Outsourcing Gym Class - The Bay Citizen
The school district can't afford enough gym teachers, so the Parent-Teacher Organization is paying private contractors. Privatizing gym class--thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Mind-Blowing Charts From the Senate's Income Inequality Hearing | Mother Jones
Mind-Blowing Charts From the Senate's Income Inequality Hearing | Mother Jones
Just take a look at this and you can see who our public policy makers have been serving these last 30 years or so.
Just take a look at this and you can see who our public policy makers have been serving these last 30 years or so.
Cities Turn to a Crop for Cash - Medical Marijuana - NYTimes.com
Cities Turn to a Crop for Cash - Medical Marijuana - NYTimes.com
OAKLAND, Calif. — As the stubborn economic downturn has forced this city to take painful steps to balance its budget in recent years, it has increasingly turned to one of its newer industries to raise much-needed revenues: medical marijuana dispensaries. The city has raised taxes on marijuana dispensaries several times in the past few years, and last year it collected $1.4 million in taxes from them — nearly 3 percent of all the business taxes it collected. Now Oakland plans to double the number of dispensaries it licenses, to eight from the current four, in the hopes that it can collect even more revenue.
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My, my. How things have changed. I still remember when people went to jail for selling weed. Oh, wait. They still do. But they aren't the City of Oakland. The city becomes an indirect drug peddler to balance the budget, and that's just sound fiscal policy. But if Joe Schmoe living in Oakland decided to balance his own budget the same way, why, it's a completely different thing, don't you see?
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OAKLAND, Calif. — As the stubborn economic downturn has forced this city to take painful steps to balance its budget in recent years, it has increasingly turned to one of its newer industries to raise much-needed revenues: medical marijuana dispensaries. The city has raised taxes on marijuana dispensaries several times in the past few years, and last year it collected $1.4 million in taxes from them — nearly 3 percent of all the business taxes it collected. Now Oakland plans to double the number of dispensaries it licenses, to eight from the current four, in the hopes that it can collect even more revenue.
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My, my. How things have changed. I still remember when people went to jail for selling weed. Oh, wait. They still do. But they aren't the City of Oakland. The city becomes an indirect drug peddler to balance the budget, and that's just sound fiscal policy. But if Joe Schmoe living in Oakland decided to balance his own budget the same way, why, it's a completely different thing, don't you see?
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Exclusive: Mortgage problems? Turn your house into a billboard | Reuters
Exclusive: Mortgage problems? Turn your house into a billboard | Reuters
In return for allowing the front of their four-bedroom house to become a garish advertisement, the Hostetlers are getting their nearly $2,000 monthly mortgage paid by the marketing company behind the project, Brainiacs From Mars.
In a residential neighborhood without heavy traffic, cars passing by the house slowed and drivers gawked at the vivid colors and a giant Brainiacs From Mars billboard.
Romeo Mendoza, the company's founder and CEO, told Reuters that his ultimate goal is to turn 1,000 homes across the United States into giant advertisements for his marketing firm.
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Mortgage Settlement as Attorney General Sellout: Deal is Not Done, and Final Version Guaranteed to be Worse Than Advertised « naked capitalism
Mortgage Settlement as Attorney General Sellout: Deal is Not Done, and Final Version Guaranteed to be Worse Than Advertised « naked capitalism
"The Administration and the banks both want a pro-bank deal (the only minor point of difference is how much in populist gestures the banks have to submit to in order to get the much more valuable bennies they want). The only parties that cared to any degree about ordinary citizens were the dissident AGs. But they now have now given up any bargaining leverage over how this deal turns out.
"The Administration and the banks both want a pro-bank deal (the only minor point of difference is how much in populist gestures the banks have to submit to in order to get the much more valuable bennies they want). The only parties that cared to any degree about ordinary citizens were the dissident AGs. But they now have now given up any bargaining leverage over how this deal turns out.
The only power any party has in a negotiation is his threat to leave the bargaining table. The AGs can no longer do that. They’ve taken star turns, made ringing pronouncements of how great this pact is. They can’t possibly reverse themselves mere weeks down the road and say, whoops, this deal isn’t go great after all."
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Great analysis. When the real deal surfaces, the AGs who were holding things up will have no way to back out of it. They have already gone on record with their victory laps.
Walker, Van Hollen: Chunk of mortgage settlement going to state budget - JSOnline
Walker, Van Hollen: Chunk of mortgage settlement going to state budget - JSOnline
But of a $31.6 million payment coming directly to the state government, most of that money - $25.6 million - will go to help close a budget shortfall revealed in newly released state projections. Van Hollen, whose office said he has the legal authority over the money, made the decision in consultation with Walker.
"Just like communities and individuals have been affected, the foreclosure crisis has had an effect on the state of Wisconsin, in terms of unemployment. . . . This will offset that damage done to the state of Wisconsin," Walker said.
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Scott Walker is the Koch Brothers-funded tool who ambushed the public employee unions after he became governor. Now he is stealing a bunch of the mortgage foreclosure settlement to balance the budget. It is too early to say for sure, but I think when all the facts are in a few years from now, Walker, Kasich, Daniels, and Scott will turn out to have been as bad for their respective states' economies as David Cameron has been for the UK, which remains mired in recession.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Tallahassee tax cuts put squeeze on cities
The tax cuts are welcomed by the business community, but they come at a high cost that critics say will ultimately fall on local communities. As property tax revenues fall even further this year, local governments will again have to weigh tough decisions that run the gamut from shuttering libraries to ending social service programs to delaying new projects. With fewer options to cut after several years of concessions and layoffs, local officials may have to consider raising property tax rates, a politically dangerous and unpopular option.
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What's next? De-annexing neighborhoods and telling them to privatize their governance and infrastructure if they aren't already within the jurisdiction of a mandatory membership HOA?
Florida HOAs crippled by housing crisis
Florida HOAs crippled by housing crisis
LAKE WORTH, Fla. - The home buying market has undoubtedly had a huge impact on both developers and buyers. But homeowners associations are also in the middle caught up in all the mess of the housing crisis.
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Indeed. As I have been saying for the last few years. Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link.
LAKE WORTH, Fla. - The home buying market has undoubtedly had a huge impact on both developers and buyers. But homeowners associations are also in the middle caught up in all the mess of the housing crisis.
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Indeed. As I have been saying for the last few years. Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link.
No settlement document here!
Federal Government & Attorneys General reach landmark settlement with major banks | NationalMortgageSettlement
This is the web page for the magic disappearing settlement. See for yourself. As of February 11, 2012, two days after the big deal was announced, there is no settlement document to be found. Why? (see below)...
The Obama administration and the banks did the publicity blitz, and the press dutifully covered it to death, and the pundits pontificated, without the actual terms being part of the discussion. We just had a huge media frenzy over something that we can't really scrutinize. Why? Perhaps because the banks are going to get a much better deal than advertised, and they don't want the public to know. When the real settlement document is released, the deal will be old news and won't get much coverage.
That's my speculation. What's yours?
This is the web page for the magic disappearing settlement. See for yourself. As of February 11, 2012, two days after the big deal was announced, there is no settlement document to be found. Why? (see below)...
The Obama administration and the banks did the publicity blitz, and the press dutifully covered it to death, and the pundits pontificated, without the actual terms being part of the discussion. We just had a huge media frenzy over something that we can't really scrutinize. Why? Perhaps because the banks are going to get a much better deal than advertised, and they don't want the public to know. When the real settlement document is released, the deal will be old news and won't get much coverage.
That's my speculation. What's yours?
Missing Settlement Document Raises Doubts on $25B Deal - American Banker Article
Missing Settlement Document Raises Doubts on $25B Deal - American Banker Article
"More than a day after the announcement of a mammoth national mortgage servicing settlement, the actual terms of the deal still aren't public. The website created for the national settlement lists the document as "coming soon."
"More than a day after the announcement of a mammoth national mortgage servicing settlement, the actual terms of the deal still aren't public. The website created for the national settlement lists the document as "coming soon."
"That's because a fully authorized, legally binding deal has not been inked yet."
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Bet you thought that the announcement of a deal meant there was really a deal. Hah! The joke's on you. And me. And the rest of us. Now the real terms will get no publicity. Clever, don't you think?
Friday, February 10, 2012
Two points! Omaha woman wins in court over basketball hoop
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A judge says an Omaha woman can keep the basketball hoop that her homeowners association had fought.
Omaha television station WOWT says (http://bit.ly/AcJKGt) Jill Lewis had the hoop installed for her three sons at their home in Merrifield Village.
The homeowners association took her to court, saying she'd failed to get written permission for the external improvement.
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Early March Madness. What's really crazy is these cases end up in the courts. Can you spell frivolous litigation?
Monday, February 06, 2012
Sacramento Warned by UN On Homeless Issue - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento
Sacramento Warned On Homeless Issue - Sacramento News Story - KCRA Sacramento
"An appointee to the United Nations Human Rights Council visited Sacramento in 2011 and has sent a letter to Mayor Kevin Johnson advising him of her findings.In the letter, Catarina De Albuquerque reminded Johnson that the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation is a protected freedom. She noted the lack of access to restrooms and water fountains as a concern."
"An appointee to the United Nations Human Rights Council visited Sacramento in 2011 and has sent a letter to Mayor Kevin Johnson advising him of her findings.In the letter, Catarina De Albuquerque reminded Johnson that the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation is a protected freedom. She noted the lack of access to restrooms and water fountains as a concern."
New York Sues 3 Banks Over MERS Mortgage Database - NYTimes.com
New York Sues 3 Banks Over MERS Mortgage Database - NYTimes.com
Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York sued three major banks on Friday, accusing them of fraud in their use of an electronic mortgage database that he said resulted in deceptive and illegal practices, including false documents in foreclosure proceedings.
Mr. Schneiderman, co-chairman of a new mortgage crisis unit under President Obama, filed a lawsuit against Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase in New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn.
The database, called the Mortgage Electronic Registration System or MERS, was created in the mid-1990s for tracking mortgage ownership. It is a collaboration of top mortgage servicers, mortgage insurers and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government entities that hold many of the country’s mortgages.
“The mortgage industry created MERS to allow financial institutions to evade county recording fees, avoid the need to publicly record mortgage transfers and facilitate the rapid sale and securitization of mortgages en masse,” Mr. Schneiderman said.
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About time. MERS was created in order for the banks to securitize mortgages and resell them all over the place without paying county recording fees. It is a gigantic, multi-billion dollar fraud. And MERS exemplifies the state of housing finance in this country. It is based on fraud, perjury, and theft by the biggest banks in the nation.
Big cities cautious about privatizing parking after Chicago's effort - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee
Big cities cautious about privatizing parking after Chicago's effort - Sacramento News - Local and Breaking Sacramento News | Sacramento Bee
Chicagoans were outraged when meter rates soared and the machines briefly malfunctioned. The city's inspector general said the $1.15 billion price the city received was way too low. While the operating company says citizen anger has abated, the deal is still viewed in political circles as a mistake.
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This tepid article says that despite the Chicago catastrophe, which this reporter just calls a public relations problem, Sacramento is going to do it, too. Most city governments have at least some ability to learn from the failures of others, but not Sacramento, it seems. The rates in Chicago doubled. The payoff to the city was half what it should have been. The city has lost control over its own streets and now has to pay off the private vendor whenever any stretch of road doesn't deliver the money, such as if a block is closed for a street festival. The vendor is a front company for a mysterious sovereign wealth fund. Try getting through them sometime with your complaints.
Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.
Chicagoans were outraged when meter rates soared and the machines briefly malfunctioned. The city's inspector general said the $1.15 billion price the city received was way too low. While the operating company says citizen anger has abated, the deal is still viewed in political circles as a mistake.
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This tepid article says that despite the Chicago catastrophe, which this reporter just calls a public relations problem, Sacramento is going to do it, too. Most city governments have at least some ability to learn from the failures of others, but not Sacramento, it seems. The rates in Chicago doubled. The payoff to the city was half what it should have been. The city has lost control over its own streets and now has to pay off the private vendor whenever any stretch of road doesn't deliver the money, such as if a block is closed for a street festival. The vendor is a front company for a mysterious sovereign wealth fund. Try getting through them sometime with your complaints.
Thanks to Fred Pilot for the link.
Foreclosures Draw Private Equity as U.S. Sells Homes - Bloomberg
Foreclosures Draw Private Equity as U.S. Sells Homes - Bloomberg
Private equity firms are jumping into distressed housing as the U.S. government plans to market 200,000 foreclosed homes as rentals to speed up the economic recovery.
GTIS Partners will spend $1 billion by 2016 acquiring single-family homes to manage as rentals, Thomas Shapiro, the fund’s founder said. That followed announcements this month that GI Partners, a Menlo Park private equity fund, expects to invest $1 billion, and Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management LP will spend $450 million on similar housing.
“It’s a massive market,” Shapiro said in a telephone interview from New York. “We’re starting to see this as a billion dollar opportunity to buy rental housing.”
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It seems that we are making a historic shift toward being a nation of renters.
Sunday, February 05, 2012
Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded - NYTimes.com
Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded - NYTimes.com
"YEARS before the housing bust — before all those home loans turned sour and millions of Americans faced foreclosure — a wealthy businessman in Florida set out to blow the whistle on the mortgage game."
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Nye Lavalle is the subject of this excellent article. Here's how bad the situation was, and note that THIS WAS IN 2003:
In 2003, when home prices were flying high, he compiled a dossier of improprieties on one of the giants of the business, Fannie Mae.
"YEARS before the housing bust — before all those home loans turned sour and millions of Americans faced foreclosure — a wealthy businessman in Florida set out to blow the whistle on the mortgage game."
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Nye Lavalle is the subject of this excellent article. Here's how bad the situation was, and note that THIS WAS IN 2003:
In 2003, when home prices were flying high, he compiled a dossier of improprieties on one of the giants of the business, Fannie Mae.
In hindsight, what he found looks like a blueprint of today’s foreclosure crisis. Even then, Mr. Lavalle discovered, some loan-servicing companies that worked for Fannie Mae routinely filed false foreclosure documents, not unlike the fraudulent paperwork that has since made “robo-signing” a household term. Even then, he found, the nation’s electronic mortgage registry was playing fast and loose with the law — something that courts have belatedly recognized, too.
You might wonder why Mr. Lavalle didn’t speak up. But he did. For two years, he corresponded with Fannie executives and lawyers. Fannie later hired a Washington law firm to investigate his claims. In May 2006, that firm, using some of Mr. Lavalle’s research, issued a confidential, 147-page report corroborating many of his findings.
And there, apparently, is where it ended. There is little evidence that Fannie Mae’s management or board ever took serious action. Known internally as O.C.J. Case No. 5595, in reference to the company’s Office of Corporate Justice, this 2006 report suggests just how deep, and how far back, our mortgage and foreclosure problems really go.
Red-light cameras boost coffers, rile drivers
Red-light cameras boost coffers, rile drivers
Anyone in California snapped violating a red light pays a fine of $480, and according to the traffic-watch site TheNewspaper.com, no other jurisdiction anywhere has a tab that high. The second-highest fine in the United States is $250, and it is usually more like $100.
Anyone in California snapped violating a red light pays a fine of $480, and according to the traffic-watch site TheNewspaper.com, no other jurisdiction anywhere has a tab that high. The second-highest fine in the United States is $250, and it is usually more like $100.
Obama’s push to revive middle class will clash with long-term trends - The Washington Post
Obama’s push to revive middle class will clash with long-term trends - The Washington Post
"But it is not clear that the measures — or any others — could compensate for the factors behind the decline of the middle class, including the rise of nations with abundant cheap labor and the development of new technologies that allow companies to operate with far fewer workers. Nor is it clear that the bruised American economy of 2012, with a growing population of retiring workers to support, can sustain a prospering middle class."
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Fred Pilot flagged this long piece on the structural factors that have undermined the middle class, and that make it problematic for any president to try to revive what we had in this country from the end of WWII to the 1980s.
"But it is not clear that the measures — or any others — could compensate for the factors behind the decline of the middle class, including the rise of nations with abundant cheap labor and the development of new technologies that allow companies to operate with far fewer workers. Nor is it clear that the bruised American economy of 2012, with a growing population of retiring workers to support, can sustain a prospering middle class."
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Fred Pilot flagged this long piece on the structural factors that have undermined the middle class, and that make it problematic for any president to try to revive what we had in this country from the end of WWII to the 1980s.
The privatization trap - The 99 Percent Plan - Salon.com
The privatization trap - The 99 Percent Plan - Salon.com
"Rather than solving problems with government, privatization often amplifies those issues to new extremes. Instead of unleashing market innovation, it often introduces new parasitic partners into the decision-making process. Instead of providing a check on the power of the government, it allows the state to circumvent constitutional and democratic accountability measures by merging with the private sector. And ultimately, the practice replaces the set of choices and constraints found in democracy, with another set found in the marketplace. Today’s political conversation is blind to these problems out of a mistaken faith in the efficiency and fundamental equality of markets, contrasted to the ineffectiveness and corruptibility of the state."
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Mike Konczal takes privatization apart and shows how it turns out in practice.
"Rather than solving problems with government, privatization often amplifies those issues to new extremes. Instead of unleashing market innovation, it often introduces new parasitic partners into the decision-making process. Instead of providing a check on the power of the government, it allows the state to circumvent constitutional and democratic accountability measures by merging with the private sector. And ultimately, the practice replaces the set of choices and constraints found in democracy, with another set found in the marketplace. Today’s political conversation is blind to these problems out of a mistaken faith in the efficiency and fundamental equality of markets, contrasted to the ineffectiveness and corruptibility of the state."
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Mike Konczal takes privatization apart and shows how it turns out in practice.
A modern Pecora Commission could right Wall Street wrongs | The Big Picture
A modern Pecora Commission could right Wall Street wrongs | The Big Picture
Great piece from Barry Ritholtz about what should happen in the course of the investigation of mortgage fraud that President Obama announced.
Great piece from Barry Ritholtz about what should happen in the course of the investigation of mortgage fraud that President Obama announced.
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