{"article":{"id":221483,"heading":"Direct Action to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions","author":"LMV Los Angeles","created":"2008-10-29 02:48:56","modified":"2008-11-24 11:19:36","last_modified":"Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:19:36","article":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><body><p>We propose united action to oppose all foreclosures and job cuts through direct action. We appeal to all activists and workers and youth to unite and work together for the program below:  <br><br> #End all evictions, foreclosures, job, wage and benefit cuts. Build \"Hands Of Our Homes Committees\" in the neighborhoods and \"Hands Of Our Jobs\/Wages\/Benefits Committees\"in the workplaces and unions to fight evictions, foreclosures, job, wage and benefit cuts by mobilizing through direct action.  <br><br> #Fight for a $15.00 minimum wage or a $5.00 wage increase which ever is the greater, free health care and education.  <br><br>  #Nationalize under workers control and management all financial institutions and major industries with compensation only on the basis of proven need.   <br><br> #Invest the capital of the new nationalized financial institution in health care, education, housing and a public works program to rebuild the infrastructure, create union jobs and build a decent life for all.  <br><br> #End Capitalism build a democratic socialist plan of production to provide for the needs of all.  Produced by Facts For Working People and Labors Militant Voice.Do not stand by. Contact us and let us work together. <br>  <br> laborsmilitantvoice@yahoo. com www.weknowwhatsup<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","contact":"","link":"www.laborsmilitantvoice.com","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"An Appeal to All Activists to Stop Forclosures Now! Organize Direct Action Committees to Stop Foreclosures","numcomment":7,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2008\/10\/221483.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":221489,"heading":"Can you give an example of a direct action one could take?","article":"Can you give an example of a direct action one could take?\r\n\r\n","author":"?","parent_id":221483,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-10-29 12:02:26","modified":"2008-10-29 12:02:26","fileurl":""},{"id":221532,"heading":"People's Housing","article":"I suppose it would be to squat in the house with the residents, and defend it against people taking it away.\r\n\r\nOf course, the problem is, the cops have guns and the law on their side.  The resident is likely to eventually give up and find a rental.","author":"gimme shelter","parent_id":221483,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-10-31 02:17:11","modified":"2008-10-31 02:17:11","fileurl":""},{"id":221633,"heading":"Direct Action examples","article":"Labors Militant Voice has been active around the US doing direct actions against evictions and recently foreclosures. An example of stopping a foreclosure would be: \r\n\r\n1. Telling everyone in your neighborhood, friends, family etc that you are being foreclosed on (post up flyers etc). Contact media when you do actions. \r\n\r\n2. Investigate who is involved ( bank, city council HUD etc) and pick targets\r\n\r\n3. Show up to the bank with as many people as possible and demand a renegotiation and be relentless about it.  Be willing to show up to peoples homes, churches whomever it is who is trying to kick you out\r\n\r\n4. Do not move out! If you start the process quickly all the better but if you can resist it dont move out because once that happens its hard to move back in. \r\n\r\n5. DO not trust false promises of banks or politicans or even lawyers. Until you got the paper saying you are free to stay fight like hell. \r\n\r\n\r\nLabors Mlitant Voice is willing to help anyone and everyone stop a foreclosure and or eviction but YOU MUST BE WILLING TO FIGHT. We are NOT a non-profit and we dont take money from the government or companies. We will fight along side you to build a movement to stop evictions and foreclosures from the bottom up. \r\n\r\nWe want to organize with whomever believes its the people themselves who have to fight for themselves. If you agree with this approach contact us. ","author":"Labors Militant Voice","parent_id":221483,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-11-03 01:01:05","modified":"2008-11-03 01:01:05","fileurl":""},{"id":221727,"heading":"Down to support","article":"Okay.... but what if the current market value of the house is still greater than a payment the resident could afford?\r\n\r\nSuppose the old mortgage was for $450,000 (and 0 down), but the house is now worth $250,000... and the worker makes only $45k per year?  (45k is the average houshold income, I think)  And estimate the monthly payment was a 1.5% teaser rate, or $1200 a month.\r\n\r\nThe monthly payment after refinancing would be around $2000.  That would be more than 50% of this person's income.  By traditional standards, this person doesn't qualify for this mortgage.  That's after giving the borrower and bank some $200k of bailout money!\r\n\r\nNow, that's probably not the case for all loans, but a lot of $0 down, no documentation loans came like that.  Those shouldn't be rescued.  They should be foreclosed, and the residents assisted in finding less expensive housing.  The assistance they would really need is to fix their credit score.\r\n\r\nThe bank should have to eat the loss.","author":"gimme shelter","parent_id":221483,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-11-06 23:49:08","modified":"2008-11-06 23:49:08","fileurl":""},{"id":222484,"heading":"Let the Foreclosed Rent","article":"[There may not be any realistic *direct* action to take about this housing issue, but, an extension of our rights, as residents, is always a gain for renters.  We all need a decent place to live, and only by extending our right to housing, and our political power will we be able to have decent, affordable housing.]\r\n\r\nForeclosures With the Right to Rent:\r\n\r\nby: Dean Baker,\r\nt r u t h o u t: November 17, 2008\r\n\r\nPoliticians often prefer complex solutions to simple problems. Nowhere is\r\nthis more apparent than with the long list of complicated and convoluted\r\nproposals to address the country's foreclosure crisis.\r\n\r\nMillions of people face the loss of their homes over the next few years.\r\nWhile the politicians in Congress have developed a wide variety of complex\r\nschemes in order to hold back this flood of foreclosures, including one\r\npassed into law last summer that provided up to $300 billion guarantees for\r\nnew mortgages on homes facing foreclosure, none have had much impact thus\r\nfar.\r\n\r\nThe unavoidable problem with these schemes is that it is difficult to\r\ndesign a plan that aids families facing foreclosure without giving an\r\nincentive to other homeowners to also default on their mortgage. In\r\naddition, it is hard to justify taxing the people who are struggling to keep\r\nup with their own mortgages in order to help those who default. It is even\r\nharder to justify taxing ordinary people to help out the bank executives,\r\nwho issued hundreds of billions of dollars of bad loans.\r\n\r\nAs a result, to date these programs have not prevented a tidal wave of\r\nforeclosures and evictions. The number of foreclosure filings (there are\r\ntypically two or more filing for every actual foreclosure) is now\r\napproaching 300,000 per month.\r\n\r\nFor those not offended by simplicity, there is an easy solution.\r\nCongress can temporarily modify the rules on foreclosure to give families\r\nfacing foreclosure the right to rent their homes at the market rate for a\r\nsubstantial period of time. Rep. Raul Grijalva proposed such a change in the\r\nSaving Family Homes Act, which would allow homeowners the option to remain\r\nas renters for up to 20 years following a foreclosure.\r\n\r\nThis bill would immediately give families security in their home, so\r\nthat if they like the home, the neighborhood, the school for their kids,\r\nthey would have the option to stay in the house for a substantial period of\r\ntime. This also has the great benefit for the neighborhood that homes will\r\nremain occupied.\r\n\r\nPerhaps more importantly, this change in foreclosure rules will give\r\nbanks a real incentive to negotiate conditions under which homeowners can\r\nstay in their homes as owners. Banks do not want to become landlords. The\r\nbank will own the house after a foreclosure, but a house with a renter is\r\nworth much less to them than a house over which it has complete control.\r\n\r\nGiving the homeowner the right to stay as a renter hugely increases\r\ntheir bargaining power with the bank. The result of this change in\r\nforeclosure rules is that far more homeowners are likely to remain in their\r\nhomes as owners.\r\n\r\nThe beauty of this sort of proposal is that it is simple, can take\r\neffect immediately, it requires no taxpayer dollars and no new bureaucracy.\r\nIt also is not giving anyone a big bonanza. Homeowners are not likely to\r\nline up for a process that could end up with them being renters. And the\r\nbanks will obviously not be thrilled about a rule change that will leave\r\nthem worse off in trying to squeeze money out of homeowners.\r\n\r\nWhile the basic point of the right to rent is simple, it can be extended\r\nin various ways to further aid homeowners. Bernard Wasow, at the Century\r\nFoundation, has proposed some additional measures to facilitate the\r\ntransition to rental status or possibly a return to ownership. Daniel\r\nAlpert, of Westwood Capital, has a somewhat different version that creates a\r\nmechanism for homeowners to buy back their homes after five years.\r\n\r\nIn short, if people want to add bells and whistles, it is easy to do so.\r\nBut, the key to stopping people from being thrown out of their homes is\r\nsimply to change the law that allows people to be thrown out of their homes.\r\nThat one is so simple that even a policy wonk should be able to understand\r\nit.","author":"gimme shelter","parent_id":221483,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2008-11-24 11:19:44","modified":"2008-11-24 11:19:44","fileurl":""}]}