This article tells the story. The answer is, a whole lot of grassroots organizing involving many organizations that managed to join forces behind challenger Jesus "Chuy" Garcia to unseat the mayor. The runoff between Chuy and Rahm is April 7, so stay tuned. It will be exciting, and based on my own analysis of the numbers, it is possible for Chuy to win this.
http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17712/chicago_grassroots_movements
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Amid drought, a turf war between residents and homeowners associations - LA Times
Amid drought, a turf war between residents and homeowners associations - LA Times
People in Southern California are dealing with drought conditions by not watering their lawns. That seems sensible enough, except that many HOAs continue enforcing their absurd requirements for green lawns.
People in Southern California are dealing with drought conditions by not watering their lawns. That seems sensible enough, except that many HOAs continue enforcing their absurd requirements for green lawns.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Young voters, political participation, and the 2016 election
This is a work in progress, and I am posting it in the hope that people will read it and react to it. Tell me where I’m right, and tell me where I’m wrong or missing something.
I teach Political Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and in years past I taught at a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania and a large state university in California. Among other courses, I teach big introductory classes in American Government that are full of first and second year students, so I have been talking with a lot of young people about politics for 25 years. As a political scientist, I have also been reading what little is available in our literature about their attitudes toward politics and their political participation. Add to that the fact that I have three children between the ages of 17 and 23, all of whom are interested in politics, and I’d say I have a solid base to offer some opinions on young people and political participation.
Here is what I know about how the 18-29 demographic views political participation. I think it means that Hillary Clinton and the Democrats are in trouble in 2016 unless they make some changes in their approach to young people. I am intentionally oversimplifying here and overstating the differences between young and older people in order to sharpen the contrast. If I seem to be saying “all,” please understand that I mean a disproportionate amount. But as a practical matter these differences are determinative of election outcomes, and these are reasons why young people must be appealed to differently or they will not vote.
How are young voters different than older voters?
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Malfunctioning elevators leave residents of Northwest Miami-Dade condominium stranded
A condo association has had malfunctioning elevators for six years and hasn't fixed them properly because they say they can't afford it. Now they are facing $5 million in fines. I wonder if they can afford that.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/north-miami/article4925946.html
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/north-miami/article4925946.html
Pasco County HOA calls homes unsafe
In the sense that they might fall down in a high wind.
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2014/12/22/pasco-county-hoa-call-homes-unsafe/20693037/
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2014/12/22/pasco-county-hoa-call-homes-unsafe/20693037/
Las Vegas HOA fraud trial will stay in Vegas
Why? Because it happened in Vegas. The judge on this massive fraud trial ruled that the trial will stay right where it is, denying a change of venue motion based on the level of publicity. The defense is particularly upset at the Las Vegas Review-Journal's Jeff German for obtaining documents concerning Leon Belzer's plea bargaining talks with the US Attorney's office. Those talks didn't result in a deal, so off to trial they go. The funny part: the only reason German was able to get the documents is that one of the defendants put them in the court record and they were available to the public for two days. So the most damaging publicity is their own fault.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/las-vegas-hoa-corruption-trial-stays-las-vegas
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Illegal residents but responsible homeowners - Los Angeles Times
Illegal residents but responsible homeowners - Los Angeles Times: "More than 12,000 home loans were issued in recent years through a special program that relies on government-issued taxpayer identification numbers instead of Social Security numbers, according to the association.
The identification numbers, known as ITINs, were designed for foreign-born residents living legally in the U.S. but are widely acknowledged to be used primarily by illegal immigrants.
The real estate association does not keep statistics on foreclosure rates. But it has reported that the delinquency rates for taxpayer identification loans were 1.15% or lower in 2006, compared with about 3.5% for other home loans.
Although illegal immigrants are also feeling the effects of the downturn in the U.S. economy, Sandos and others cite one major factor for the success of taxpayer identification loans: stricter requirements, including larger down payments, pre-purchase counseling and fixed mortgage rates."
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So all the requirements that were waived for low income Americans were kept in place for illegal immigrants, and the result is the former are more likely to default than the latter. Dog bites man. Maybe the National Homeownership Initiative wasn't such a good idea?
The identification numbers, known as ITINs, were designed for foreign-born residents living legally in the U.S. but are widely acknowledged to be used primarily by illegal immigrants.
The real estate association does not keep statistics on foreclosure rates. But it has reported that the delinquency rates for taxpayer identification loans were 1.15% or lower in 2006, compared with about 3.5% for other home loans.
Although illegal immigrants are also feeling the effects of the downturn in the U.S. economy, Sandos and others cite one major factor for the success of taxpayer identification loans: stricter requirements, including larger down payments, pre-purchase counseling and fixed mortgage rates."
---------
So all the requirements that were waived for low income Americans were kept in place for illegal immigrants, and the result is the former are more likely to default than the latter. Dog bites man. Maybe the National Homeownership Initiative wasn't such a good idea?
FOXNews.com - Trillions Disappear in Stock Market, but Where Did Money Go? - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News
FOXNews.com - Trillions Disappear in Stock Market, but Where Did Money Go? -: "If you're looking to track down your missing money — figure out who has it now, maybe ask to have it back — you might be disappointed to learn that is was never really money in the first place.
Robert Shiller, an economist at Yale, puts it bluntly: The notion that you lose a pile of money whenever the stock market tanks is a 'fallacy.' He says the price of a stock has never been the same thing as money — it's simply the 'best guess' of what the stock is worth."
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Oh. It was just potential money. I feel much better now.
Robert Shiller, an economist at Yale, puts it bluntly: The notion that you lose a pile of money whenever the stock market tanks is a 'fallacy.' He says the price of a stock has never been the same thing as money — it's simply the 'best guess' of what the stock is worth."
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Oh. It was just potential money. I feel much better now.
Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending - New York Times
Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending - New York Times: 1999: "Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, Fannie Mae is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings.
Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify for a mortgage. But they add that the move is intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home owners who tend to have worse credit ratings than non-Hispanic whites.
Home ownership has, in fact, exploded among minorities during the economic boom of the 1990's. The number of mortgages extended to Hispanic applicants jumped by 87.2 per cent from 1993 to 1998, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. During that same period the number of African Americans who got mortgages to buy a home increased by 71.9 per cent and the number of Asian Americans by 46.3 per cent.
In contrast, the number of non-Hispanic whites who received loans for homes increased by 31.2 per cent."
Fannie Mae officials stress that the new mortgages will be extended to all potential borrowers who can qualify for a mortgage. But they add that the move is intended in part to increase the number of minority and low income home owners who tend to have worse credit ratings than non-Hispanic whites.
Home ownership has, in fact, exploded among minorities during the economic boom of the 1990's. The number of mortgages extended to Hispanic applicants jumped by 87.2 per cent from 1993 to 1998, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. During that same period the number of African Americans who got mortgages to buy a home increased by 71.9 per cent and the number of Asian Americans by 46.3 per cent.
In contrast, the number of non-Hispanic whites who received loans for homes increased by 31.2 per cent."
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