Disappeared News

by Larry Geller

It’s safe to say that nearly every American knows about the jobs and foreclosure crises. There’s no end in sight for either. At the same time, banks are turning in record profits and bank executives pull down huge bonuses.

So now that it has been discovered that perhaps thousands of foreclosures have been carried out fraudulently, how can Obama side with Republicans against a moratorium on foreclosures? In just a few weeks there will be an election which is expected to cost Democrats not only some seats and some governorships, but perhaps cost them control of Congress.

Those Dems who were in trouble enough now have to deal with the anti-consumer, pro-bank position of their leader, President Obama.

From today’s Democracy Now, Amy Goodman asking exactly this question:

AMY GOODMAN: It’s very interesting, Congressman Towns. I mean, you’re in the leadership of the Democratic Party in the House. President Obama, the White House, is now finding itself together with the Republicans in opposing this. You have the White House that pushed through the bailouts of the banks, many of the same banks that have now admitted they foreclosed improperly, or they’re investigating foreclosures that they may have done improperly, of what? How many? Forty state attorneys general now going to launch investigations into fraud by these banks. You have Bank of America canceling how many? Halting foreclosures in all fifty states.

REP. EDOLPHUS TOWNS: Fifty states.

AMY GOODMAN: Yet the Obama administration, as Democrats go out around the country fighting for their seats in reelections, is saying no, they’re siding with the Republicans in siding with the bailed-out banks.

REP. EDOLPHUS TOWNS: Well, let me say that when you have situations that it’s not clear, it seems to me that we should just back up, take a look and see in terms of what needs to be done to fix it. And I really applaud these banks who have stepped out and said, "Look, we’re going to have a moratorium. There’s something wrong here." They’ve acknowledged that. The fact that Bank of America says in all fifty states they’re going to call for a moratorium, you know, I really respect that, because anytime you have a situation where you take a person out of his or her home, and this is all they have, and, of course, it’s done in a fraudulent fashion, I think that really you cannot just move and say that, "Well, yes, there’s a few that might be hurt, but in the meantime, we’re going to look at it." I think that that’s not the kind of thinking that should go on in this day and age.

We should now stop. Let’s correct this. Let’s make certain that we have this under control and that people are going to be treated fairly. Then I think the confidence will come back, and then that’s when the market will go. People will then begin to buy again. People will begin to understand how important it is to do things properly. Until that happens, I think that we’re going to have folks wondering whether or not I’m being treated fairly. And that’s an issue that we cannot have in this day and age. We need to make certain that if a person buys a home, that they’re going to be treated fairly, that the mortgage is going to be handled. And for the person that’s involved in a foreclosure, let’s make certain that all the paperwork and documentation has been checked.

AMY GOODMAN: So, as President Obama says no, and Democrats are fighting for control—maintaining control of the House and finding people all over the country are seeing unemployment at unprecedented rates, foreclosures at unprecedented rates, what do you have to say to your leader, to President Obama?

REP. EDOLPHUS TOWNS: I think the way to take back the House and to hold on to the House is to let people know that you’re about fairness. And once you show them that you’re about fairness, then I think the confidence will be there. I think that to say, "Let us look at the situation, and those that we think that should move forward should move forward, and those that should not should not"—and that, to me, is not the way to convince the American people that you’re concerned, that you’re dedicated, that you’re committed. No, I think the way to do it is to say, "Look, there’s a mess here, and we need to clean it up. And the way we clean it up is let’s have a moratorium now. Let’s look back at what happened and then move forward." And sometimes you have to go back before you can go forward.   [Democracy Now, As Fraud Scandal Grows, White House Opposes National Moratorium on Foreclosures, 10/12/2010]

Except that President Obama has taken a stand against fairness.

Today’s program revealed that the widely reported incident in which a woman calls 911 because someone is breaking into her home to change her locks (and her home was not in foreclosure) was not only not unique, but that police have not prosecuted the intruders. Check out the program for more on these incidents.

On Oahu, Democracy Now airs at 10 p.m. on channel 56 and again the next day at 7 a.m. on channel 54, or anytime on the web at democracynow.org.

Permalink posted by Larry @ 10/12/2010 12:05:00 PM