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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHow a Bad-ass California Mayor is Taking on Big Banks
http://www.alternet.org/economy/how-bad-ass-california-mayor-taking-big-banksIn a nearly $13 billion settlement with the US Justice Department in November 2013, JPMorgan Chase admitted that it, along with every other large US bank, had engaged in mortgage fraud as a routine business practice, sowing the seeds of the mortgage meltdown. JPMorgan and other megabanks have now been caught in over a dozen major frauds, including LIBOR-rigging and bid-rigging; yet no prominent banker has gone to jail. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter of all mortgages nationally remain underwater (meaning the balance owed exceeds the current value of the home), sapping homeowners budgets, the housing market and the economy. Since the banks, the courts and the federal government have failed to give adequate relief to homeowners, some cities are taking matters into their own hands.
Gayle McLaughlin, the bold mayor of Richmond, California, has gone where no woman dared go before, threatening to take underwater mortgages by eminent domain from Wall Street banks and renegotiate them on behalf of beleaguered homeowners. A member of the Green Party, which takes no corporate campaign money, she proved her mettle standing up to Chevron, which dominates the Richmond landscape. But the banks have signaled that if Richmond or another city tries the eminent domain gambit, they will rush to court seeking an injunction. Their grounds: an unconstitutional taking of private property and breach of contract.
How to refute those charges? There is a way; but to understand it, you first need to grasp the massive fraud perpetrated on homeowners. It is how you were duped into paying more than your house was worth; why you should not just turn in your keys or short-sell your underwater property away; why you should urge Congress not to legalize the MERS scheme; and why you should insist that your local government help you acquire title to your home at a fair price if the banks wont. That is exactly what Richmond and other city councils are attempting to do through the tool of eminent domain.
The Securitization Fraud that Collapsed the Housing Market
One settlement after another has now been reached with investors and government agencies for the sale of faulty mortgage bonds, including a suit brought by Fannie and Freddie that settled in October 2013 for $5.1 billion. Faulty is a euphemism for fraudulent. It means that mortgages subject to securitization have clouded or defective titles. And that means the banks and real estate trusts claiming title as owners or nominees dont actually have title or have standing to enjoin the city from proceeding with eminent domain. They cant claim an unconstitutional taking of property because they cant prove they own the property, and they cant claim breach of contract because they werent the real parties in interest to the mortgages (the parties putting up the money).
tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)hope she is able to secure some deals and start a wave... small ripples grow bigger with a little momentum applied
lastlib
(23,251 posts)Go, Madame Mayor! . .
yuiyoshida
(41,833 posts)Woot! Go Gayle go!
loudsue
(14,087 posts)I'm sick of "populist" being a nasty word on the news shows and among our elected officials.
OLDMDDEM
(1,575 posts)I am so glad I read this article. The bib banks have gotten away with "murder" since the fraud of the last decade. I realize money talks helping alleged perps walk, but at least eminent domain is a way around them being able to come after the little guy. I hope mor cities and towns decide this is a way to help their townfolk.
PeoViejo
(2,178 posts)...with the help of public officials, so why can't public officials do the same for the private property owner?
cantbeserious
(13,039 posts)eom
dotymed
(5,610 posts)I did think (as IMO, the majority of voters did) that we were electing a populist President. The candidate sure signaled and
even SAID that he was a populist (transparency, economic help for the underclass, higher taxes for the wealthy, single payer, etc.) instead we have gotten half measures that have benefitted the wealthy over the majority.
Where did the FDR Democratic party go? It merged with the gop and nationally we have one corporatist party.
Imagine what could be accomplished with a populist POTUS armed with executive orders and a bully pulpit.
Much more than health insurance company fodder, increased drone killings, on and on...very profitable for all except US.
AnneD
(15,774 posts)My vote for Obama has been a regret for me. I say vote because I voted Green the last presidential election. I still vote Dem when I really think the candidate will work for us but if not, I have no problem going Green. We need a third party in this country. Neither party represents we the people anymore.
dotymed
(5,610 posts)Americans must wake up and follow this paradigm IMO.
AnneD
(15,774 posts)revolution is the only redress; either peacefully via political means or by violence. This is our last hope. I feel abandoned by both parties at this point and this is my last stand.
lastlib
(23,251 posts)Sometimes you can't tell the D's from the R's, and THAT's the crux of the problem. Congress, with a few notable exceptions, is a wholly-owned subsidiary.
roody
(10,849 posts)WillyT
(72,631 posts)PowerToThePeople
(9,610 posts)Good for her, this sounds great to me.
Freddie Stubbs
(29,853 posts)this would cause a massive drop in property values in the city. No bank would loan money to anyone wanting to buy a house there.