslinger: you are very wrong - I do not want the govt to guarantee me a job- nothing in any of my statements even hints at that. What makes you think I have not explored all my options- just like everyone else who has been hit by the economic downturn. No one who is struggling now thinks that life should be fair, no one is waiting for some magical solution. My frustration is centered only on the fact that I cannot find work- and I am not alone in this experience. You seem to think that impending financial collapse and homelessness can be solved with some sort of creative brainstorming! Wish it were so easy.
Posted by nkukay at 09/12/2009 @ 6:52pm
Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Barack Obama's handlers keep Jesse Jackson and the Rev. Sharpton hidden during his primary? I believe I'm corret. Also The rev. Wright went missing for the critical home stretch.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/12/2009 @ 6:53pm
People at large had every reason to trust the system, it has worked for over 60 years,...
Posted by Milhaus at 09/12/2009 @ 6:50pm
The "system" works, until it doesn't!
This is the case in Houston during `86-`88 when over 150k jobs were lost when the Saudis opened the oil spigot to squeeze Iran and oil price dropped to a low of $8 per barrel.
The only thing different this time, with the "system" breaking down in many bubble cities, is due to the Gubbers forcing lenders nationawide to make loans to the `underserved'. Their losing their homes, rightly so during recession(s), led to housing prices dropping more than it otherwise would, thus impacting the next level of generally credit-worthy owners, like nkukay, who find their houses worth less than the loans.
In the end analysis, it's JOBs that matter the most to credit-worthy owners. Most will honor their mortgage debt (for shelter & stability reasons) and EXCEPT when they lose their means of income: their JOBs, that's where the temptation (and correct financial move) to walk away from a (heavily negative equity) loan becomes their only option.
As Danial Henniger penned a few days ago, It's Still the Economy, Stupid (Obama)!
Posted by Happy at 09/12/2009 @ 7:27pm
KvH: "In Georgia, the ease with which someone can lose a home is staggering.
A foreclosure-eviction can occur without judicial review in just 35 days....."
Actually, Katrina, that's generally good news.....and explains why Georgia, as well as here in Texas, remains one of the more states with reasonably priced homes to begin with.
I am going to venture a guess that Georgia also utilizes something called a Deed of Trust which enables a (neutral) Trustee to initiate foreclosure when a loan has defaulted. Call it lender-friendly if you wish, and it probably is relative to high (housing cost) states.
Similarly, Texas laws are landlord-friendly and it takes me not more than 30~35 days to evict someone once rent is late.....and I average at least one eviction per year.
For you Lib, whose knees jerk wildly with every instance of suffering, the thought of the TRUE GREATER GOOD of reasonably priced housing and rentals available to EVERYBODY, just don't mean much, does it? It's always the Cries that draw (your) attention!
Posted by Happy at 09/12/2009 @ 7:35pm
Posted by Happy at 09/12/2009 @ 7:35pm
My guess is that you spend much time & effort on placating your best tenants (the Sec.8ers). Once established they usually stay longer & with less trouble than the volatile & generally more mobile, marginally employed.
My guess is that if the State of Texas provides assistance to the disabled, it's minimal at best, thus placing on you the burden (not really) of being the designated driver. This offers you a social outlet, while at the same time keeping your plexes humming & trouble free.
You've probably learned to steer clear of the young foxes with the escalating tenancy related requests. Appearing at their door with your handyman after tentative probes is always a good idea.
And everybody thought Happy was just another Walter Mitty, Capitalist wannabee!
Posted by Sorelish at 09/12/2009 @ 8:24pm
What Happy says is directly on point. Here in Minnesota the law and courts are pro-tenant and anti-landlord. The result is that rents are much higher than they would otherwise be. If it is made easier for people to avoid paying their mortgages, then mortgages in the future will be more difficult to obtain because the banks will tighten up their lending requirements. In Iowa, for example, about the quickest anybody can be foreclosed and evicted is 6 months after the legal proceedings are completed. Its easy to stave off the creditor for a year living in the house and paying nothing. I think things should be just left alone. Extreme measures (and when did Jesse ever suggest anything else) will invoke the law of unintended consequences with a vengeance.
Posted by jsens at 09/12/2009 @ 8:27pm
Katherine emphasizes that a foreclosure can be effected without judicial review. Now, I think she would know that if a mortgagor has a solid complaint, he or she can move for an injunction to stay the foreclosure proceedings until the matter can be heard. Of course, most mortgagors don't file for injunctions for the reason they don't have any grounds - they have failed to pay the debt as they promised to do. There really isn't anything for a judge to review. For the judiciary to get involved, there needs to be a question or case before it. In some instances, rogue judges who don't like foreclosures have refused to sign order and have taken advantage of their position to hold off foreclosures. If course, in those instances you have the travesty of judges failing to obey their oath to uphold the law.
What many seem to forget is that creditors have rights too.
Posted by jsens at 09/12/2009 @ 8:36pm
Gunslinger, you will recall that Reverend Jackson was heard, and was recorded, stating that he wanted to sever certain portions of Obamas reproductive apparatus from Mr. Obama's body. The terms Rev.Jackson used were quite crude and I will not soil the pages of this site by reproducing them.
Posted by jsens at 09/12/2009 @ 8:40pm
Gunslinger, about ACORN. Seems to me the group is populated by a small minorty of wild eyed activists, a small minority of crooks, and a large majority of gullible people who don't or can't really understand what's going on.
Posted by jsens at 09/12/2009 @ 8:45pm
In the end analysis, it's JOBs that matter the most to credit-worthy owners. Most will honor their mortgage debt (for shelter & stability reasons) and EXCEPT when they lose their means of income: their JOBs, that's where the temptation (and correct financial move) to walk away from a (heavily negative equity) loan becomes their only option.
As Danial Henniger penned a few days ago, It's Still the Economy, Stupid (Obama)!
Posted by Happy at 09/12/2009 @ 7:27pm | ignore this person | warn this person
You have to define what a job is. I clearly remember Junior getting up on the podium and telling the American people they should get 2 jobs. The Democratic party platform always incorporates living wages when talking about job growth. Without living wages job growth is meaningless. The key provider in wage security comes from organized labor, as it always has. Before unions the U.S. was a land of brutal abuses, sub-survival standard wages, child labor, forced sexual favors so people can keep their jobs, and 7 day work weeks. This goes back to the Republican "business" community pandering to recreating a permanent cheap labor underclass. If you want to raise a family on an $8/hour job go right ahead, let us know how that goes.
Telling President Obama that it's the economy is idiocy. When he was elected it was like a pilot taking over the controls of a flaming plane in a nose dive. He deserves a lot of credit for holding together an existing disaster that we will be cleaning up after for years because of Bush's back door dealing, no-bid contract giveaways, and extreme policy abuses.
Posted by Milhaus at 09/12/2009 @ 9:32pm
is due to the Gubbers forcing lenders nationawide to make loans to the `underserved'.
Posted by Happy at 09/12/2009 @ 7:27p
happy,
quit the crap.
Posted by frosty zoom at 09/12/2009 @ 10:20pm
He deserves a lot of credit for holding together an existing disaster that we will be cleaning up after for years because of Bush's back door dealing, no-bid contract giveaways, and extreme policy abuses.
Posted by Milhaus at 09/12/2009 @ 9:32pm
so why is mr. obama doing the same things?
Posted by frosty zoom at 09/12/2009 @ 10:22pm
you know,
many banks aren't foreclosing at all.
they'd rather have the loan on their books looking like it's still performing.
Posted by frosty zoom at 09/12/2009 @ 10:23pm
so why is mr. obama doing the same things?
Posted by frosty zoom at 09/12/2009 @ 10:22pm | ignore this person | warn this person
There are a lot of reasons it looks that way, or actually is that way. Existing agreements and contracts can't just be dropped by the Federal government. Just like in business, changes have to be planned out while accounting for timelines of systems already in place. For example, when an auto maker says they are cutting x number of jobs and closing a factory it requires years to complete. Leases, retirement fund agreements, supply contracts and dozens of other items have to be addressed one at a time. It's the same for a President, and also the same reason that a President's policies and actions appear to have far reaching effects long after they have left the Whitehouse. When the U.S. government agrees to something it serves us all to honor it to the letter. Unfortunately, our system forces us to take the bad with the good. Bush had to do it, they all do. That is what President Obama is dealing with.
Posted by Milhaus at 09/13/2009 @ 02:07am
Posted by Happy at 09/12/2009 @ 7:27pm |
Poor Happy...doesn't want to admit that SPECULATORS are a HUGE portion of the foreclosure wave (you think paying off 1 bad ARM is bad...try 6).
'Undeserved' my ass...save that word for discussion of the bonus checks and golden parachutes of the clowns like Lewis and Mozilo who hand-crafted this disaster.
Noone forced them to give Jim Crow an equity line that he shouldn't have taken.
In case you haven't noticed Hap, even white folks are getting put on the street so shove your CRA chant up your wazoo, you ignorant, racist sumbitch.
Posted by snowball777 at 09/13/2009 @ 06:39am
Posted by antisocialist at 09/12/2009 @ 3:34pm |
"Watching on CNN, there was no racism, no illiterate comments."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdyGhE7zH6U
Uh huh...whatever.
"They are protesting FOR their best interests."
Reading their signs, they appear to be clueless as to what their best interests might be.
They certainly could have saved the gas they used to drive down there and not make one relevant point.
"We welcome protest in this country from all points of view, not just those we agree with."
Sure we do.
Let me know when the idiot with the AR-15 gets tackled by riot cops working overtime like in the goodle days of Chimpy's speeches.
Posted by snowball777 at 09/13/2009 @ 06:58am
It's the same for a President, and also the same reason that a President's policies and actions appear to have far reaching effects long after they have left the Whitehouse. When the U.S. government agrees to something it serves us all to honor it to the letter. Unfortunately, our system forces us to take the bad with the good. Bush had to do it, they all do. That is what President Obama is dealing with.
Posted by Milhaus at 09/13/2009 @ 02:07am
of course mr. obama is dealing with bush madness, but he has also pulled some very corrupt moves.
c'est la même chose....
Posted by frosty zoom at 09/13/2009 @ 09:28am
Anyone reading this thread by KvH, needs to round out their `understanding' by reading:
"Politicizing the Economy is a Grave Mistake - Tyler Cowen, New York Times"
One key excerpt:
"......political deals threaten open discourse. The dealmaking may be inhibiting some people in health care from speaking out in opposition to the administration's proposals. Robert Reich, who served as secretary of labor in the Clinton administration, deserves credit for complaining about this arrangement, but not enough people are asking where such dealmaking might stop.
The banking sector has been facing similar constraints; if bankers criticize the Treasury or the Fed, they risk losing their gilded cages and could get a bad deal when the next bailout comes. When major economic sectors can be influenced in this way, are we really very far from the nightmare depicted by Ayn Rand in "Atlas Shrugged"?"
================================
Occasionally, the NYT reverts back to the good old days when it mattered......and this Opinion piece is one throwback/reminder!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 11:44am
Posted by frosty zoom at 09/13/2009 @ 09:28am
Bush madness? I guess you are referring to invading Iraq. I agree that it was a mistake to invade on that scale but we do need a presence in the ME. Have we freed ourselves from out oil dependency yet? What happens if Saudi Arabia turns against us?
I also agree that it was a mistake to so baltently give huge tax breaks to people who didn't need them while at the same time pretty much ignoring Katrina. The left had a field day with both of those issues. He did what he wanted, his way and his party suffered for it. He was the 'Decider.' Will Barack Obama do the same and have the same result? He still has time to unite. We'll see.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 11:52am
Before unions the U.S. was a land of brutal abuses,
such as opening fire on strikers, or throwing them in jail for refusing to work for the pittance offered by the capitalist pigs.
it is in the corporations' self interest to return to that status quo ante. and according to Maasch and anti etc, those clowns, we should give it to them, as they CREATE the jobs.
they may create the jobs, but it is the workers who DO the jobs. without an educated, well treated labor force we are just Zimbabwe with more flat screen TVs.
Posted by emile duBois at 09/13/2009 @ 11:53am
according to reports, the under water mortgages are held mostly by speculators, rather than resident home owners, by a ratio of 6 to 1.
this is entirely credible, with interest rates ridiculously low, and oversight on loans non existent, there was a free for all in speculation.
it is important to limit any gov't help to the resident owners only.
Posted by emile duBois at 09/13/2009 @ 12:04pm
What many seem to forget is that creditors have rights too. Posted by jsens at 09/12/2009 @ 8:36pm | ignore this person | warn this person
yes they do, but it is their interest to keep people in their homes, and it is in the interest of the community, which banks are a part of, to keep people in their homes.
we have seen what happens to ALL property values when neighborhoods are empties of residents, and house stand empty.
Posted by emile duBois at 09/13/2009 @ 12:08pm
I also agree that it was a mistake to so baltently give huge tax breaks to people who didn't need them while at the same time pretty much ignoring Katrina. The left had a field day with both of those issues......
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 11:52am
How can it be a "mistake" when ALL the Bush `43 jobs were added afterward? Sure, you can say those top 10% didn't need the "tax breaks" but, here's the key thing, the other 90% needed those 10% to spend & invest more, which they did!
Yesterday's WSJ went into some depth analyzing the severe drop in spending by the wealthiest 20% and why, without their spending their considerable disposable income, there won't be a jobs recovery.....it's totally simple to me and should be to you, supposedly an "independent", who knows the Left's BS on the big, bad well-to-do.
On Katrina, you and the country were fed by the Legacy Media, don't overlook that! They didn't turn anti-Bush after Katrina, they merely poured oil on top of a fire.
Here in Houston, we got a much closer look, as well as naturally paid much more attention to the Fed's helping hands, and those hands were considerable. Only in this year, was the housing assistance finally ended. There is no hard estimate of how many of New Orleans' refugees have settled, for good, in our town, but it has to be in the low 5-figures.
Katrina was meant to be perceived as you did, a Bush f*&kup; instead of what it really was, a Dem f*&k by Chocolate Nagin and the Dem-led state of LA. Why do you think them Cajuns threw out their Dem Governor who presided over Katrina, in what has been Dem Sweeps nationwide for several years?
Be leery of what you see on the Legacy Media.....any true "independent" worth his/her salt ought to be able to know when he/she's being `led'!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 12:08pm
emptied...
Posted by emile duBois at 09/13/2009 @ 12:09pm
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 12:08pm
First of all, I'm not a 'supposed' independent, I am an independent period. But that's neither here nor there. I am led by nobody, especially the media. I pointed out, and pretty clearly, that the left had a field day with George Bush because of his policies that he either didn't explain or explained badly.
Of course, media on both sides tries to sway people to their point of view. I don't remember it being any different. Perceptions are important to people who do not pay much attention. All I'm saying is that Bush gave the democrats much more ammunition than they needed. Just look at the results.
I also tried to point out, probably badly, that Bush had to follow the policies of previous administrations with his ME doctrine. That area is vital to US interests. His problem was that he came across looking like, well, a gunslinger instead of articulating why that region is vital to America's survival. OIL. This nonsense about WMD and Saddam this and Saddam that didn't fly. He was not an articulate President. cheney came across as Darth Vader. No wonder the democrats took control.
Being an indepent is a good thing. I don't have to defend or prop up anybody, especially politicians.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 1:23pm
Being an indepent is a good thing. I don't have to defend or prop up anybody, especially politicians.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 1:23pm
But......you didn't defend my rebuttal to your (Bush's) mistaken "tax breaks" and "ignoring Katrina". You pulled a huge Bait-and-Switch.
I don't disagree that Bush was NOT articulate.....he speaks (& likely writes) like me so I can sympathize. He's pretty much a straight shooter-again, like me. I believe folks of strong inner character, are very like the protagnists of Rand's novels......don't give much shit to what others think, just do what they believe is right.
I far prefer a leader to be straight w/me or stay silent, instead of feeding me BS (which is what Magic does every time he opens his mouth)!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 2:16pm
That area is vital to US interests. His problem was that he came across looking like, well, a gunslinger instead of articulating why that region is vital to America's survival. OIL.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 1:23pm
Everybody half-educated knew that! But it just can't be set forth in public.
Just as what HusseinO is trying to do.....to get single-payer (eventually) but he won't come right out and declare, as the POTUS, that's what the HC battle is all about. The Left and Right know this, and these two groups follow politics and its' unspoken Rules of Engagements. It's that broad middle swath of "independents", that can often be led by rhetorics, Trojan horse, and bait-and-switch.
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 2:20pm
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 2:16pm |
Ok, we know, you thought George Bush was great. That's fine but his reaction to Katrina was legendary in it's slowness. His mother commented that, "THOSE people," are better of in Texas anyway. Of course the democrats are going to take advantage of that stupidity.
As for the tax breaks, well I believe that was about the first thing he did when he took office. I'm not switching and baiting anything. I didn't think you needed a very detailed explanation. The vast majority of the people didn't like the tax breaks for the wealthy because they could not identify with it on a personal level. Did it create more jobs and help the stock market, probably. But remember, Bush inherited a surplus and left office with the largest deficit ever. No excuses Happy, that's a fact.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 3:54pm
Katrina was meant to be perceived as you did, a Bush f*&kup; instead of what it really was, a Dem f*&k by Chocolate Nagin and the Dem-led state of LA. Why do you think them Cajuns threw out their Dem Governor who presided over Katrina, in what has been Dem Sweeps nationwide for several years?
Be leery of what you see on the Legacy Media.....any true "independent" worth his/her salt ought to be able to know when he/she's being `led'!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 12:08pm
Happy, your language is getting pretty racist. Calling Nagin "Chocolate" is uncalled for.
You do a real disservice to conservatives when you resort to this kind of language.
Posted by antisocialist at 09/13/2009 @ 4:13pm
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 2:20pm
During the Carter Administration, when Iran was in Chaos, The Soviets were threatening to take advantage of the situation.
You would have to go all the way back to the winter of 1947-48, when, for the first time, the U.S. had a domestic oil shortage. Truman called for conservation as Nixon and later Carter did during their energy scares. Truman also released one million barrels of the U.S. Navy's oil reserves. It would be the first time the U.S. and particularly the Navy, confronted the reality of their dependence on oil. This was when America first started developing relationships with countries bordering the Persian Gulf and it's rich oil supply.
Back to Carter and the Soviets. Remember, the cold war hadn't ended yet and the Soviets were a threat. Complicating things, the Arabs had long resented America's support for Israel. So, in his State of the Union address, Carter first warned the Soviets not to interfere in the Persian Gulf. It would be regarded as an assualt on the vital interests of the U.S.
So you see, although I know republicans have no use for Jimmy Carter, malaise and all that, he was actually the President that confronted the Soviets in the region of the world that Ronald Reagan, Bush one, Clinton and GWB would have to follow up on. I'm not sure that Barack Obama understands the significance of America's interests in that region.
Until We had alternative energy on a scale large enough to offset our reliance on oil, America will have to have a presence and a friendship with specific countries in the area, most namely Saudi Arabia.
My point in all of this is that Jimmy Carter did set the subject of our interests forth to the public. He was the President who played it straight.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 4:15pm
Please don't make me work this hard. I know you understand all that.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 4:16pm
Posted by antisocialist at 09/13/2009 @ 4:13pm
I agree. Happy does go overboard sometimes. Slurs are uncalled for. I'm sure he'll agree.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 4:17pm
As for the tax breaks, well I believe that was about the first thing he did when he took office....The vast majority of the people didn't like the tax breaks for the wealthy because they could not identify with it on a personal level....
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 3:54pm
Did Bush take office during a Booming economy and he right off the bat, decided to pay off his wealthy (Repub) backers with a big tax cut to enrich them further....or did he inherit a deflating bubble economy?
You do know, Bush's tax cuts were ACROSS THE BOARD, right? I don't deny the cap gain & dividend tax cuts benefitted mostly the wealthy, duh, they own most of the financial stocks directly...while Joe Average's stock holdings are in pension funds or future pension obligations.
The wealthy will always have a problem getting a majority of the people to see why they shouldn't be taxed to death....it's up to the educated to know why we do NOT want them to Go Galt! But then, the pols on the Left know where the votes are and act accordingly.
This year, I could've easily spent $4~$5 thousand (more) hiring people to do my usual R&M work around rental properties and my own home. Instead, I chose to do almost all of the work myself....a part of the reason, is NOT to trickle down!
With both sons now out-of-the-house except sometimes on weekends, I've also cut my maid's cleaning by having her skipping upstairs every other times. I may even cut her back to just once-monthly upstairs cleaning....think she understands trickle-down better today?
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 4:23pm
I'm disgusted with this country. Never liked it much anyway.
I'm moving to Costa Rica within the next six months.
You assholes can have this forsaken place. Meanwhile, I will adopt my own new country.
To Hell with this wasteland of ignorance and stupidity.
Posted by chaoszen at 09/12/2009 @ 3:25pm | ignore this person | warn this person
--the wheels on the bus go round and round...
Posted by urmygyro at 09/13/2009 @ 4:24pm
Milhaus: "Everyone should be able to buy their own home"
--no, they shouldn't. if you can afford a house, good for you. if not, rent.
Posted by urmygyro at 09/13/2009 @ 4:27pm
Happy, your language is getting pretty racist. Calling Nagin "Chocolate" is uncalled for.
You do a real disservice to conservatives when you resort to this kind of language.
Posted by antisocialist at 09/13/2009 @ 4:13pm
I know you know that "Chocolate" is a descriptive invention of Nagin himself....unless you think he should just have called restoring NO to a black or n*&gger city!
And, btw, you do a real disservice to both conservatives and the large numbers of lowly-paid Americans by your support of illegal immigrants.
And it's precisely the kinda of political correctness that you showed, by taking aim at my "Chocolate Nagin", typed w/out a trace of racism but certain sarcasm, that leads `liberal' universities like Yale, to be so God-damn scared to publish the Mohammed cartoons in a book about said cartoons! Bloody fucking amazing what has happened to free speech in this country!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 4:30pm
Happy, your language is getting pretty racist. Calling Nagin "Chocolate" is uncalled for.
You do a real disservice to conservatives when you resort to this kind of language.
Posted by antisocialist at 09/13/2009 @ 4:13pm
--chocolate can be white or black....but Happy, he's right...enough please.
Posted by urmygyro at 09/13/2009 @ 4:34pm
--chocolate can be white or black....but Happy, he's right...enough please.
Posted by urmygyro at 09/13/2009 @ 4:34pm
A lot of folks like to argue for unknown reasons....
What do you suppose Nagin meant ` Chocolate City' as appllied to NO? What do you suppose I meant by Chocolate Nagin?
OK, you win, maybe Nagin wanted to restore NO to a white chocolate city.....and I may have meant that I wished Nagin was white....it's always possible, right?
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 4:40pm
Looks like this is but a skirmish in the coming war. Jesse Jackson and Poor People vs. The Banksters. If I were a betting man, my money would NOT be on the former.
In vivid and extreme contrast, I find the battles between the far-right and the off-the-charts Nazi right to be quite encouraging.
Posted by DejaVu at 09/13/2009 @ 4:42pm
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 4:23pm
I'm not going into a big dissertation about economics and who way is the best way. All I was pointing out is that Geroge W. Bush came across as an uneducated, inarticulate, arrogant rich kid and plenty of people noticed, most notably the leftist media. George W. came pretty damn close to destroying his party. That's a huge part of why Obama was elected and the democrats control the government now. If people with your point of view don't wise up, it's liable to stay that way for awhile.
Obama on the other hand is coming across as partisan when he said he wouldn't be and he's turning off many of those who voted for him as well. Bill Clinton was smart to move to the middle. Obama should follw his lead.
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 4:48pm
George W. came pretty damn close to destroying his party. That's a huge part of why Obama was elected and the democrats control the government now....
Posted by gunslinger1 at 09/13/2009 @ 4:48pm
But NOT for the reasons the Legacy Media wants to force feed on the middle! His problems w/the Iraq War has already been overturned w/success of the Surge which was not THAT apparent in the Legacy Media during the fall campaign; though it was already evident in the Right-wing news media but like Van Jones, Legacy Media refused to cover it.
Bush failed on controlling spending, all 8 years.....and that gave cover to lots of Repub pols to go on their own Pork Fest (except McCain and a handful of others like Ron Paul).
The simplest reason Obama was elected is his "Chocolate-ness". Everybody know this but the Left just can't admit it!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 5:01pm
And, btw, you do a real disservice to both conservatives and the large numbers of lowly-paid Americans by your support of illegal immigrants.
And it's precisely the kinda of political correctness that you showed, by taking aim at my "Chocolate Nagin", typed w/out a trace of racism but certain sarcasm, that leads `liberal' universities like Yale, to be so God-damn scared to publish the Mohammed cartoons in a book about said cartoons! Bloody fucking amazing what has happened to free speech in this country!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 4:30pm
Let me add to what I explained to you previously on this. I used to be someone (as also my immigrant wife) who believed that illegals should be deported.
However, I felt convicted by G-d on this after being led with a sense to re-read Deuteronomy 10:18,19. I then realized that this was one of those times when my submission to govt authority was superceded by my call to obey G-d. It's as simple as that. If that separates me from other conservatives, that is part of the price we pay sometimes for obeying G-d over man.
Posted by antisocialist at 09/13/2009 @ 5:04pm
If that separates me from other conservatives, that is part of the price we pay sometimes for obeying G-d over man.
Posted by antisocialist at 09/13/2009 @ 5:04pm
God may not have any notion of supply-demand but presumably, we all do....to varying degrees.
How do you reconcile with the harm illegal immigrants do to our own fellow Americans of low-skills? Or the crimes inflicted on all walks of Americans? Or the social resources, and private like your own, that are NOT spent on our own needy citizens? Or the indirect costs of law enforcement that COULD, also be directed at our own citizens?
Just as the Left thinks every dollar spent in Iraq or Af/Pak is a dollar not available for our own citizens, shouldn't we all think that every direct/indirect dollar spent on illegals is one dollar not being spent on native-born Americans (and I exclude those born to immigrants who come over the border to deliver their `American' baby using our taxpayer funded hospitals/clinics).
I believe you are being true to God, but you lose sight of the Americans you could be helping if you weren't so tied up w/the illegals!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 5:20pm
God may not have any notion of supply-demand but presumably, we all do....to varying degrees.
How do you reconcile with the harm illegal immigrants do to our own fellow Americans of low-skills? Or the crimes inflicted on all walks of Americans? Or the social resources, and private like your own, that are NOT spent on our own needy citizens? Or the indirect costs of law enforcement that COULD, also be directed at our own citizens?
Just as the Left thinks every dollar spent in Iraq or Af/Pak is a dollar not available for our own citizens, shouldn't we all think that every direct/indirect dollar spent on illegals is one dollar not being spent on native-born Americans (and I exclude those born to immigrants who come over the border to deliver their `American' baby using our taxpayer funded hospitals/clinics).
I believe you are being true to God, but you lose sight of the Americans you could be helping if you weren't so tied up w/the illegals!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 5:20pm
Nothing in my position takes away from enforcing laws when crimes are committed by illegals. An illegal alien who commits a felony should be deported.
And the direct/indirect dollar costs are simply not true. Again, I know this directly from the number of tax returns that I do.
It is obvious that the issues surrounding this are complex, but like Ronald Reagan, I believe that a Christian response is the best one.
Posted by antisocialist at 09/13/2009 @ 5:27pm
I believe you are being true to God, but you lose sight of the Americans you could be helping if you weren't so tied up w/the illegals!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 5:20pm
Let me add to this;
Financial gain doesn't shape my actions.
I have been fired from jobs and even lost a multi-million dollar joint venture when I have had to choose between my beliefs and what the world asks of me. I will hopefully always choose obeying G-d over what is convenient.
Posted by antisocialist at 09/13/2009 @ 5:30pm
Posted by antisocialist at 09/13/2009 @ 5:30pm |
It is quite telling that Happy left the EMPLOYERS of illegals (supposedly over masses of available, willing, and low-skilled citizens) in his discussion.
If you want to be mad at someone for selling out the country and less capable Americans, start with the people who are making money hand over fist off of the backs of illegal labor.
Posted by snowball777 at 09/13/2009 @ 7:39pm
The Audacity of Rangel
Charlie in rental di$order
Fails to report Harlem-pad income
By ISABEL VINCENT and MELISSA KLEIN
Last Updated: 2:56 PM, September 13, 2009
Rep. Charles Rangel reported no rental income for eight years on his rundown Harlem row house.....The powerful chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee said he received nothing from 1993 to 2000 on the six-unit building, according to federal financial disclosure forms.
But one current tenant told The Post she had lived at the building for 20 years -- and paid rent during that period....Another said her former boyfriend called 74 W. 132nd St. home for many years, paying about $500 a month in rent....While Rangel claims to have taken in not a dime in eight years....
The Democratic lawmaker, who is being probed by the House Ethics Committee for a laundry list of alleged financial misdeeds, has had a hard time keeping his story straight....
Even if expenses on the building brought his take to nothing in certain years, he was required to report the gross rent.....
Last year, The Post revealed Rangel's failure to declare $75,000 in rental income on his villa in the Dominican Republic.
The Ethics Committee is also taking a hard look at Rangel's claim on a 1989 mortgage document that the row house was his primary residence.
As The Post reported last month, Rangel was then living across the street at Lenox Terrace. He also, at that time, claimed a primary residence in Washington.
=========================
I've gotta hand it to old Charlie, he is daring.....I know all these `tricks' but just don't have the same size pair he's got, nor that precious Gubber biz card stamped "Democrat" (that stands for immunity).
Laws are for the Little Guys!
I'm learning and stuffing supplements to grow my pair!
Posted by Happy at 09/13/2009 @ 7:51pm
So I guess we are supposed to be surprised that Charlie is still around?He's a thief, why can't Dems and Repubs share equal billing. Droop you sure are a great conservative mouthpiece. On illegal aliens, I worked in the meat business for 20 years. I was there for two raids when over 100 friends of mine were taken away. The point I am getting at is the hypocrisy in the process. The big boys of the industry(IBP,EXCEL) were not raided at the time. They were the companies that set the wage scale. They had illegals everywhere but nobody saw this. It was like a giant scale game of "Monopoly". So,Droop go back to cutting back on your maids salary because that will help you out.I went through Postville,Iowa yesterday. They have a closed down "kosher" meat plant there. Interesting that there are raids in northern Iowa at a small plant but few at the mega plants.
Posted by whatizz at 09/13/2009 @ 8:41pm
I used to be a republican. never again. they were used by the neocons, just like the rest of us.I DON'T CARE IF YOU ARE ON THE RIGHT OR THE LEFT, America has been destroyed by the Neocons and other groups. We all have been used for that purpose too. I lost my home in 2006. It was NOT a sub-prime loan, nor over extened. My home was a VA loan. I lost it to a Chinese holding company(!) that Bush gave contracts to. No one talks bout the REAL issues,the "nuts case Christians" as DICK CHENEY refered to them keep spouting their ignorance.Since 2001,52 million jobs have been eliminated, reduced, cut, in-sourced, out sourced, contracted, and a plenty of other moves, Palin and simple - That's the real reason people are loosing their homes! there are no jobs!Our jobs were sent over seas! BARAK had nothing to do with this mess. It was handed to him! Bush,Cheney,and others, let the corporations write legislation with the GOP congress (1994-2006). They shipped America overseas, or crippled it internally. BIG OIL, INSURANCE CO.'S, MANUFACTURING, AND MANY MORE ARE GONE! They are so corrupt it boggles the mind. They use professionals to spin us into yelling at each other ,while they head to off shore banks!12 Trillion is missing! and counting,AND they wanted to give us all accounts on wall street? we got lucky on that. What would we look like if it had? Face it folks, GREED IS OUT OF CONTROL,and it's the big corps. GIVE ME A JOB BACK!I AM 50 and lost everything, including health insurance. I can't find a job to save my life! I would wash dishes if I could find a place to hire me! I was a computer engnieer 4 BLUE before my life was shipped to China! WAKE up right wing! you are being played for fools, just as we all were under Cheney\ Bush. This is the greatest theft in HUMAN HISTORY!
Posted by unitedwestanddividedwefall at 09/14/2009 @ 02:16am
The current economic and financial crisis is rooted in a glut of homes on the market forcing prices down, and so reducing that inventory is the essential solution.
With as many as 3.5 million homes for sale in recent months, we have about two million more homes than a healthy 3-4 month supply. And there are millions more distressed homes headed to market, as you say, even if demand begins to increase, because so many homeowners have properties with values well below their mortgage debt.
I believe that the US needs to buy the surplus, or at least a substantial chunk of it. At the current median home price (which is now a good price relative to median income), two million homes would cost the US $300-400 billion, which is less than 15% of the bailout funds directed at the damage downstream thus far; and with the rising prices that such a supply correction would cause, this would be a no-risk purchase for taxpayers because it would deliver a profit as the properties are carefully resold over several years, even after the added expenses of management and maintenance. And critically, the large reserve would forestall another round of speculation so that we can continue with the low interest rates necessary to keep home-ownership within reach of everyone.
Correct the supply and the economy turns around now. Indeed, just the commitment, before a dime is spent, will reverse the recession, as banks resume financing and the construction industry returns to work.
If you'd like to look more closely at this strategy and the facts and figures, please visit the website where I've posted all the information:
http://twomillionhomes.net
Kevin Parcell
Posted by kparcell at 09/14/2009 @ 05:54am
when a speculator buys or builds it is a house, NOT A HOME
Posted by emile duBois at 09/14/2009 @ 10:59am
they may create the jobs, but it is the workers who DO the jobs. without an educated, well treated labor force we are just Zimbabwe with more flat screen TVs. Posted by emile duBois at 09/13/2009 @ 11:53am | ignore this person | warn this person
--the arrogance of "society"...
Posted by urmygyro at 09/14/2009 @ 1:58pm
they may create the jobs, but it is the workers who DO the jobs. without an educated, well treated labor force we are just Zimbabwe with more flat screen TVs. Posted by emile duBois at 09/13/2009 @ 11:53am | ignore this person | warn this person
--when's the last time zimbabwe dropped a nuclear bomb on somebody?
...the arrogance of "society" knows no bounds...
Posted by urmygyro at 09/14/2009 @ 2:00pm
In my state, foreclosure evictions are very neat and tidy. No longer does the sheriff put a residents possessions out onto the street. No, we're too cosmopolitan for that. The sheriff sends a postcard telling the occupant to move. The occupant gets no date, but the owner does. On that date, the owner and sheriff put a lock on the property with the occupant's possessions still inside if the occupant failed to clear out. Then the occupant has a time period in which to contract the owner and get his possessions back. If he does not contact the owner, the owner may sell the possessions for any amounts still due. That may sound really good to you. It does avoid embarrassment. However, it also makes it a lot easier to evict people without the community seeing, and understanding what has happened. Half the neighborhood may have lost their homes and no one would know.
Posted by ebgill at 09/15/2009 @ 07:53am
Half the neighborhood may have lost their homes and no one would know. Posted by ebgill at 09/15/2009 @ 07:53am | ignore this person | warn this person
they'll know soon enough. vacant houses are often stripped of plumbing pipes, arson and vagrants follow, including drug dens. home values in the surrounding houses starts to dive.
in my city, they used to put decals in the windows of abandoned house, which showed curtains, plants, perhaps a cat, to create the illusion of someone living there. in America we have always preferred the illusion over cold, hard reality.
Posted by emile duBois at 09/15/2009 @ 08:10am
I see a disturbing parallel between the health insurance "astroturfing" and what the Center for Responsible Lending is doing to finance reform: that is both are dominating the dialogue in disingenuous ways. The CRL takes on the persona of a nonprofit consumer advocate/thinktank, but with backing from World Savings Bank, it's just another shark in the water.
Posted by SecretSmartie at 09/15/2009 @ 11:27pm