PART 2 of 2
By
Marilyn M. Barnewall
December 30, 2009
NewsWithViews.com
What’s going to happen in 2010?
NewsWithViews.com
readers are very well informed. Letters from readers tell me so. Writers
like C. J. Williams, Selwyn Duke, Devvy Kidd, Jon Christian Ryter, Edwin
Viera, Chuck Baldwin and many others use their writing skills to achieve
that objective. I’ve noticed something else, though. Some people
want to be informed but don’t want to do anything to implement change.
Being informed is enough for them.
Well, if you don’t want to lose your country, being informed is
not enough. Attending Tea parties isn’t enough. Like it or not,
want it or not, Americans need to deploy. People – including you
and me – must realize, like our troops around the world, that we
have a mission. Our mission is to make sure that when our guys come home
from the Battles of the Sandbox they return to the same nation they swore
to defend to the death, not a socialist/fascist country, but a Republic.
One sure thing about the economy is this: Barring a miracle, there is no recovery possible.
The
bubble created by government bailout borrowing will likely burst this
spring. The pin that pricks that bubble will likely be the mortgage mess
and foreclosures expected from the next round of Adjusted Rate Mortgage
(ARMs). The failure of government’s financing programs for already
foreclosed homes and homeowners in danger of foreclosure will also be
a factor.
Walk down Memory Lane with me. The primary problem that caused the real
estate bubble to burst occurred when Bill Clinton put the Community Reinvestment
Act (CRA) on steroids. CRA, or 12 U.S.C. 2901, was a mistake from its
beginning in 1977, making mortgage loans available to people, mostly minorities,
who could not afford to repay them. These bad loans were bought by investment
companies, formatted into derivatives, leveraged up to 40 times and were
sold internationally.
The government has taken over the banking industry (the auto industry, too, and is working on the insurance industry), and blames bankers for not making more mortgage loans. Hmmm. Does that make sense? It’s a little like the car czar telling Government Motors to get a specific model on the production line, providing bad management incapable of doing what he tells them, then complaining that workers aren’t getting the job done. Whose fault is it? The car czar’s poor management skills and lack of auto industry experience? Or is it the fault of workers on the production line who do what management tells them?
Banks cannot loan the public’s money to people unable to repay. For some reason, Tim Geithner and Ben Bernanke don’t understand this basic principle of commercial banking loan repayment.
In Part I of this article, I suggested that the people with whom Barack Obama has surrounded himself lack business experience and common sense. The “let us refinance your mortgage and keep you from foreclosure” programs are evidence of it. Only one in three homeowners who signed up for the mortgage relief program returned the required paperwork. Why do you think that is? Probable causes include lack of income qualification for the loan size required (meaning they didn’t qualify for the original mortgage loan and without CRA would not have gotten it). Remember. The Community Reinvestment Act forced banks and mortgage companies to lend to unqualified borrowers.
The
loss of job(s) within the family unit is another reason. Anyone who thinks
the housing crisis can be solved while unemployment runs rampant is naïve,
dumb, lives in an unreal/synthetic world and doesn’t realize the
damage he/she is doing to people in the real world. Why is it such a hard
lesson for liberals to learn that life doesn’t happen as they think
it should? Life moves logically. The Laws of Nature cannot be bypassed
because someone has a social or political dream.
How hard is it to realize that Step A will be followed by Steps B, C,
and D – as exemplified by the history of the world? Only those too
arrogant to realize they cannot change nature’s laws make such foolish
assumptions.
Treasury Department statistics through October show less than five percent of homeowners who applied for mortgages under the Obama Administration’s new program completed required trial periods and achieved permanently lowered mortgage payments. And, Treasury says it expects up to 40 percent of those borrowers to re-default within five years.
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The numbers do not support the rosy conclusion that problems in the housing market have been solved. Over 14 percent of ALL mortgage holders have a record of late payments or are in foreclosure. Because unemployment remains high, that number is expected to keep going up. Some statisticians say that figure is closer to 20 percent. That’s one-fifth of homeowners who are in trouble!
So what is the mission upon which we must embark to save our nation?
Start with the Tea Parties (hereinafter referred to as “TP”). Too many people who, for the first time, attended a group meeting to protest government misbehavior are being let down by poor management skills of those who kindly sponsored the original TPs. Too few people understand how to organize effectively. They don’t understand how to make their groups achievement-oriented at the local, then the county, then the state level. In my own city, politicians who are responsible for the problems are invited to speak at TP events.
What can TP groups do? How can they achieve objectives most beneficial to the greatest number? The people who come to a TP seek solutions to problems created by government. How are they best served?
Start with the problems we could face as unemployment and home ownership plague our economy. Will there be martial law? A lot of people think so. If so, food, reliable communication, heat, water, health care, security and shelter all become key issues. Is your TP group doing anything to effectively deal with these issues? Attendees can be given the opportunity to become active in one of many planning groups. Party sponsors may want to ask attendees for suggestions about other areas of concern.
A group meeting is scheduled for each suggested category. A leader and board are elected by each. Group volunteers discuss food availability (or heat alternatives or health care resources) during an emergency. The group creates a plan that makes alternatives available to each TP member. Maybe, for a small cost, a building can be rented, secured, and lockers provided so extra canned goods and dried foods can be placed at a central location. Maybe those who can tomatoes each summer will volunteer a few extra quarts. Maybe ten suggestions to provide food during an emergency result from that group’s meetings. That plan is presented for approval to all Tea Party members. The same thing occurs with other committees… communications, heat, water, health care, shelter, security, etc.
All group leaders in the city where the TP resides meet. All have developed plans. Merging information from all resident groups living in that city creates a total plan. That merged plan goes to the county level, then to the state. At the end of the process, all TP groups within the state are working from a compatible plan for common objectives.
TP gatherings occur monthly or quarterly and reports on progress are made. All group members find out the Communications Group has enlisted a printer to join them. If the Internet fails or is taken over by government, TP members will have volunteers deliver important information to them. They learn there are four health care professionals who can help treat members if the medical system falls apart. They find out the protections available to them as Tea Party members. They will be protected from worst possible scenarios. As each TP grows in size, so does its resources – and, soon, no one is dependent upon government for basic survival needs.
I didn’t mention the TP government action committee. Its job is to find the best possible political candidates… not the ones who have no core beliefs but, like trained clowns, have learned to say “I oppose abortion; I support lower taxes; I believe in the Constitution; I believe in smaller government; etc.” Members of this group make sure local political parties support TP political candidate choices – or lose the support of a large group of people who will actively work to defeat the political party’s candidates. And work you must.
To see how much TP members can accomplish, read how they took over the Republican Party in Nevada. For other insights about making TPs meaningfully productive, see this American Liberty Alliance article. Before things can be cleaned up nationally; you must first sweep your local political floors. Everything, but especially politics, begins at home.
TP plans can create the potential for small business growth.
This will be the year for independent businesses to grow and succeed. Not all small businesses. The “buy what you need, not what you want” and “buy American” philosophies will impact the success or failure of new companies. Remember, more than 90 percent of Americans are employed by independent businesses, not publicly traded behemoths. That is likely why we are seeing an attack against independent commercial banks. That, in turn, results in failed independent businesses. To prevent this is a major part of our battle.
Clean, filtered water made available to the public, for example, is a business that could thrive – if local TP members support it. So, too, is access to heating or cooling sources a good idea. These things should be supported during the “good” times so they will be available if our worst nightmares come true. Can a TP member who owns (or will start) a propane company be recruited? Can a mechanically skilled TP member start a company that creates less expensive solar panels for group members? Can a licensed electrician be found among TP members to activate the system and get members off of the utility company’s grid? Though it may require some recruiting, probably.
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I apologize for the length of this article, but it is my last for awhile. I have a book to finish. I’ve let too many other things get me off track. When it’s done, I’ll be back.
Until then, keep your powder dry and take advantage of the opportunities the spirit of the people of America makes possible.
God bless us – every one – and God bless our Great Nation and the patriots, known and unknown, who are trying to save Her. For part one click below.
Click here for part -----> 1,
� 2009 Marilyn M. Barnewall - All Rights Reserved
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Marilyn Barnewall received her graduate degree in Banking from the University of Colorado Graduate School of Business in 1978. She has authored seven non-fiction books about banking, two are listed at Oxford and Cambridge University libraries in Great Britain. Her current book, When the Swan’s Neck Breaks, details the banking problems she foresaw in 2006. Of the 24 predictions made in the book, 22 have happened. It is fiction but readers refer to it as docu-fiction.
Barnewall was named one of America's top 100 businesswomen in the book, What It Takes (Dolphin/Doubleday; Gardenswartz and Roe) and was one of the founders of the Committee of 200, the official organization of America's top 200 businesswomen. She can be found in Who's:Who in America (2005-08), Who's Who of American Women (2006-08), Who's Who in Finance and Business (2006-08), and Who's Who in the World (2008).
Web site:
E-Mail: marilynmacg@juno.com
