THROW THE BUMS OUT - ALL OF THEM

Senate Millionaires Kill Mortgage Assistance Bill
by Michael Collins;

http://www.opednews.com/author/author3863.html

The United States Senate took a swipe at the spirit of May Day in a
spectacular show of callous indifference when it voted down a bill to
provide limited assistance to citizens at risk for losing their homes. The
final vote was 45 in favor, 51
opposedto
Senator Richard Durbin's (D-IL) mortgage assistance bill. The
original
version of the bill covered some but not all of those requiring assistance.
The final version was even more restricted. It applied to only homeowners
currently in foreclosure as a result of actions prior to the start of 2009.

The denial of assistance to citizens by Senators is ironic given the fact
that the originsof
the current economic crisis came from Senate
legislative actions in
1999 and 2000.

While their avarice knows no bounds, their memory suffers.

Apparently these multimillionaire aristocrats of the Senate "gentlemen's
club" haven't been watching the news. The International Monetary Fund
declared that the United States is in a
depressionalmost
three months ago. Delinquency and
foreclosure rates
around the country are rising at spectacular rates.
Unemploymenthas
jumped by 3.3
million in the last five
months. Economic growth has
declinedat
a rate of 6.3% in the first quarter of 2009.

What part of economic crisis can't they understand? Apparently all of it.

Memo to stingy Senators: Workers and their families are in serious trouble
or about to be in trouble. That means they lack the money to pay for their
homes (also known as shelter, a basic human need). These citizens did
nothing to bring on this crisis.

You, the members of the Senate, are largely to blame and you know
it
.

One of the most revealing remarks came from Democrat Ben Nelson (D-NE) who
said:

“Do I want to have *my rate* go up so that somebody else might be able to
cram down” their mortgage payment?" asked Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who voted
against the bill. Associated Press, Apr. 30,
2009

Nelson has never been regarded as the sharpest tool in the shed but he's set
a new standard for ignorance with this remark. Nelson was worth at least
$7.0 millionas
of reporting in 2008. Obviously he needs to skimp on every penny to
stay
afloat. He'll offer no breaks for financially strapped citizens on the
brink of ruin even if they are in trouble as a result of his support of Wall
Street welfare. The bill would have no impact on his or anybody else's
mortgage rate unless they qualified for help. In those cases, the rate
would go down.

The Durbin billoffered
a reasonable change in bankruptcy law that would allow those in
foreclosure to ask (simply ask) bankruptcy judges to invoke a "cramdown."
In that process, the bankruptcy court would set a lower interest rates and
longer terms on loans. This takes the case out of foreclosure and allows
citizens to keep their homes and the lets banks collect the money owed at a
lower rate over an extended period. (See
thisfor a real
cramdown to
*benefit all citizens*)

The Durbin bill provided limited options since it presumed that homeowners
at risk had the money to get in bankruptcy court; that the courts would be
able to handle all those in need; and that the judge would accept the
request for a cramdown to keep people in their homes. But the bill might
have helped as many as 1.7 million
homeowners
.

Even with those limitations, Sen. Durbin was forced against the wall and had
to negotiatethe
bill to a lower level of protection. The final bill rejected by the
Senate. Associated Press reported: "The latest proposal would have
restricted eligibility to homeowners already in foreclosure whose lender had
not offered better terms. Homes would also have to be worth less than
$729,000 and apply to mortgage loans originated before 2009." Apr 30,
2009

Durbin's last stand would have provided protection some homeowners but now
there's no protection for anyone.

William K. Black is the chief fraud investigator who untangled the 1980's
Savings and Loan fiasco. His comments on the current economic meltdown are
instructive and assign blame:

William K. Black: 'We need some chairmen or chairwomen … in Congress, to
hold the necessary hearings (on banking fraud) and we can blast this out.
But if you leave the failed CEOs in place, it isn't just that they're
terrible business people, though they are. It isn't just that they lack
integrity, though they do. Because they were engaged in these frauds …
they're not going to disclose the truth about the assets." Bill Moyers
Journal, Apr 3,
2009

Senators, you allowed changes in banking regulations that turned Wall Street
in to a big casino for the "in crowd" and wiped out millions of small
investors and retirement funds.

You failed to monitor the new freedoms you gave the banks and Wall Street
after you stripped away citizen protections in law since the Great
Depression.

You created the current depression.

And now, you're so stingy you won't even help a few of the many people
victimized by the massive corporate fraud schemes, Ponzi
schemesaccording
to Black.

Is there any reason why even one single Senator of the 51 who voted down
this assistance should remain in office to complete his or her term?

Is there any reason to hold back from recalling them where allowed or
demanding their resignations in every state that they represent?

I can't think of one. Can you?

END

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