This newsletter is about the Hickory City Council meeting that I attended this past week. City council meetings are held on the first and third Tuesdays of each Month in the Council Chambers of the Julian Whitener building.
At right of this page under Main Information links is an Hickory's City Website link. If you click on that link, it takes you to our city’s website, at the left of the page you will see the Agenda's and Minutes link you need to click. This will give you a choice of PDF files to upcoming and previous meetings.
You will find historic Agenda and Minutes links. Agendas show what is on the docket for the meeting of that date. The Minutes is an actual summary of the proceedings of the meeting of that date.
Here is a summary of the agenda of the 10/19/2010 meeting. There were a couple of important items that were discussed at this meeting and the details are listed further below:
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Invocation by Rev. Karla Woggon of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension
David Eckhelberger a Boy Scout from troop 250 of St. Luke's United Methodist Church introduced his scout troop that attended this city Council meeting as part of a Citizens in the Community Merit Badge process. The troops subsequently introduced themselves and young Eckelberger introduced the scout leaders.
Special Presentations:
A. Presentation of Beautification Awards by the Community Appearance Commission Presented by Leroy Harris, Chair of the Community Appearance Commission - Awards were handed out to various businesses and residences throughout Hickory including the Adopt a Spot (Adelaide Shuford) award to Maria Winkler-Hymans of 6th Street Cir. NW, a landscaping award to Wyke’s Cleaners, a residential landscaping renovation award to Dr. Jerry and Sandy Froedge of 3rd St., NE, a special award To the Salt Block, an award for the disc golf Park at Glenn Hilton Junior Memorial Park on 6th St., NW, a to Brenda Cline of 18th Avenue Court, NW, and to Gary Ekland of 3rd St., NE.
B. Presentation of Proclamation to Mr. Jerry Thomas, Weatherization Coordinator of Blue Ridge Community Action Declaring October 30, 2010 as “National Weatherization Day” in the City of Hickory - The North Carolina weatherization assistance program was established in 1976 to provide a variety of resources through community action agencies. This program was established to help Catawba, Burke, Caldwell, and Alexander counties to help those in need. This program focuses primarily on the elderly, disabled, and families with children. Trained evaluators and staff perform home inspections testing for gas leaks, carbon monoxide, and other health and safety issues for residents who live at or below the federal poverty level. The goal is to keep North Carolina citizens warm in the winter and cool in the summer and safe all year. October 30th is proclaimed as National Weatherization day in the City of Hickory.
C. Presentation of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2010 - Brian Starnes of Martin-Starnes Associates first came to the podium for the presentation. He stated that the opinion letter is an "Unqualified Opinion" and that is what is expected from the local Government commission. There were no exceptions in this report to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). There were no findings in internal controls and there were no questions of about dollars that are received from State and Federal funding.
Mr. Starnes stated that in a broad view that the City of Hickory has very good standards when it comes to its accounting practices. He stated that we are in a terrible economy and the Western part of the State is in a much more difficult situation than the rest of the state. Through all of that, the City of Hickory was still able to add to the total fund balance even though revenues were generally less than they were the year before. He stated that the citizens should be proud of the fact that the city tightened its belt and cut spending. The city has not diminished its financial stability.
Mayor Wright stated that he, Ald. Lail, and Ald. Guess along with staff met with the auditors and asked questions and met privately with a member of the audit firm to ask specific questions outside of the influence of the city staff about how the audit went. They were very pleased with the results and not surprised. Mayor Wright praised the staff at all levels.
Deanna Rios, Hickory’s finance director, next came to the podium. This report is based on activities "government wide." Governmental activities include transportation, public safety, and recreation which rely mostly on taxes. Business activities include water, sewer, and sanitation which rely on fees and charges. Net assets reported were $196 million, which is up $4 million over the last year. Ureserved-Unreserved Fund Balance was down over $600,000 from 2009. Ms. Rios stated that we are holding steady in light of this economy, which is a positive. Assets exceeded liabilities by $196 million or $4700 per citizen, governmental fund balances are adequate, but not excessive, the city has $5.09 of current assets for each dollar of current liabilities. The City has $5.78 of total assets for every dollar of total liabilities. Ms. Rios praised city staff for helping in this process.
City Manager Berry stated that Ms. Rios was being very gracious and he praised Ms. Rios and her staff for doing the heavy lifting in this auditing process. The City of Hickory has received an award for its accounting management practices for the past 14 years. Mayor Wright stated that many cities in our State no longer attempt to obtain this award and this says a lot for the City of Hickory's commitment to try and do things right. Brian Starnes added that the checklist involved in this process takes 2 to 3 days to complete. Less than 10% of the units in North Carolina receive this award. Mayor Wright stated that the city of Hickory is proud to use local firms they give something back to the community.
The Hound thinks the city should be commended for its care with city finances. Ms. Rios painted a cut and dried realistic picture. She stated that the numbers show that we are holding steady. The City is in a solid financial position even in a time of diminishing tax revenues. I would personally like to see growth, but I have to concur with what Ald. Patton stated at the end of this meeting, when she stated that the League of Municipalities believes that we will see tough times for the next two years.
The City is going to have to be creative and thrifty with its finances over the next several years. That does not mean that no money should be spent. It means that the city is going to have to be open minded and creative about how it utilizes resources. These times should not punish citizens who are the collateral damage of this negative economic situation.
D. Presentation of the 14th Consecutive Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting to the City of Hickory by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. (Part of the Process listed above was the recognition of this award for the past year).
VII. Consent Agenda:
A. Request From the City of Hickory for Use of Union Square for the Christmas Tree Lighting in Downtown Event on Friday, November 19, 2010 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
B. Approval to Accept a Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant in the Amount of $7,537.50 to Purchase Twenty-five Vests - The Hickory Police Department desires to accept a Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant to assist in the purchase of twenty-five (25) vests. The grant is a 50% grant and the total cost of the vests will be $15,075.00 with a 50% match from the City in the amount of $7,537.50. Funds are budgeted for the purchase of these vests. Staff recommends approval to accept said grant.
C. Approve Fire Hydrant Grant Application From BCL, LLC Located on Highway 70, SE - BCL, LLC, owners of Paramount Automotive, plan to build a 13,250 square foot showroom and offices on Highway 70 SE. The cost of construction is estimated to be $2,000,000.00 and will employ approximately thirty (30) new employees. The City’s Economic Development Assistance guidelines state that City Council may provide matching grants of up to $5,000.00 for documented costs of additions to public utilities within public rights-of-ways associated with the opening of a new business or expansion of an existing business. BCL, LLC is seeking a grant in the amount of $5,000.00 to install a fire hydrant, driveway bore and approximately 400 feet of 12” pipe at this site. Funds will be provided on a reimbursement basis. Staff recommends approval.
D. Citizens’ Advisory Committee Recommendations for Assistance Through the City of Hickory’s Housing Programs - The following applicants are being recommended for approval for assistance under the City’s First-Time Homebuyer’s Assistance Program:
Nou Soua Chang & Mai Thao Down Payment and Closing Costs 3301 Treadwell Lane, SE Up to $10,000
Ying Lee Down Payment and Closing Costs 3295 Treadwell Lane, SE Up to $7,500
Luciana Shawnte Eskridge Down Payment and Closing Costs 531 3rd Street, SW Up to $6,500
Applicant, Shirley Shuford of 507 3rd Street, SE is being recommended for assistance under the City’s Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program to increase her 2002 loan amount by $4,075.88 for a new heating system. Her current loan amount is $15,924.12 and has een making timely monthly payments. Funds for the above are budgeted through the City of Hickory’s former Rental Rehabilitation Program income received in FY 2009 and/or Program income received through the City’s Community Development Block Grant Fund. The following applicants are being recommended for approval for assistance under the City’s Housing Rehabilitation Loan Program:
Linda Fraser Amount Not to Exceed $5,000 236 11th Street, SW
Lois Tse Amount Not to Exceed $5,000 339 11th Street Place, SW
Funds for the above are budgeted through the City’s Community Development Department funding received in FY 2009-2010.
E. Budget Ordinance Amendment No. 7
1. To budget $554 of Local Government Revenue in the Police Department Overtime line item. This revenue is payment from Catawba County Mental Health for a portion of an Officers time spent when accompanying involuntary commitment patients.
2. To budget a $1,149 insurance claim check from Penn National Insurance Company in the Police Department Maintenance and Repair of vehicle line item. This payment is for damage sustained to a Police vehicle on 09-20-10.
3. To budget a $586 insurance claim check from Allstate Insurance Company in the Police Department Maintenance and Repair of vehicle line item. This payment is for damage sustained to a Police vehicle on 09-15-10.
4. To appropriate $2,167 of General Fund Balance and budget in the Police Department Departmental Supply line item. This appropriation is necessary to purchase a K-9 Bite Suit and training supplies for the K-9 unit ($1,178) in addition to a tracking system for the investigation division ($989). $2,167 represents a
part of the remaining Police State Reimbursement balances from previous years (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009) that have been rolled into Fund Balance at year end, therefore an appropriation is necessary.
5. To appropriate a $2,700 of General Fund Balance and budget in the Patrick Beaver Memorial Library budget. The Lyerly Trust donation was received prior to the end of FY09-10 however the usage for the funds was undecided at that time. Funds rolled into Fund Balance at year end, therefore an appropriation is necessary. Funds will be budgeted in several Library line items to pay for downloadable books, book club and towards construction on the new meeting room.
New Business - Departmental Reports:
1. Final Report on 2007-2010 Brownfield Assessment Grant Program - The 2007-2010 Brownfield Grant cycle has ended. The Planning Department has completed a full inventory and prioritization of sites on a community-wide basis. There have been nine (9) Phase 1 assessments conducted and six (6) Phase 2 assessments. This also includes the performance of two (2) redevelopment plans. This presentation will highlight the completed actions of the assessment grant.
Brian Frasier, the Planning Director for the City of Hickory, came to the podium and made the presentation involving the Brownfield projects and the process involved. Back in the fall of 2007 the City was granted two $200,000 Brownfield assessment grants of non-or suspected contaminated sites in Hickory and it's ETJ. The City has completed environmental site assessments (ESA) on over 125 sites. Nine Phase 1 assessments have been completed, 6 Phase 2 ESA's have been completed, and two redevelopment plans have been completed.
ESA phase 1 grants include the Piedmont Wagon building, the former Hollar hosiery, the former Regal Manufacturing building, the former Lyerly Mill, S&W Chemical, Moretz Mill, the old Hutto’s store, Bumbarger property, and the former St. Stephens elementary school property.
ESA phase 2 property grants were provided to the former Hollar hosiery, the former Regal Manufacturing building, S&W Chemical, Bumbarger property, and the former St. Stephens elementary school property.
Mayor Wright interjected by speaking about the Hutto’s building that is now a Verizon store at the corner of 127 and 29th Ave. next to Walgreens. Paraphrasing, He stated that the owner had said that working on similar projects has shown to be much easier in Hickory than in other communities in this area. In one city they have worked on a similar project for over two years and here in Hickory the project has been streamlined to the point that it only took three weeks to move this project forward.
Redevelopment site planning activities have been completed on the Piedmont Wagon property and the Hollar Hosiery property. This is also known as Phase 3 of the ESA process. The process included aerial photography involving GIS and this process involved artist renderings of before and after graphics of what the properties will look like in the plan for the future on those sites. This has been kept well within the city's budget designated for these projects.
Mr. Frazier went into the various costs related to this project. Basically the costs are small in the initial phase and only becomes more expensive when chemicals have been utilized on the properties that have contaminated sites. The Hutto's property involved a phase 1 assessment that cost $3500 and that helped to jumpstart the property and there were no environmental liability issues involved with that property.
The Bumbarger property involved a phase 1 caused of $3500 and a phase 2 cost of $19,000, because of the history of the surrounding area involving automotive garages and former gasoline stations, and former dry cleaner. Holler Hosiery involved a phase 1 cost of $3800, a phase 2 cost of $35,400, and a redevelopment cost of $20,700. The site will also need some remediation. The main problem with the site is that pesticides were used on the site before.
The Regal Manufacturing building involved a phase 1 cost of $3000 and a phase 2 cost of $30,000. Part of the cost was to remove old drums that contained contaminated soil at no cost to the owners. The Piedmont Wagon building involved a phase 1 cost of $3200 in a phase 2 cost of $24,500. Redevelopment plans came in well under budget at $7200 and there has been a lot of interest in the site for mixed-use development. The former Moretz Mill costs $4500 for a phase 1 assessment. The property owner has cleaned this property up, but because of the economy they have not allowed a phase 2 assessment to be done. Brian stated that he hopes that in the near future that owners will allow a phase 2 assessment to take place, hopefully with the grant next spring, if Hickory is awarded the money.
The old S&W chemical building involved a phase 1 assessment that costs $4500 and the phase 2 assessment costs $35,000. Some supplemental sampling was done at the request of DENA they cost an additional $4200. The site will need some minor remediation. For a site that is as old, the site is relatively clean and it is so that it will become the future site for maintenance and administrative offices for Greenway transit. The city came in $10,000-$12,000 under budget on this project.
Ald. Fox stated that there is a lot of excitement brought forth by this project. Given the down economy, it puts us in a positive position with these properties particularly in areas that need revitalization and it puts us in a positive position. Ald. Patton stated it gives a leg up to the properties that need that redevelopment. As a member of the Brownfields committee, she thinks that this is a wonderful program that helps property owners redevelop properties and have reassurances.
Ald. Seaver asked about what phase 1 and phase 2 involves? Mr. Frazier stated that phase 1 involves the paper trail of where the property is located, who owns and has owned the property, and who is the responsible polluting property. Phase 2 involves testing involving testing for noxious gases, air quality, groundwater monitoring, and soil tests. Any future grants would require applying for a remediation grants to actually clean up the property. Federal guidelines require that a municipal government or quasi-government entity must own the property and have deed in hand at the time of that remediation.
Ald. Seaver asked if a lot of the testing was done in-house? Mr. Frazier stated that the city had farmed out the testing to Hart and Hickman, because the city just does not have that environmental engineering expertise, but the city office received some administrative services and cost reimbursement through this grant. Mr. Frazier stated that working with Hart and Hickman out of Charlotte was a true pleasure and in his over 20 years of experience they were the best consultants that he ever worked with.
The Hound can see that these Brownfield sites have been interwoven into the redevelopment of the troubled areas of this community. It is heartening to see that priorities have been given to several sites that are frankly an embarrassment to this community. I agree with Mr. Frazier that it is good that Code Enforcement cracked down on the former Huffman Hosiery site. Coming down L-R Boulevard it has stood out like a mangled thumb. I know that Houston Harris put a lot of time, energy, and due diligence into the Granary and made that building a success. He had no guarantees and had to shoulder the load. He even met some red tape along the way that cost him some money, when it should not have.
In the end it is up to property owners to take an interest in making sure that their properties are up to code and do not become blighted. It is understandable that there are issues related to the economy, but some of these properties have become an anathema to this community and our heritage.
In many cases, these buildings were built by craftsman utilizing old school construction techniques that have proven to stand the test of time, unlike some modern structures. But, when these foundations and buildings are not taken care of, then like anything else they will deteriorate and structural problems will develop. When this happens and the owner refuses to do anything to care for the property, then it is best to raze the property and create open space.
I do not live in a world of Sunshine and Lollipops. I know that there are interpersonal and business relationships that play a major role in the accountability process when it comes to this issue. Some people in this community have been shown to be considered a little more equal than others when it comes to the accountability issue. I certainly wish that realism would endure in this equation, because it is time to put external forces to the side when it involves the integrity of the decision making process. Put up or shut up time is coming soon, when it comes to moving forward on the redevelopment issue, because eventually you have to understand that people who always find an excuse to not fix their situation are most likely not ever going to ever fix their situation without some extensive prodding and should this community be held hostage to that mindset?
Comments by Council
Ald. Guess's closing statement about the Zahra Baker situation was about how as a leader in the city he is very proud of how the city has treated the situation. He thanked the Police Chief Tom Adkins and the fire department and other city staff for the efforts that they have made during this time. The Mayor added that he appreciated how the city is represented has represented itself during this time and avoided him and speculation and sensationalism.
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Tuesday, October 19, 2010
You can help people save their homes!
The following is a message that was sent to me relating to my latest blog posts that involving the Megabank Lenders, their use of the "MERS" (Mortgage Electronic Registration System) system, and how it relates to the exposed crisis and fraud related to foreclosures.
Can someone help to create a list of contacts (Attorneys and Agencies) who are willing to press this issue. I do not want to limit this to just Western North Carolina. Let us know of anywhere in North Carolina that these services may be available. Please feel free to comment in the comment section below or send me e-mails that will help me relate information to homeowners who might be vulnerable or may want to press this issue. Any and all information related to this topic is welcome.
Please help me put the rubber to the road. I don't want to just talk about this issue. I want to help people who need help saving their home and I want to create a network of connections that will begin to hold Financial Institutions accountable for their malfeasance versus the public. If you have any ideas or information, I plead, please step forward and help. During these times, you don't know what a lifeline this could be for people living on the edge.
E-mail: hickoryhound@gmail.com
Real Terrorism: Financial Terrorism - The BankstersTime to break the Banksters
2nd wave of the Banking Meltdown is here
How can the United States avoid Bankruptcy?
The Plunge Protection Team and the Ponzi Economy
Mr. Shell,
I live in Asheville and have been researching MERS for quit some time. I enjoyed reading your latest blogs. I was wondering if you know of any attorneys in the Western NC area, that actually know about MERS and are willing to represent clients pertaining to MERS? Also, for failure of mortgage services to abide by NC General Statues § 45-93 (Borrower requests for information)?
Can someone help to create a list of contacts (Attorneys and Agencies) who are willing to press this issue. I do not want to limit this to just Western North Carolina. Let us know of anywhere in North Carolina that these services may be available. Please feel free to comment in the comment section below or send me e-mails that will help me relate information to homeowners who might be vulnerable or may want to press this issue. Any and all information related to this topic is welcome.
Please help me put the rubber to the road. I don't want to just talk about this issue. I want to help people who need help saving their home and I want to create a network of connections that will begin to hold Financial Institutions accountable for their malfeasance versus the public. If you have any ideas or information, I plead, please step forward and help. During these times, you don't know what a lifeline this could be for people living on the edge.
E-mail: hickoryhound@gmail.com
Real Terrorism: Financial Terrorism - The BankstersTime to break the Banksters
2nd wave of the Banking Meltdown is here
How can the United States avoid Bankruptcy?
The Plunge Protection Team and the Ponzi Economy
Monday, October 18, 2010
Real Terrorism: Financial Terrorism - The Banksters
Are you worried about Muslims? Are you worried about Russians? You are willing to have trillions of dollars spent in efforts to thwart these threats?
Yet, you sit back and watch as the Federal Reserve and Megabanks holds us hostage. It has been stated that in mid September 2008 that Henry Paulson and members of the Treasury Department threatened that there would be Martial law unless the TARP Bill was passed in Congress. At the same time, we saw wild gyrations take place in the Stock Market. One such incident occurred when the TARP Bill failed to pass the House the first time and the Stock market went into the tank.
The forces in key positions of the Financial Structure of our country have been pulling strings and colluding with government entities to manipulate the financial markets and by doing so commit fraud, which has cost Americans trillions in real wealth from pension funds and other personal and public financial instruments.
From the New York Times - September 18, 2010 - The Bush administration on Saturday formally proposed a vast bailout of financial institutions in the United States, requesting unfettered authority for the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in distressed mortgage-related assets from the private firms.
Then we saw a change in direction two months later, as reported in the New York Times - November 12, 2008 - Instead, Treasury will step up its program of injecting capital directly into banks and, for the first time, expand it to include financial companies that are not federally regulated banks or thrifts.
You see, the Congress gave the Executive Branch of our Government a blank slate of $700 billion to do with as they saw fit with no checks and balances in place to ensure accountability of money that in the end belongs to the citizens of this nation. The Congress and other members of the Federal government were unwilling to follow Constitutional procedures and Precedence of Law in the administration of governance. This is wrong, because this renders laws and structure meaningless and only empowers special interests who utilize money to consolidate power to elite power brokers.
In the end this creates the oligarchy that so many have spoken of. This is not a conspiracy theory. This is conspiracy fact. When I look at this debacle related to Real Property and mortgages, I see the same forces at work. Their is a rule of law that has formed around the Universal Commercial Code and Common Law that over centuries has laid out ground rules for a transfer of deed on real property. If you have bought a house and paid the slightest bit of attention, then you understand this.
You do not own your house until the mortgage is paid off, but the lender is supposed to physically hold the deed. The banks found that to be inconvenient in the era of securitization where they wanted to package loans into security instruments and sell them as derivatives. Financial Institutions have once again displayed their ineptitude and they are looking for others to remedy problems that they have created.
From a Maine House, a National Foreclosure Freeze - New York Times - October 14, 2010
HR 3808 was a bill rushed through the House of Representatives and the Senate that would require any Federal or State court to recognize any notarization made by a notary public licensed by a State other than the State where the court is located when such notarization occurs in or affects interstate commerce.
This bill was sponsored by Robert Aderholdt, a Republican from Alabama and quickly passed the Senate without amendment. How many times does that happen and what was Representative Aderholt's intent?
This bill would force a State to accept notary public signatures of other States. That means if others States accept lower standards for Notary Public signings, then another State would be forced to accept those lower standards. If one State has a regulation that accepts electronic Notary Signings, then all other States would be forced to accept any document that comes from that state. This stems from the fact that many of these "Fraudclosure Loans" have been electronically signed and recorded through the "MERS" (Mortgage Electronic Registration System) system.
When it comes to loans, the banks don't mind using laws to come down hard on average citizens to kick them out of their houses instead of working with the people until they can get back on their feet. They don't mind displacing families. They enjoy packaging these loans as securities, leveraging them 10-fold and selling them around the globe. They enjoy the fees they earn every time they package these loans and resell them and the subsequent billions of dollars in bonuses accrued to top executives.
But when the law goes against them, then they want to retroactively change laws to serve whatever context they desire and their own personal interests. The law means nothing to these people and the Congress is complicit in all of this and may as well be the accomplice driving the car away from the bank, because they have helped these Financial Executives rob the Financial System and the American people. For the average person, we expect that throughout life sometimes we will win and sometimes we will lose. For the Banksters, they don't think they should ever lose and thanks to our corrupt government they probably never will.
Time to break the Banksters
2nd wave of the Banking Meltdown is here
How can the United States avoid Bankruptcy?
The Plunge Protection Team and the Ponzi Economy
Yet, you sit back and watch as the Federal Reserve and Megabanks holds us hostage. It has been stated that in mid September 2008 that Henry Paulson and members of the Treasury Department threatened that there would be Martial law unless the TARP Bill was passed in Congress. At the same time, we saw wild gyrations take place in the Stock Market. One such incident occurred when the TARP Bill failed to pass the House the first time and the Stock market went into the tank.
The forces in key positions of the Financial Structure of our country have been pulling strings and colluding with government entities to manipulate the financial markets and by doing so commit fraud, which has cost Americans trillions in real wealth from pension funds and other personal and public financial instruments.
From the New York Times - September 18, 2010 - The Bush administration on Saturday formally proposed a vast bailout of financial institutions in the United States, requesting unfettered authority for the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in distressed mortgage-related assets from the private firms.
Then we saw a change in direction two months later, as reported in the New York Times - November 12, 2008 - Instead, Treasury will step up its program of injecting capital directly into banks and, for the first time, expand it to include financial companies that are not federally regulated banks or thrifts.
You see, the Congress gave the Executive Branch of our Government a blank slate of $700 billion to do with as they saw fit with no checks and balances in place to ensure accountability of money that in the end belongs to the citizens of this nation. The Congress and other members of the Federal government were unwilling to follow Constitutional procedures and Precedence of Law in the administration of governance. This is wrong, because this renders laws and structure meaningless and only empowers special interests who utilize money to consolidate power to elite power brokers.
In the end this creates the oligarchy that so many have spoken of. This is not a conspiracy theory. This is conspiracy fact. When I look at this debacle related to Real Property and mortgages, I see the same forces at work. Their is a rule of law that has formed around the Universal Commercial Code and Common Law that over centuries has laid out ground rules for a transfer of deed on real property. If you have bought a house and paid the slightest bit of attention, then you understand this.
You do not own your house until the mortgage is paid off, but the lender is supposed to physically hold the deed. The banks found that to be inconvenient in the era of securitization where they wanted to package loans into security instruments and sell them as derivatives. Financial Institutions have once again displayed their ineptitude and they are looking for others to remedy problems that they have created.
From a Maine House, a National Foreclosure Freeze - New York Times - October 14, 2010
Fannie Mae and GMAC, which serviced the loan for Fannie, have now most likely spent more to dislodge Mrs. Bradbury than her house is worth. Yet for all their efforts, they are not only losing this case, but also potentially laying the groundwork for foreclosure challenges nationwide.
“This ammunition will be front and center in thousands of foreclosure cases,” said Don Saunders of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association....
Mr. Cox vowed to a colleague that he would expose GMAC’s process and its limited signing officer, Jeffrey Stephan. A lawyer in another foreclosure case had already deposed Mr. Stephan, but Mr. Cox wanted to take the questioning much further. In June, he got his chance. A few weeks later, he spelled out in a court filing what he had learned from the robo-signer:
“When Stephan says in an affidavit that he has personal knowledge of the facts stated in his affidavits, he doesn’t. When he says that he has custody and control of the loan documents, he doesn’t. When he says that he is attaching ‘a true and accurate’ copy of a note or a mortgage, he has no idea if that is so, because he does not look at the exhibits. When he makes any other statement of fact, he has no idea if it is true. When the notary says that Stephan appeared before him or her, he didn’t.” ......
But Judge Powers went further than that, saying that GMAC had been admonished in a Florida court for using robo-signers four years ago but had persisted. “It is well past the time for such practices to end,” he wrote, adding that GMAC had acted “in bad faith” by submitting Mr. Stephan’s material:
“Filing such a document without significant regard for its accuracy, which the court in ordinary circumstances may never be able to investigate or otherwise verify, is a serious and troubling matter."
HR 3808 was a bill rushed through the House of Representatives and the Senate that would require any Federal or State court to recognize any notarization made by a notary public licensed by a State other than the State where the court is located when such notarization occurs in or affects interstate commerce.
This bill was sponsored by Robert Aderholdt, a Republican from Alabama and quickly passed the Senate without amendment. How many times does that happen and what was Representative Aderholt's intent?
This bill would force a State to accept notary public signatures of other States. That means if others States accept lower standards for Notary Public signings, then another State would be forced to accept those lower standards. If one State has a regulation that accepts electronic Notary Signings, then all other States would be forced to accept any document that comes from that state. This stems from the fact that many of these "Fraudclosure Loans" have been electronically signed and recorded through the "MERS" (Mortgage Electronic Registration System) system.
When it comes to loans, the banks don't mind using laws to come down hard on average citizens to kick them out of their houses instead of working with the people until they can get back on their feet. They don't mind displacing families. They enjoy packaging these loans as securities, leveraging them 10-fold and selling them around the globe. They enjoy the fees they earn every time they package these loans and resell them and the subsequent billions of dollars in bonuses accrued to top executives.
But when the law goes against them, then they want to retroactively change laws to serve whatever context they desire and their own personal interests. The law means nothing to these people and the Congress is complicit in all of this and may as well be the accomplice driving the car away from the bank, because they have helped these Financial Executives rob the Financial System and the American people. For the average person, we expect that throughout life sometimes we will win and sometimes we will lose. For the Banksters, they don't think they should ever lose and thanks to our corrupt government they probably never will.
Time to break the Banksters
2nd wave of the Banking Meltdown is here
How can the United States avoid Bankruptcy?
The Plunge Protection Team and the Ponzi Economy
Sunday, October 17, 2010
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:
According to economist Max Wolff:
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?
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?
Saturday, October 16, 2010
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.
Friday, October 15, 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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.
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.
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