"While our country is pushing a 'War on Drugs' and locking up brown and black people left and right, there is a war happening in our communities. The same passion and fervor should be applied to putting the Wall Street criminals that destroyed our communities and economy in jail."
So said Rev. Marilyn Pagan-Banks of the community group IIRON when addressing top White House officials during a housing and economic crisis summit late this week. She was just one of dozens of The New Bottom Line homeowners, faith and community leaders who shared their their stories and the practical and bold solutions needed to fix the housing crisis, restore our communities and rebuild our economy.
Their simple and powerful message: "We need a bold solution to the housing crisis and we need it now."
Homeowners and housing advocates from 26 states spoke passionately about how banks have ripped off millions people and drove them into debt and foreclosure, the devastation of communities wrought by big bank fraud and their refusal to do fair negotiations to keep people in their homes. Brigitte Walker, a member of Occupy Homes Atlanta and the Home Defender's League brought the rooms to tears when she shared her story. Walker, a veteran who served our country for 22 years, was injured in Iraq. Upon her return, she fought for years with Chase Bank for a loan modification but to no avail. It wasn't until she occupied her home, did Chase respond with the needed loan modification.
"I fought for my country and I knew I had the right to fight for my home," said Walker. Watch the powerful video of her testimony (and have a tissue ready!).
At the meeting, Pastor Paul Slack of the Minnesota group ISAIAH delivered directly to Gene Sperling, the director of the White House's National Economic Council, the heartwrenching stories gathered by New Bottom Line and Rebuild the Dream from people across the country of people hardest hit by the housing crisis.
In addition to the stories, they laid out the solutions our country so desperately needs, including:
The White House committed to continue to working with homeowners and that is a great first step. As Sperling said, "Recovery is not real recovery until everyone is lifted up." So we need to see real action.
This issue affects millions of homeowners and communities across the country. Don't wipe your brow with a big "whew" if you think you are home free because you aren't underwater. How the housing crisis is dealt with directly impacts how we rebuild our economy -- that means jobs, the strength of our communities and states, and our children's future.
Nationally, there are almost 16 million underwater homes, worth $2.8 trillion, that are $1.2 trillion underwater. Resetting those mortgages to fair market value would save the average underwater homeowner $543 per month, pumping $104 billion into the national economy every year. This would create 1.5 million jobs nationally.
Yet our presidential candidates have not brought housing and its connection to our economy directly into the election debate. That is why New Bottom Line launched the Home is Where the Vote Is campaign to demand President Obama and Governor Romney address these issues immediately on the campaign trail.
Underwater voters are the key swing voters of this election season and the presidential candidates ignore them at their peril. For example, in Nevada -- a major swing state this election season -- 35 percent of eligible voters are underwater. Thinks about it this way. There are 614,987 eligible underwater voters in Nevada. President Obama won Nevada in 2008 with 533,736 votes.
So what can you do? Watch this video of underwater voters speaking directly to the presidential candidates and join them in calling for the housing crisis and its connection economy be addressed by our presidential candidates.
We are looking to the candidates who wish to be our nation's next president to tell us, the American people, how they are going to fix the housing crisis and restore our economy. It's time they speak out.
Follow Tracy Van Slyke on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@tracyvs
Romney probably thinks the solution is to borrow mortgage payments from mom and dad
The President wouldn't want the issue in the forefront as he would have to defend his administration's tepid reaction and failure to actively use the tools at hand.
Points in the President's favor would be that the R's would be undercutting their own arguments comcerning dependence on government, were they to attack his poor record in this area.
As an aside, Simpson-Bowles recommends doing away with the home mortgage interest deduction. Think the bubble has burst? If this were to happen, lots of folks who depend on that deduction to help make ends meet would be in even worse shape.
I'm sure it will work..
Why
IT WAS A BUBBLE.
The value that was lost was bubble value, not real value.
That value was never there.
It just wasn't.
Just give me the house !
OK, says Obama Campaign Staff, we can do that.
No problem. Just tell Obama what you'd like to hear, and he'll say it. Just like he did on the 2008 trail. And then you can believe him again. And then, if he's able to dupe enough voters again, he can go on to ignore your wishes, since he doesn't have to worry about reelection.
There was a candidate who understood the causes of the housing crisis, and even predicted it. His name was Ron Paul. His idea was a return to actual capitalism, as opposed to our current inflationary system of creditism - with its drive to "borrow and consume and print" our way to prosperity, rather than to achieve it the old-fashioned way.