Inland Empire Progressive

The Perspective of Rich and Poor Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, but the rich in his humiliation, because as the flower of the field he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits. James 1: 9-11 You would think that being a ranking member of the Financial Services Committee, that he would use his subpoena power to have Wall Street hauled before the man to demand justice for the financial devistation. Or at the very least, light a fire under Attorney General Eric Holder's ass to be more aggressive in going after Wall Street crimes. But sadly, no. He defends Wall Street tooth and nail, while Main Street withers.

After 9/11, Republicans argued forcefully that the expansion of the National Defense Authorization Act and the PATRIOT Act were necessary safegards for the protection of the American people. This dramatic expansion of Executive Power was unprecendent in recent history. Warrantless wiretapping and targeted assassinations was something unheard of before that fateful day in 2001. When Democrats tried to add civil liberties amendments or roll back some provisions, Rep. Gary Miller and the Republicans accused them of having a Pre-9/11 mentality. However, when the economic crisis hit, Congressional investigations into unlawful and unethical behavior was left unchecked. The Frank-Dodd Act's weak regulation of the financial left the To Big To Fail banks in place and did nothing about derivatives, credit default swipes, and other dangerous financial instruments. Rep. Gary Miller, a senior member of the Financial Services Committee, and his Wall Street allies argue ...

It's hard to believe that with less than 30 days until the election Rep. Gary Miller has yet to outline ANY housing policy in community gatherings or even on the Issues Page of his website. You have to understand that the congressman lives and breathes housing: A strong supporter of the MITD (Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction) with no caps for high income earners, he sits on the Insurance, Housing, and Community Opportunity Subcommittee, and hell, he even started a small business in the housing industry. He loves housing so much you would think he was Paul Bunyan!!! This is in addition to the National Association of Realtors and Mr. Miller's Wall Street allies having dumped $1M+ into his "re-election" campaign. Inland Empire residents have to ask: What gives? Here are some of the current options that have been floating around the past 4 years: 1) Eminent Domain (Govt. siezing loans and selling them to private investors.) 2) Bulk Buying (...

If Pete Aguilar defended his superiors’ engagement in this type of banking activity, imagine what he will do for Wall Street… Loose standards and easy money. That’s the basic premise of what happened  at Arrowhead Credit Union. Larry Sharp, Mayor Pete Aguilar, and others might have used bank funds inappropriately for lobbying and election influence. The housing market was hot in the Inland Empire. But restrictions on how Credit Unions made loans prevented them from lending to non-members. This is why they needed the PAC, for influence. Pete Aguilar as the Vice President of Governmental Affairs at Arrowhead Credit Union, led that effort. However, in the end it did not end well. Arrowhead Credit Union was fined multiple times for faulty record keeping and extremely loose credit standards. This is why one small business owner left. Ineptitude by Arrowhead Credit Union led to the arrest prominent African-American Pastor T. Elliot of Mount Zion Baptist Church. Mr. Elliot sued, but ...

We the Millennials, have been battered, beaten, and torn down by this economic crisis, and this is only the beginning. We will inherit by far the most challenging choices that have ever been faced by our nation. From the economy to the environment, we can easily become discouraged and disillusioned at our current plight. However, we can fight back. We are the most interconnected portion of the population and we can persuade the establishment on both the local and the national level that our interests matter.  If you don’t think so, look at the nation’s that have fallen to interconnected networks of youth. The Progressive commitment to the Millennials could not come at a more opportune time. To unite our sometimes apathetic generation the Progressives must present a bold position on principles and policies that ensure that our youth never again face the prospect of poverty and destitution. We, as Progressives, must present a path of stability and long term growth. These are the ...

  In the Inland Empire, unemployment is one of the highest in the nation standing at approx. 13%. In the city of San Bernardino, scores of houses sit underwater or in the process of foreclosure. Some remain abandoned with squatters and other vagrants sometimes moving in and becoming “residents”. Personally, I won’t buy a house because Single Family Homes (SFH) do not create wealth, can be abused easily (used as ATMs), and are an antiquated form of property that is a waste of space. I might be in the minority on this one, but living through and seeing the consequences of the housing boom and now the bust has turned me off to SFHs. In addition, big banks, investors, and governmental entities sit on mortgage loans whose value are inflated, inaccurate, and speculative. Because of the way Mortgage Backed Securities, Derivatives, and other financial products were packaged and sold I have severe doubts as to the true value and ownership of any housing mortgages held by MERS or any of t...

Note: I wanted to posted this article in full from bluegrassforeclosure.com The main takeaway is that MERS holds all the land titles. Who gives them authority to do so? How do they know who the originator is? This mortgages were so sliced and diced by Wall Street that we don’t know who owns what or how they own it and what piece. Eric Schneiderman has the regulatory authority to investigate MERS, when will the subpoenas start coming down. What the heck is MERS, anyway? October 11th, 2010 This original post can be found at Examiner.com . As we have reported, a federal lawsuit has been filed against banks and MERS. The suit alleges, among other things, that the banks and MERS conspired to file foreclosures against homes that the banks did not actually have a lien against. Confused yet? Don’t worry, I am too. I’ll try to shed some light on what the HECK is MERS anyway . . . ? Kentucky is a title lien state, wherein title is actually held by the owner of the real property. Then a bank o...

Republicans have to attack Pres. Obama using attack ads linking him to the banks. I have no doubt that Dems and Reps are in bed with Wall St. Just look at Joe Baca and the Blue Dog Coalition. Even some of the Progressives been enticed by Wall Street money. When it comes to Wall Street and the Banksters, it’s Occupy White House and Occupy Congress.

When most of us think of the Free Market we think of businesses providing goods and services to individuals through the act of buying and selling. This is most seen most by the cathedrals of capitalism (and in my opinion the source of Inland Empire decadence and decay) the mall and big box stores. However, what some people don't realize is that these publicly traded companies also buy and sell on Wall Street. Wall Street, although kicked when its down, is revered when the market is up so it is pretty much like a sports team. This ivory tower of information and capital and the captains of industry who manage them hide one fact though. Trades are not based on people on the floor yelling buy or sell like in the movie Trading Places, but through complex algorithms in which one glitch can cause a "Flash Crash". So is our Free Market really comprised of free traders? I think not. Here is the link that inspired the story.   http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37975.ht...