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Title: Treasury Blocks Legal Aid for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
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URL Source: http://www.thenation.com/blog/15697 ... -homeowners-facing-foreclosure
Published: Dec 10, 2010
Author: Katrina vanden Heuvel
Post Date: 2010-12-10 14:19:54 by gengis gandhi
Keywords: None
Views: 48
Comments: 4
Treasury Blocks Legal Aid for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure Katrina vanden Heuvel December 9, 2010 Share 224 ||| Recommended by 0 | Text Size A | A | A Email|Print|Share|Single Page|Web Letter (0)|Write a Letter|Take Action|Subscribe Now With the media’s laser-like focus on the Obama-Republican tax deal, here’s a story that’s underreported: the Obama Administration’s coddling of the Big Banks and simultaneous neglect of homeowners facing foreclosure. Related Content Sherrod Brown Seeing 'Reds' Over China Trade Election Choice: Nazi Re-enactor (Republican) v. Sponsor of the WW II Memorial (Democrat) For Jobs, Justice and Education Saving Small Farmers Trading Up About the Author Katrina vanden Heuvel Katrina vanden Heuvel has been The Nation's editor since 1995 and its publisher since 2005. She is the co-editor of... Also by The Author [ Click for More ] This Week at TheNation.com: Continued WikiLeaks Coverage. Plus: Two Slideshows and an Award Continued WikiLeaks Coverage. Plus, Scahill testifies before Congress. Katrina vanden Heuvel The Imperiled Presidency? (US Politics) President Obama's not-so-subtle retreats are turning into a rout. Katrina vanden Heuvel 24 comments Related Topics Company Customer Employment Relation Hardest Hit Fund Marcy Kaptur Ohio Sherrod Brown Tim Geithner Treasury Secretary US Federal Reserve laser Consider this: the recent Fed audit revealed over $3.3 trillion in emergency assistance to the banks and other corporate behemoths during the financial crisis--no strings attached. Two trillion dollars to Morgan Stanley here, $600 billion to Goldman there, throw in a little chump change for McDonald’s, GE, others--no demands to increase lending to small businesses, or modify mortgages for unemployed homeowners, for example. Then consider the 19 states which are recipients of the Hardest Hit Fund (HHF)-- a portion of TARP money set aside to help homeowners in states struggling with the highest unemployment rates and steepest declines in the housing market. Some of those states, including Ohio, let Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner know as far back as this past spring that they wanted to use some of those funds to assist legal aid groups that help individual homeowners. Seems like a reasonable request--unlike the absurdity of handing over trillions of dollars to robo- signing, foreclosure-mad banks, no questions asked. Treasury solicited the opinion of an outside law firm, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey. Never mind that the firm’s clients include BB&T Corporation and payday lender CNG Financial Corp. The firm said, in essence--sorry, no can do on the legal aid. Not permitted under the TARP. Huh? Hold on a sec--is this the same TARP that granted the Treasury Secretary all those “extraordinary powers” to protect people’s home values, preserve home ownership, promote economic growth, etc.? Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur wasted no time in challenging Treasury’s interpretation. This comes as no surprise. The feisty, maverick Ohioan has consistently been ahead of the curve in the foreclosure fight--attempting to increase the number of FBI agents working on foreclosure fraud as far back as June 2009. She also told homeowners to demand that foreclosing banks “produce the note” back in 2008, more than two years before the robo-signing scandal revealed the extent to which banks are illegally foreclosing on people. Kaptur let Treasury know that the interpretation was just plain wrong. “We talked with Secretary Geithner about this back in June--we had mailed him letters,” said Kaptur. “But of course with the big banks in charge, Treasury is sadly representing them more than the people being affected by this around the country and in places like Ohio. It didn’t have to be this way. And the carnage across the countryside in terms of empty neighborhoods, families destroyed, going into our shelters--it didn’t have to happen.” Senator Sherrod Brown also wrote Secretary Geithner on June 1 questioning Treasury’s refusal to allow states to use TARP money to help homeowners obtain legal aid services. “The purposes of [TARP] are restoring liquidity and stability to the financial system and using TARP funds in a manner that, among other things, protects home values, preserves homeownership, and promotes jobs and economic growth. Both legal services and homeowner counseling would seem to fit squarely within these purposes.” Senator Brown goes on to note, “Section 109(a) says that TARP funds can be used for programs to minimize foreclosures, and legal services are such a program.” Receiving no indication that Treasury would budge on the issue, Representative Kaptur introduced a bill in June to amend the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 so that TARP money could be used “to provide assistance to nonprofit counseling intermediaries and nonprofit legal organizations to provide legal assistance to homeowners.” It is limited to single family homeowners who occupy the house and it prohibits use of the funds for class action lawsuits. Senator Brown introduced a companion bill last month. Let’s get this straight--this legislation doesn’t involve any new money--the money is already out the door. It doesn’t even require states to use that money to support legal aid, it just gives them the option if they so choose. States’ rights--now that’s something even the GOP should be able to support. “Legal aid lawyers are on the front line of the housing crisis, and their hard work is often the only thing helping homeowners understand their rights in foreclosure,” Senator Brown told me in an e-mail. “Unlike many of the foreclosure prevention programs already in place, providing legal services with adequate resources is a simple, straightforward way of helping families keep their homes without providing a windfall to the banks.” One of Brown’s constituents described trying to deal with the banks on his own this way: “In 1999, I was diagnosed with cancer. I endured two surgeries and a brutal year of chemotherapy. My experiences with [my servicer] have been worse than having cancer.” Kaptur also related how critical legal representation is for people currently going it alone. “Even in a judicial foreclosure state like Ohio--where the foreclosure has to go through the courts--the property owner is distraught, really at the end of their rope, and generally doesn’t even think that they have a right to legal representation,” said Kaptur. “I can tell you that happened to two of my neighbors--women, both working--both have jobs. They simply were so ashamed they walked away from their equity and their property.” Another state receiving TARP money through the Hardest Hit Fund is Georgia. The AFL-CIO has been very active there in helping members facing foreclosures, and Charlie Flemming, president of the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, praised this legislation. “Homeowners who are able to work with Atlanta Legal Aide, compared to people who have to go it alone against the big banks--it’s like night and day when it comes to getting mortgage modifications,” said Flemming. “The squeaky wheel definitely gets the grease. But these legal aid groups are understaffed and way under- funded.” If you trust banks--that they haven’t made mistakes and every foreclosure that’s moved forward is a simple paperwork error--then this bill probably isn’t for you. But if you live on this planet, then you know that the real story is more along the lines of what’s revealed in a recent GAO report cited by Senator Brown at a hearing last month: “Between 14,000 and 34,000 families in cities like Cleveland, Akron, and Columbus have been unnecessarily forced out of their homes.” Urge your Representative to cosponsor the Kaptur bill (HR 5510) and encourage Democratic Leadership to move it before recess. Tell your Senator to cosponsor the Brown bill (S. 3979). And while you’re at it, tell Treasury to get on board and allow states to use the Hardest Hit Funds as they see fit. “The courts--the judicial system of this country--is what is left in terms of gaining fair treatment under the law for homeowners,” said Kaptur.
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#1. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
The whole point never has been to help homeowners. The point has been to prop up the Plutocracy at the expense of everyone else and to create an economic implosion which would help to create the conditions which would allow a Totalitarian Police State run by the Banksters to take over.
"One of the least understood strategies of the world revolution now moving rapidly toward its goal is the use of mind control as a major means of obtaining the consent of the people who will be subjects of the New World Order." K.M. Heaton, The National Educator
Foreclose and kick millions of homeowners out their homes. Maybe it will help wake people up the the fact that our government is not their friend but is for the banks and corporations.
“The courts--the judicial system of this country--is what is left in terms of gaining fair treatment under the law for homeowners,” said Kaptur. ha! good luck with THAT! Supreme Court to Issue Landmark Decision on the Constitution .....“The key questions are: 1. Whether federal courts must be stopped from operating corruptly and ignoring all laws, rules, and facts. 2. Whether the Supreme Court is prepared to declare the Constitution and its amendments null and void.”..... http://www.lawlessamerica.com/in...ision-on-the-constitution Reports of Judicial Corruption from All Over the Country http://www.lawlessamerica.com/in...from-all-over-the-country http://www.manta.com/ [PLUG IN ANY SO-CALLED 'COURT'...THEY ARE ALL CORPORATIONS FOR PROFIT] Short course on the Banking/Mortgage Fraud: Banks [home turf being "The City" of London] create the "money" to buy the house, and "loans" it to the buyer [who (unbeknownst to him) paid for the "loan" with his signature against his prepaid Treasury Account attached to his Birth Certificate], and records it as an asset to the bank. The Federal Reserve prints the currency to repay the banks [or creates it with a keystroke]; the bank may or may not sell the "loan"; the buyer gets to "repay" [we haven't REALLY been able to PAY for ANYTHING since the Federal Reserve stole the nation's gold http://www.tapesite.com/index17.html ] the "loan" with interest [the currency for which is NOT created by the Banksters, so that the debt can never be paid off, and the Banksters can own the country in fee simple, paid for with the "money" they created out of thin air....As Judge Mahoney (last of the honest judges?) said before they assassinated him, "Sounds like FRAUD to me"]. If the buyer "defaults", the bank takes the house with the collusion of the "courts" [controlled from The City of London www.apfn.org/apfn/orders-from-england.htm / www.apfn.org/apfn/secretoath.htm ] and the Corporation [also controlled from "The City" www.apfn.org/apfn/queen.htm ] known as "Congress" [look up the US HOUSE and US SENATE on http://www.manta.com ], and is covered up by the media, all of which are bought and owned by the Banksters, paid for with the Banksters' printing press. ========= "Capital must protect itself in every way, through combination and through legislation. Debts must be collected and loans and mortgages foreclosed as soon as possible. When through a process of law the common people have lost their homes, they will be more tractable and more easily governed by the strong arm of the law, applied by the central power of wealth, under control of leading financiers. People without homes will not quarrel with their leaders. This is well known among our principal men now engaged in forming an imperialism of capital to govern the world...." Does that sound like the courts are going to be of any help? "((((((The above was printed from the "Banker's Manifest", for the private circulation among leading bankers only, taken from the "Civil Servants' Year Book, "The Organizer" of January, 1934.)))))) The Banker's Manifesto ties in with U.S. Senate Document No. 43, 73rd Congress, 1st Session (1934), to wit: "The ultimate ownership of all property is in the State; individual so-called "ownership" is only by virtue of Government, i.e., law, amounting to mere "user" and use must be in acceptance with law and subordinate to the necessities of the State." Remember, it's not a question of "if" the economy will collapse, but "when"....." http://www.afn.org/~govern/safe.html The answer to the Banksters and their cronies is commercial redemption [Micah 4:13/Habakkuk 2]: http://www.truthsetsusfree.com/remedyFAQs.htm ....and thinking seriously about joining the reformed republic for the united states. http://freedom4um.com/cgi-bin/re...tNum=126727&Disp=All&#C16 [I highly recommend listening to the recording at the above link. It cleared up some questions for me, such as how they were going to deal with the fact that not ALL were free under the original Constitution. It is two hours long, but I think people will come away from it with more hope, and I wonder if this effort (which you will not hear about on your evening news) is what God had in mine when he said this: bible.cc/ezekiel/17-9.htm (HEY! I just noticed this....He called Himself the SOVEREIGN Lord...see Strong's Concordance for "Lord" in Ezekiel 17:9...#136 from #113: to rule; SOVEREIGN...I think we have a winner, since that is what the republic people call themselves, Sovereigns....as in Rev. 5:9-10, kings and priests, under the SOVEREIGN GOD!). Ezekiel 17:1-10...it's a riddle for latter-day Israel, the church http://www.preteristarchive.com/...provan-charles_dd_01.html ...major clue = John 15:1 bible.cc/john/15-1.htm ...see The Enduring Legacy of the First Landing http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55421 /the second eagle = "Satan On Our Dollar" http://jesus-is-savior.com /Rothschild's coat-of-arms is an eagle/Haym Solomon was his agent http://www.sweetliberty.org/pers...e/jewishpersecution18.htm ]. There is a very interesting story inside the recording about a man's encounter with the "judicial" system. I can personally vouch for what he is saying. I have been to court 4 different times in the past month, as a witness for friends, and he could have been talking about the trials I witnessed, but he wasn't. This is just the way the whole system works, which is why God has given them fair warning in http://kingjbible.com/psalms/2.htm . Deliverance is straight ahead, though, imho. http://kingjbible.com/isaiah/52.htm For those who listen to the recording, you will hear Tim say, after praying, that he received a powerful message from the Lord about forgiveness. I don't know if Tim knows it, but it has a very scriptural precedent: Genesis 50: 15And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. 16And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, 17So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. 18And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. [ bible.cc/revelation/3-9.htm / bible.cc/isaiah/14-2.htm - See Matthew Henry commentary] 19And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? 20But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good [ see Isaiah 10:13-15 http://kingjbible.com/isaiah/10.htm ], to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. [ bible.cc/revelation/22-2.htm / bible.cc/john/15-16.htm ] 21Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them. .... http://kingjbible.com/genesis/50.htm If one listens to what Tim said, and one belongs to the Lord, one should be able to understand this. Restitution is one thing; revenge is another. Romans12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. bible.cc/romans/12-19.htm
"...as long as there..remain active enemies of the Christian church, we may hope to become Master of the World...the future Jewish King will never reign in the world before Christianity is overthrown - B'nai B'rith speech http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/luther.htm / http://bible.cc/psalms/83-4.htm
#2. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
#3. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
#4. To: gengis gandhi (#0)
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