Does Your Bay Area Neighborhood Have a High Wells Fargo Foreclosure Rate?
KQED - March 12, 2013 - California is still struggling to get back on its feet after a devastating housing crisis. And Wells Fargo is partly to blame for the sluggish recovery because it is...
KQED - March 12, 2013 - California is still struggling to get back on its feet after a devastating housing crisis. And Wells Fargo is partly to blame for the sluggish recovery because it is refusing to modify home loans, according to a coalition of homeowners groups.
By foreclosing on homeowners who can't make their payments, the San Francisco-based bank will suck billions of dollars out of the state's economy, according to the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, the Center for Popular Democracy and the Home Defenders League.
In a new report, the coalition charges that Wells Fargo has been less inclined to reduce the principle of home loans than have other banks, such as Bank of America.
Wells Fargo responded that it has a low foreclosure rate compared to the industry in general.
Wells Fargo's bias toward foreclosures is disproportionately affecting predominantly black and Latino neighborhoods, the report charges.
Right now, about 65,000 California homeowners have received notice of a pending foreclosure, and about 20 percent of these loans are serviced by Wells Fargo, the report says.
The report estimates that as of February 2013, Wells Fargo had 11,616 homes in its "foreclosure pipeline."
Foreclosing on the homes will have the following effects, according to the report:
Each home would lose approximately 22 percent of its value, for a total loss of approximately $1.07 billion,
Homes in the surrounding neighborhood would lose value as well, for an additional loss of about $2.2 billion, and
Government tax revenues would be cut by $20 million, as a result of that depreciation.
If the bank were to reduce the principle on the borrowers' loans, homeowners would have more money to spend. This would boost the state's economy, the coalition says.
Wells Fargo often bundles loans to sell to other entities, such as Fannie Mae, but acts as an agent for the new lender, collecting payments and handling foreclosures. In that capacity, Wells Fargo makes more money through foreclosures than loan modifications, the report says.
Wells Fargo has had an aggressive principal reduction program for loans that we own since 2009. Wells Fargo conducts all lending and servicing activities in a fair and responsible manner without regard to race or ethnicity. We are proud to be the nation’s leading lender.
Wells Fargo issued a written statement in response to the report:
Over the last four years, Wells Fargo has: • Helped more than 841,000 customers with loan modifications. • Provided $6.3 billion in principal forgiveness—most of which has gone to borrowers in California.
Wells Fargo consistently provides assistance to customers facing financial challenges. Wells Fargo’s delinquency and foreclosure rates continue to rate below the industry average. Here are the facts: • The combined national industry delinquency and foreclosure rates are roughly 11%. Wells Fargo’s is 7.04%. • The Wells Fargo foreclosure rate in California is 1.04%*, less than half of our national rate.
*As of Q4 2012
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Warren Calls on Yellen to Increase Diversity at the Fed
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday committed to increasing diversity at the central bank, particularly within the Fed’s leadership ranks.
“It’s something we will continue to...
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Tuesday committed to increasing diversity at the central bank, particularly within the Fed’s leadership ranks.
“It’s something we will continue to focus on,” Yellen said during the question-and-answer period of her semiannual testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. “Diversity is an extremely important goal, and I will do everything I can to advance it.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked Yellen to commit to increasing diversity among the bank’s top officials, noting that 10 of the 12 Fed’s regional presidents are men. “Does the lack of diversity among the regional Fed presidents concern you?” Warren asked Yellen.
“Yes, I believe it’s important to have a diverse group of policymakers who can bring different perspectives to bear,” Yellen responded, adding that the central bank monitors hiring searches closely to make sure regional banks recruit diverse candidates.
Warren said she trusted Yellen’s commitment, but that her response shows the Fed’s selection process for regional leaders is “broken” and lacks transparency.
“You’re telling me diversity’s important, and yet you just signed off on all these folks without any public discussion about it,” Warren said. “Congress should take a hard look at reforming the regional Fed selection process so that we can all benefit from a Fed leadership that reflects a broader array of backgrounds and interests.”
Warren and other lawmakers — 116 House members and 10 senators — signed a letter to Yellen last month that urged her to fill the bank’s top echelon with more diverse leaders. Yellen responded to the letter last week affirming the need for more diversity, according to Warren.
On Monday, activists for the “Fed Up” campaign pushed for diversity in the Fed’s regional branches in a report published by the left-leaning Center for Popular Democracy.
“It’s not enough to say, ‘I’m committed to diversity,'” Dushaw Hockett, executive director of Safe Places for the Advancement of Community and Equity, another group advocating for the Fed Up campaign, said in an interview after today’s hearing. “What’s the plan? What are the mechanisms for how we get there, and how are we going to evaluate whether we’ve achieved them?”
The emphasis on diversity comes on the heels of a Government Accountability Office report showing pervasive issues with racial and gender discrimination among rank-and-file employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where 25 percent of Asian employees, 25 percent of female employees and 27 percent of black employees said they have experienced discrimination at the agency.
By Tara Jeffries
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Oregon workers won't get crazy schedules next year
Starting next year, workers in Oregon will no longer get crazy work schedules —for the most part. On Tuesday, Gov. Kate Brown signed the Fair Work Week bill into law, making Oregon the first state...
Starting next year, workers in Oregon will no longer get crazy work schedules —for the most part. On Tuesday, Gov. Kate Brown signed the Fair Work Week bill into law, making Oregon the first state to require large employers to give workers advanced notice of their schedules.
Read the full article here.
Modern Monetary Theory Grapples with People Actually Paying Attention to It
Modern Monetary Theory Grapples with People Actually Paying Attention to It
Looking ahead, MMT advocates hope to grow their movement through grassroots organizing. One example they pointed to was Fed Up, a national campaign launched in 2015, whereby low-income workers and...
Looking ahead, MMT advocates hope to grow their movement through grassroots organizing. One example they pointed to was Fed Up, a national campaign launched in 2015, whereby low-income workers and union members pressured the Federal Reserve to not hike interest rates, a rare instance of popular pressure being applied to monetary policy. Fed Up made the case that there was no inflation pressure forcing them to raise rates and that doing so would suppress their already low wages.
Read the full article here.
Statement on Gov. Cuomo’s Support for a $15 Minimum Wage in New York State
“This is a victory for workers who have fought for a decent wage against all odds. Workers just want the opportunity to sustain themselves, and to break from barriers that keep wages low and...
“This is a victory for workers who have fought for a decent wage against all odds. Workers just want the opportunity to sustain themselves, and to break from barriers that keep wages low and opportunities out of reach.
Our partner organizations, New York Communities for Change (NYCC) and Make the Road New York (MRNY) played an integral role in this fight. Thousands of workers have stood up across the state -- fast food workers, carwash workers, restaurant workers and other low-wage workers have mobilized, testified, shared their stories, and demanded decent wages.
“Today’s announcement from Gov. Cuomo, in line with our longstanding demands, shows our movement’s growing strength. History and momentum are on our side. We will not slow down until we win a fair wage, and a voice at work, for all families - in New York and beyond.”
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www.populardemocracy.org
The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.
Puerto Rico: Shelter After the Storm
"The members of Congress do not think of Puerto Rico as a part of their constituency and responsibility, and that is what is underneath this crisis," says Ana Maria Archila from the Center for...
"The members of Congress do not think of Puerto Rico as a part of their constituency and responsibility, and that is what is underneath this crisis," says Ana Maria Archila from the Center for Popular Democracy. "It is a crisis of democracy as much as it's a climate crisis, as much as it's an economic crisis."
Read the full article here.
Main Street Takes on Monetary Policy, Round 2
Washington Post - November 14, by Ylan Mui - Main Street plans to take on the maestros of monetary policy today, armed with a list of demands aimed at prolonging central bank stimulus and...
Washington Post - November 14, by Ylan Mui - Main Street plans to take on the maestros of monetary policy today, armed with a list of demands aimed at prolonging central bank stimulus and increasing public input.
The campaign has been dubbed “Fed Up” and is made up of 20 community and labor groups, ranging from the Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment to the behemoth AFL-CIO. The groups plans to demonstrate in front of the Federal Reserve’s august headquarters on Constitution Avenue on Friday morning. They are slated to present their proposals to Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in a meeting scheduled for this afternoon.
“The point is to start a public conversation and include more voices in it,” said Ady Barkan, staff attorney at the Center for Popular Democracy, one of the groups leading the effort.
Still, debates over macroeconomics can qickly turn wonky. Among the campaign’s requests are for the Fed to reconsider its 2 percent target for inflation and for the central bank to start purchasing municipal bonds to jumpstart local infrastructure projects -- issues that typically don’t come up at the water cooler.
But several other proposals strike a more populist note. The groups says the Fed should wait until there is a significant reduction in the gap in unemployment rate of black and white workers, as well as an increase in the number of women in the force, before it decides to raise interest rates. The coalition also wants the Fed to conduct research on the impact of progressive economic policy proposals -- namely raising the minimum wage and requiring paid sick leave.
Finally, it is seeking time for public comment during the central bank’s policy meetings and a more inclusive process for appointing officials at the Fed’s regional banks.
In some ways, the campaign’s effort coincides with the central bank’s goals. Under former Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, the Fed dramatically increased transparency. It now holds regular press conferences, publishes detailed economic forecasts and attempts to communicate its policy positions.
Current Fed Chair Janet Yellen has made a particular effort to connect monetary policy to Main Street. She recounted the personal stories of struggling workers during a speech in Chicago early this year and visited a jobs training center in Boston last month. She has cited the elevated unemployment rate for African Americans several times as evidence that the nation’s broader economic recovery may not be deeply rooted.
“The recovery still feels like a recession to many Americans, and it also looks that way in some economic statistics,” Yellen said in her Chicago speech.
The Fed also already produces a vast array of research on domestic policy issues. In fact, progressive groups - including at least one involved in the campaign -- frequently cite a study by the Chicago Fed as evidence that raising the minimum wage can boost incomes and spur consumer spending.
Barkan said the campaign is intended to be a counterpoint to the vocal minority of Fed officials who have been calling for the central bank to raise rates soon in response to the improving economy. But even officials counseling patience are not going far enough, Barkan said.
“There’s a lot in there that the Fed has yet to do,” he said. “We want them to be bold and ambitious in their effort to improve the economy.”
Friday will mark the second time demonstrators have confronted Fed officials. This summer, the group traveled to the Kansas City Fed’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., an invite-only affair that draws some of the world’s most powerful economic policymakers. The protest was the first time since the 1980s that there has been a grassroots response to monetary policy decisions.
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Republicans beat the resistance on health care once. Here comes the rematch.
Republicans beat the resistance on health care once. Here comes the rematch.
REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT, Virginia — The anti-Trump “resistance” movement is about to get its biggest test in months — and the stakes could hardly be higher.
On Thursday, Senate Republicans...
REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT, Virginia — The anti-Trump “resistance” movement is about to get its biggest test in months — and the stakes could hardly be higher.
On Thursday, Senate Republicans released the Better Care Reconciliation Act, which would dramatically reduce subsidies for lower-income Americans while cutting Medicaid and rolling back its expansion under Obamacare. The CBO hasn’t released an estimate of coverage impacts, but the House version of the bill would have resulted in 23 million fewer people getting covered.
Read the full article here.
An Imperfect Victory for New York Workers
Millions of New Yorkers are celebrating a deal this week to raise the state’s minimum wage. The deal puts a better future in sight for families around the state and sends a powerful signal to...
Millions of New Yorkers are celebrating a deal this week to raise the state’s minimum wage. The deal puts a better future in sight for families around the state and sends a powerful signal to other states considering wage hikes of their own.
The deal is a testament to the power of organizing. Today’s headlines would be unimaginable just a few years ago. When New York Communities for Change organized the first fast food worker strike – almost four years ago – people thought we were crazy.
As the federal government repeatedly stalled on a meaningful increase to the nationwide minimum wage, it seemed that higher wages were out of reach.
In response, fast-food and other low-wage workers rose up to fight for better wages and a better quality of life, sparking a movement that spread to cities and towns across the nation.
It is no coincidence that the Fight for $15 began right here in New York City. The level of inequality in our city has long been one of the worst of the country – and has grown to historic proportions in recent years.
According to a 2014 Census Bureau survey, the top 5 percent of Manhattan households made 88 times as much as the poorest 20 percent. And as of last year, workers earning minimum wage could not afford median rent in a single neighborhood in New York City.
Wages have long failed to keep pace with the growing cost of living. In fact, the Economic Policy Institute found that the statewide wage of $9.00 per hour was well below what it would be if it had simply kept pace with inflation since 1970. The same study found that, accounting for both inflation and a higher cost of living, the minimum wage today would match its 1970 value if it reached $14.27 per hour this year – nearly the level agreed on by the New York State Legislature.
Governor Cuomo made the right move last year by mandating higher wages for fast-food workers – those on the front lines fighting for reform. But leading industry by industry risked neglecting too many workers. In order to truly create change, the rules must apply equally to everybody. Last week’s deal did that, letting workers across the economy finally dream bigger than the next paycheck.
The deal is a victory for New York City workers. However, it bypasses hard-working families in Upstate New York. While over a million low-wage workers in the city will see their wages rise to $15 per hour by the end of 2018, those in Long Island will only reach $15 in almost six years and those upstate will need to wait five years only to reach $12.50. Although the deal allows wages to rise to $15 after that, the rate will depend on review and inflation and could take years.
It is a painfully long stretch given the growing cost of living north of the city. The New York State Comptroller, for example, has found housing costs skyrocketing, with at least one in five people in every county – including those far upstate like Warren and Monroe – spending more than a third of their salary on rent. In some counties half of residents must spend that much. With added expenses like utilities and food, it leaves little room to save up for college or retirement.
It is imperative that legislators now finish the job and give all New Yorkers a chance at a living wage.
Just days before Albany finalized its deal; California showed us that a $15 wage statewide is possible. Our state must fulfill the promise of Fight for $15 statewide and let all workers adequately provide for themselves and their families. Otherwise New Yorkers will continue doing what they have been doing for almost four years: risking everything to provide a better life for their families.
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By JoEllen Chernow &. Jonathan Westin
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Advocacy group calls for more oversight of California charter school spending
Advocacy group calls for more oversight of California charter school spending
A lack of transparency and inadequate oversight can set up the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse. A 2015 report from the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools and the Center for Popular Democracy...
A lack of transparency and inadequate oversight can set up the potential for waste, fraud, and abuse. A 2015 report from the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools and the Center for Popular Democracy, entitled “The Tip of the Iceberg,” reported over $200 million lost to fraud, corruption and mismanagement in charter schools.
Read the full article here.
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