NYT Magazine: Cover Story on Cleveland’s Foreclosures Crisis
Click the image below and check out an excellent piece in the New York Times Magazine on the particular issues of home foreclosures in Cleveland. Currently, 1 in 13 homes in the city are vacant. Featured prominently in the article is Tony Brancatelli, member of Cleveland’s City Council. Slavic Village is the scene of many of this article’s illustrations of individual issues in the Cleveland housing market.
Full Text & Video: President Obama’s Weekly Address – March 6 – Personal Economic Hardships and Federal Action
Full Text of Address Below Video
(Source: White House Press Office)
Yesterday, we learned that the economy lost another 651,000 jobs in the month of February, which brings the total number of jobs lost in this recession to 4.4 million. The unemployment rate has now surpassed 8 percent, the highest rate in a quarter century.
These aren’t just statistics, but hardships experienced personally by millions of Americans who no longer know how they’ll pay their bills, or make their mortgage, or raise their families.
From the day I took office, I knew that solving this crisis would not be easy, nor would it happen overnight. And we will continue to face difficult days in the months ahead. But I also believe that we will get through this — that if we act swiftly and boldly and responsibly, the United States of America will emerge stronger and more prosperous than it was before. Read more
One in Seven Ohio Homeowners Behind on Mortgage
Filed under: Recession, U.S. Economy, U.S. Financial Crisis
From The Plain Dealer:
The number of Ohio homeowners who are behind on their mortgages jumped 11 percent in the fourth quarter, according to a report released Thursday.
Now, 14 percent — about one in seven — is at least one month behind, the Mortgage Bankers Association said. That’s slightly worse than the national rate of 12 percent, or about one in eight.
A record 5.4 million Americans were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of last year. That includes 48 percent of the 2.4 million who have subprime, adjustable-rate mortgages.
In Ohio, nearly 4.5 percent were a month behind, nearly 2 percent were two months behind and 3 percent were three months behind, said the Washington, D.C., organization. Four percent were in foreclosure.
The Daily Graphic: Where Are the Banks Failing
CNN featured this interactive map of the U.S. shaded according to how many FDIC insured banks have failed in each state. In Ohio, we’ve had none fail since the recession began. Click the screen grab below and you’ll go to the original where hovering over a state tells you you how many banks have failed in that state.
Click for Original Interactive Map
Audio: Santelli on Hannity – I Guess the Guy is An Ideologue
I got a new toy for my birthday. It’s the C. Crane Co.’s CC Witness, an MP3 player that has AM radio and records. Now when I hear the asshats with microphones lying and making the dumb dumber I can record it and use it to make a point.
The biggest lie going about the U.S. financial crisis is that somehow banks were forced to make loans because of some law passed decades ago. If that’s the case, why did the problem only happen now. As has been shown here before there was lots more greed and corporate recklessness behind the current crisis than individuals buying too much home for their income.
Tonight Sean Hannity had Rick Santelli on for a 14-minute segment. What’s notable is that Santelli tells us what his solution is to the crisis: “Get the government out of it. … There’s going to be pain listeners …” If only the current circumstances would allow that, but the problem is much too big. To Santelli’s credit he advocates the government keeping “benefits” intact for everyone kicked to the curb by a structurally broken economy.
Hannity lied and said that “banks were forced to make these risky loans,” to which Santelli started to push back then quit.
If you want to hear the whole thing, CLICK HERE.
What Dems and Progressives (and the White House) Might Not Want To Underestimate Regarding Rick Santelli and Tea Parties
Filed under: Banking, Recession, U.S. Economy, U.S. Financial Crisis
CNBC’s Rick Santelli has been roundly thumped from the lefty blogosphere to the White House for suggesting on the air and from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade that there be a vote on whether taxpayers should help pay for “losers’ mortgages.” In the absence of a vote, Santelli says that perhaps we need a “Boston Tea Party in July.”
On the other hand, Santelli is the citizen with pitchfork du jour for the right from Rush Limbaugh to the misinformed drones (including Republican members of Congress) who dial him in every day.
We know the Right is wrong on how to get this economy going. They’ve had their chance. Trickle down is dead and the once exuberant investment class is shaking in their Bruno Maglis. We’ve found that perhaps banks should be banks and insurance companies should insure and brokerages should buy and sell. Additionally, it might not hurt to for more regulation – human nature being what it is. Read more
Video: President Obama’s Weekly Address – Stimulus & Foreclosures – February 21
Text: President Obama’s Weekly Address – Stimulus and Foreclosure Prevention – February 21
Filed under: Barack Obama, Economic Stimuls, Recession, U.S. Economy
(Source: White House Press Office)
THE PRESIDENT: Earlier this week, I signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — the most sweeping economic recovery plan in history. Because of this plan, 3.5 million Americans will now go to work doing the work that America needs done.
I’m grateful to Congress, governors and mayors across the country, and to all of you whose support made this critical step possible.
Because of what we did together, there will now be shovels in the ground, cranes in the air, and workers rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, and repairing our faulty levees and dams.
Chicago Tea Party in July – CNBC’s Santelli Goes Off on Losers’ Mortgages
Click Here for must see TV.
Transcript: Remarks by President Obama, Home Mortgage Crisis, Mesa, Arizona – February 18, 2009
Filed under: Barack Obama, Recession, U.S. Economy, U.S. Financial Crisis
(Source: White House Press Office)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. (Applause.) Please, everybody have a seat. Thank you. Well, it is good to be back in Arizona. (Applause.) Thank you. Are you excited? (Applause.) Thank you, thank you. And thank you for arranging for such a beautiful day. I want to stick around, but I got to go back to work. But it is wonderful to be here. And to all of you, I know that attending these kinds of events, oftentimes you have to wait in line and there’s all kinds of stuff going on. But I appreciate you being here very much. And to all the officials here at the school, the principal and the student body, everybody who helped make this possible, thank you so much to all of you. (Applause.)
Obama Administration Releases Examples of How Foreclosure Assitance Will Work
Click for PDF of examples of how the Obama Administration’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan may help you or someone you know in danger of foreclosure.
The Daily Graphic: U.S. Map – Mortgage Delinquency Rates 90+ Days
The map below is interactive at The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s website. The data is from 2Q 2008. This is one of the problems when someone has a good idea for graphically communicating information on the web – they don’t update the data. So, as of around June/July of last year, this data was current. The darker the shade of blue, the higher the delinquency rate in a given U.S. County.
World Press Photo Award Winner Is A Picture of Unraveling Economy in Cleveland
U.S. photographer Anthony Suau, shooting for Time magazine, took this photo of Cuyahoga County Sheriff Deputy Robert Kole moving about a foreclosed home in Cleveland, Ohio. Suau’s photo is the winner of the 2009 World Press Photo Award. There is a good article about Suau and his work in The Plain Dealer.
Relief Plan for Foreclosures on Wednesday …
Filed under: Bailout Bill, Barack Obama, Recession, U.S. Economy, U.S. Financial Crisis
An article in the Times of London talks about President Barack Obama’s tough road to hoe on economic stimulus and bailing out those bankers who are too big to fail. According the Times, Obama will travel to Phoenix on Wednesday and unveil a $50 billion plan to directly help those facing foreclosure.
Barney Frank, the Democratic chairman of the House Finance Committee, said Mr Geithner should not to repeat the mistakes of his predecessor Hank Paulson, who “lost sight of the rest of the country and pissed them off entirely,” with his initial bank bailout.
He Frank warned the Treasury Secretary that voters want to see fewer foreclosures and more bank lending to ordinary consumers before they support the rest of the financial rescue plan. “They understand the political need,” Mr Frank said.
If these guys think that just because they work $50 billion in for the little guys while they still talk of trillions for bankers and brokers that folks like me will fall in line on bailouts – they’re nuts.
I hope we can get the right kind of help to those folks who were taken advantage of, but that doesn’t make wasting our dollars on Bank of America and Citi any more palatable. If we’re going to sink taxpayer dollars into more bailouts of the people who created the mess, I want to see value for that investment. That’s what nobody’s explained – Barney Frank, Tim Geithner and all the rest.
The Daily Graphic: Homes Sold For Loss Q4 2008: U.S. & Columbus, Ohio
On February 3, Zillow.com released their fourth quarter 2008 Real Estate Market Report. In a statement the online real estate marketing and market research firm said in part, “Eighth Consecutive Quarter of Declines is Worst So Far: Home Values Fall 11.6% in 2008; One in Six Homeowners is Underwater, According to Q4 2008 Zillow® Real Estate Market Reports.” The charts below are courtesy of Zillow.
