Grassroots economic/political change in the works

East Cleveland, Ohio, Passes the Homeowners and Bank Protection Act

Reprinted below is the text of a resolution introduced to the East Cleveland City Council in December and passed on January 7, 2008.



RESOLUTION NO. 94-07

A RESOLUTION URGING A MORATORIUM ON HOME FORECLOSURES AND CONGRESSIONAL ENACTMENT OF A HOMEOWNERS AND BANK PROTECTION ACT.

Requested By Councilwoman Joy A Jordan D.D.S

Sponsored By: Councilwoman Joy A .Jordan D.D.S

First Reading on December 18, 2007

WHEREAS, a financial crisis involving home mortgages, debt instruments and the United States banking system threatens economic stability; and

WHEREAS, the financial crisis threatens the integrity of federal and chartered banks such that consumer deposits and life savings are jeopardized; and

WHEREAS, financial investments and home ownership is the fabric of economic stability and the stability of financial institutions; and

WHEREAS, millions of Americans and thousands of East Cleveland residents are facing foreclosures on their homes; and

WHEREAS, historically the federal government has intervened to protect financial institutions and home ownership and to provide guarantees of social and economic stability; and

WHEREAS, the quality of life in any community can be directly related to the responsiveness of government and its ability to meet the needs and expectations of its citizens; and

WHEREAS, the residents of East Cleveland, understand the connection and elect local leaders with certain expectations regarding the service they will provide and the role they will play in their lives; and

WHEREAS, those elected to serve the residents of East Cleveland accept the privilege of service with the understanding of their responsibility and the expectation of the community; and

WHEREAS, the accountability for the city's viability, prosperity and overall well-being lies with those elected to serve local government.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the City of East Cleveland, Ohio, three-fifths (3/5) concurring:

SECTION 1. The Council of the City of East Cleveland call upon the United States Congress to take emergency action to protect homeowners by enacting a Homeowners and Banks Protection Act specifically to:

(A) Create a federal agency to place Federal and State chartered banks under protection, freezing all existing home mortgages for a period of time, adjusting mortgage values to fair prices, restructuring existing mortgages at appropriate interest rates and writing off speculative debt obligations of mortgage-backed securities, financial derivatives and other forms of financial pyramid schemes that have brought the banking system to the point of bankruptcy;

(B) Declare a moratorium on all home foreclosures for the duration of the transitional period, allowing families to retain their homes;

(C) Require affordable monthly home mortgage payments, the equivalent of "rental payments,' to be made to designated banks for use as collateral in normal lending practices for recapitalization of the banking industry and to factor such affordable payments into new mortgages thereby deflating the housing bubble. establishing appropriate property valuation and reducing fixed mortgage interest rates;

(D) Provide an interim period during which homeowners may not be evicted from their homes and protection to banks pending the resumption of traditional banking functions, including serving local communities and facilitating credit for investment in productive entities; and

(E) Authorize state governors to administer the implementation of programs, including provisions for rental" assessments payable to specific banks and with provisions for necessary federal guarantees and credits to assure successful transition.

SECTION 2. That this resolution serves as notice that the Council of the City of East Cleveland has been, is, and shall be vigilant as guardians of the public interest of the citizens of East Cleveland, Ohio, in all matters to the extent legally feasible and possible.

SECTION 3. That the Clerk of the Council of the City of East Cleveland is hereby directed to transmit a true and correct copy of the adopted resolution to members of the United States Senate and the House of Representatives.

SECTION 4. That it is found and determined that all deliberations of this Council and any of its committees relating to the passage of this Resolution were adopted in an open meeting of this Council, in compliance with all legal requirements.

SECTION 5. This Resolution shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law

The American people must join together to pressure the federal elected government officials to demand full accountability from those in the markets to supply real and genuine statistics to determine where the money comes from and where it goes, and who wins and loses and how much.

Demand changes to the commodities markets that:
o Eliminates margins;
o Set a 30-day minimum hold on all commodities contracts.

All the money that is lost in the commodities markets and stock market is channeled into a national retirement program that is an honest and trustworthy way to support our retirees.

Kindly explain a mechanism that would facilitate this idea.

If you paid $500 for a Decorative Left Nostril Inhaler and the amount other buyers are willing to pay for Decorative Left Nostril Inhalers goes down to $200, how in the hell do you figure the other three hundred can be recouped? Do you propose the original seller just pony up?

Sorry, but the more of your posts I read, the less sense you make.

Let me get through the first one first, my friend. :)

The retirement system we have now is broken, and there needs to be a serious re-thinking of how we treat our retirees.