Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Banks Threaten to Punish Cities that Use Eminent Domain to Help Underwater Homeowners

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Banks Threaten to Punish Cities that Use Eminent Domain to Help Underwater Homeowners

Click here to access article by Ken Broder from AllGov.

This contest over foreclosures in Richmond, California illustrates where real power lies in a capitalist society--it's definitely not in your elected officials if they propose anything that interferes with the interests of banks and other corporations.

Banks—which make money by selling the homes to lenders in the secondary market, who then make money by foreclosing on the homes and reselling them—have promised to block the city with lawsuits. They promise an end to lending in the city if it persists in its plan.