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MarcyWatch 2010 - Winograd for Congress June 8 - Repeal the Bankruptcy Bill!

MarcyWatch 2010 - Winograd for Congress June 8 - Why I Support Marcy Winograd, and Why You Should, Too - Even If You Don't Live In California

Today is the day of Marcy Winograd's fundraising goal - the campaign is aiming for $50,000 towards a final media effort to get Marcy on TV, radio and the Internet in these closing weeks before the election.

We have less than two weeks until June 8.

I contributed today to Marcy's campaign, even though we are squeezed financially. Some things are worth biting the bullet for, and right now I can't think of a cause that's more important than getting a true progressive leader - Marcy - into Congress.

Right now, our country is being hobbled by Democrats who are not acting like Democrats. We cannot begin to slow down, much less repair, the damage that has been done to America by eight years of George W. Bush and the complete implementation of conservative and neoconservative political and social values unless we change course. The election of Barack Obama, while definitely preferable to a McCain presidency (and the possibility of a tragic snowmobiling accident), has not been the waving of a magic wand.

What we have seen so far with a Democratic majority and a Democratic president has been Republican-lite - corporatist Democrats who are bought and paid for by the same interests that own Republicans, and are afraid (or not permitted) to put forth any ideas that might meet with disfavor from the very industries that have brought America to its knees - the banking industry, the credit-card industry, the oil industry, the coal industry, the defense industry, the health industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the insurance industry. These Democrats are afraid to take a stand with Democratic values, and instead are seeking to appease those industries, hoping for their approval so they won't have to fight.

Sorry, Dems - that's not going to happen.

I understand the rationale to a certain extent, even though I don't condone it. It's like this: the reality of politics is that getting into office and staying in office, as our system is set up now, depends upon corporate money and corporate influence. Even well-intentioned Democrats find that it's not so easy to stick to your guns when you're asked to look at an issue from the perspective of the businesses and industries who offer the huge amounts of money necessary not only to get elected, but to stay in your office. And not only that, if you choose not to support the corporate view, but the view of those who can't afford that sort of largess - regular American people - not only will you not receive the money for your campaign chest - but these corporations will look for and support your opponent! It becomes easier, you say to yourself, to go along with those who control the purse-strings and try to do what you can within those parameters - after all, your opponent might not be as progressive as you are. If you brand yourself as hard to do business with, you won't be chosen for any important committees, and left out of the sphere of influence.

And, with the revolving door between political office and corporate lobbying, you will be cutting yourself out of any chance at money and influence when you leave office if you don't have good relationships with these corporations. This is more than just running for office; this is a lifetime lucrative career in Washington - in and out of office. Your connections as a Congressperson are coin of the realm on K Street.

This is the harsh reality of politics and government. And until we can fundamentally change the process of running for office and running for re-election, this is how most politicians end up doing business - Democrats and Republicans alike.

There are only a handful (with fingers left over) of Congresspeople who have the independence and the courage to stick to their progressive values in the face of this kind of pressure - Dennis Kucinich, Al Franken, Bernie Sanders, Alan Grayson, Donna Edwards, Barbara Lee (and my namesake sister, Georgia State Representative Alisha Morgan, an up-and-coming young progressive leader - watch for her!). Love them or loathe them (and I love them - but, then, I'm a liberal), they stand up for their values regardless of convenience and so-called 'bi-partisanship'. It is time to add one more name to that list:

Marcy Winograd.

I first became aware of Marcy when she challenged Jane Harman in the last 3 months of the 2006 Congressional race. A complete unknown, a high-school teacher and peace activist, she garnered close to 40% of the vote against the extremely wealthy and entrenched long-time incumbent, the hawkish Jane Harman, who has called herself the 'best Republican in the Democratic Party.' As I had begun blogging in 2004, I found myself needing to become active on a local level as well as on the Internet, and I started by joining Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles, of which Marcy was the co-founder and president at the time. I phone-banked for Marcy, and the more I found out about her, the more certain that I was that here was a real progressive worth getting excited about. Marcy's mother Teddi Winograd was a longtime progressive activist, and Marcy proudly followed in her footsteps and forged her own path in public service - real public service, not government glad-handing. Teaching, caring for the environment, supporting labor, working for peaceful solutions to conflict - this has been Marcy's way her entire life. From a young age she was active in progressive causes, and has always 'walked the talk' - not with an eye on public office, but a dedication to making working people's lives better, working for peace, social justice and a healthy planet - all of those 'old-school' liberal values that seem to have fallen out of fashion in the national discourse and derided as 'socialism' even by those who are most damaged by their absence.

But Marcy is so much more than progressive ideas - Marcy is a fighter. Her life demonstrates that her values are not for sale to the highest bidder; she is not looking to enrich herself, but to fight for what she knows to be right. Marcy knows that we need jobs, not wars; healthcare, not wealthcare. She knows that we must rebuild our nation from the bottom up - the poor, the working class, the middle class - not shower money on those at the top and hope that it will trickle down. We have seen what happens when we do that - they take care of themselves and give the rest of America the middle finger. And if you don't believe that, try getting a loan modification.

As I have gotten to know Marcy over the last four years, I am more and more impressed with her integrity, her determination, her willingness to take a politically uncomfortable or unpopular position and stand up for it. I am also impressed with her compassion, her ability as a community leader to work with people in all walks of life to get things accomplished, and her formidable leadership skills. She fights hard for the things I care about. Her honesty, integrity, and passion for justice make her a force to be reckoned with - a force that we so desperately need in the Democratic Party, and in Congress.

You do not have to live in California or Los Angeles to support Marcy! As a Democratic member of Congress, Marcy will be able to be a progressive voice for all Americans - and she is one of the very few people that I know I can count on to be who she says she is, to fight for us - for jobs, for the environment, for health, for peace, for justice - even in the face of the pressure of the go-along-to-get-along Washington status quo.

Wherever you are, if you are a progressive (or even if you aren't - you'll benefit too!) please consider supporting Marcy Winograd for Congress with a contribution to her campaign. Or, you can volunteer - you can phone-bank from your cell phone; if you're local, you can canvass the district - contact the campaign for more information. There are so many ways you can give Marcy support! Marcy does not take corporate contributions, so we need your help to get the word out to the people of California's District 36!

This is the time to take out Blue Dogs, and replace them with real Democrats - a fighting Dem like Marcy Winograd.


I was honored to be asked by Marcy to sing at her campaign kickoff, and I can't wait to see this campaign culminate in victory - not just for Marcy, but, more importantly, a victory for America.

Marcy's Website

About Marcy

Marcy's Stand on the Issues

Meet Marcy; Volunteer!


Donate to Marcy's Campaign at ActBlue

Marcy on Facebook

MarcyWatch 2010 - Winograd for Congress June 8 - Help Us Get to $50,000 by Tomorrow

Marcy is on the home stretch! 

We have two weeks left before the election; two weeks to defeat Jane Harman in California's 36th congressional district.

In these final days before the June 8th election, my campaign must make key decisions, which you can put into action. We're making one final push to have the best fundraising month yet and we're so close.

Please help us raise $50,000 by donating to my campaign before midnight tomorrow, May 26th. It's time to get rid of Blue Dog Jane Harman!

Jane Harman has had her chance, and in the past 15 years hasn't had much to show for it. Being best buds with Wall Street, Big Pharma, and weapons manufacturers may help with someone's re-election, but it doesn't do much for the American people.

I have kept my promise to run a people-powered campaign and have refused to accept one cent from corporations. It's time to inform the rest of our great district about what is really at stake in this election. It's time for me to get on TV, radio, and all over the internet to get the word out!

Help me spread my message to the people of District 36 by contributing by tomorrow. With your help, we will end Harman's reign and elect the People's candidate - Marcy Winograd - to join the ranks of Sestak and Halter.

June 8th is just around the corner and we have plenty left to do. With a little effort and your support, we can do this.

Onward to victory!



Marcy Winograd

MarcyWatch 2010 - Winograd for Congress June 8 - Marcy Challenges Harman on War Vote Profit

Marcy Winograd Press Release:

May 24, 2010

Congressional Candidate Demands Opponent Divest War Portfolio & Return Campaign Contributions


(Marina del Rey) Before Congress votes on another $33 billion supplemental war appropriation, Congressional Candidate Marcy Winograd (CA-36) challenges her opponent Jane Harman to immediately divest of up to $8.3 million worth of investments in military contracting firms and return over $60,000 in campaign contributions from military contractors.

Says Winograd regarding Harman's investments, "Clearly, Harman's votes to take us to war in Iraq and escalate in Afghanistan are making her richer by the hour. No wonder she voted for the Iraq invasion, despite pleas from constituents not to attack Iraq. With a portfolio heavily invested in weapons production, Harman should have recused herself from each war supplemental vote or divested her stock in military contractors."

According to Harman's 2008 financial disclosure statement filed with the House of Representatives, Harman has the following investments in weapons manufacturers: Boeing $130,000 to $350,000, Lockheed Martin $80,000 to $200,000, Caterpillar Inc. $195,000 to $500,000, and General Dynamics $80,000 to $200,000. (Click here for full list.)

Winograd notes Harman not only invests in military contractors but also relies on them, sometimes the exact same companies, for campaign contributions. According to her filing with the Federal Election Commission, Harman has received the following 2009/2010 campaign contributions from military contractors: Boeing ($10,000 maximum), Raytheon ($10,000 maximum), Northrop Grumman ($10,000 maximum), Honeywell International ($7,500), General Dynamics ($4,500), and Lockheed Martin ($2,000).

Says Winograd, "If we follow the money from Harman to war contractors and back again we see a symbiotic you-scratch-my-back and I'll-scratch-yours relationship. Unfortunately this political pandering comes at a great price to our veterans, our district, and our nation. Our district deserves a lawmaker who will not send our youth to war simply to benefit her own financial portfolio or guarantee her campaign coffers are filled for the next election."

Adds Winograd,"In Congress I will work hard to expand the reach of aerospace into the new green economy, so that our engineering talent and skilled work force can build mass transit, develop solar and wind power, and fix our aging bridges and water treatment plants. We need to bring manufacturing back to the United States and the 36th congressional district could be the anchor for the new economy."

To learn more about the Winograd For Congress campaign, visit Winograd for Congress website: http://www.winograd4congress.com/ - or - Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WinogradForCongress

Contact: Caitlin Frazier, Press Secretary
Caitlin@WinogradForCongres

s.com
Tel. (405) 818 4077

###

MarcyWatch 2010 - Winograd for Congress June 8 - Weekend Edition

All work and no play?

Not here, folks!

To thank all of Marcy's awesome volunteers, her campaign is throwing a big bash - 

Free Concert and Rally for Volunteers, May 30!

We are all limited to a single vote on election day, but there is no limit to your voice in a democracy, and your efforts will win this election. Our polling indicates we're within four percentage points of Jane Harman. Help us close the gap!

We’re mounting our biggest event yet, to rally our volunteers prior to Get Out The Vote week and thank you in advance for your help with the final efforts of the campaign.

The Winograd for Congress Campaign will be throwing a party at Venice hot spot The Stronghold in the heart of the Abbot Kinney area on May 30 —and the Winograd for Congress campaign volunteers will be the guests of honor - our VIP's! Come hear Vonda Shepard, Chris Shiflett (of the Foo Fighters), Matt Keating, Lili Haydn, Wendy Starland, Tom Freund—and of course our own Marcy Winograd, Congressional Candidate for CA-36 in the June 8th Primary - plus other very special guests.

This is Marcy's way of saying "thank you" to all of her fantastic grassroots volunteers whom have made her Congressional Campaign in the CA-36 June 8th primary race a smashing success.

Tickets are free for the Winograd for Congress Volunteers. All we ask is that you::

• Show up at the campaign headquarters (11:00am to 9:00pm; see address below) before May 30 and put in at least a two-hour shift phone banking or precinct walking;
  
• Commit to just one more shift on GOTV week or Election Day.

Tickets can only be obtained at the HQ, and there are only 125 available. It's first come first served--so hurry!

May 30th, 8:00pm – 11:00pm
THE CONCERT FOR WINOGRAD
The Stronghold: 1625 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice 90291

Donate to Marcy's campaign at ActBlue~

MarcyWatch 2010 - Winograd for Congress June 8 - Weekend Edition

What's up with Marcy this weekend?

Would you like to meet her for yourself and find out?

You can meet her in Torrance if you hustle :-) at 11am at the Torrance Farmers Market

11:00 am at the Winograd Table
2400 Jefferson Street
Torrance, CA

or...


Marcy Winograd and Bill Rosendahl at Bikeside Speaks!

Marcy and Bill Rosendahl will cap off a full night of talks at Bikeside Speaks.
7:00 pm
Bikerowave, 12255 Venice Blvd., Venice
http://www.bikesidela.org/marcy-winograd-bill-rosendahl-at-bikeside-speaks/


Contribute to Marcy's campaign at ActBlue!

MarcyWatch 2010 - Winograd for Congress June 8 - Who Let the (Blue) Dogs Out?

Progressives, that's who!

Joe Sestak just routed Arlen Specter, and Blanche Lincoln is on the run.

It's time to get rid of the Wall Street enablers and war supporters on the Democratic side of the aisle.

As the Republican Party is heading over the right-wing-crazy cliff, held hostage by the increasingly radical liber-terribles and teabaggers, where even a moderate Republican is considered anathema to the cause, we must define who we are as a party and represent.

And we must elect progressives - there is no other way to stop this free-fall. Conserva-Dems and Blue Dogs are moving to the right - we need to claim our position, as the Republicans have.

Otherwise, we will continue down the same disastrous path we've been on - and it's only getting worse.

Help Marcy Winograd win on June 8! Marcy is a people-powered Democrat, representing the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, and needs your help to face the corporate-funded, corporate-friendly Jane Harman, one of the wealthiest members of Congress.

Marcy has what it takes to stay focused, principled and progressive in the lobby-licious environment of Congress. If you want a Congressperson who will stand up for working people and not Wall Street, who will not cave in to big money, you want Marcy Winograd in Congress.

Marcy's principles are not for sale to the highest bidder.

Winograd For Congress - June 8

MarcyWatch 2010 - Winograd for Congress June 8 - Foreclosures Break Records!

Marcy Winograd for Congress Countdown - Vote on Tuesday, June 8!


Donate to Marcy via ActBlue here!


One huge reason to kick Jane Harman to the curb is that she signed the vile, loathsome Bankruptcy Bill of 2005, the disgusting bill that closed off a last attempt to protect ourselves from the rapaciousness of the credit card companies - an industry-written bill that the credit card industry had been attempting to purchase from Congress for the previous 20 years. One of the components of the bill rescinded the ability of bankruptcy judges to order banks to modify home loans. And, as we have found, if asked instead of ordered, banks will refuse to do so.


Here's Marcy's take on the foreclosure crisis:

In light of record foreclosures, more than 7,000 in our district last year, Marcy supports a "First Right to Rent" rule for homeowners losing their homes. "If banks were required to rent to those facing foreclosure, we would have far fewer foreclosures," says Marcy, "because banks find it harder to sell a home with tenants in the house."

Foreclosures not only impact those losing their homes, but also neighborhoods that suffer vandalism and lower property values, as well as counties that lose their tax base, thus forcing cuts in social services that hurt the newly homeless. Marcy's opponent, Jane Harman, voted for the 2005 bankruptcy bill which makes it easier for banks to foreclose by prohibiting bankruptcy judges from ordering banks to modify home loans.

For more on the foreclosure crisis, read the Associated Press report below:

Mortgage Delinquencies, Foreclosures Break Records
by Alan Zibel

WASHINGTON - The number of homeowners who missed at least one mortgage payment surged to a record in the first quarter of the year, a sign that the foreclosure crisis is far from over.

More than 10 percent of homeowners had missed at least one mortgage payment in the January-March period, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. That number was up from 9.5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and 9.1 percent a year earlier.

Those figures are adjusted for seasonal factors. For example, heating bills and holiday expenses tend to push up mortgage delinquencies near the end of the year. Many of those borrowers become current on their loans again by spring.

Without adjusting for seasonal factors, the delinquency numbers dropped, as they normally do from the winter to spring.

More than 4.6 percent of homeowners were in foreclosure, also a record. But that number, which is not adjusted for seasonal factors, was up only slightly from the end of last year.

Stocks slid Wednesday as investors looked past a rising euro and focused on the U.S. economy, including the rising number of foreclosures. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 100 points in early trading.

Jay Brinkmann, the trade group's chief economist, said the foreclosure crisis appears to have stabilized. Seasonal adjustments may be exaggerating the change from the previous quarter, he added.

"I don't see signs now that it's getting worse, but it's going to take a while," he said. "A bad situation that's not getting worse is still bad."

Economic woes, such as unemployment or reduced income, are the main catalysts for foreclosures this year. Initially, lax lending standards were the culprit. But homeowners with good credit who took out conventional, fixed-rate loans are now the fastest growing group of foreclosures.

Those borrowers made up nearly 37 percent of new foreclosures in the first quarter of the year, up from 29 percent a year earlier.

The risky subprime adjustable-rate loans that kicked off the foreclosure crisis are making up a smaller share of new foreclosures. They made up 14 percent of new foreclosures in the January-March period, down from 27 percent a year earlier.

MarcyWatch 2010 - Winograd For Congress June 8 - Interview Today at 3pm PST

It's the countdown to the election we've been working towards for the last four years. I will be posting daily updates on Marcy Winograd's Congressional race for CA-36.

The election is June 8!

Marcy is a true progressive, and we have never needed progressives in Congress like we do now. The results of conservative policies - predatory, unregulated crony capitalism - are visible each and every day; and with each new disaster - the BP oil leak, the spate of fatal mining accidents, the foreclosure crisis - we see how imperative it is that we find a way to stem the tide of corporate greed which is superseding the interests of the American people and our right to protect ourselves, our families, our jobs, our health, our environment. When corporations are allowed to call the shots, and their interests run counter to the public interest, people die. "We can regulate ourselves! We know our own industry best, after all!"

Really, BP? Really, Massey Energy? Really, Wall Street?

A Democratic President, obviously, isn't enough. And if there is to be any kind of pushback on behalf of the American people, it has to come through Congress. This is why we need real progressives - dare I say, liberals - in Congress instead of corporate-beholden 'moderates', and this is why we need Marcy Winograd - not just for California, but for the nation.

Today's Marcy update:

Marcy will be interviewed today at 3pm PST (6pm EST) on Nicole Sandler's radio show "Radio Or Not" - you are invited to call in at

800-795-1159

Find out more about Marcy at Winograd For Congress.com

How Much Ass Does D.C. Douglas Kick?

A lot!

Illegals, Watch Out - We're Taking Back Our Jobs!

(reposted from Sept. 09)

There's a new movement afoot in the American Right. Inspired by the rabidly anti-immigration, tirelessly pro-American-worker Lou Dobbs, it's springing up all across America. From the meatpacking plants of Iowa to the dairy farms of Arizona, from the kitchens of New York's finest restaurants to the Salad Bowl of California's Salinas Valley, in hotels, motels, and Holiday Inns all across this great nation of ours, the patriotic men and women who for years have stood by and watched illegal immigrants swarming across the border to brazenly steal their jobs have had enough.

Formerly known as the Minute-Man Movement (or 'Beer Guts Across America'), whose aim was to merely monitor the flow of illegal immigration across the border between the U.S. and Mexico, the troubled group disbanded amid infighting and accusations of internal corruption and financial misconduct in 2007. Yet, the dissatisfaction and frustration felt by these hard-working American patriots has only grown more intense, as they watch job after job after job go to those with no legal right to that job, while they themselves, deserving natural-born citizens, sit at home on their couches, with an ice-cold Coors, a family-sized bag of Chee-tos and a remote in their hands as they wait around for the job that never seems to materialize.

Well, the time for waiting is over.

The time for action has arrived.

Illegal criminals, take notice - Conservative Americans are taking back their jobs!

Yes, from the ashes of the failed Minute-Man Movement, the Gimme Back My Job, Dammit Coalition (GBMJ,DC) has risen, and it has spread like wildfire among conservatives sick and tired of illegals taking the jobs from deserving American citizens. No longer content to wait for the government to do it for them, these patriots have taken matters into their own hands. Now they're doing more than just protesting or watching from the sidelines - they're taking back their Constitutional, God-given right to a job. Suddenly, you see them everywhere - on the sidewalk with a leaf-blower strapped to their back, in the parking lot of your favorite restaurant with the keys to your car or inside, balancing a heavy-laden bus tray full of dirty dishes as they adroitly refill your iced tea glass on their way back to the kitchen. You may find them bent over in a lettuce field under a blistering sun with a rake in their hand, or endangering their limbs with casually-maintained but lethally sharp meat-cutting machinery for fourteen hours or more a day while earning somewhere around three dollars an hour, with no benefits, medical insurance, workman's compensation, or even bathroom breaks.

Most of them say they've never been happier.

"For the first time in my life, I feel needed," says Coalition member Chuck B. Liggett, 70, a former accountant who now works in a chicken-packing plant in Amarillo, Texas. "When the floor boss screams at me for slowing down, I feel a surge of pride because what I do actually matters. Now, I do an honest day's work for my pay, and by the time I collapse on my filthy mattress on the floor of my stinking room at the end of my fifteen-hour shift, I know I really earned that forty dollars!"

And it's not only men who are flocking to this bold new movement. Conservative women are finding satisfaction, fulfillment and a sense of what it feels like to be a real American as they embrace this exciting, energetic new way of life. Darlene Simmons, 47, works in a factory in downtown Los Angeles, sewing elastic bands into men's underwear seven days a week.

"It works out great, because working seven days means that I can save the expense of a car and an apartment - not that I could afford them on my salary," she explains. "I just fall asleep sitting at my sewing machine, and when I wake up, I'm right there ready for another day of rewarding, eye-straining, repetitive-stress-injury-inducing work!"


The jobs bonanza has been beneficial for Darlene's whole family as well.

"We're going back to the good old-fashioned American work ethic that made this country great!" says Darlene. "My kids used to be spoiled, lazy, smart-mouthed and never satisfied. No matter how much stuff we bought them, it was never enough. Now my kids work in the factory right along with me! Even my seven-year-old daughter can sew a button on a fly with those itty-bitty hands of hers - she's pretty handy, considering how she was always so busy texting her little friends! And you'd better believe there's no more complaining - you should see them cry with happiness for a little half-cup of water!"

Not even Darlene's aged, infirm 94-years-young grandmother has to miss out on the fun - when she was fired from the factory for sewing her hand to a pair of extra-large briefs, she soon found work again as a housemaid to the factory owner's wife. With tears in her eyes, choked up and unable to speak for gratitude, Grammaw merely trembled with joy, as Darlene quickly interjected, "They're so good to us here!"

Conservatives are done with talking - now they're stepping up to the plate and claiming what's theirs. All those cushy jobs that the illegal immigrants have been stealing are now back in the rightful hands of natural citizens like Chuck and Darlene. Unemployment? These stalwarts don't know the meaning of the word.

As a wise American patriot once said, "How uniquely American."

Richard Zombeck of ShameTheBanks.org - Kicking Ass, Taking Names!

Wow!

Richard Zombeck, HuffPo mortgage blogger and the founder of ShameTheBanks.org, where I have been blogging about our mortgage hell, is kicking some serious ass.

He is getting ready to go to Washington today armed with thousands of personal stories from people like us who are being kicked out of our homes by the very entities who caused this economic debacle in the first place - the banking/financial sector.

Richard has just been profiled by Bob Sullivan of the Red Tape Chronicles at MSNBC,  and ShameTheBanks is bringing to light the fact that these foreclosures are not anomalies or the result of consumer irresponsibility, but a business model for the banks which will not change until or unless they are forced to.

I want to give a big shout-out and thank you to Richard, for helping me and helping others get their stories out there, and showing that each one of us can find a way to bring about change. It's daunting, given the enormity of the forces (and finances) arrayed against us, but it is not hopeless.

Roll on, Richard!

Update: Reprieve (for now!)

Well, friends - it ain't over till it's over. That's all I'm saying.

Last week, we were sure we were toast. We talked to St. June on Friday morning, and she said that she didn't think that we were going to be able to pull this off; that they wanted our house and that was it. She said to my husband, "Why don't you give them a call yourself and see what they have to say." When he called, to our surprise we found out that not only was there no new sale date (we had been told that the new sale date was the 26th of April) but we had been taken off the foreclosure list.

Apparently the bankruptcy filing had put the house on hold. The bank asked my husband to take the house off of the bankruptcy hold so that they could 'offer him a loan mod'. St. June said to do no such thing; what they wanted was to lift the restriction so that they could take the house. Remember, OneWest bought IndyMac at a fire-sale price; this means that they bought our loan for pennies on the dollar, which means that the profit margin on our house is enormous. They have no interest in letting us stay in our house unless we make it more difficult to foreclose than to work with us.

This does not mean that they won't ultimately take the house, but it does mean that they're not taking it right now, which is a vast improvement.

I'll take limbo. Limbo beats 'game over'.

On Greed

(cross-posted at ShameTheBanks.org)

Hello, my friends.

Today, I would like to talk to you about greed.

In the course of trying to save our house, it has become necessary to publish our personal business - something I was not excited about doing.

I realize that in reaching out for help in public, there are going to be people who are supportive, and also people who are critical. When you put your business in the street, that is part and parcel of the deal. It would be ridiculous to expect any different. If you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen. As a blogger, I know and accept those terms.

I have laid myself open to the finger-pointers, and I would like to respond.

My friend JP, who posted about my situation, wrote me today, saying,“People are already speculating that you guys are greedy and I had to tell them, No, they’re not.”

That is, if I may be so bold, high-larious.

If only.

This is how it always comes down for the individual.

In my post Entrepreneurship, Greed, 'Moral Hazard' and Music I tried to lay out some ideas that would explain what I’m talking about, but perhaps I can make it more clear here.

This is a microcosm of the kind of thinking that has brought our economy to its knees, and kicked the legs out from under the middle class.

Let me start by asking a question.

Is it ‘greed’ when a small business owner secures financing to pay for the first year’s operating expenses while the business gets going?

Would any sane person expect a business to start up with no capital, just saying, “Hey, if you can’t make enough profit to pay your bills as soon as you start, then you shouldn’t be in business”?

I would hope not.

But that seems to be what people expect of us.

As I wrote in the aforementioned earlier post, my husband and I are entrepreneurs. We are a small business - a two-person business. My husband is a session singer and songwriter. He has been in that house since 1983, including having to refinance to divide up the worth of the house during his divorce. He does not work for a company that pays his salary. His capital is his talent and experience. And that talent and experience have made it possible to live in a house in Los Angeles for over 25 years. We do whatever we can to get through the lean times so that we are able to produce our product. During one of those ‘lean times’ my husband wrote a TV theme song that paid our bills for five years. But if we had thrown in the towel instead of sticking with what we do as well as anyone in the world, that never would have come about, because we would not have been in the professional music environment where that kind of work opportunity exists.

Up until three years ago, we were able to weather the ups and downs of our unpredictable business, cutting back as our particular field got more and more difficult to make a living in. With careful management, we have been able to keep a home that our kids could grow up in. But when you have a business that is feast or famine, one thing that will not happen is that every bill will be paid on time. However, every bill does get paid. And we have had to understand that our credit score is going to reflect this, even though we live up to our obligations. 

Guess what? Not having a perfect credit score does not make one ‘irresponsible’. It means that the way our income comes in is different than people who are salaried or guaranteed a certain amount of money per week, month or year. And when we’re out of work, there is no unemployment insurance to cover us till we can find more work.

I am sick to death of being accused of being ‘greedy’ for doing what we need to do to stay in a modest home. I am tired of being constantly pressed to defend my choice of profession - especially when one of the main reasons people give for deregulation is that regulation ‘penalizes risk-taking and stifles entrepreneurship’. Yes, it’s really important not to have any limits on how much money people can make by whatever means they can - but only if it’s a certain kind of entrepreneur, I guess. It's vital to the American Way of Life™ to encourage risk-taking in pursuit of riches. You want to talk about ‘greed’ - let’s talk about the idea that allowing credit card companies to charge arbitrary and usurious interest rates is ‘competitive’ instead of predatory.

When people say “You shouldn’t own a home if you can’t afford it,” that is really not what they mean. They are making a knee-jerk moral judgment about you. Let me clue you - it would not be cheaper to live in an apartment or rent a house. And, guess what? You have to have some kind of decent credit score to rent the crappiest house or dinkiest apartment. They throw around this word ‘greedy’ without having the least idea of what that entails. I am not going to dignify these attacks with specific numbers - you don’t get to judge how my family lives our lives or spends our money because we have made public our situation with a predatory lender.

My issue is not with being broke - my issue is with being lied to, cheated and stolen from.

The reason that we took a predatory loan is that no other ones were open to us, and that we were told that taking a high-interest loan for a year would improve our credit score, and that at the end of that year we could get a better loan. When you do not have the luxury of knowing in advance how much or little money you will be making, you have to do the best you can with what is at your disposal.

We kept up our end of the bargain.

We made those outrageous payments on time for a year.

Had IndyMac kept up their end of the bargain, we would not be having this issue. But it took two more years of those usurious payments to break us.

Dear friends, our ‘greed’ is not the issue. We willingly forgo things that most of you would not consider doing without. Our priorities are not material things - new cars, clothes, vacations, furniture, restaurants; everything we have is second-hand, thrift-shop, broken, or old. We do not use credit cards, and have no credit card debt. Our only debt is our home. Our priorities are our kids, our time together, our music. But one thing we will fight for is a home that our children can feel secure in. 

We will not stand by and allow ourselves to be cheated and stolen from by a company whose greed was a major contributing factor to the collapse of our economy, simply because we don’t work for someone who pays us every two weeks and should be ashamed of ourselves because of it.

If we were in the same situation, and had a ‘regular’ job with steady pay, and were laid off, people would not be accusing us of being ‘greedy’ and irresponsible. But it's happening to those people too. The real ‘greedsters’ have raped the rest of the country - and been bailed out for doing it! No one is taking any money away from them; they’re simply given more - out of our pockets! 

I have had it up to here with living in Opposite World, where the biggest and greediest are admired for risk-taking, lying, and outright fraud in search of the biggest profits, and those of us who are trying to make our way in the world without starving or living under an overpass are condemned as ‘greedy’.

It is Big Greed, in fact, that has brought this country to the economic disaster we are now experiencing. It has taken somewhere around thirty years for it to happen but the policies of union-busting and deregulation have resulted in such an unequal balance of power between corporations and individuals that real wages have gone down steadily for thirty years for all but the one-tenth-of-one-percent, who have seen their income skyrocket 400%. Wages - money made from actual work - are taxed at 30%, and investment income - dividends from speculation (not used as a pejorative term; merely descriptive) - are taxed at 15%.

So let’s think about that. Since 1980, it has happened at an incremental level - not a giant crash, but in a imperceptible, ‘boiling frog’ kind of way, where it just gets a little harder each year to stay where you are, lifestyle-wise. So, people don’t realize that as a group the middle class - the American triumph of the twentieth century - has fallen farther and farther behind, until the inevitable happened - they could not spend any more.

Rather than wagging a disapproving finger at people who use more and more credit, we should be asking, “Why are people being put in a position where they need credit just to stay in the same place?” Why should you have to go into debt just to sustain a normal, middle-class lifestyle? Why should you have to owe the cost of a small house just to go to college? It was not that way when our parents went to school. We are simultaneously required to spend money to keep the economy afloat, and blamed for it at the same time.

We have been systematically stolen from for 30 years and the bill has finally come due. There is nothing left to steal.

So, please, keep your sanctimonious remarks about ‘greed’ to yourself.  Go insult someone else. You have no idea what you are talking about.

The Up Side Of Hard Times - A Little Help From My Friends

When hard times are upon you, it's good to know you have people in your corner. I have gotten so much support from friends old and new - some are complete strangers, some are dear friends that I have known for years; some I've met and some I have never met in person.

One reason I have put the time and energy into blogging that I have is because of the blogging community. I have met some wondeful people who have become like family even though we have not seen each other face to face. Bloggers take care of our own.

I'd like to take a minute to say 'thanks' to my bro JurassicPork from Welcome Back to Pottersville. One of the coolest projects I've ever taken on as a blogger was a Photoshop extravaganza of "It's A Wonderful Life" recast with some of our favorite political and social characters from the Bush years. JP wrote the copy and designed the pictures; I did the Photoshop. I have to say I thought it was brilliant. I laughed my ass off while doing it.

JP has been kind enough to throw a blast my way re: our mortgage debacle.

It's this kind of thing that gives me motivation to keep on keeping on. Thanks, bro!

Obama - For the Supreme Court, Let Limbaugh Be Your Guide!

Dear President Obama,

You have been warned by your Republican friends that if you dare to pick a Supreme Court nominee who is anything less than radically right-wing, that a filibuster will be the result.

But, never fear! Your good buddy Rush Limbaugh has some words of advice for you! Sure, they may be a couple of years old, but I'm sure he means them just as much today as he did in 2005.

Rush said to tell them to shut the hell up:

"I'm tired of these Democrats acting like they won the election. Somebody needs to stand up and say, "When you win the election, you pick the nominees. Until then, shut up! Just shut up! Just go away! Bury yourselves in your rat holes and don't come out until you win an election. When you win an election, you can put all these socialist wackos, like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer, all over the court, but until then, SHUT UP! You are really irritating me."

So, come on, Obama! What are you waiting for? It doesn't matter who you pick - the Republicans are going to act like you nominated William Ayers. Might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb, right? Go for a big fat socialist wacko! The biggest, fattest, socialest wacko you can dig up! Rushbo's got your back - what more do you need?

Sincerely, Alicia Morgan

(wow - thanks to a heads-up via fellow blogger Steve J at RADAMISTO , I find that Bartcop linked to my cross-post on The Smirking Chimp! Cool beans!)

Obama's Next Supreme Court Nominee?

Anita Hill.

Hey There, Tom Hoenig - Do You Like Big Blondes?

My new financial crush? Kansas City Fed President Thomas M. Hoenig, who makes me all swoony when he advocates for breaking up the megabanks, criticizes 'too big to fail' and says oh-so-seductive things like "I don't think we have any business guaranteeing Wall Street when we're unable to guarantee Main Street."

The U.S. should bust up its megabanks and impose strict laws curbing the size and complexity of financial institutions, a top Federal Reserve official told the Huffington Post.
In a 45-minute interview this week, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas M. Hoenig, who's emerged as one of the few influential voices calling for a fundamental redesign of a broken U.S. financial system:

• Lambasted the tilted playing field that benefits Wall Street banks over Main Street banks;
• Called the idea that the U.S. needs megabanks to compete globally a "fantasy";
• Said Congress should mandate simple, easily understood and enforceable rules -- rather than guidelines -- so regulators can restrain financial firms and rein in the financial system;
• Prodded the Senate to get tougher on permanently ending Too Big To Fail by enacting laws that would take away much of the discretion currently held by policymakers (who bailed out financial firms when confronted with these decisions in late 2008);
• And criticized the Federal Reserve's ongoing policy to keep the main interest rate near zero because it "guarantee[s] a spread to Wall Street", enabling unearned profits and "encourag[ing] speculation."

Hoenig's criticisms echo those made by reformers pushing to remake a financial system that melted down in 2008 after years of excessive risk-taking and loose regulation finally took its toll, causing the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression and costing the nation more than 8 million jobs.

Talk dirty to me!

Deadbeats Debtors vs. Doing Business? Double Standard? Depends.

What's wrong with this picture?

A homeowner who walks away from an impossible mortgage which is double what his property is worth is a deadbeat who will suffer for years, credit-wise, for his decision.

But for the big boys? Not so much.

The rules are different, though, for the walkaway of all walkaways.

That title is reserved for what happened to one of New York's trophy properties, the 56-building Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village complex. Spanning 80 acres on Manhattan's east side, it's the largest single-owned residential area in the city. Its red brick buildings, built by Metropolitan Life in the 1940s for World War II veterans, are still a haven for the city's middle class.

Commercial real-estate firm Tishman and its partner, investment firm BlackRock, paid $5.4 billion to buy the property from MetLife in late 2006 -- right at the market's peak. They hoped to make money by converting rent-regulated apartments into luxury condos and raising rents.

Then the housing crash hit. The value now: $1.8 billion.

And you thought you overpaid for your house.

Tishman said last week that it was turning the property back over to creditors to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection. In recent weeks, Tishman failed to restructure $4.4 billion in debt, and couldn't find another buyer, according to a statement from the company.

Tishman exits the deal with a ding to its reputation, but it will be fine. It still has Rockefeller Center and the Chrysler Center in New York, and dozens of properties in cities worldwide. The company has about $33 billion in assets.

Helping homeowners stay in their homes is rewarding irresponsible and reckless behavior. After all, no one 'deserves' to own a home. Just because for 60 or 70 years the mantra of home ownership has been touted as the American Dream, and the tax structure ridiculously favors owning over renting, and just because people were told that buying a home is the best investment you can make, and that there was no better time than now to buy - in fact, not to buy would be the height of stupidity - doesn't mean you shouldn't have known better. Even though every financial pundit and economic expert was shouting it to the rooftops, somehow Joe and Jane Worker, with their in-depth knowledge of the intricacies of speculation, derivatives and credit swaps, should have known more than all of the Wall Street Masters of the Universes put together.


Yes, and they must be punished.

Do you have cable TV? Do you have a cell phone? Do you buy name-brands at the grocery store? Why, you irreponsible, greedy lout! Do you have a gym membership? Do you ever go to the movies instead of watching (non-cable) TV? Do you ever go out to lunch instead of brown-bagging it? Do you ever buy a latte at Starbucks? Why, you profligate spendthrift, you! No wonder you're in trouble, the way you just throw money around. That's the problem with you people. You just want everything, without ever thinking about whether or not you can afford it.

It's called moral hazard, and you deadbeats will continue to take advantage of those of us who are industrious and thrifty if you are allowed to get away with it.

Unless, of course, you are the CEO of the banks or investment firms who got rich off of stealing from homeowners. Then, the idea of being penalized in any way - by not getting your multi-million-dollar bonuses, by a salary cut, by getting your ass booted out into the street (or into jail) - is not to be considered. Why should you be punished, just because you caused the collapse of the American economy? You were just being a savvy businessman. That's the beauty of the Free Market™! We can't go around stifling initiative and discouraging entrepreneurship, can we? What are we, Russia?

Moral hazard? Don't be ridiculous. That's only for the little people.

So, how to make it better? Vilify the victims, pamper the perpetrators.

Carrot-and-stick? Sure! Here's how that works: beat the homeowners to a bloody pulp with the stick, and offer the golden carrot to the banks. If you have the temerity to offer any criticisms to the banksters whatsoever, be very sure that they are covered in 'pretty pleases' and are the mildest of suggestions only, which the banks are free to disregard - in fact, just forget anything was said, and please accept the abject apologies for implying that their behavior was anything less than honorable.

Putting the blame on homeowners for taking the advice of the experts, who are paid handsomely for their expertise, is like blaming the patient for following the advice of their doctors - not just one doctor, but the entire AMA - for prescribing an expensive medication that makes them sick. Maybe the doctors didn't know - or care - how dangerous the drug was, but they sure as hell all made a fortune from the pharmaceutical companies who gave them huge amounts of money to prescribe it, so it's no skin off their back.

And, let me tell you, this makes me sick.

Double standard? Depends.

Yes, I'm wearing them. I'm that pissed off.