Economic Justice
Economic Justice
The Latest Signs We Are Cooking the Planet and Ourselves
Jul 3, 2019 Things are getting noticeably harder and hotter due to climate change, and the worst part is, we are doing this to ourselves.
Trump’s Treasury Pick Excelled at Kicking Elderly People Out of Their Homes
Jan 17, 2017 When Steven Mnuchin ran OneWest, the bank aggressively and, in some cases, wrongly foreclosed on elderly homeowners with reverse mortgages. The bank had a disproportionate share of such foreclosures.
The Public-Private Profiteers
Feb 6, 2014 In the cases of healthcare and underwater mortgages, the administration shied away from direct government aid. Instead, it subsidized private companies to serve the people. To get your government-subsidized mortgage modification, you applied at your bank; to get your government-mandated health coverage, you buy private insurance.
California City Votes to Seize Underwater Mortgages
Sep 12, 2013 Richmond plans to use eminent domain powers to seize bad mortgages and resell them at property value to new mortgage holders, helping its residents get out from under massive debt. Whether it will work is a big question mark.
Poor Losing Homes Over Small Tax Liens to Private ‘Investors’
Sep 8, 2013 Low-income D.C. residents -- many of them retirees -- have been losing their homes under a program in which tax rights are sold to private investors who add mind-boggling fees and then foreclose when they aren't paid. And it's all legal.
Federal Cash to Help Homeowners Will Raze Properties Instead
Aug 21, 2013 Some $100 million in federal money aimed at keeping Michigan families in their homes will now be used to tear down emptied buildings.
Bank of America Lied to Homeowners and Rewarded Foreclosures, Ex-Employees Say
Jun 18, 2013 Bank of America employees regularly lied to homeowners seeking loan modifications, denied their applications for made-up reasons, and were rewarded for sending homeowners to foreclosure, according to sworn statements by former bank employees.
Regulators to Keep Tight Lips on Foreclosure Improprieties
Apr 30, 2013 This month we learned that regulators will not reveal any shenanigans discovered by the highly paid "independent" consultants big banks hired under orders from the government to review potential wrongdoing on their part in the foreclosure/robo-signing scandal.
American Pipe Dream
Apr 14, 2012
Report: Freddie Mac Stacked the Deck Against Homeowners
Jan 31, 2012 A joint investigation by NPR and ProPublica has rustled up some disquieting trading practices on the part of Freddie Mac that suggest the taxpayer-run mortgage company hasn't exactly done its darndest to help struggling Americans hold on to their homes -- in fact, the opposite may be more the case.
