Rock on.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Didn't Grow Up In An Urban Hellhole
Just adding to this, yes I spent most of my childhood/teen years in places where one car per driving age individual was necessary. I get it. What I don't get is why we deliberately built a world where the only viable transportation option involved surrounding individuals in a couple thousand pounds of very expensive metal.
Actual liberal media responds to fake liberal media
Tonight's guests on Virtually Speaking Sundays Will be Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel) and Avedon Carol. You can listen live at 5:00 PM Pacific, 8:00 PM Eastern, or anytime later here on the web stream at BlogTalkRadio.
All Things Considered
I think the ignored true narrative of this election season is that as horrible as the economy is, it's a miracle the Dems are seeming to do as well as they are and especially that Obama reamins relatively popular.
With 14.2% unemployment in Nevada, a potted plant should be able to beat Reid and he just might pull it off.
Tune in Wednesday, the day when all the pundits tell us What It All Means.
With 14.2% unemployment in Nevada, a potted plant should be able to beat Reid and he just might pull it off.
Tune in Wednesday, the day when all the pundits tell us What It All Means.
Five Cars
Took a trip to the burbs this morning to make a craigslist purchase. Guy was curious about the Philly Carshare car, and during the conversation he said that at one time he had five cars at his house, one each for mom and dad and one for each of 3 kids.
I admit I increasingly find this world baffling.
I admit I increasingly find this world baffling.
Our Rulers
I'm not sure why I continue to be surprised that David Broder is a sociopathic monster. We already have two lovely little wars and the economy sucks, I'm not sure why we have to open a third front for the freedom bombs of money to rain down on us.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Meet the Press has Tim Kaine and Haley Barbour.
This Week has Cornyn and Menendez.
Face the Nation has Peter King, Tpaw, Klobuchar, and Rendell.
Document the atrocities!
This Week has Cornyn and Menendez.
Face the Nation has Peter King, Tpaw, Klobuchar, and Rendell.
Document the atrocities!
Hawk
I don't suppose this will work; attempts to shift the frame are up against media organizations that consider Breitbart a high-flying achiever, rather than a racist and a fraud.
But it is good to press the point that we need to address climate change aggressively, at the risk of leaning too far forward, as they always say about wars that don't actually involve US security.
Hence climate hawks.
It's also worth remembering that if there is any bias in the scientific work on climate, it's more likely to understate than overstate the risk. Scientists don't like catastrophe theories, and also dislike making predictions that turn out to be wrong.
But it is good to press the point that we need to address climate change aggressively, at the risk of leaning too far forward, as they always say about wars that don't actually involve US security.
Hence climate hawks.
It's also worth remembering that if there is any bias in the scientific work on climate, it's more likely to understate than overstate the risk. Scientists don't like catastrophe theories, and also dislike making predictions that turn out to be wrong.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Urban Hellhole Real Estate Blogging
Definitely the interesting - and somewhat surprising to me - trend is that the "center city" giant premium has been in relative decline, and the somewhat more outlying neighborhoods have started to boom (I live a bit inbetween). It's actually great that the residential neighborhoods (particularly South Philly) are rebounding, as people realize that city living isn't just about living near the skyscrapers.
Upsetting The Village
I'm not watching Stewart's rally, but reading various commentaries I'm impressed at how Villagers think Stewart's fans are idiots who don't have any clue where he's coming from.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Vote
It's been a bit of mystery to me why there's this narrative about blogreading newsjunkies not being enthusiastic enough to vote. Those people vote. It's somewhat disconnected people who might be a bit too worried about their lack of employment to head out to the polls that Dems should worry about (yes I realize that there are unemployed newsjunkies too, which is why I included the phrase "somewhat disconnected"). But, just in case you were thinking about not voting...vote! I believe Tuesday is the day Dems are supposed to vote, and Wednesday for Republicans (har dee har har).
Bob Brady will get an unneeded vote for me, and Sestak and Onorato will get needed ones.
Bob Brady will get an unneeded vote for me, and Sestak and Onorato will get needed ones.
Dooming The Economy
I've been saying for some time that failing to appropriately deal with the foreclosure crisis will doom the economy.
The dream was that the economy would turnaround and then so would the housing market. That didn't happen.
The dream was that the economy would turnaround and then so would the housing market. That didn't happen.
Foxy
That there is pressure to slant news at Fox is not surprising, that it is so bad that it troubles people working there is.
But He Regularly Speaks Out
Bernanke's only reticent about encouraging expansionary fiscal policy. He has no problem with speaking about fiscal issues generally.
What If Somebody Actually Figures Out How To Spend The Money
I could be completely wrong, but for years I've suspected the Local TV Full Employment Act wasn't actually the best way for candidates to spend tens of millions of dollars. It's easy, consultants take their cut, and it appears on the teevee so it seems real, but surely there are better, and perhaps scarier, ways for candidates to spend all that money.
Show Someone The Money
I don't know all the ins and outs of funding decisions, but I hope LaHood and friends take New Jersey's tunnel money and give it to some worthy entity. You know, like Philadelphia, we could do a lot with half a MIA.
Bad
GDP growth at 2% is not enough, especially since most of it is inventory growth reflecting poor demand.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
So What Are We Going To Do About These Problems Then
So, basically, what I wanted to know was a) what if any economy improving measures are the administration planning and b) is there going to be any further actions on helping to deal with the foreclosure mess. The answers, roughly, were "yes of course but not saying what other than that infrastructure bill" and "no, not really." Overall I think the answers to the housing question were quite disappointing. I don't like the "deserving versus undeserving" rhetoric, especially in the context of the bankster bailout, and investors and second homeowners can already get help in bankruptcy court.
Obama:
Obama's correct that the first wave of foreclosures were subprime and predatory lending crappy loan terms, and that now they are largely recession-caused.
Yes, turning around the economy faster allow more people to stay in their homes. But we haven't turned around the economy, and it's unclear if Congress will pass any additional legislation, including unemployment extensions. In theory there's a lot that the executive branch can do without Congressional approval. There is still a lot of HAMP money sitting there. We own Fannie and Freddie. I just can't believe there's no way, with improved carrots and sticks, to encourage more widespread principal modifications which would both help more people keep their homes and, you know, help the economy because they'd have additional money to spend on things other than their underwater mortgages.
All of that is even without the fraudclosure mess.
Principal modification, one way or another, was always going to be the only way through this. It still is.
Obama:
The biggest challenge is how do you make sure that you are helping those who really deserve help and if they get some temporary help can get back on their feet, make their payments and move forward and stay in their home, versus either people who are speculators, own second homes that they really couldn’t afford because they’d gotten a subprime loan, and people who through no fault of their own just can’t afford their house anymore because of the change in housing values or their incomes don’t support it.The problem is that "foreclose" is the new "issue as many crappy loans as you can for securitization." Foreclosures are how the servicers are making money, and doesn't even matter if investors in those mortgages are getting the shaft, at least until there are more lawsuits. The incentives are screwed up such that servicers prefer foreclosures to short sales or sensible principal modifications.
And we’re always trying to find that sweet spot to use as much of the money that we have available to us to help those who can be helped, without wasting that money on folks who don’t deserve help. And that’s a tough balance to strike.
Obama's correct that the first wave of foreclosures were subprime and predatory lending crappy loan terms, and that now they are largely recession-caused.
The other aspect of the housing market that is worth bearing in mind is that whereas initially a lot of the problems on the foreclosure front had to do with balloon payments people didn’t see coming, adjustable rate mortgages that people didn’t clearly understand, predatory lending scams that were taking place -- now the biggest driver of foreclosure is unemployment. And so the single most important thing I can do for the housing market is actually improve economic growth as a whole. If we can get the economy moving stronger, if we can drive the unemployment rate down, that will have probably the biggest impact on foreclosures, as well as housing prices, as just about anything.
Yes, turning around the economy faster allow more people to stay in their homes. But we haven't turned around the economy, and it's unclear if Congress will pass any additional legislation, including unemployment extensions. In theory there's a lot that the executive branch can do without Congressional approval. There is still a lot of HAMP money sitting there. We own Fannie and Freddie. I just can't believe there's no way, with improved carrots and sticks, to encourage more widespread principal modifications which would both help more people keep their homes and, you know, help the economy because they'd have additional money to spend on things other than their underwater mortgages.
All of that is even without the fraudclosure mess.
Principal modification, one way or another, was always going to be the only way through this. It still is.
Can We Talk?
So how many times are we going to let the same actors screw everything up?
“We’ve had several conference calls with major lenders,” Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said in an interview, declining to specify which ones. “The banks want to sit down with the attorneys general. These meetings are being set up,” said Suthers, whose office is a member of the executive committee of the task force.
License To Steal
I'll write more once I process a bit, but one thing which Obama said which is a fairly common mantra is that we need to boost spending in the short term while credibly committing to cutting it medium and long term. This is a nice fantasy of a world of responsible politicians where the priorities of today remain the priorities of tomorrow. But for the most part today's Congress cannot tie the hand of tomorrow's Congress (or, hell, next week's vote). I remember when there was a credible plan to cut the deficit long term. It worked! It worked so well fiscal hawk Alan Greenspan decided deficit was better than surplus. And we had a massive tax cut. And then another massive tax cut. And then two lovely endless wars. The only people who actually care about deficits are Democrats, and then they reduce them and then the Republicans laugh because they have more room to do tax cuts for rich people and to lavish money on their favorite industries.
Then And Now
Then:
Now:
Wells has not halted foreclosures and says it has discovered no problems in the legal documents used to process them. The company said earlier in the week that it would review pending foreclosures for potential defects.
Now:
Wells Fargo said on Wednesday it will re-file documents on 55,000 foreclosures, drawing immediate fire from one of the state attorneys general most critical of banks in the continuing home foreclosure crisis.
Deadbeats
Even if the big banksters are of pure intent, if you cut corners you open the door to fraud from everywhere.
Ricky Rought paid cash to the Deutsche Bank National Trust Company for a four-room cabin in Michigan with the intention of fixing it up for his daughter. Instead, the bank tried to foreclose on the property and the locks were changed, court records show.
Sonya Robison is facing a foreclosure suit in Colorado after the company handling her mortgage encouraged her to skip a payment, she says, to square up for mistakenly changing the locks on her home, too.
Thomas and Charlotte Sexton, of Kentucky, were successfully foreclosed upon by a mortgage trust that, according to court records, does not exist.
Bets
Q Mine is an easy question. Will you rule out raising the retirement age to 70?
I'm glad they edited out the questions about Obama's favorite Yes record.
I'm glad they edited out the questions about Obama's favorite Yes record.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
My Day
Have not had chance to read.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________
Internal Transcript October 27, 2010
ROUNDTABLE INTERVIEW OF THE PRESIDENT
WITH BLOGGERS
Roosevelt Room
3:14 P.M. EDT
Forgotten America
It's weird how we, on one hand, have some abstract nostalgia for small town America, but that we've completely forgotten what it was like. LaHood:
Q. So tell me, what does this concept of "livability" really mean?
A. This is something I've never really talked about, but growing up, I lived on the east side of Peoria. When I was growing up, I could walk to my grade school. We had one car, but we would bike everywhere we went. We could walk to the grocery store. In those days, we had streetcars and buses, which people used to get to downtown Peoria, which was probably five miles from my house. I used to take a bus to my dad's business. I grew up in an era [of] livable neighborhoods and livable communities -- what we're really trying to offer to people around America. When there was no urban sprawl, when you didn't have to have three cars, when there weren't houses with three-car garages, everybody had one car.
The Light At The End Of The Tunnel Is Just Around The Corner
Don't worry John, there won't be another Friedman Unit. Lindsey Graham said in December we'll, well, who knows, whatever.
And, yes, I know, come December no one will ask Lindsey about those benchmarks and measurements...
"If, by December, we're not showing some progress, we're in trouble," he said. "And the question is: what is progress? Without some benchmarks and measurements, it's going to be hard to sell to the American people a continued involvement in Afghanistan."
And, yes, I know, come December no one will ask Lindsey about those benchmarks and measurements...
GOTV
Big signs popping up around the urban hellhole with pictures of Obama, the 2008 logo/colors, saying "Support Obama. Vote Nov 2nd."
Morning
Some days I feel like we're just reliving 1995 over and over again, except with a couple superfun wars.
Morning and Stuff
Echidne discusses the Selling of Youth Sexuality. Always worth a visit to her place.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Oh Well
As expected, Christie cancels rail tunnel.
Have fun choking on gas fumes in the Lincoln Tunnel drivers.
Have fun choking on gas fumes in the Lincoln Tunnel drivers.
Poor People In Cities Don't Drive
Glad that housing authorities are realizing that there's no need to tack on a $15,000/unit surcharge for affordable housing so that tenants have parking they don't need.
In earlier affordable projects, Dunn said that he hadn’t taken the same zero-parking approach. At the nearby Myrtle Avenue Apartments, for example, zoning required that they build parking for 25 percent of the units, leading to eight spaces. At the price of $25 per month, there have never been more than two spaces rented, said Dunn. The company could have built a bigger playground instead of those empty parking spots. “We’ve felt bad that we built that parking every day since,” he said.
Brain Change
Walking around my urban hellhole today I'm reminded of how not owning a car really changes the way you think about the world. Obviously cars are useful things in that they let you basically go "anywhere" at relatively low perceived marginal cost (one problem with the way we pay for cars is that a lot of things which are really marginal costs are perceived as fixed costs by people). I think I've been car free for about 6 years now, and where I can go reasonably is dictated by where I can walk, where there's decent public transportation access, where is accessible by a cab ride I'm willing to pay for, or what's accessible by a carshare car that I'm willing to pay for. While there isn't a perfect mapping, carshare costs make perceived fixed costs (insurance, maintenance, car payments) into marginal costs to some degree. All that makes the accessible world quite a bit smaller. Not saying that's good or bad, just that it is.
The Sestak Surge
He basically won his race against Specter in the last 10 days, so no surprise that would be his strategy for the general too.
Price To Rent Ratio
I knew we had a massive housing bubble based on my knowledge of the fact that there just weren't that many people in the country who could afford $800K+ homes. But if that wasn't enough evidence, the fact that rents were flat as prices were rising should have been a tip off. And it was to dirty hippies, but not to Very Serious People.
Ground Game
One reason I've had a bit of optimism coming into November is that I have heard basically nothing about any kind of organized Republican voter registration drive at any level. That doesn't mean it hasn't existed, of course, but the RNC hasn't been the most organized of institutions lately. As for Ralph Reed and GOTV, I'm voting bluster.
I'm In Your Tubes Reminding You Of Your Past
One value of blogging is the occasional ability to remind a few people that the assholes we know have long been assholes.
...also, too. And Such.
...also, too. And Such.
Contrarian
by Molly Ivors
Failed presidency? Rolling Stone begs to differ.
And then there's this heartening news.
Oh, well. Maybe it's just me.
Failed presidency? Rolling Stone begs to differ.
Taken together, Barack Obama's achievements are not only historic in their sweep but unabashedly liberal. By contrast, President Clinton's top legislative victories — NAFTA and welfare reform — catered to the right wing's faith in free markets and its loathing of big government. "When you add them all together, it's clear that Obama's accomplishments have been underrated," says Brinkley. "Saving the auto industry, health care, getting out of Iraq — these are big things for the progressive movement."
But as effective as Obama has been at implementing progressive policy, he has been lousy at capitalizing on those victories politically. Much of his activist base can't seem to get over the compromises he made to win such historic reforms, and average Americans are largely clueless about the key achievements of his presidency. Polls show that only 12 percent of Americans realize that Obama cut their taxes; indeed, twice that number thought the president had raised them. Just 29 percent understand that the stimulus boosted the economy, and 81 percent believe that the deficit-slashing health care reform will actually increase the deficit.
"You have this conundrum," says Wilentz, the Princeton historian. "Obama has an admirable record of accomplishment, but the political dynamics are all moving the other way. How do you explain that?"
Pressed on this disconnect, Axelrod argues that the president has been too busy with governance to get caught up in the scrum of politics. "We're focused on trying to build a better country for the future," he says. "The president's attitude is that the politics will ultimately take care of itself."
But heading into November, it appears that the president's high-minded and seemingly sincere disdain for politics could prove the undoing of what he has fought so hard to accomplish.
And then there's this heartening news.
Oh, well. Maybe it's just me.
Head, Forever
Forever.
Libertarianism.
MORE. This is the iconic image of our age. This is 2010, and how it will always be recalled.
America.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Free Parking For The Urban Theme Park
Unsurprisingly I'm quite amused by many of the comments for this article about parking reform in Boston, especially the people who want mandatory 1 parking per occupant+visitor spots for residential structures. In effect, this requires urban residents to pay to provide them with a parking spot when they come to town.
Pretty Random
Been mostly staying away from election and campaign pundit territory lately, but it really should be remembered that midterm House races are really pretty random.
SIGTARP
The unwillingness of political reporters to actually realize that people being abused by the HAMP program is actually a nice "Obama sucks" story they could run with is a mystery. I guess they're just lucky duckies having some funemployment.
The inspector general's report also said Treasury took too much credit for helping homeowners who did not ultimately benefit from Treasury's Home Affordable Modification Program.
Treasury has said several times that its mortgage modification program has "helped" more than 1.3 million homeowners by reducing their monthly mortgage payments, calling each of these a "success," the report said.
However, Barofsky's team took issue with the level of success, saying more than 700,000 of the modifications ultimately failed and another 173,000 remained in limbo.
"It may be true that many homeowners may benefit from temporarily reduced payments even though the modification ultimately fails," the report said. But it adds that, "Treasury's claim that 'every single person' who participates in HAMP gets a 'significant benefit' is either hopelessly out of touch with the real harm that has been inflicted on many families or a cynical attempt to define failure as success."
I'd Do More
Lowering the full benefit retirement age to 62 is a good idea. If I were your benevolent dictator I would do even more and lower the partial benefits age to 60, maybe with some unemployment eligibility.
None of this will happen, of course, because the people have failed to unanimously and peacefully declare me as your benevolent dictator.
None of this will happen, of course, because the people have failed to unanimously and peacefully declare me as your benevolent dictator.
Angels In America
It really was a truly sublime theater experience. I saw the Oskar Eustis production at Providence's Trinity Rep. which was incredible.
The HBO movie was pretty good too.
The HBO movie was pretty good too.
Limits
I'm also not especially optimistic that decades of policy favoring auto-centric development and limiting or outright banning anything else will turn around very quickly. And judging from responses I often get on this blog, I'm not optimistic that it's easy to convince people of what the problem is. I don't mean that I've failed to get everyone on board with my "move everyone to Manhattan" plan, I mean that people seem to reject that notion that car-centric development is, in part, the result of policies that are in place and not simply the a reflection of consumer preferences. As I say repeatedly, but don't feel like people quite get, in my urban hellhole it would be illegal to build my block today as it is currently configured. Dedicated off street parking would be required. Of course even in the urban hellhole some people want properties with dedicated off street parking, but this is not left for the market to decide, instead it is mandated by law.
Also, as Matt says, even people who want to live in dense urban hellholes are strangely resistant to any increased density. Personally I'd welcome it. My neighborhood could use more residents. More residents create more local demand and provide business for local establishments, giving me a greater variety of local options within walking distance. I'm not saying I'd want my urban hellhole to become Manhattan dense, but I would certainly welcome some more neighbors.
Also, as Matt says, even people who want to live in dense urban hellholes are strangely resistant to any increased density. Personally I'd welcome it. My neighborhood could use more residents. More residents create more local demand and provide business for local establishments, giving me a greater variety of local options within walking distance. I'm not saying I'd want my urban hellhole to become Manhattan dense, but I would certainly welcome some more neighbors.
Morning
I wonder what younger people (teens) think about why the hell we went to war in Iraq. I lived through the whole nonsense as an adult and I still have no fucking idea.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
The anti-bobbleheads
Digby and Watertiger on Virtually Speaking Sundays, starting about now. You can listen here.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
Happy Hour Thread
New grill is curing, then there will be steaks.
...here's a re-run I saw linked to randomly somewhere.
...here's a re-run I saw linked to randomly somewhere.
Movie Biz
I think one thing which hasn't changed since I was a teenager is that going to the movies remains one of the few parent approved going out without any kind of parental authority watching over you activities. That doesn't help the high brow movie industry, but it does help the movie industry in general.
Personally, I actually enjoy TV more than movies. There's an inherent limitation in the roughly 2 hour format that doesn't appeal to me.
Personally, I actually enjoy TV more than movies. There's an inherent limitation in the roughly 2 hour format that doesn't appeal to me.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has Van Hollen and the very serious Karl Rove.
Meet the Press has Michael Steele.
This Week has Tim Kaine and Hugh Shelton.
It's like a weird alternative reality.
Meet the Press has Michael Steele.
This Week has Tim Kaine and Hugh Shelton.
It's like a weird alternative reality.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Via Digby (Who Else?)
Eight False Things the Public "Knows" Prior to Election Day. It's a handy guide.
Run From Yourselves
The run against the Democratic party thing didn't work so well in 1994 and to the extent that it's being used now (not nearly as much from what I see) it probably won't work either. It's something that can work for individual politicians, but if too much of the party is doing it then it's completely self-destructive. We had a decade or more when a significant portion of the party could have been called Democrats against Democrats.
Rocket Docket
I'm not as optimistic that judges will be all that concerned about whether banks actually have standing to foreclose. People in those homes are bad and owe somebody money and deserve to be chucked out. It doesn't really matter who they owe the money to.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Binge Eating
FDIC gobbles 3 banks in Florida: Gordon Bank, Progress Bank, and First Bank of Jacksonville
Dropping Money From Helicopters
I actually don't even know the legality of the helicopter drop, or of more realistic options which are essentially the same thing, but to me it is the only Fed action which is likely to be of much help.
Running Out
I gather there's some optimism in DC that things like this can be fixed in a lame duck session.
I am not so optimistic.
I am not so optimistic.
My Critics Sure Seem Unfair
Of course I don't know if Juan Williams is deliberately lying. Maybe he's recounting what he thought he said, hell maybe it's even what he meant to say, but it isn't, in fact, what he said.
Work With Us
I expect the Republicans will succeed in making "Do Exactly What We Say" the "compromise" position between "Doing Nothing" and "Doing What Obama Wants."
Gentrification
My one big fear about urban gentrification is that poor people get priced out of neighborhoods that have access to mass transit.
Williams
I don't really have an opinion about whether Williams should have been fired for his particular comments, though the important point is that he wasn't just fired for those comments. I'm glad he's gone mostly because he really wasn't any good at his job, as those of us who remember his TOTN days especially can attest. And everyone in the media should really think about why he was so often, and not just on Fox, assigned the "liberal" slot when he's, you know, not very liberal.
Desert
I'm sure people disagree with me on this one, but one thing which frustrates me is the degree to which we want any green spaces to be devoid of things that humans basically need to get through the day (food, drink, bathrooms, benches). I'm not saying we should cover the National Mall in TGI Fridays, but we should recognize that humans need things and strike an appropriate balance.
Then we start our two mile trek through the Cemetery, with a grand finale at the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Water fountains are available, but limited and often not working. Experienced groups plan ahead and have bottled water for their students, ideally one for the walk and one to replenish afterwards.
I don't mean to just pick on Arlington, which clearly has bigger management problems right now than fixing their water fountains. Visiting the Memorials, the Capitol, even the Smithsonians, require a lot of walking with limited bathroom and water facilities. The National Mall is a virtual desert. Having a place to regroup, get hydrated, pick up or drop off a rain jacket, and so on isn't really a luxury when you are responsible for forty to fifty children.
Austerity Madness
There are places where it can be argued that austerity is bad but the only available option. It is not the case in Britain right now. Good luck with that.
Indeed, there has been a noticeable change in the rhetoric of the government of Prime Minister David Cameron over the past few weeks — a shift from hope to fear. In his speech announcing the budget plan, George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer, seemed to have given up on the confidence fairy — that is, on claims that the plan would have positive effects on employment and growth.
Instead, it was all about the apocalypse looming if Britain failed to go down this route. Never mind that British debt as a percentage of national income is actually below its historical average; never mind that British interest rates stayed low even as the nation’s budget deficit soared, reflecting the belief of investors that the country can and will get its finances under control. Britain, declared Mr. Osborne, was on the “brink of bankruptcy.”
What happens now? Maybe Britain will get lucky, and something will come along to rescue the economy. But the best guess is that Britain in 2011 will look like Britain in 1931, or the United States in 1937, or Japan in 1997. That is, premature fiscal austerity will lead to a renewed economic slump. As always, those who refuse to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Trolling My Own Blog
Really don't think the whole electric car thing is going to end up working very well.
Deadbeats
Our system worked reasonably well as long as it was really really not in the financial interest of banks to foreclose on residential real estate. Now that the incentives are screwed up, their asymmetric power is going to screw all of us.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Michael and Pamella Negrea have never been late on a mortgage payment in the 15 years they've owned their home in Eastlake. But they've been foreclosed on three times.
Martin and Kirsten Davis, meanwhile, lost their home in Cleveland to foreclosure two years ago. The reason: a mess that started when they accidentally paid 14 cents too little on their monthly payment.
And Michael Rendes of Berea had his mortgage sold last year to Bank of America. The bank foreclosed on him in November, after insisting for months that it didn't hold his loan and wouldn't accept his payments.
No Tunnel For You
Chris Christie is still saying no tunnel.
One thing that's maddening is that while this argument isn't universally valid, it's certainly the case that in this situation the only possible relief for drivers both into and in Manhattan is improved mass transit. So even if you just love your cars, you should be a big supporter.
One thing that's maddening is that while this argument isn't universally valid, it's certainly the case that in this situation the only possible relief for drivers both into and in Manhattan is improved mass transit. So even if you just love your cars, you should be a big supporter.
Williams
There shouldn't be anything wrong with people being honest about their unconscious prejudices. We aren't all Stephen Colbert, and honest discussion about such things should be encouraged and not discouraged. But as Adam says, Williams wasn't admitting to something he was not proud of, he was justifying it.
We're Laughing At You
When the drooling hordes started writing stuff on the internets, I think one of the early reactions was the horror of establishment media figures at realizing that people didn't take them or their system as seriously as they did.
Future Compliance
We're really at the point where no sane person should get a mortgage given the kind of fraud and theft that's out there.
Once we came to a point where servicers could make more money by foreclosing than not foreclosing, the game was over.
Despite my best efforts to answer all of Mr. Whelan’s questions, the article contains a number of misstatements. First, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson did not face a foreclosure hearing after simply stopping payment – they paid the entire amount due per a statement sent to them by GMAC, and paid by certified check. GMAC mistakenly refused the check, alleging it was an NSF payment (not possible with certified funds), then placed the couple in foreclosure. I was simply trying to track the facts of the payment by deposing a witness who had sworn in court documents that she had reviewed the entire file and was familiar with the payment history, when, as it turned out, she was not only not familiar with the payment history, but the substance of her entire affidavit was false, including the allegation that the affidavit was sworn to in front of a notary. These were substantive questions I needed answers to – not an excuse for a delay. Further, the judge did not “throw out the case” – it is still pending, with GMAC still suing the Jacksons, years later.
I, and most of my fellow consumer attorneys who are members of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, do not raise these issues for delay – we raise them because we all have cases (this is the bulk of my foreclosure defense practice) where all or part of the foreclosure is purely the fault of the servicer or mill law firm – from homeowners whose payments were misrouted by the servicer, to servicers who simply changed the address of the property and then force-placed flood insurance, to servicers who ignore insurance plans the borrowers paid for (all examples from my cases) to servicers who refuse to even accept HAMP-type loan modification documents – all are substantive, real problems that were not the fault of the borrowers. The deposition was, in the Jackson case, merely an effort to get at the truth of the reversed payment – instead, GMAC admitted to wholesale manufacture of court documents, then promised to fix the practice, then continued that practice unabated for 4 more years.
Once we came to a point where servicers could make more money by foreclosing than not foreclosing, the game was over.
Turning Lemons into a Lemon Party
Hard to believe, but David Broder has managed to finagle another gig with a bunch of Republicans. Tolkein and Lovecraft stories are more connected to reality than David Broder's perception of actual reality.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Finally
Bye Juan:
NPR has terminated its contract with Juan Williams, one of its senior news analysts, after he made comments about Muslims on the Fox News Channel.
NPR said in a statement that it gave Mr. Williams notice of his termination on Wednesday night.
The move came after Mr. Williams, who is also a Fox News political analyst, appeared on the “The O’Reilly Factor” on Monday. On the show, the host, Bill O’Reilly, asked him to respond to the notion that the United States was facing a “Muslim dilemma.” Mr. O’Reilly said, “The cold truth is that in the world today jihad, aided and abetted by some Muslim nations, is the biggest threat on the planet.”
Mr. Williams said he concurred with Mr. O’Reilly.
He continued: “I mean, look, Bill, I’m not a bigot. You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”
Funner and Funner
This will never end.
So how widespread was this double-pledging of mortgages? How many people have homes that multiple entities think they are entitled to foreclose on? How screwed up is all the paperwork that nobody has any clue?
In a complaint filed this month in Washington, D.C. federal court, Bank of America said the FDIC has wrongly denied claims by Ocala noteholders to recover from Colonial Bank and an Illinois lender also in receivership, Platinum Community Bank.
Bank of America accused executives at Taylor Bean, Colonial and Platinum of having fraudulently schemed to "double- and triple-pledge mortgages and steal assets" to hide their faltering conditions as the housing market declined.
So how widespread was this double-pledging of mortgages? How many people have homes that multiple entities think they are entitled to foreclose on? How screwed up is all the paperwork that nobody has any clue?
Finally
After years of conservatives falsely claiming that Media Matters was Soros funded, Media Matters is finally Soros funded.
It Won't Happen
But there is a sound policy case for some sort of conditional lowering of the minimum SS/Medicare eligibility age, perhaps for people who have run out of unemployment benefits. I mean, if I ran the zoo I'd just lower the age, but we just don't do simple policy anymore.
An Economy Built On Fraud
Aside from any concept of justice or retribution, the problem with making the banksters whole and leaving them in place is that they'll just continue to do what they've been doing. Fraud is what they know, it's their vision of how to do business. There's no reason to expect anything to change.
It's Their World
We just live in it.
In a notice recently released by the CFTC, Painter said Judge Bruce Levine, his longtime colleague, had a secret agreement with a former Republican chairwoman of the agency to stand in the way of investors filing complaints with the agency.
"On Judge Levine's first week on the job, nearly twenty years ago, he came into my office and stated that he had promised Wendy Gramm, then Chairwoman of the Commission, that we would never rule in a complainant's favor," Painter wrote. "A review of his rulings will confirm that he fulfilled his vow," Painter wrote.
Good Luck With That
Britain planning to starve its way to prosperity.
He said that 490,000 public sector jobs would be lost over the four-year savings program and the size of government departments in London would be cut by one third. Public spending would be cut by a total 83 billion pounds, or around $130 billion, by 2015.
Morning and Stuff
It seems O'Donnell is having problems gathering supporters for her rallies. Not only is she going out of state to find volunteers, she's offering to pay as well. Very grass rooty.
Link to Politico
Link to Politico
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Same As They Always Have Been
It's quite fascinating pundits still haven't figured out that the tea partiers are still the same racist authoritarian pro-big-business social conservative desperately afraid that the "wrong" people might be getting some of their tax money lunatics that have always been with us.
Good
I was a wee bit worried the military would ignore the judge.
On twitter Dan Choi said he was going to enlist in the marines.
On twitter Dan Choi said he was going to enlist in the marines.
Even More Funner
Awesome.
This is the same as what I linked earlier, with added info of who the players are. Pimco, BlackRock, and the NY Fed are BFDs.
Pacific Investment Management Co., BlackRock Inc. and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York are seeking to force Bank of America Corp. to repurchase soured mortgages packaged into $47 billion of bonds by its Countrywide Financial Corp. unit, people familiar with the matter said.
This is the same as what I linked earlier, with added info of who the players are. Pimco, BlackRock, and the NY Fed are BFDs.
Selling America
When I was a resident of Pvovidence, Vo Dilun, the city did a deal which sold off its parking meter/tickets operations to a private company. Unsurprisingly, it was a disaster and the city realized that super insane aggressive ticketing was actually not good city policy. Fortunately, they wisely included a "cancel at any time for any reason" clause and soon canceled the contract.
Chicago is not so lucky.
Chicago is not so lucky.
Congress Has Long Been Full Of The Crazy
I had a conversation with someone about this recently, whether all the crazy Senate candidates are some new phenomenon. I argued that, no, there are plenty of crazies already in the Senate (and House), just that maybe the new crop are just giving the raw version instead of dressing it up in coded language so the press can pretend to not notice.
Some Things Are Too Crazy To Contemplate
I've been mulling this one over since yesterday, finding it somewhat difficult to believe. Maybe if someone sells Fred Hiatt's mortgage to several entities he'll have more respect for quaint property rights notions.
Shovel Ready
It is true that spending money on infrastructure projects isn't always as quick and easy as we might like, but it really isn't true that it's extremely difficult. Give some money to my city. There are plenty of useful things to spend it on here.
Getting Funner
Sadly I doubt anything will help the real victims, but at least we'll have a bit of fun watching the fight.
HOUSTON, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ --Today, the holders of over 25% of the Voting Rights in more than $47 billion of Countrywide-issued RMBS sent a Notice of Non-Performance (Notice) to Countrywide Home Loan Servicing, as Master Servicer ("Countrywide Servicing"), and to Bank of New York, as Trustee, identifying specific covenants in 115 Pooling and Servicing Agreements (PSAs) that the Holders allege Countrywide Servicing has failed to perform.
The Holders' Notice alleges that each of these failures has materially affected the rights of the Certificateholders under the relevant PSAs. Under Section 7.01 of the PSAs, if any of the cited failures "continues unremedied for a period of 60 days after the date on which written notice of such failure has been given ... to the Master Servicer and the Trustee by the Holders of Certificates evidencing not less than 25% of the Voting Rights evidenced by the Certificates," that failure constitutes an Event of Default under the PSAs.
Internalize
Mike Lux:
Whatever the merits either way, one thing I've noticed is that "free trade"* is one of those issues about which anyone who works in DC politics quickly internalizes the Very Serious Person position, which is that, politics be damned, anything labeled "free trade" is inherently good and only very silly dirty fucking hippies oppose it. In truth, of course, basically everybody in the country hates everything called "free trade" and politicians left and right would benefit from running against it.
*"Free trade" is in quotes because many things having nothing to do with actual free trade are given that label.
Ohio Senate. Everyone wrote Lee Fisher off months ago in this race, and just today a public poll showed him 22 points down. But I have seen two other polls in the last 4 days that show the race in single digits, and I have also seen polling numbers that show 30% of Portman's voters have the potential to go bye-bye if they know about his role as Bush's trade rep shipping jobs overseas.
Whatever the merits either way, one thing I've noticed is that "free trade"* is one of those issues about which anyone who works in DC politics quickly internalizes the Very Serious Person position, which is that, politics be damned, anything labeled "free trade" is inherently good and only very silly dirty fucking hippies oppose it. In truth, of course, basically everybody in the country hates everything called "free trade" and politicians left and right would benefit from running against it.
*"Free trade" is in quotes because many things having nothing to do with actual free trade are given that label.
Incredibly Expensive Things We Couldn't Possibly Afford
LA subway extension would cost less than one MIA (months in Afghanistan).
Where Are We Going
I think Herbert basically gets it right. Obviously most of this is about reality, about the fact that the economy truly sucks and people are getting thrown out of their homes. But some of it is about a failure to present an alternative message. We're Not Republicans might work, but it isn't awesome.
Currency Gibberish
We want China's currency value to rise, but WE WILL NEVER DEVALUE THE MIGHTY DOLLAR.
Anyone else notice the mixed message?
Anyone else notice the mixed message?
Grifters
Of course Newt's scams are aided and abetted by all the free promotion that the disgraced former Speakers gets on every news outlet.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Any Arrests Yet?
Seriously?
TAMPA — Some employees of Florida's largest "foreclosure mill" were given jewelry, cars and houses from the firm, in exchange for altering and forging key documents used to obtain foreclosures, according to a statement released today by the Florida Attorney General's Office.
The office released transcripts of two interviews it conducted for its investigation into the law offices of David J. Stern. The sworn statements were from Kelly Scott, a former employee of Stern's and Mary R. Cordova, a former employee of G&Z, a process server used by Stern's office. The women's testimonies appear to back up that of former Stern's employee Tammie Lou Kapusta, whose statement was released last week. The three statements paint a picture of a secret system designed to speed up the foreclosure process. Attorneys and staff members forged signatures, changed dates, passed around notary stamps, the women say in interviews with attorney general's staff.
Building Height Restrictions Lead to More Tall Buildings
I think an underappreciated impact of DC's building height restriction is that instead of a downtown district with some very tall buildings, and then not-so-tall buildings elsewhere, you have an evolution towards a city of uniform 12ish story buildings. These aren't skyscraper tall, but it obviously pushes anything resembling single family dwellings (attached or not) way way way outside of the downtown area. Contra a commenter there, I think the preservation of 2-3 story residential buildings in much of Philadelphia has a lot to do with zoning in that while we allow tall buildings some places we don't actually allow them everywhere. But it is also the case that if our skyscrapers were smaller then medium rise buildings would spread farther than they have. That isn't necessarily bad thing, but the point is that restricting skyscrapers creates more medium rises at the expense of more human scale buildings.
The Great Depression Lasted A Long Time
Obviously what we're dealing with right now isn't nearly as severe, but there really isn't any reason to expect that the great animal spirits will turn things around. On the fiscal side I don't think we can expect to see anything other than maybe bandaids, and I'm not optimistic that enough will be done on the monetary side either. Don't think Helicopter Ben will earn his nickname.
Nothing To See Here
The AP (no link yet) informs me that Bank of America is going to resubmit paperwork in 102,000 foreclosure cases.
Spoonfeeding The Stupid
Every now and then the press starts running with something so transparently stupid that you know they're just doing the obligatory "both sides do it" article to keep Republicans happy. This is similar to the lies peddled about how Democrats got lots of Abramoff money too.
How Many Years In
I imagine decades of no job growth could pass and we'll still be mocking Japan for all their policy mistakes and their lack of "tolerance for creative destruction." You know, how they engaged in policies designed to prop up their bankrupt banking sector at the expense of the rest of the economy.
Just A Paperwork Problem
The narrative that one set of banksters is pushing is that this is all just a paperwork problem, that ultimately we have debtors who owe money to creditors who aren't paying and even if all the paperwork wasn't handled quite correctly that is still the case. But of course if you decide that the legal framework that was set up can be ignored, you're going to invite extreme fraud into the system. If banksters can just steal homes on their say so, they, you know, will, as will others.
The Banksters Destroyed Everything
As always seems to be the case, the people in charge seem to be clueless about what is really happening.
Enthusiasm Gap
I'd be a lot more enthusiastic if I wasn't worried about a lame duck attack on Social Security. Which, you know, isn't popular.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Our media, not theirs
You've seen their bobbleheads, now listen to ours at Virtually Speaking Sundays, where tonight's guests are nyceve and Stuart Zechman.
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
Let's You And Him Fight
At first people in the elite business press wrongly seemed to think this was banksters versus homeowners, so of course the banksters should win. In reality it's bankster vs. bankster. Homeowners are just caught in the crossfire.
Foreclosure Hell
Maybe somebody should have done something.
Their loan originally was with subprime lender Argent Mortgage, then LaSalle Bank, then Wilkshire Financial. The loan was sold to Bank of America in September 2009, although the couple said they weren't initially notified. They made their September and October payments to Wilkshire.
"I had no clue. I just made my payment," Michael Rendes said. "I knew I had a mortgage." Wilkshire then told him the loan had been sold. He called Bank of America many times, but bank employees couldn't find the couple in the system. They tried using names, Social Security numbers, the parcel number, dates of birth, everything.
Their two payments were cashed but apparently not forwarded to Bank of America, or at least not posted to the couple's account. In November, they received a letter that they were in default.
The couple had the money to get caught up, but they said Bank of America wouldn't take it.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has Howard Dean, Liz Cheney, and Lindsey Graham.
This Week has Coons, O'Donnell, and Maria Shriver.
Meet the Press has Gibbs, Michael Bennet, and Ken Buck.
Document the atrocities!
This Week has Coons, O'Donnell, and Maria Shriver.
Meet the Press has Gibbs, Michael Bennet, and Ken Buck.
Document the atrocities!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Winning Messages
Not really sure what the professional left is supposed to do about calls for job and spending cuts when there's 9.6% unemployment.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Outsourcing
Dday is faster than me. It's hard to type on this bus.
I'll just add that even if nobody is in anyway concerned about the plight of screwed homeowners, a failed HAMP program (or general sensible way to deal with foreclosure mess) is a big reason for the failure of the economy to turnaround. So, you know, suck on that.
I'll just add that even if nobody is in anyway concerned about the plight of screwed homeowners, a failed HAMP program (or general sensible way to deal with foreclosure mess) is a big reason for the failure of the economy to turnaround. So, you know, suck on that.
Blabbity Blabbity Blah
I'll have more on this later when I have more time, but perhaps Treasury could've figured out how to do a bit more with the $50 billion they were allocated instead of spending basically none of it.
Fraud
Not sure there's anything new here that hasn't been in other things I've read recently, but it's a good overview.
As An Example
I've never been able to figure out how some sort of mass principal modification wouldn't have benefited the system. Maybe not all stakeholders equally, but really anything has to be better than the tremendous costs and inefficiencies of massive foreclosures, and that's even leading aside the cost of human misery.
Culture
I think too often many of us have tried to come up with elaborate financial/economic rationalizations for why the banksters have approached all of this the way they have. The simpler explanation is that they're sociopathic assholes who think that everyone else must suffer for their mistakes. It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with their companies' bottom lines. Remember, they already destroyed their companies once.
Helicopter Ben
Apparently he's going to do something after all.
As I've said all along, I don't think that anything the Fed is likely to do is going to help the economy much, but even a little is something.
As I've said all along, I don't think that anything the Fed is likely to do is going to help the economy much, but even a little is something.
Morning and Shit
What Digby said. Cause it really can't be said often enough and yet I'm still hearing that it's just a matter of sloppy paperwork. No it isn't.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
They Fucked The Whole Thing Up
Really quite amazing.
It is not yet clear what the consequences would be if large quantities of mortgage-backed securities turn out to be defective - or how the trouble could be solved.
"If the basic principles of property law have been violated here . . . it may be extremely difficult to fix," said a source involved in government oversight of financial institutions, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the uncertainties involved. "There is a chain of questions that no one seems to know the answer to."
Big And Serious
Elizabeth Warren:
Already missing the good old days, when anybody behind on their mortgage could be foreclosed upon by any random entity just because.
She additionally stated that major servicers' voluntary foreclosure freezes mean two things. First, this problem "is big, and it is serious," and second, the voluntary moratoria represent evidence that "the issuers themselves are trying to get this problem solved," she said.
Already missing the good old days, when anybody behind on their mortgage could be foreclosed upon by any random entity just because.
Never Let Them Die
Expectation of perpetual bailout is the answer. Bad news is good news, crisis is opportunity.
It's Pat
Once upon a time Pat Sajak had a blog under the auspices of some conservative organization or another, where he said all kinds of stupid things. He got all butthurt when the internets were mean to him and so he shut it down.
This is from memory, but around 15-18 years ago I remember seeing Pat give a talk to a conservative audience on CSPAN. I remember it being his kind of political coming out show. It was a complete disaster. Basically I remember him saying horrible things about poor people and minorities, without the practiced acceptable dogwhistle "code." Even the conservative audience members were squirming.
This is from memory, but around 15-18 years ago I remember seeing Pat give a talk to a conservative audience on CSPAN. I remember it being his kind of political coming out show. It was a complete disaster. Basically I remember him saying horrible things about poor people and minorities, without the practiced acceptable dogwhistle "code." Even the conservative audience members were squirming.
By The Numbers
Obviously cause and effect go both ways, but anyone who can't figure out why the economy isn't rebounding faster should just meditate on this fact for a little while.
As I said many months ago:
About 11.5 percent of borrowers are in default today, up from 5.7 percent from two years earlier.
As I said many months ago:
Happy to be wrong, but the failure to deal with the underlying problems in housing and finance under the theory that prices will magically rebound and everything will then be ok is going to doom the economy....
All A Sham
Laws are for little people.
Legal documents obtained by the Financial Times suggest that Wells Fargo [WFC 24.875 -0.935 (-3.62%) ], the second-largest US mortgage servicer, also used a “robo signer”. Unlike its rivals, Wells Fargo has not halted foreclosures.
The San Francisco-based bank said on Tuesday it was reviewing some pending cases, but it has maintained that it has checks and balances designed to prevent serious procedural lapses.
In a sworn deposition on March 9 seen by the FT, Xee Moua, identified in court documents as a vice-president of loan documentation for Wells, said she signed as many as 500 foreclosure-related papers a day on behalf of the bank.
First Cup of Coffee Thread
Damn, the smartest guys in the room really screwed up the housing market. I wonder what they're working on now?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
"Perhaps"
I really don't get the complete lack of concern for property rights.
If Citi doesn't own the mortgage then the woman doesn't owe them any money. If Citi doesn't own the mortgage then it isn't the case that "perhaps" they shouldn't foreclose on her, it's the case that they have no legal right to foreclosure. Citi can't just take possesion of a house, or decide someone owes them money, just because they say so.
And, yes, maybe one day Fannie will get around to a foreclosure process, but Citi cannot just assert control of the mortgage and the property on their say so.
...adding, the view just seems to be "well, she deserves to lose her house so it doesn't really matter who takes it from her."
CitiMortgage modified D’Amelio’s mortgage but she defaulted anyway. Now she claims that Citi cannot foreclose upon her because Fannie Mae is the owner of her mortgage. Her lawyer argues that the mortgage was improperly assigned to Citi, and is contesting the foreclosure on those grounds.
Let’s grant D’Amelio not only the facts but also her interpretation of foreclosure law. Perhaps Citi, which purchased the mortgage in late 2006 and sold it to Fannie Mae in early 2007, shouldn’t be able to foreclose. Maybe the MERS system somehow vitiated any security interest attached to her house through the mortgage.
If Citi doesn't own the mortgage then the woman doesn't owe them any money. If Citi doesn't own the mortgage then it isn't the case that "perhaps" they shouldn't foreclose on her, it's the case that they have no legal right to foreclosure. Citi can't just take possesion of a house, or decide someone owes them money, just because they say so.
And, yes, maybe one day Fannie will get around to a foreclosure process, but Citi cannot just assert control of the mortgage and the property on their say so.
...adding, the view just seems to be "well, she deserves to lose her house so it doesn't really matter who takes it from her."
More Retail
Even in urban hellholes it's nearly impossible to convert stuff that's zoned residential into retail. In my urban hellhole you often get resistance to any new establishment attempting to operate even in a currently empty zoned retail space. I'm not saying that all opposition to such changes is wrong, just that there's incredible resistance to change as neighborhood populations change.
Timmeh
There are ways that this can make sense. Properties become empty before foreclosure actually happens, and a moratorium might limit peoples' willingness to purchase foreclosed properties. But, still, has there been any step taken with respect to housing which wasn't in the banks' best interests? Any? Serious question.
Curious
I wonder at what point the smartest guys in the room realized it was time to go ask for $700 billion from the government
Riding the Rails
Hard to imagine anyone actually traveling city to city, as opposed to somewhere farther out, actually flies between DC and NYC.
Stepped up business travel in the Northeast helped Amtrak boost ridership by nearly 6 percent to a record 28.7 million passengers in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, the railroad said Monday.
...
All of Amtrak's lines experienced growth as the railroad competed more heavily with air travel in its flagship Boston-New York-Washington market. Amtrak officials said in a statement that the rail agency has a 65 percent share of the air-rail market between Washington and New York.
Morning
It seems Sharia Law is coming our way via Campbell's Soup. They've introduced a line of halal soups. Oh noes!
(Link to Digby)
(Link to Digby)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Even More Thread
I'm sure some conservative said something stupid today that you can all discuss. Or post recipes. Whatever.
...actually I suppose this is worth discussing.
Maybe somebody should do something?
Sigh.
...actually I suppose this is worth discussing.
NEW YORK (AP) -- In an effort to rush through thousands of home foreclosures since 2007, financial institutions and their mortgage servicing departments hired hair stylists, Walmart floor workers and people who had worked on assembly lines and installed them in "foreclosure expert" jobs with no formal training, a Florida lawyer says.
In depositions released Tuesday, many of those workers testified that they barely knew what a mortgage was. Some couldn't define the word "affidavit." Others didn't know what a complaint was, or even what was meant by personal property. Most troubling, several said they knew they were lying when they signed the foreclosure affidavits and that they agreed with the defense lawyers' accusations about document fraud.
Maybe somebody should do something?
Sigh.
Now They're Waking Up
Not sure if I posted this thought on the blog or not, but I've been saying for awhile that the foreclosure fraud scandal will blow up once the investors realize they're fucked too.
Not that it will likely help out homeowners. And one of those investors is Uncle Sam.
Not that it will likely help out homeowners. And one of those investors is Uncle Sam.
Reality Bites
The continuing disconnect of our elite overlords from the simple fact that for 18 months unemployment has been above 9% in the wake of the devastation of the housing bubble is impressive.
Trust Them!
Barry has a good piece on why this foreclosure fraud stuff actually matters. My shorter version is there are two main pieces: 1) the banksters established their own land title system without any legal authority to do so, and 2) the potential fraud and illegality (signature and server forgeries, improper notary process, outright theft).
You can't save "the system" by destroying it, but it's what the banskters want. This guy can't defend the legality, but still thinks it's awesome, you know, just because.
You can't save "the system" by destroying it, but it's what the banskters want. This guy can't defend the legality, but still thinks it's awesome, you know, just because.
A Very Simple Economic History
Would tell a story of increase in the scale and scope of commoditization. But some things, for good reason, resist that process.
If You Prick the Housing Market, Does It Not Bleed?
It seems abstract concepts take precedence over mere mortals.
High School Spycam
Case is settled.
I find it fascinating that the majority of the Worst People In The World, otherwise known as newspaper site commenters, think it's ok for school administration to spy on their children.
I find it fascinating that the majority of the Worst People In The World, otherwise known as newspaper site commenters, think it's ok for school administration to spy on their children.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Simple
Given the absurdly bad unemployment projections years out, now is not the time for normal worries about the slow speed at which fiscal stimulus can trickle out in practice. We don't just need stimulus right now, we need stimulus two years from now.
LA just needs some money.
Progressive Hunter
I think there are necessary subtleties when talking about the issue of whether crazy people or the people who inspire them are responsible for their actions. It isn't black and white, and generally I choose "crazy person" or their mental illness as the responsible party. Having said that, it is the case that Beck really is getting close to, and crossing, that line by using obvious violence-endorsing rhetoric even as he disavows the violence part.
Nobel Fun
Ed Glaeser provides a decent description for why these guys just won a bunch of money.
Short version: as with many things, when you move away from Econ 101 models to add legitimate complications, lots of results change. This work is basically about adding search and matching into labor market models. Firms and workers are both looking for a perfect match, but will settle for an imperfect match as at some point that's better than continuing the search.
Short version: as with many things, when you move away from Econ 101 models to add legitimate complications, lots of results change. This work is basically about adding search and matching into labor market models. Firms and workers are both looking for a perfect match, but will settle for an imperfect match as at some point that's better than continuing the search.
Local Blackouts
Maybe it actually made some sense once upon a time, but I continue to be amazed the the NFL still enforces its local TV blackout rules. Certainly a smart way to grow your fanbase.
Hysteresis
A word I was using before it was cool.
This is really serious. I know I'm all glum and panicky these days, because I don't think we're actually on the path to recovery. The main lesson of the Great Depression was that an extended period of mass unemployment could happen, and we seem to have forgotten most of the other lessons which involved how to prevent it from happening.
This is really serious. I know I'm all glum and panicky these days, because I don't think we're actually on the path to recovery. The main lesson of the Great Depression was that an extended period of mass unemployment could happen, and we seem to have forgotten most of the other lessons which involved how to prevent it from happening.
Too Easy
It's weird what conservatarians go after.
Paul is correct that one half of the residents of his state are not poor (below poverty line), but 17% are.
Paul is correct that one half of the residents of his state are not poor (below poverty line), but 17% are.
More Like This
Now we're getting somewhere.
Over to President Snowe, I guess.
WASHINGTON – President Obama will join mayors, governors and current and former transportation secretaries on Monday to argue for a major initiative to repair and modernize the nation’s roads, rails and air systems, just weeks before an election that is all but certain to expand the size of his Republican opposition in Congress.
A new report from economists at the Treasury and Mr. Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers concludes that this is the “optimal time” to invest in public infrastructure because of high unemployment and lower prices in the construction industry, which has been hit harder than any other sector by the puncturing of the bubble in housing and commercial real estate.
...
As with many issues, paying for any initiative is the major divide between the parties. While Mr. Obama in September proposed a long-term solution to create a national infrastructure bank, which would seek private and public partnerships to invest in projects selected on merit, he seeks $50 billion in federal aid up front and he would offset that spending by closing an array of tax breaks for the oil and gas industry.
Over to President Snowe, I guess.
Act
Yes it will be good if the Fed acts, but I am still rather pessimistic about how effective it will be. What we need is massive fiscal stimulus.
Chris Piss
Well, what we used to call him when I taught at the LSE...
The 2010 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science was awarded on Monday to Peter A. Diamond, Dale T. Mortensen and Christopher A. Pissarides for their work on markets where buyers and sellers have difficulty finding each other, in particular in labor markets.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Opportunity
Repeating myself for the trillionth time here, but this country really does have some serious infrastructure issues. Stuff is old and deteriorating. Many of these repair jobs aren't especially complicated, though the longer they're deferred the more complicated and expensive they become. While paying people to dig holes and fill them up again would be better than not doing that, we're "fortunate" enough for there to be plenty of things that really should be done in this country. Someone just needs to get on the teevee and make the case.
That Was Their Moment
Of course conservatives in Congress miss the 90s, that was when any idiotic subcommittee chair could get his face on the teevee every night with the latest bogus scandal du jour.
When The Music Stops
Through all of this, there's been the idea that nobody but the homeowners are going to eat it. Well, there's a lot of shit to eat and homeowners aren't going to eat it all.
The Association of Mortgage Investors, a trade association, has called on trustees, who oversee loan pools on behalf of investors, to demand that loans be repurchased by their originators if required documents are missing. Typically, sellers have 90 days to fix such problems or buy back the loan. The group has also asked trustees to audit and hold servicers accountable for any losses due to improper servicer practices.
"It's very hard to see how the servicers can avoid reimbursing the trusts for losses caused by taking short cuts," said David J. Grais, an attorney in New York who represents investors. Investors could press trustees to investigate servicer conduct, sue the servicers to recoup damages or replace a servicer, he said.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Face the Nation has Gillespie and Axelrod.
This Week has the McMahon/Blumenthal smackdown, Pervez Musharraf, and the French finance minister.
Dancing Dave's Meet the Press has Kirk and Giannoulias.
Document the atrocities!
This Week has the McMahon/Blumenthal smackdown, Pervez Musharraf, and the French finance minister.
Dancing Dave's Meet the Press has Kirk and Giannoulias.
Document the atrocities!
At Least They Wrote A Sternly Worded Letter
Assholes.
In an interview this week, a senior administration official confirmed that the White House and Treasury Department had received warnings that the mortgage industry employed inexperienced staffers to oversee foreclosures, had problems handling documents and communicating with borrowers, and often failed to comply with regulations.
But the government had struggled to address shortcomings in the industry, the official said, because the administration was also seeking the servicers' help with modifying the home loans of millions of borrowers to help them avoid foreclosure.
...
The only immediate response to warnings was a letter to servicers urging them to behave better. But in June, the administration enacted a policy requiring that servicers try to modify a loan before beginning the foreclosure process.
Investigations
Not optimistic this will go anywhere, but who knows...
WASHINGTON — The attorneys general of up to 40 states plan to announce soon a joint investigation into banks' use of flawed foreclosure paperwork.
A person briefed on the investigation said Saturday night that an announcement could come as early as Tuesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was not yet public.
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Or Much Of Anything Else
Herbert:
We can go to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and threaten to blow Iran off the face of the planet. We can conduct a nonstop campaign of drone and helicopter attacks in Pakistan and run a network of secret prisons around the world. We are the mightiest nation mankind has ever seen.
But we can’t seem to build a railroad tunnel to carry commuters between New Jersey and New York.
The United States is not just losing its capacity to do great things. It’s losing its soul. It’s speeding down an increasingly rubble-strewn path to a region where being second rate is good enough.
Deficits
Last January I didn't know if the economy was going to improve or not, but I also didn't think there was much evidence of improvements. I didn't think a change in the 2nd derivative was something to get that excited about. I just don't know what they were thinking.
And Democrats may come to regret their eager embrace, this spring, of deficit-cutting rhetoric. Then, as now, the trouble in labour markets should have been the primary focus. With these figures sure to feature in Republican stump speeches for the next three weeks, those up for re-election will pay for their mistake.
Development Hell
Nothing particularly notable in this story, just tales of post-bubble development hell.
Friday, October 08, 2010
This Modern World!
Dan Perkins, Tom Tomorrow, was instrumental in the etiology of the Liberal Blogosphere, which is why right now he is immensely rich & powerful.
But his stuff is still consistently funny, so go pre-order his book. Go now!
(This one made me laugh.)
But his stuff is still consistently funny, so go pre-order his book. Go now!
(This one made me laugh.)
Such As?
Goolsbee:
The answer apparently is this:
See you in a month, I guess.
This growth provides more evidence that the economy continues to recover, but we must do more to put the economy on a path of robust economic growth.
The answer apparently is this:
The President continues to work with his economic team and looks forward to working with Congress when they return to identify measures to speed the recovery.
See you in a month, I guess.
The Fierce Urgency Of Now
We are now in deep risk of creating a new permanent underclass.
If I were your benevolent dictator, I would begin by lowering Social Security and Medicare eligibility to 60. That won't fix unemployment, but it would fix some misery.
If I were your benevolent dictator, I would begin by lowering Social Security and Medicare eligibility to 60. That won't fix unemployment, but it would fix some misery.
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