Foreclosure Propaganda Continues

Last evening while browsing the internet, I came upon an article that was written addressing the foreclosure situation, and listed the top ten states with the highest foreclosure rates for February.

This article was written by a site know as "24/7 Wall Street" which took a few positions that seemed rather self-serving to Wall Street, to say the least.

It represented that "nine of the top 11 states with the highest foreclosures" were judicial foreclosures states, because of the amount of time it takes for the banks to foreclosure with the complexities involved.

Contrary to most of the reports in the mainstream media listing the states with the highest foreclosure rates thus far after this five year federal and state taking of American's properties, which lists Nevada, California, Arizona, Georgia, Utah and Florida as highest (the majority of which are non-judicial foreclosure states), 24/7 Wall Street's list was as follows:

Florida
New Jersey
Illinois
Nevada
New York

Why the discrepancy, and spins on judicial vs. non-judicial foreclosures?

I can only assume 24/7 Wall Street has an agenda, that is certain.

It is no surprise that Nevada is on both lists. The loss of jobs in the gaming industry, particularly, has resulted in many Americans living in that state to lose their homes when they were unable to keep making those payments.

Vegas is hurting, since in a bad economy few people have much money for entertainment or gaming. And the glitz of Vegas is somewhat off putting to many Americans to begin with.

Florida either.

Since many of the retirees have seen their Social Security payments cut or those cost of living increases delayed. And with many also in the tourism industry, another hard hit during this recession, high foreclosures would only stand to reason.

But it is rather doubtful that the new figures have anything to do with judicial foreclosures states having higher rates.

Simply that those states are now catching up due to the still joblessness of many Americans, high cost of housing there, and fact that since there is a longer foreclosure process and time between serving notice and the banks taking of the home, five years later those states would be catching up to the non-judicial foreclosure states, such as Arizona, Nevada, California and Georgia, that for the past five years have led the lists.

At least with a judicial foreclosure, an American homeowner would have the fundamental right to request a jury determination under our Constitution, if he has any investment or equity in that home whatsoever.

And place his case before his fellow Americans.

Not so in those unconstitutional non-judicial foreclosure states.

And guess who will be the largest beneficiary of the recent settlement Mr. Obama announced over the mortgage mess and foreclosure abuse which has transpired the past five years?

The states.

That's right.

It was the states that actually "settled" with those banks - of course, after being fully aware, I'm sure, of the illegal lending practices which were going on in their states for literally decades.

Of course, mortgages backed or underwritten by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not included in this "settlement."

The feds have indemnified themselves it appears, since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were, after all, created by Congress.

What corruption.

And definitely appears the American people aren't buying.

Either this latest settlement, and that piddly $2,000 the states also negotiated for their now homeless citizens.

The market isn't rallying in any fundamental way.

Unless those states plan to sell those homes to all the foreigners and immigrants they continue to request under those state resolutions to take also those "jobs Americans don't want."

You know, all those Canadians buying winter homes in the Sunbelt states at bargain basement prices, or East Indians, Mexicans or South Americans under those free trade agreements and visa waivers...

Adding Insult to Injury: Obama Settles With The Bankers

As one who was affected by the mortgage banking crisis (and other unconstitutional property "laws") in my home state of Arizona way back in 2006, I was amazed to hear this afternoon that Barack Obama held a rather large news conference in order to announce that the federal government has come to a "settlement" with many of the major banking concerns (primarily located in the West) whose practices led to the loss of untold thousands of American's homes these last five to six years.

First of all, I'm scratching my head wondering just where in the Constitution it affords a president to act as a lawyer on behalf of the American people in this "class action?" It does seem rather odd to me, and don't remember a time in our history when a President has exercised such "authority."

Prosecuting and putting some of those individuals sitting on those Boards of Directors or CEOs and CFOs in jail for a very long while on charges of fraudulent lending practices, or other clearly criminal charges, yes.

But engineering a settlement outside Congressional authority even?

Just where is that duty of office in our Constitution?

It was bad enough when during the honeymoon phase of Mr. Obama's presidency he appointed the former CEO of Countrywide in charge of negotiating refinances for homeowners who were still in danger of losing their homes back in 2009.

Part of the terms of this deal is the payment of a few billion in fines, which apparently is going to be earmarked to offer to homeowners who were foreclosed on "inappropriately" $2,000 as repayment for the loss of their home.

More money also will be set aside for refinancing.

Of course, if the terms of those loans remain the same as the ones which led to this travesty I just wonder how this is going to help most of those homeowners who are still receiving those foreclosure notices.

If non-judicial foreclosures remain the rule of law in many states throughout the nation, just what power does the average homeowner in default due to the continuing joblessness and piss poor economy have against the banking industry still, and their lawyers?

Let me get this straight.

The Federal Reserve who owns all of these banks (created by Congress) poured billions of dollars into these banks during the bank bailouts in 2008-9, which was to be used to ease up credit (which never really happened, but simply afforded the big box banks to buy out the smaller banks) - and now Obama has orchestrated the return of SOME of those monies in order to pay to fund more refinances, and payment of $2,000 to those for which it is "too late" and lost their homes this past five years.

Don't get me wrong. Mr. Romney's "solution" of letting the foreclosures hit bottom so that investors or corporate limited partnerships can scam some of those hot properties for rentals was far, far worse.

Talk about socialism and shifting the wealth around to the politically fortunate.

But I guess it played well for those in the Beltway in the room when he made this much publicized announcement.

But seems to me the current market conditions and all those still empty homes across America are demonstrating a vote of "no confidence" on Main Street.

First Person Perspective: Why Americans Are Unemployed

Due to all the massive spins which continue to be bantered around among Mr. Obama, the challengers, and the mainstream media, as one of those currently unemployed, I thought I would address this situation from a better, more clearer, perspective.

As one formerly in the middle class for a good part of my life, but who is at over 50 no longer from a personal perspective just what has transpired to place me in this position post 9-11 and our current economy.

My former home was for most of my life in Arizona. It is no longer, and has not been since the National Guard was called out to help secure the border in 2006 during the Iraqi War and subsequent surge when, according to media sources, then President Bush was offering border agents extra pay and bonuses if they would go overseas to secure Iraq's borders, rather than our own.

An initial move to the Midwest proved to be futile, since as an asthmatic during the summer months it was rather difficult to breathe during planting season and was a much harder adjustment at over 50 than it had been when I had lived there a short time during a spouse's graduate studies many years ago.

So I headed South, where I have extended family only to be then caught there during one of the major hurricanes in 2008, and living in weekly rental rooms at that point. Whatever the amount of equity I got out of my home upon an enforced sale, was pretty much gone after the medical bills and living expenses while I was then recovering and added expenses of then subsequent moves. This was my second move in less than a year.

It took over a year to even start to feel a bit better, and another move back West (not to Arizona, however) where I could recuperate until my lungs healed. I am deathly allergic to mold and when all those roofs were pulled up to replace, the mold which had grown out of control after the hurricane was then released in the air, and I got the mother of all lung infections.

While West and recuperating, on my good days I attempted to seek help from the Social Security office.

But since I wasn't old enough to claim my benefits, and wasn't injured to the point where they could determine it would be "permanent," nor missing a limb, I was shown the door and advised I could hire a lawyer and challenge their decision in front of a government Administrative Law Judge. That would take about a year, I was told, to go through the "process."

I continued to deplete whatever savings I had left while I continued to heal, and then found a job after nine months of looking sporadically when I could in a call center during a ramp up. A third party provider for a major cell phone carrier.

I was there all of four months before there was a massive layoff of almost all the people who were hired during that ramp up due to a slowed economy.

Especially the older workers (over 35), and any and all where drug testing, or misdemeanor offenses could then be used to whittle down the workforce (even though drug testing and background checks were undertaken upon filling out those lengthy application forms).

In the state where I was working, medical marijuana use with THC in the bloodstream during the testing period was a cause for immediate dismissal. So were juvenile possession and misdemeanor criminal offenses, although in some people's cases occurred decades before, or even misdemeanor traffic offenses. The older, of course, you got the more likely it was that at one point in your life due to the shear number of laws on the books there was something there that could be used.

Especially since in most states at this point, there are no statutory expungements for criminal offenses, even misdemeanors. With progressively also more and more victimless civil offenses now classified as criminal.

This was not a right to work state, but as of yet this center was not unionized.

But as one who formerly worked in that field, I can certainly see that day coming fairly quickly, which may be why most call centers are now "outsourced."

There may be a reason at some of those locations they are jobs Americans don't want, or can't have for just such hiring practices.

Of course, the working conditions there left much to be desired from a labor/management perspective, and from what I understand there have been lawsuits which filed over failure to pay employees for time worked, and also mandatory overtime not paid.

My time came for the boot primarily because I believe I asked far too many questions for their comfort as having worked in the labor relations field for many years. Or maybe because I was one of those "older" workers targeted anyway since my style of customer service was foreign to their management.

During my training I was warned not to become a "target" by the instructors, in failing to follow the dress code or grievance procedures, which procedures were similar to those in the military - using the "chain of command" verbiage to explain them to the new hires. Meeting with anyone in Human Resources was the last step in the chain.

Although it wasn't my real choice of job to begin with, but one taken out of shear desperation and necessity. For a little over minimum wage, after over twenty five years banking, legal and travel industry experience.

I moved again, due to the inability to get work to a state that had a little better unemployment rate.

I signed up with two or three local job centers and completed all their testing.

It is not that I am not computer savvy, having owned and managed my own website based small business for several years, and having also taken continuing education classes through the years.

I had worked with some senior students at DeVry who developed my website in 2004, and also worked with me during the process so that I could subsequently maintain it for a product line of children's footwear I had developed before the economic and political roof caved in Arizona and throughout most of the nation in 2005-06 and as a single mom with teenagers working from home.

In over seven months, only one or two referrals for minimum wage positions in this "lower" unemployment rate state.

That's it.

I also started combing the ads and internet myself.

I went to one company that was looking for sales personnel for a cruise line packager. I had worked for a major vacation packager in Arizona prior to a layoff in '99 when they deemed the rent too high there, and moved to Coral Gables, Florida - another high humidity, hurricane prone state in which at that time I could not live with also an asthmatic daughter who would not have done well there (nor as a divorced mom, could move there without "court" permission, I was told, due to a shared custody arrangement with my ex for our minor children).

There I was informed that it would cost me $500 for their training materials, and then $200 to rent desk space at their offices annually. I was then to receive a 20% commission on my sales, from the 10% commission the company made from the cruise line company, and would be paid after the cruise line company was paid by the customer prior to their departure.

I figured on a $2,500 cruise (standard) at 10% commission for the agency, my 20% of 10% would be $50.00. I would get $50.00 for each cruise I sold. They would get the rest. Hours of calls, and hand holding until that ship finally departed (especially after this latest cruise line sinking) and I would receive $50.00.

Less taxes.

I got one call the other day from an agency I had basically written off.

It was a one day assignment, but the agency needed to know one important question first.

Did I have an IPhone, or smart phone capable of taking photographs, and then emailing them from my phone?

I, of course, at this point unable to really afford even your basic flip phone (although trouble shooted those IPhones for two months), had to tell her no, I did not.

But I did have access to a digital camera that I could download and then email.

That wasn't what the client wanted.

So sorry.

Wake up, Washington...and the state legislatures...there is much, much more to this than meets the eye.

Or those candidates can even begin to comprehend.

Or just maybe, they do know and not to be politically incorrect or anything...

But Obama, Mitt and Newt just may be like those little Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil monkeys (deaf, dumb, blind) I remember from childhood. (Of course, that children's analogy sure isn't used in "politically correct" America anymore)

Or maybe, in this stage managed political arena we now live in where politicians resemble more and more "B" movie actors...

The director(s) in global corporate America, simply don't give a ****...

People are now nothing more than commerce, after all...