Comments

2
It's like Occupy but with a cast of three. The old Austrian, the commie and the guy who wants everyone else to pay his mortgage.

This is soooooo 2010, can't wait to see how it ends.
3
You still haven't explained what you find 'racist' in The Troll's comments in the Saturday news.

Shitface.

You aren't worthy to wipe real journalists' asses with your tongue.
4
@3: I love you too, friend!
5
@1 protecting people from unnecessary foreclosures is in the public interest. It's much better for someone to miss a couple payments, catch up, and then stay in their home rather than go through foreclosure and then eviction.

The courts cost taxpayers money. The use of law enforcement costs taxpayers money. And frequently the bank that has the mortgage isn't in a great position to figure out what the house is worth and they have to unload it at a bargain price after the home has set idle for months or years.
6
"Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!"

The idiot Sawant is sooooo retro. I guess she hasn't heard, housing prices in King County are on a tear!

"Marliza Melzer, an herbalist and mother of three"

With credentials like that, something tells me she wants the rest of us to pay her mortgage too.

Oh wait, Marliza Melzer is also a "Colon Hydrotherapist, Quantum Biofeedback Practitioner". So basically, she's full of shit.
7
@1: It is so impossibly far from that simple. Apparently you didn't bother click this link.
8
Sargon,

I'm sorry that you feel that way. However, my understanding is that the world is a lot more complicated than that. Jeremy didn't purchase his home thinking he'd lose his business, or wife. He bought it intending to make the payments, and he did so for a very long time. When the economy collapsed it caused him (and 16,000 other Seattlites) to lose their ability to afford their homes. That's a scale which is so large it is a reflection of a failure in the system that created the collapse, not a failure on the part of the citizens.

How could 16,000 people in Seattle alone purchase homes they could not afford, unless there was a catastrophic change in the income of a significant portion of the population of this area?

It's obvious that the problem is not Griffin's, but the system that created the mortgage crisis in the first place. This is why they are protesting. This is why SAFE and groups like them need to be Supported.

-Jeff on Beacon Hill
9
Sargon,

I'm sorry that you feel that way. However, my understanding is that the world is a lot more complicated than that. Jeremy didn't purchase his home thinking he'd lose his business, or wife. He bought it intending to make the payments, and he did so for a very long time. When the economy collapsed it caused him (and 16,000 other Seattlites) to lose their ability to afford their homes. That's a scale which is so large it is a reflection of a failure in the system that created the collapse, not a failure on the part of the citizens.

How could 16,000 people in Seattle alone purchase homes they could not afford, unless there was a catastrophic change in the income of a significant portion of the population of this area?

It's obvious that the problem is not Griffin's, but the system that created the mortgage crisis in the first place. This is why they are protesting. This is why SAFE and groups like them need to be Supported.

-Jeff on Beacon Hill
10
@1 with such a simplistic world view, perhaps you need to do the growing up.
11
"It's obvious that the problem is not Griffin's, but the system that created the mortgage crisis in the first place."

Obvious to whom? Those of us who planned ahead, read our contracts, researched loans, saved for a rainy day, weathered the storm and still made all their mortgage payments on time? Or those who fucked up and want us to pay their bills now?

By the way, housing prices are back in King County, unemployment in Seattle is under 5%. Anyone still in the shitter shouldn't own a home.
12
"perhaps you need to do the growing up."

Grownups read their contracts, plan for problems and research before signing anything. Mr Griffin and this merry band of idiots are the children. Luckily Occupy is dead as a dodo; this is just the last whiffs off its rotting corpse.
13
The banks fucked a lot of people over by deliberately giving high risk loans and manipulating people into thinking they could afford more than they could and that the homes wee worth more than they were. That's not the fault of the homeowners and the banks should be the ones taking the fall for their own shitty practices. This isn't a matter of people not bothering to save. The recession created a lot of innocent victims. Lets not blame the victims.
14
"The banks fucked a lot of people over by deliberately giving high risk loans and manipulating people into thinking they could afford more than they could and that the homes wee worth more than they were. "

You know what moron? I was offered those loans too. And you know what? They tried to get me into more home than I could afford. But you know what? I did some 'research' and went with a 30 yr fixed, put down 30%, made sure I had at least 2 yrs worth of mortgage payments in the bank in savings. Sure I paid a higher interest rate and had to put more down, but where's my fucking cookie for being responsible?

All I will agree with you morons is the banks should have never been allowed to loan to people like Mr Griffin and new age, anal canal cleaning, single mom baby machine, aka Marliza Melzer.

Credit is a privilege not a right. Luckily now the banks won't give these fools a penny.
15
@13: THIS THIS THIS. I certainly hope nobody is wasting their time on the uneducated, unregistered trolls in this thread. It's bad enough one of them snagged a login.
16
What's the point of arguing with right wing trolls? They are far too cowardly to ever make their arguments in person. It's unlikely they ever leave their homes, but if by some chance you see them posting in a coffee shop, unfortunate spillages on expensive laptops sometimes happen.
17
Sargon, when you troll it's never a good idea to use as a screen name the name of the unltimate evil being.
18
@14 if you put 30% down and had 2yrs of payments in the bank, why did you pay a higher interest rate?
19
"why did you pay a higher interest rate?"

Because the majority of these morons got ARMs with low interest and now are whining for a break.
20
3

Then you shall explain why you accused us of being racist.

Does your organization have an Ombudsman?

Or does Mr Keck handle such matters himself.

Are you members of Washington News Council?

Surely a Formal Complaint will not be required.

21
Voter apathy.

If people would actually get off their asses and vote - and not just for presidential elections - so many problems would be solved.

The banks know this and they're laughing about it because they also know nothing will change. People will complain about consequences that they could have changed themselves if only they had voted, but didn't bother with. Totally reactive. Totally myopic.
22
If you're going to make an argument for mortgage principle reduction, then you need to be arguing for it across the board— for people in mansions, for people up to date on their payments, for companies that own dozens or thousands of properties, for everyone who borrowed in whatever time period you decide is problematic.

There's a real economic case to be made for that. And politically, it would be a lot more popular than bailing out only the foreclosed-upon (that's how we got Social Security and Medicare, you know).

Unfortunately, this is not what the various Occupy-offshoot activists are advocating.
23
@ 13 I sort of feel for them but I sort of don't. Even if banks were saying hey you can afford this people should have done their research and figured out they could not.
24
you know "paddy wagon" is not really ok, right?
25
The solution is VERY VERY SIMPLE. Pay what you say you will pay. If you do not live up to what you said you will, and then scream FOUL, you're not being honest. You are being dis-honest. If you can not afford a home, which is not a statement of self worth, many people can not afford a home; then you must rent a space to live. Nothing demeaning about that. Americans seem to think they are entitled to what ever they want and those that deny them are mean monsters. Grow up.

Posted by Sargon Bighorn on July 2, 2013 at 5:44 PM

Yes, the solution is VERY VERY SIMPLE. Break up the banks so they cannot pay off the ratings agencies (See http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/new…) to sell AAA rated garbage that caused the financial crisis and the politicians to enact (or not) the legislation they want. Let's end too greedy to fail...nothing demeaning about that. Bankers seem to think they are entitled to whatever they want at the expense of everyone else and that makes them monsters. Their pissing contests with each other to see who can own the most houses, planes, and have the biggest salaries regardless of the cities and people in them they destroy in the process make them no more than school yard bullies who need to grow up!
26
Oh, and let us not forget how they manipulated the LIBOR for their own benefit!
27
@25

OK, but if the problem is the banks and their lending practices, then the just thing to do is to make amends to everyone who borrowed from "the banks" while they were issuing loans under those practices, instead of granting recompense only to those who, for one reason or another, are unable to make mortgage payments at this moment in time. Right?
28
Glad this Protest took place and Great to see it was covered, as it should have been. We got to where we are today by sitting back and not speaking up, but now it seems some pick on the ones brave enough to step up peacefully.
Someday, in a situation in your life, you might be thankful for the ones that were not afraid.
29
@1 is a moron who thinks he is smart but knows not a fucking thing about anything. "Hurr durr you must always make the same amount and your rate will never go up and your house will never lose value below what you paid for it and you will never be unemployed and lol i'm a fucking rich white dumbass" - @1
30
The banks play the numbers, you ignorant pro-bank liberal assholes. They hire analysts that tell them to make such loans in order to make $X profit, because it is legal.

It also fits nicely with the pro-communist central banker plans for wealth redistribution from US middle class to other destinations, in order to destroy the last vestiges of political power supporting a Constitutional Republic.

They created the dot.com, oil, and housing bubbles. All ended up creating wealth transfers from the US middle class.

next up: the family unit, organized religion, and your private property
31
I always expected that if I couldn't pay my mortgage, I would have to move out and give up the house. I am very happy with the low interest rates on mortgages right now. Payments are lower than ever.
32
@27 I agree, but if you think our bought and paid for politicians are going to extract that from the banks who fund their re-election campaigns your smoking something now legal in this state.

Not EVER going to happen -- hell, they wouldn't even pass Sen Sanders bill to lower credit card interest rates to 15%. And it was a GOP Congress that gave the banks preferential treatment under the bankruptcy laws so they can still get paid a percentage, if you have anything they can get their hands on. We used to have usury laws in almost every state. Our lovely courts threw those out on the basis of where the banks were domiciled, not the person using the card, hence all are domiciled in states without usury laws. And remember the days when the cards ended up in your mailbox without any request or credit check? They were mailing them out like candy creating a debtor nation, rather than a saving one as we used to be.

Welcome to the Corporate States of America. They own us lock, stock and barrel and will until we stop giving them our money. Shop mom and pop whenever you can and pay cash, no credit cards, no debit cards. Move your money to a credit union and you auto and mortgage loans, if possible.
33
@32

Gosh, you're right! Let's just go break the windows of a Starbucks instead.
34
Thanks, people
We need to vigorously protect Americans from corrupt and predatory banking and financial practices. Reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act prohibiting common ownership of investment banks, commercial banks, and insurance companies.
Break up the “too-big-to-fail banks"; bailed-out banks should become publicly owned entities.
We need to establish a diverse banking environment including public banks, community banks, and credit unions, which encourage low-interest loans for small business, students, and infrastructure.

Prosecute banking fraud. Transfer control of the Federal Reserve to Congress and the U.S. Treasury Department.
35
Here's a foreclosure resource that NEEDS referrals. Please share with anyone who could qualify. "Chronic Illness" is defined loosely. If you are unsure if you qualify, call anyway.

http://www.solid-ground.org/Programs/Hou…

Clarissa
36
The remedy: We need to vigorously protect Americans from corrupt and predatory banking and financial practices. Reinstate the Glass-Steagall Act prohibiting common ownership of investment banks, commercial banks, and insurance companies.
Break up the “too-big-to-fail banks"; bailed-out banks should become publicly owned entities.
We need to establish a diverse banking environment including public banks, community banks, and credit unions, which encourage low-interest loans for small business, students, and infrastructure.

Prosecute banking fraud. Transfer control of the Federal Reserve to Congress and the U.S. Treasury Department.
37
As an organizer with a similar group in Rhode Island (but having lived in Seattle briefly back in 2006) I applaud the work of organizers and the courage of local residents resisting foreclosure and eviction. In the tradition of progressive change in this country, which has only come through organized struggle founded on the risk-taking and dynamism of working class communities and oppressed people, I am proud to be a part of the national resistance to what the article aptly describes as "a nation-wide crime scene." It ought to be described as community imperialism, (the existing legal system has already dubbed these foreclosures legal, time and again sanctioning the banks activities - even paying them for it!) and it won't stop until we put an end to a capitalist system of living, working, and governance. I'm with you, comrades in Seattle. Look out for news of our organizing against those same banksters in the Northeast!
38
1) What happened to the point... these protestors were peaceful & they were arrested. This is still a free country, peaceful protests are still allowed. Why are you so anxious to just give up all your rights?

2) Goes to some of the issues such as securitization & repeatedly selling servicing rights (and sometimes the same loan multiple times... and I do not mean serially... I mean the banks have been paid off for loans as much as 20 times when audits were done. So in fact, the home owner no longer owns anything... and many investors got cheated.)

Why did this man have to go to the SEC Prospectus just to find out who to discuss his home loan with? All of you wanting to blame him, why do not not see this is an issue? It shows the shady way the banks have been operating, trying to keep homeowners from being able to fix the issue.

3) "Sometimes foreclosure is unavoidable" Wells Fargo says. Hmmm... and usually it's not. Do you realize if they FORECLOSE they collect insurance? Guess from who? AIG. Yup, that is why we had to bail them out. The truth is the banks have zero incentive to help homeowners, many of whom they put in that spot in the first place. Then they have to explain to 20 different investors where their money went. When they Foreclose, they do not answer to investors.

4) You assume all these loans were legal. Many many were not. Then the servicing was not done right. Then the foreclosure process was not handled right. We know B of A has been caught giving gift cards & bonuses to employees to illegally foreclose on homes, and turn down modifications homeowners qualified for.

5) Case in point my appeal - http://www.RaglandVUSBank.com - my loan was FORGED, my home sold UNDER A STAY PREVENTING IT, US Bank ADMITTED THEY KNEW IT WAS ILLEGAL, I had equity in my home, I was only behind because they told me not to pay then refused payments, they sold my home $200K under the depressed market value--and they are STILL fighting me. Illegal all the way. THIS is the kind of thing that has been going on.

All of you who want to blame the homeowner -- you are naive. Ignorant. You have been duped by the banks. This is why I'm writing a book about all this. "Bank Robbers". Take time to see what is really up, and you will be shocked.

You see, you are believing the story the banks spread -- that all these homeowners are "deadbeats". They did not read their contract. Do you realize in one of the major mortgage companies in this country they had the FORGER coming in every Friday to fake people's signatures so they could give them loans they never signed up for, at terms they did not agree to.

Instead of just buying the bank's BS, educate yourself. If I was not in the middle of this nightmare myself I'd have never learned these things. It is time to wake up America.
39
so this is how Hitler got away with it? As a kid i couldn't understand how so many good people could be controlled by the madness of a few.
40
For those of you who are saying, "PAY UP," I ask you when the servicer tells you that there are possibly eight entities who own your home, which one would YOU pay???

Or are you in the habit of just paying because someone says so?

Why not start asking for the original promissory note and original Deed of Trust before selling and reconveying the property, you might be surprised that the servicer won't provide these documents.
41
I don't even get how people's logic works in this world. Here is our reality:

One person has multiple homes, more food than they know what to do with, burns through natural resources like they're (ha!) totally renewable, and has more excess disposable income than 99% of the world's population. Another is being forcibly removed from his home by that first person. The second person has next to nothing.

People say this is okay because the second person signed a piece of paper?

Oh, the mental tricks we do to justify our system.

Please wait...

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