Stewart A. Alexander
Nominee for U.S. Vice President of the Socialist Party USA,
and candidate for nomination by the Peace and Freedom Party
November 29, 2007
From 2002 to 2005, Murrieta and Temecula were two of the hottest real estate markets in Riverside County, California. Every weekend, corners would be cluttered with signs advertising real estate for sale. Often, one or two signs would be posted for rental properties.
Now on weekends, many street corners are posted with different signs: Bank Repossession, Foreclosure Sale and House for Rent. Unfortunately, this is a familiar scene that is happening across America as hundreds of thousands of working class families are losing their homes in the worst mortgage crisis since the Great Depression.
Within the next few months, millions of adjustable rate mortgages are scheduled to reset and millions of working class families are in jeopardy of losing their homes. Many homeowners will be faced with increased mortgage payments that will increase by hundreds and even thousands of dollars.
Most working-class families are faced with a double dilemma: their expenses are constantly going up while their income is remaining the same or declining. The recession and inflation are consuming any extra funds that would be available to pay any increased mortgage payments.
Food and gas prices are also consuming a larger chunk out of the paychecks of working-class families. Since November of 2006, food prices have climbed more than 10 percent in grocery stores. Gas prices were down to .10 per gallon, now in most parts on the nation the price of gasoline is more the .00 per gallon. With out of control inflation, basically caused by massive spending on a needless war coupled with tax cuts for the rich, millions of homeowners are not prepared to take on additional expenses.
It is also unfortunate that this Christmas will become a nightmare for millions of working class families. Already lacking the income to keep up with the cost of living, millions of homeowners are borrowing further into debt to enjoy the traditions of the Christmas holiday with their families. Others are cutting their holiday spending down to nothing, and finding that even this cannot keep them afloat.
The Democrats and Republicans have done little or nothing to help millions of homeowners during this crisis; the two corporate parties are more concerned with protecting the interests of the billionaires and the mortgage lenders than protecting working families.
Congress must act now to protect the financial security of working class families. Congress must implement broad based changes to deal with the mortgage crisis, sagging wages, inflation and the recession.
Before millions of mortgages reset, Congress should freeze all balloon payments and convert them into mortgage extensions at reduced interest. Congress should also eliminate all adjustable home loans, enacting a law that will freeze the interest at the lowest rate charged during the life of the loan.
Homeowners that have been in their homes for less than 36 months who wish to vacate their homes should be given payments from the mortgage lender to tide them over during relocation.
Congress should also act to restore the credit of millions of individuals that have been the victims of credit fraud. If it can be determined that a home loan was made fraudulently, the buyer’s credit should be restored, and their home should be protected from bank foreclosure.
Congress should also direct the U.S. Justice Department to seize certain banks, mortgage companies and financial institutions that have systematically put hard-working families at risk. When penalties are exacted, the fines should be sufficient to make the seizure permanent, and the financial institutions should operate under public ownership to assist working people in building and buying homes.
Both the Peace and Freedom Party and the Socialist Party USA support protecting the rights of working class homeowners, and of renters. Both parties believe it is necessary to establish affordable housing for all, and end homelessness. The two parties, both committed to socialism and democracy, consider it a responsibility of government to protect working people from predators and exploiters.
If the two corporate parties, the Democrats and Republicans, take a wait-and-see attitude while the mortgage lenders and multi-billionaires take the hard-earned family resources of millions of Americans, the results will be catastrophic for working class families, and ultimately for our entire economy.
For more information search the web for: Stewart A. Alexander; Independent Voters Rejecting Democrats and Republicans.
http://www.workers.org/2007/us/mortgages-0705/ http://StewartAlexanderCares.com http://www.vote-socialist.org/ http://peaceandfreedom-sjv.org/home/ http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/pres08.htm http://www.politics1.com/p2008.htm