Obama’s Meeting With Black Leaders: A Little Too Laid-Back

Thanks to Cynthia Gordy of TheRoot.com for asking the tough questions after President Obama met with a group of African-American “advisers”. It’s not helping the Black community to see so many of their “leaders” so happy to roll up in the White House they don’t question how the decision’s made by this administration impact Black folks. I still haven’t met anyone who received stimulus money or benefitted from any of the programs initiated to stimulate the economy. The unemployment rate for Blacks is still over 15.9 percent and people are still experiencing layoffs.

I hope someone in the group mentioned that the new mortgage relief programs are just a new hustle for the mortgage companies. These modifications seem to be another paperwork scam – this one helps the mortgage company to get the necessary information and forms so they can foreclose. Once they get the paperwork, it appears that the mortgage companies gain more by foreclosing. I know of at least six people who applied for modifications and, after months of paperwork shuffling, they still went into foreclosure. If I know about the paperwork scam, I’m sure the Obama Administration does as well. We’re watch a new round of foreclosures of the people who thought their mortgages were modified.

Banks sudden change of heart in loan re-modifications
For over two years, banks have been given special monies from Congress, and extremely low interest rates from the Federal Reserve, to work with home owners to modify their home loans once the housing bubble collapsed. However, very few people have actually had their loans adjusted, and instead, banks have been pursuing foreclosures at gargantuan rates.

Late last week, that policy may be changing, and yet, it is the homeowner who needs to be wary of this.

…So now, as a last ditch effort to compile the proper paperwork to satisfy the courts, banks are now suddenly offering loan re-modifications so that homeowners will by default, re-affirm the loan and justify a chain of ownership to the banks they did not have at the time of the foreclosure proceedings. Continue reading on Examiner.com

Also check out the Rolling Stone article “Invasion of the Home Snatchers” by Matt Taibbi which explains that the banks do not want to help homeowners avoid foreclosure because the banks dumped thousands of home loans into trusts, securities etc. Because of the transfer the actual banks are just servicers of the loans and have no motivation to work with homeowners. If a homeowner pays less than their full mortgage payment the bank must pay the remainder but if the home is foreclosed on and sold, the bank is out of the middle.

Clearly, the Obama Administration fell short with this modification program that works in favor of the banks and not the people. Don’t get me wrong, I love having a Black President. But, President Obama’s Blackness shouldn’t stop anyone from calling him and his administration to the carpet if they are not helping the people who need it most. They helped the banks. They helped Wall Street. They need to do something to help the working poor (formerly working/middle class). Go Cynthia for giving voice to an alarming issue of complacency among Black leaders.

Obama’s Meeting With Black Leaders: A Little Too Laid-Back
From TheRoot.com:

Less than two months after his last sit-down with the National Policy Alliance, on Tuesday President Obama met again with the group of African-American advisers. A coalition of 10 — nine of which represent black public officials, including the National Conference of Black Mayors and the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, plus the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies think tank — NPA also met with Cabinet members and senior administration officials.

Countering the perception that the White House steers clear of such organizations, lest the president appear “too black,” NPA additionally holds weekly phone conferences with White House advisers.

So what did they discuss with Obama on Tuesday? According to its members, roughly: “Keep on doin’ what you’re doin’.”

“The president has established priorities, and we’re here to support what he’s doing,” said Mayor Robert Bowser of East Orange, N.J., and head of the National Conference of Black Mayors. He was one of several NPA representatives who participated in a post-meeting media roundtable that mostly applauded Obama’s efforts.

Certainly, the body acknowledged that many African-American communities are struggling, with 15.7 percent unemployment, drastic foreclosures and a crumbling infrastructure. And their overall response was to tout existing dollars from Obama-led initiatives that are designed to address such concerns — things like green-job training, prisoner re-entry programs, and increased funding for community colleges and trade schools. “We found out about a lot of programs today that we didn’t know about,” Bowser said. Read the full story at The Root