Time to break the Banksters

What Is MERS and What Role Does It Have in the Foreclosure Mess? (Hint: It Holds 60% of All Mortgages, But Has ZERO Employees) - (Washington Blog - October 13, 2010)

What is MERS? - Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems or "MERS" - It is the company created and owned by all of the big banks to process title to property in the U.S. Approximately 60% of the nation’s residential mortgages are recorded in the name of MERS.

Why was MERS created in the first place? In the mid-1990s mortgage bankers decided they did not want to pay recording fees for assigning mortgages anymore. This decision was driven by securitization—a process of pooling many mortgages into a trust and selling income from the trust to investors on Wall Street. Securitization, also sometimes called structured finance, usually required several successive mortgage assignments to different companies. To avoid paying county recording fees, mortgage bankers formed a plan to create one shell company that would pretend to own all the mortgages in the country—that way, the mortgage bankers would never have to record assignments since the same company would always “own” all the mortgages.


"At the Root of the Crisis We Find the Largest Financial Swindle in World History", Where "Counterfeit" Mortgages Were "Laundered" by the Banks - (Washingtons Blog - 10/12/2010)

The tidal wave of evidence showing that the giant banks have engaged in fraudulent foreclosure practices is so large that the attorneys general of up to 40 states are launching investigations.

People's homes are being taken when they didn't even hold a mortgage, and the big banks have been using "robo signers" to forge mortgage related documents. Indeed, even president Obama has been hit by robo signers (see this and this).

Its so blatant that foreclosure mills have published price lists for forging documents, including such gems as:

"Create Missing Intervening Assignment" $35
"Cure Defective Assignment" $12.95
"Recreate Entire Collateral File" $95

According to economist Max Wolff:

The securitization process worked by "packag(ing), sell(ing), repack(aging) and resell(ing) mortages making what was a small housing bubble, a gigantic (one) and making what became an American financial problem very much a global" one by selling mortgage bundles worldwide "without full disclosure of the lack of underlying assets or risks."

Buyers accepted them on good faith, failed in their due diligence, and rating agencies were negligent, even criminal, in overvaluing and endorsing junk assets that they knew were high-risk or toxic. "The whole process was corrupt at its core."

Indeed, there was fraud at every step of the mortgage process. The big banks intentionally signed up borrowers with insufficient income and assets, threw out the documentation because it would prove fraud, racked up loan fees and received short-term payments before all of the new borrowers ran out of money, and then laundered the bad loans into securitized instruments to sell to the suckers.

The banks created an intermediary called "MERS" to hold all of the documentation, in at attempt to shield the banks legally. But courts have held that this scheme doesn't fly, and that MERS doesn't have title to foreclose on houses. See this and this (and as Tyler Durden points out, MERS might have infected the commercial real estate market as well.)

Then there's the whole foreclosure scandal, where banks have forged and backdated documentation to try to prove they are entitled to foreclose. This is the part that is in the news right now. But because fraud was committed every step of the way - from mortgage origination and loan applications, to securitization, to MERS to foreclosures - it shows a fraudulent scheme, and not just sloppy paperwork.

The Hound's Take: Wall Street and the financial institutions in our country are who have gotten us into this mess that is an economic depression. We need to look back to the TARP fund and its passage by the Congress in the heat of the moment during the weeks following the wild rides of the stock market in the middle of September 2008.

What was done at that point in time has certainly not remedied the situation that we faced then and still face today. Please look at the Drudge Report where the top news of the day is Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke looking forward to the Federal Reserve purchasing United States Treasury Securities. This will not fix anything. This is monetizing the debt (devaluing the currency). This has never been attempted in this country before and in every country where this has been attempted it has lead to hyperinflation. If this Genie is let out of the bottle, the possibilities of controlling the valuation of our currency will be at serious risk.

What we see today is a serious systemic crisis based upon corruption. We need to go back and correct the mistakes that were made two years ago. That would be the best thing to do. We gave a few individuals way too much power and they have not acted in the American peoples interest. They have acted only in Wall Street's interest. We should not continue down this path of uncertainty. We need to correct the mistakes that have been made.

Let's look at the value of homes. Honestly,if we were evaluating how much a homeowner can sell their house for it is substantially less than what it was a few years ago. What is holding up this redefinition of market values? I believe it is collusion between the financial institutions and the government as a coordinated action. Governments at all levels do not want to see housing values fall, because this will have an effect on tax revenues and banks do not want to lower the value of assets that they have on the books. They don't want to write down these values and don't want to put these toxic assets on the market and accept the losses and purge the system of these assets that were overvalued because of the bubble economy related to real estate.

The bottom line is that the banks are insolvent and the sooner that we come to that conclusion, the sooner we are going to be able to get out of this depression. We need to break up the banks and decentralize the power concentrated on Wall Street through Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo,and Citibank. We need to force these megabanks to be broken up much the same as AT&T was broken up back in the late 1970s.

Most of the actions above, which were unethical, were perpetrated in the name of consolidation, which ultimately led to corruption caused by greed. Greed may be good for those at top of the food chain, but what we have seen is people have their lives ruined so that these scavengers at the top of the financial food chain could get bigger and bigger just for the sake of getting bigger and bigger. These people are narcissistic sociopaths who care nothing about the security of this nation and its people. They are out of control and it is time to reign them in and rectify this situation and make the people of this great nation whole again. There is nothing wrong with accumulating wealth, but when you do it through fraud and at the expense of innocent people, then it is wrong and you should be made to pay back these ill gotten gains. We know what the problems are and we need to fix them and we need the ensure that we never go back down this road again.

2nd wave of the Banking Meltdown is here

How can the United States avoid Bankruptcy?

2nd wave of Banking Meltdown is here

MSNBC—Oct. 14, 2010—From the Dylan Ratigan Show. People are starting to fight back against mistreatment by mortgage lenders. And the extent of the housing mortgage mess is beginning to come to light.

Game, Set,...Match?

Death of a city - Gary, Indiana



Wall Street swimming in money while Main Street is swimming in Debt - The Sellout of America - Top 35 Financial Institutions will get $144 billion in bonuses - (Wall Street Journal - October 11, 2010)



Dollar fall sparks stability warnings - (Financial Times - October 14, 2010)- Increasing expectations the Federal Reserve will pump more money into the US economy next month under a policy known as quantitative easing sent the dollar to new lows against the Chinese renminbi, Swiss franc and Australian dollar. It dropped to a 15-year low against the yen and an eight-month low against the euro.

October Rant -- Honesty, Integrity, Honor, and Loyalty

I know that nothing is ever been perfect and there have always been problems in our society. Think back to the days of Bonnie and Clyde or John Dillinger. Those were iconic criminal figures of the Economic Depression of the 1930s. Most of us weren't alive then and so we don't really know if these people were looked up to or not, but there have certainly been movies made that glorified what they did -- sort of like a Robin Hood situation.

You have also seen several of these kinds of issues that have always involved politics. I think of Huey Long in Louisiana or Mayor Richard J. Daley in Chicago. These men were kingmakers and played a role in national politics as much as they did on the local scene. These men's legacies were formed around issues that involved corruption and near dictatorial powers. Their strength, it has been stated in so many words, was built on a foundation of unethical activity. The end always justified the means. Even when their personal actions did not overtly support this corruption, the men who they had put in positions of power formed the base which supported such activity.

Whatever happened to integrity? Did it not used to be part of the fabric of our society or is that just a myth. I look at the documents formed by our forefathers and the government that was instituted their by, did not that government bring us the principles of liberty and were they not founded upon personal integrity, self-reliance, and rugged individualism? It just does not seem right that such a magnificent foundation of principles should lead us to where we are today. How have we gotten to this point?

I am by no means perfect. I do not look to judge people by perfection. But, what I see today is a society that is always looking for someone else to solve their problems and the easy way out. We see a society that has given up on the ideals of excellence. Is that how we have gotten to this point?

In my line of work, I see a general lack of courtesy and manners on a daily basis. I see a true lack of respect between people who should be trying to help one another. The customer provides money and the employee provides a service. Both sides need one another and yet so many times they look at one another in an adversarial manner. One cannot exist without the other, but it seems many times that each look down at the other. They are both human, they're both going to make mistakes, and in the end it is the desire of both parties that each get what they want out of the process. How about some courtesy, some patience, some understanding, some respect? This should be true of all forms of business.

However, what we have seen develop is a game of one-upsmanship. Each party feeling that they are superior to the other party. You know it takes all of us to make a great society. If we respected one another's capabilities and tried to lift one another up, instead of building ourselves up by putting others down, then would the world not be a better place?

I am a chef by trade, I love cooking for people who enjoy good wholesome creative food, but honestly I have lost my desire to practice my profession in public. The people of this area limit the ability of top-notch talent to ply their trade, because they enjoy the process of eating and filling their gut with foods that they could just as easily prepare at home. They just don't seem to care about quality. It is about price, speed of service, portion size. I may be being too honest by stating that, but I am giving a generality about what I have witnessed over the last 25 years.

There are some people who do appreciate what I desire to deliver, but they are in the vast minority. Ten years ago this area was much more economically viable, because the companies in the area were more economically dynamic. We had people coming from all parts of the world to our area and those people respected the talents of creative people in this area. That is part of the race to the bottom that has been witnessed in our area. We have a lot to offer, but we don't have a lot to offer it to. We need to expand our horizons to the outside world, not close the area off to that world.

I really don't know how we're going to get out of this mess. There are forces that are working against solving the problems that we see in our area. And there are forces that are putting their futures at stake to try and rectify the inadequacies and negatives that have been perpetuated and put us in the vulnerable position that we are in today.

I spoke with a friend of mine who is in the real estate profession. I was talking to him about the Economic Depression that we're in and I was stating that I can't understand how people don't see that we are in an Economic Depression. He said that he believed that most people understand this, they just don't want to talk about it or deal with it -- they're scared. I asked about the real estate business and was he doing any business? He stated that he showed properties and he talked about properties, but he wasn't doing any business. He said everything is on hold. Life is on hold.

It is like we have stated on this blog before. You're either making positive progress or you are falling behind. Stagnation is falling behind. I do agree that this area has done things which will help "some" when things turn around, but what are we aggressively doing to turn things around? We have to do things to turn our economic prospects around without relying on external forces to come save the day. We are going to have to take some chances. The status quo in a period of malaise only helps to propagate that malaise.

I feel that it is incumbent upon the people of our community to look to themselves as problem solvers. If we look at the major issues that we are facing today, the common thread is that people are desiring unrealistic solutions from third-party sources. Instead of self-reliance as the principal, people are all too willing to accept charity from people who lack accountability. Who am I talking about? The GOVERNMENT.

Our government is a big problem. The people are going to have to demand accountability from the government. The government grows larger and larger and yet their accountability continues to dim. If the people continue to accept their current lot in this downward economic spiral, then they better prepare for the worst.

I do not know what the future holds, because honestly, I don't understand people. Why do people want to wait until a catastrophe arises until they take action. We have already seen a catastrophe take place with our economy and we have seen the inaction of the government and an ambivalence towards solving the problems that we face. Words, words, words... when we need action. And I may not be taking enough action, but I am acting. People can do something (anything) to help.

Integrity is all about being true to oneself and being honest with oneself. If one cannot get to the core of that general principle, then frankly there is nothing that can be done to help that individual. We need leaders, not sociopaths. The term used for those who serve in the government is “Public Servant.” The government as an entity is supposed to serve the people, not the other way around. That is the foundational principle upon which our government is based.

Corruption is at the root of our economic problems. What we see is systemic. Until we choose to call out those people who represent the forces of iniquity, then we will continue to spin our wheels forever. You better start learning and teaching you kids Mandarin. Taking the easy way out is no longer an option. The issues that we face are related to character. It is only about judging people to the extent of what is inherently right and wrong. If we are unwilling to call people out, because of who they are or some entity that they represent, then we are accomplices and enablers of whatever injustice these people are perpetrating.

We must represent and demand honesty, integrity, honor, and loyalty and we should never shrink in espousing these principles.

REBUILDING & EMPOWERING FROM THE BOTTOM UP -- Citizens for Equity in Government

The Citizens for Equity in Government (CEG) in Hickory is a call for every resident of Hickory to join in a major effort to make Hickory a better city. Rebuilding and empowering the city requires an informed public that is willing to continually seek the truth and stand for justice for all people. We want to build a grassroots democratic culture where all are respected, all voices are heard, and where we work together so that the needs of all are met. Is that the Hickory you want? Let’s join together in Hickory and make it happen. This campaign is a continuation of decades of grassroots work and is an important step towards laying the foundations for a city where dignity and worth of all are affirmed and up held.

We at CEG stand for dignity, worth and potential of every person. We work with mainly the poor, most rejected, and most ejected and excluded. We try to do this work in such a way as to promote the welfare of all. We fully support the effort to save our children’s swimming pools.

Our struggle for justice involves issues of health, education, environment, and economics. Saving our children’s swimming pools is a starting point rather than an end.

At the recent workshops (hearings) held by the City of Hickory it was abundantly clear what type of Aquatic Program the citizens desired. It was also made clear by City Council member Hank Guess that “the City does not have money set aside for swimming pools and has to balance recreation needs with other city projects.”

Hearings, workshops, citizens’ suggestions and ideals!

We will continue our struggle on Saturday, October 16, 2010 at 11:00 am at Ridgeview Recreation Center. Hear the Rev. Nelson Johnson of Greensboro, NC deliver the keynote address.

Hear what other citizens’ research exposes. But, most of all express yourself.

There will be food and fellowship for all.

Contact: Billy Sudderth (828) 308-4669

The Hound: This sounds great and it is my hope that an effort such as this can succeed in engaging all of the citizens of Hickory and enticing more people to participate in the decision making processes that take place in Hickory. This is not going to be an easy task. In my opinion there are forces that have long aligned to keep the average citizen out of the city's policy making apparatus.

What this is going to take is determination and perseverance. Far too many people believe that efforts such as these will be quickly and easily solved. They feel that going to one meeting or attending a few functions are going to gain attention and cause key decision makers to take notice and support whatever position the group is advocating. It unfortunately does not work that way.

It is a numbers game. The Powers that Be are only going to listen to you when they feel that it may have a direct effect (or reflection) on their status. They listen to the existing interests, because that is who brought them to the decision making table. If they feel that your movement could cause them to lose their position of status, then they will be moved to incorporate your interests into the decision making process. Unfortunately, the name of the game today is not right and/or wrong. Right and/or wrong is only going to come to the fore if a group such as "Citizens for Equity in Government" can become enough of a force to make the necessary changes to existing processes to incorporate such principles into the decision making process.

I congratulate Citizens for Equity in Government on their initial efforts. I do believe that we have seen progress on the Hickory City Pools issue. The efforts to squash the interests of the Ridgeview and West Hickory have failed miserably and this shows that when Advocacy groups do take an interest in city processes that they can make a difference. But, this issue is not solved until the goal is attained and the Pools issue is solved and then we move on from there to solve other issues. Just because you have gotten the tide to turn in your favor on this issue does not mean that you have won anything. You have to remain vigilant. There will be wins and losses along the way. That is how a Representative Democracy works. But, you are now in the game and your participation in Hickory City Governance is a most welcomed sight!