America Faces No Greater Threat Than Joe Biden and the Democrat Party. Their Assault to Our Borders Is As Great As Their Assault to Free Speech and Free Elections
Friday, July 30, 2021
EVICTED AMERICA - BUT HOW MUCH WILL JOE BIDEN'S BLACKROCK PAYMASTERS AND HANDLERS MAKE OFF THIS GIG? - How Bankers ROBBED and ENSLAVED America
Chris Hedges | How Bankers ROBBED and ENSLAVED America
An historic and devastating wave of evictions and foreclosures looms, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) federal eviction moratorium set to expire at the end of this week, on July 31.
With just days to go, there is no indication the Biden administration is going to extend it. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki boasted in a press conference on Friday about vague efforts by the Biden administration to “help people with government-backed mortgages stay in their homes through monthly payment reductions and potential loan modifications.” Noticeably absent was any reference to the end of the moratorium or relief for renters.
At his CNN town hall event on Wednesday, President Biden did not even speak about the housing crisis. Nor did he say anything about it on Friday when he spoke at a campaign rally in Arlington in support of Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s run for governor of Virginia.
Last year exceeded the $10 trillion mark in housing debt for the first time in history, according to the New York Fed’s Household Debt and Credit Report, reaching levels higher than those seen in the third quarter of 2008, which reached just under $10 trillion. This creates the obvious preconditions, paired with job losses, attacks on workers' wages and a new surge in the pandemic, for an immense foreclosure crisis.
Despite the CDC’s moratorium, which was issued on September 4, 2020 as state-level moratoriums expired, over 444,000 evictions have been ordered during the pandemic, with over 6,600 in the week preceding July 17, according to Princeton University’s Eviction Lab. According to the Eviction Lab, neighborhoods with the highest eviction filing rates have the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates.
The housing crisis presents an immediate danger to public health, especially given the spread of COVID-19 among the homeless population, which many of those being evicted or foreclosed on will join.
A UCLA-led study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology released Monday found that COVID-19 death rates increased significantly following the lifting of eviction moratoriums, resulting in 433,700 excess infections and an estimated 10,700 excess deaths in the summer of 2020. The study’s senior author, Frederick Zimmerman, professor of health policy and management at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, concluded, “Evictions may have accelerated COVID-19 transmission by decreasing individuals’ ability to socially distance.”
Much of the $47 billion in federal aid for renters provided under pandemic stimulus programs is being held up by state governments, with the end of the moratorium expected to create a surge in evictions the money was ostensibly intended to prevent.
According to figures released in March by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 11 million families are at risk of losing housing, with 2.1 million being at least three months behind on mortgage payments, while 8.8 million are behind on rent.
At the time, homeowners were estimated to owe almost $90 billion, with the news release noting that “the last time this many families were behind on their mortgages was during the Great Recession.” Once the federal assistance programs and moratorium are ended, renters and homeowners will be left with a mass of overdue bills, payments on mortgages, and late rents.
According to the US Census Bureau’s June 23-July 5 Household Pulse Survey, 7.4 million households are not caught up on rent payments, constituting almost 15 percent of the total 50.9 million renter-occupied housing units in the US. Of these, households with four or more people constituted 3.6 million, or almost 50 percent of households not caught up on rent payments, with almost 4 million, or around 53 percent, being households with children.
The overwhelming share of households that are behind on rent are poor and working class, with 73 percent of those behind on rent making less than $50,000 a year, and over half (57 percent) making under $35,000 a year.
Speaking to the economic crisis facing broad swathes of the working class and middle class in the US, among all renters 13.7 million have seen the respondent or a household member experience a loss of employment income, with almost half of those not caught up on rent payments reporting a loss of employment income. Even worse, among respondents, 20 million were not currently employed, constituting nearly two in five households.
Even as millions struggle to make their payments and keep a roof over their families’ heads, rents are skyrocketing, with the median national rent reaching $1,527 per month, a 5.5 percent increase from the previous year, according to Realtor.com. Of the 50 largest metropolitan areas, 43 saw their median rent increase in that same period.
A recent report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that in 45 states and Washington D.C., median gross rents grew faster than median renter household income between 2001 and 2018. There is no state, city or county in the US where a worker earning the minimum wage at 40 hours a week can afford to rent a two-bedroom house.
Median existing home prices have risen, with the Wall Street Journal documenting a median price rise to $363,300, a record increase of 23.4 percent from the year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Compounding the pressure on households that have lost employment and income, putting them on the verge of eviction, is raging inflation. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase in June was the highest seen since 2008, at 5.4 percent.
While virtually nothing is being provided for the overwhelming majority of the population, unlimited money is being provided to enrich the oligarchy and prepare for world war.
The Federal Reserve is spending $120 billion on bonds and securities every month to pump money into the financial markets. US banks have posted record profits for the second quarter, exceeding analysts’ expectations, with just six banks making a combined $42 billion in profits in only three months. One of the largest asset managers, BlackRock, which posted a profit of $1.38 billion, manages $9.49 trillion, up from $7.32 trillion last year.
As this catastrophe plays out, Biden’s budget calls for a record annual military budget of $753 billion, in preparation for war against China, Russia and other countries.
Biden has presented a watered-down bipartisan infrastructure plan, which, in its present state, constitutes $579 billion in new funding over eight years. Neither this nor Biden’s “American Jobs Plan” or “American Families Plan” has actually been drawn up in the form of legislation.
Under conditions where there has already been a sharp increase in poverty globally, and in the US as well, there has been an rise in the wealth of billionaires. Globally, billionaire wealth surged 60 percent in the first year of the pandemic, from $8 trillion to $13.1 trillion.
The housing and eviction crisis, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, shows in no uncertain terms the absolute bankruptcy of capitalism, which is unable to provide for the needs of society. It makes clear the objective need for the overthrow of capitalism and its replacement by socialism, where the working class will make the necessary arrangements for housing for all of society on the basis of human need, rather than the drive of the capitalist oligarchs to make profits.
Chris Hedges | How Bankers ROBBED and ENSLAVED America
SOCIOPATH LYING LAWYER JOE BIDEN HAS ALWAYS BEEN UP THE BANKSTERS' ASSES.
HE IS SO CORRUPT THE BANKSTERS' RENT BOYS, LAWYER BARACK OBAMA AND LAWYER ERIC HOLDER WANTED HIM TO BE A PART OF THE BANKSTER REGIME OF LAWYER BARACK OBAMA, LAWYER JOE BIDEN AND LAWYER ERIC HOLDER!
With Sen. Joe Biden joining the Democratic ticket, there's renewed scrutiny of Biden's connections to the credit card industry. Biden has been particularly cozy with MBNA, a financial services company from Delaware, and now a subsidiary of Bank of America.
The Times also details just how helpful Biden has been to MBNA and the credit card industry. The senator was a key supporter of an industry-favorite bill -- the "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005" -- that actually made it harder for consumers to get protection under bankruptcy.
As the Times notes, Biden was one of the first Democratic supporters of the bill and voted for it four times until it finally passed in March 2005. A spokesman for Sen. Obama told the Times, "Senator Biden took on entrenched interests and succeeded in improving the bill for low-income workers, women and children."
Yet the Times actually looked at the legislative record and paints a different picture:
[Biden] was one of five Democrats in March 2005 who voted against a proposal to require credit card companies to provide more effective warnings to consumers about the consequences of paying only the minimum amount due each month. Mr. Obama voted for it.
Mr. Biden also went against Mr. Obama to help defeat amendments aimed at strengthening protections for people forced into bankruptcy who have large medical debts or are in the military; Mr. Biden argued that the amendments were unnecessary because the legislation already carved out exemptions for those debtors. And he was one of four Democrats who sided with Republicans to defeat an effort, supported by Mr. Obama, to shift responsibility in certain cases from debtors to the predatory lenders who helped push them into bankruptcy.
The Washington Post's David Broder detailed other industry-friendly aspects of the bill back in 2005. One proposed amendment to the bill would have stopped corporations from "judge-shopping" and going to the most-friendly venues for their bankruptcy cases. The amendment was introduced by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and appeared to have wide bipartisan support. But it never passed. Broder writes that Biden helped kill it.
Joe Biden Worked with Credit Card Companies to Make Bankruptcy Harder for Consumers
Former Vice President Joe Biden sided with his top donor, the one-time credit card giant MBNA Corp., against consumers on bankruptcy reform during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Starting in 1996, when Biden was seeking a fifth term representing Delaware in the U.S. Senate, MBNA’s top leadership began donating heavily to his campaign coffers. From 1996 to 2006, individuals employed by the company gave more than $212,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The sum was large enough to make the company Biden’s largest campaign contributor throughout his nearly 40-year career in public office.
The money would not have drawn interest, let alone controversy, if not for the manner and timing of the contributions. In total, more than $63,000 went to Biden between April and October 1996. The total was by far the largest given to any Democrat by MBNA that cycle.
On April 16 MBNA executive vice-president and chief technology officer Ronald Davies sent in $1,000. Kenneth Boehl, another top executive, also sent in $1,000 on the 16th. And senior vice-president Gregg Bacchieri. And William Daiger, another executive vice-president. And David Spartin, the vice-chairman and company spokesman. The next day, April 17, vice-chairman and chief financial officer Scot Kaufman sent $1,000, as did Bruce Hammonds, MBNA’s vice-chairman and chief operating officer. And John Hewes, senior executive vice-president of MBNA’s credit division. And vice-chairman and chief administrative officer Lance Weaver. On April 18, MBNA general counsel John Scheflen sent in $1,000. On April 20, group president David Nelms sent in $1,000, as did vice-chairman Vernon Wright. On April 22, John Cochran sent in $1,000. So did senior executive vice-president Peter Dimsey. And finally, on April 26, Charles Cawley sent in his $1,000.
York noted a similar pattern emerged after Biden had won his primary campaign that August and was preparing for the general election against a little known Republican. A review of Biden’s campaign finance filings from the time by Breitbart News shows the money flowed mainly in $1,000 increments, the maximum then allowed by Federal Election Commission guidelines.
Since Biden had sworn off political action committees in his bid to pass campaign finance reform, MBNA would have only been able to donate through individuals under its employ. Luckily, as the Wilmington News-Journal reported in 1995, the company already had a protocol in place for exactly such a purpose.
“MBNA Corp. crashed onto the political money scene in 1994 by distributing more than $1 million in campaign contributions, much of it raised through carefully worded memos advising its top executives to give to the bank’s favorite candidates in Delaware and in key races across the country,” the article states.
The memos raised eyebrows among campaign finance experts, as they seemed to skirt the limits in place on how much corporations could donate to candidates. MBNA defended its conduct, claiming it had not violated any federal laws or forced its employees to donate against their will. The latter, however, was viewed skeptically, as MBNA had not only requested proof of contributions, but also reasons for refusing to donate.
“The memos were from John W. Scheflen, MBNA’s general counsel,” the News-Journalreported. “He kept records of the contributions and requested confirmation. Instructions read in boldface: ‘Please send me a copy of each of your checks.’”
According to the paper, Scheflen requested in a follow-up memo “to know in writing who wasn’t giving: ‘If you do not plan to make any suggested contributions, I would appreciate it if you would so note.’”
Biden’s 1996 campaign appears to be the first time MBNA made a concerted effort to see him reelected. Despite having relocated its headquarters to Delaware in 1982, MBNA or its employees did not donate to Biden’s campaigns in 1990 or 1984, according to FEC filings. Campaign filings dating back to Biden’s 1972 and 1978 races were not readily available, as the FEC has archived reports from more than 40-years-ago.
Even more interesting is that Biden was one of the few Democrats that MBNA favored with its donation. From 1992 until its sale to Bank of America, MBNA and its employees never donated less than 73 percent of their contributions to Republicans. The company’s employees gave more than $575,000 to see President George W. Bush elected in both 2000 and 2004.
Starting in 2000, when Biden took a keener interest in bankruptcy reform, MBNA’s employees began contributing to him regardless of whether he was on the ballot or not. That year, Biden received more than $69,000 from MBNA, even though he was not seeking reelection for another two years. Similarly, MBNA contributed more than $49,000 to Biden in 2004, albeit he was not on the ballot again until 2008.
Although it is impossible to tell what impact the money had on Biden’s views — especially as he supported efforts to tighten student loan bankruptcy laws throughout the 1970s and 1980s — it is clear that after 1996 he championed MBNA’s legislative agenda with vigor.
In 1999, Biden was one of the lead backers of an initial bankruptcy reform package that held many of the provisions that would eventually end up in the 2005 bill. The legislation was a top priority for MBNA and a conglomerate of other credit card and banking interests.
Biden, along with a cadre of business-friendly Democrats and Senate Republicans, labored to pass the bill in the face of opposition from liberals and consumer advocates. Among those on the opposing side was then-Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren, a bankruptcy expert who argued the measure favored companies like MNBA over working families.
After an intense back and forth, Biden’s side prevailed and the bill passed in late 2000. It was not signed into law, though, as President Bill Clinton opted to pocket veto the measure on his way out of office.
Biden and allies were not dispirited, instead seizing the opportunity presented by the incoming-Republican president to pass a bill more favorable to banking interests. They ultimately succeeded in 2005 after MNBA and financial institutions bankrolled an intense lobbying campaign.
The following year, the law’s results were evident when bankruptcy filings fell by more than 70 percent across the country.
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