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

Monday, October 18, 2010

What's Behind the Foreclosure Crisis

by Numerian from The Economic Populist. 

This article is especially for those of you who may be facing foreclosure proceedings. Under pressure from financial institutions that were repackaging mortgages into all kinds of "products" and peddling all over the world, they didn't want to bother with following legal procedures in transferring mortgages from one institution to another. Hence the problems they are now having with foreclosing on homeowners. 

Once again, this illustrates how the rich and powerful can ignore laws and get away with it--because they largely make the laws, and control the law enforcement agencies and courts. The legal system is designed to be used against working people.
This crisis at its core revolves around an attempt by banks, mortgage brokers and other financial institutions to privatize and usurp the government-run county record system that for over 200 years has guaranteed the property rights of American citizens. The long term question is whether this private usurpation, which was implemented without review or approval from any elected representatives of the people, should be allowed to stand.
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