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Subscribe to RSSRachel Maddow reports on an offshoot of the Occupy movement dedicated to defending struggling Americans for foreclosure and eviction.
‘Occupy’ protesters and housing rights activists are planning to help families resist eviction from foreclosed homes and take control of vacant properties in some 25 U.S. cities on Tuesday, an effort aimed at focusing attention on the ongoing housing crisis and giving the movement a new focus after the dismantling of many of its encampments.
The protesters have been crafting proposals – often quietly to prevent police from learning about their intentions beforehand -- to defend families facing eviction or return others home. In Minneapolis, for example, they plan to help a Vietnam War veteran stay in his home, in New York, protesters will try to help a family get back into their house, and in Chicago, two sisters and their seven children will be moved into an abandoned single-family home, activists said.
"It’s part of a national day of action that we hope will kick off a wave of defenses and home re-occupations,” Max Berger, 26, told the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly late Thursday while requesting $6,400 in funding to buy tools for the project. "This is not just about one event; this is a huge frontier for us. We can do these kinds of actions all the time, and we should. And it doesn’t have to be just us. We got to do this one right so we can inspire people to do it theirselves.”
‘Occupy’ protesters already have been squatting in vacant houses in cities like New York, Seattle, Portland, Oakland and London, where protesters have taken over an abandoned office block bought by UBS several years ago and dubbed it the "Bank of Ideas." They also have made scattered efforts – some of them successful -- to help families facing eviction defend their homes, including in California and Minneapolis.
One of those efforts is “Occupy 477,” where protesters joined families facing eviction from a West Harlem building and restored heat and water to the building, activists said.
Housing rights groups and ‘Occupy’ encampments have long been in talks about a national day of action, with regular conference calls involving dozens of activists, said Rob Robinson of Take Back the Land, a national network of organizations focused on housing rights and securing community control over land.
"As part of the 99 percent, we feel like corporations, big banks, are what's holding us back, what’s keeping us impoverished. This is folks' way of fighting back against those institutions," Robinson said.
Banks are expected to repossess some 800,000 homes this year, down from more than 1 million last year, said RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio. But the number of U.S. homes that received a first-time default notice during the July to September quarter increased 14 percent compared to the second quarter of the year, according to the firm.
Massachusetts AG sues five banks over foreclosures
The increase is a sign that banks are now moving more aggressively against borrowers who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments following industrywide foreclosure processing problems that emerged last fall. Those problems resulted in a sharp drop in foreclosure activity early this year.
The "ultimate message" of the anti-foreclosure protests is "bank reform," said Anthony Newby, a community organizer with Neighborhoods Organizing for Change in Minneapolis.
The focus on the housing crisis could also give some new direction to the Occupy movement, which has faced evictions from their camps across the country.
"In some ways, it's a natural progression for lots of reasons for this whole Occupy movement to get away from the plaza and actually start doing things on Main Street ... that are affecting individual people's lives in a very direct way," Newby said.
There also are some practical reasons for more scattered occupations.
Adam Carolla calls OWS protesters 'self-entitled monsters'
A group of "Occupy" protesters in Minneapolis is looking for an empty building that they can take over for their winter encampment after authorities attemped to evict them from their current headquarters three times in the last 36 hours, said Nick Espinosa, a 25-year-old unemployed social worker and protester.
“We’re really looking right now to take a vacant space that … we could use for an occupation," he said, noting they would be scouting properties later Friday. "Ideally it would be a space where we could do both (help a family keep their home and occupy) to keep the message really sharp about why we're doing this and about homelessness and people who don't have homes as a result of the foreclosure crisis.
"But, you know, at the end of the day, we do need some sort of a space here where we can meet and continue to organize and ... grow and build our community here through the winter."
At Occupy Wall Street, Berger noted that protesters had been frequently asked when they would begin engaging in politics, to which he said: "We are."
"The great thing about housing is it’s macro and it’s micro," he said. "People don’t understand a thing about proprietary trading … but they know they have a mortgage that they're behind on."
“This movement is about taking back this country for regular people and that’s exactly what we’re doing with these actions," he later added. "We’re not going to let the power of the banks keep people from having what they need."
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Whatever people may thing about the OWS, has anybody here mentioned how OVERPRICED houses are? Obviously, nobody gets a free car or free food. But when you shop around for a car, you can go to different dealers and negotiate for a discount off the sticker price. In fact, you get an even sweeter deal when you get a used car because cars depreciate in value as time goes on.
Try doing that when you shop around for even a small rambler house. The only thing that's driving down house prices is massive job losses. As it is, most property is owned by a small group of large banks, giving them the power to charge monopoly prices for one of the most basic human needs, shelter. If the big banks were broken up into smaller banks, there would actually be some real Free Market price competition with houses and people wouldn't have to pay a huge portion of their income to live in an old house.
I spoke with my brother who lives in the Las Vegas area and visits the 99% there. It is completely day and night how they conduct themselves compared to many here. I was opened to their ideas, for how they approach the public is inviting.
The ones here, how you approach people is insulting and piss's one off so bad, you almost want to send money to the 1% and take their side. If your goal is to have the people of the USA come down on you, you are succeeding.
Study the 99% groups in Nashville, Las Vegas and other places on how to communicate with your fellow citizen. You are causing a hardship on them and they are actually approaching this correctly.
Jeff,
I have seen them in news stories, they do not seem to be following the violence or destruction, so I have less of an issue with them. I feel the occupation in one area such as a park is un necessary and damages the park for the rest of the ones in the community, however mayors seem to allow it, so what does one do. If the OWS or Tea Party want to protest, it is their right, however their protests should be done in a way that does not offend the whole community.
I personally prefer to protest at the voting ballot, or by writing my Representative.
People don't need a home but they do need shelter. Owning a home is not a right, it is a privilege. If someone can't afford a home they shouldn't buy one and if they currently live in one and can't make payments then that still means they can't afford it. The bank (lender) has already given up their money to the seller of the home for the buyer to buy it and live there. The bank has to get its money back so if the owner isn't making his/her payment then the bank has a right to take back the house so they can give it to someone who will make payments, just like repossessing a car. If this happens too much then the bank can't get its money back, which means it goes broke, which means it has to lay off people. See how that works?
Getting stuff for free causes society to break down because there are too many people for everyone to get it for free. Even limiting free stuff to the lower and middle class still isn't a system that is sustainable because the majority of the population is the lower and middle class. The rich aren't put on this earth, nor do they work their butt off, just so their money can be taken away from them and given to someone else who didn't do ANYTHING for it. This doesn't mean the rich people don't give to charity but the people who benefit from charities don't EXPECT NOR DEMAND handouts. They HOPE for them. The OWS crowd on the other hand DEMANDS they get things for free. That is communism, especially when the rich have to bear the brunt of it.
Instead of looking up to the successful people of society, there are now some people who are envious of people who are successful in life, so they demand the upper class pay for the lower class to have everything they want. Their excuse is that the rich don't need all that extra money. It doesn't matter if they need it because they earned it and it isn't anyone's decision but the person who has that money to decide how to spend it. People making bad decisions (such as choosing to be lazy) are now realizing they can't get anywhere in life with that attitude and now they expect other people to fix that problem for them (while still being lazy since they expect something for free).
The OWS crowd is blaming Wall Street for the fact they are losing jobs, have higher health care, getting cancer, having 7 kids they can't feed, choosing to have $200k in student load debt, living paycheck to paycheck, etc. The Wall Street people had nothing to do with those things. The OWS crowd just wants to blame someone and complain. They want us to feel sorry for their bad decisions. If you lose your job and can't pay your mortgage I do feel bad for you but what does Wall Street have to do with that? What do the banks have to do with that? If your company didn't lay people off then they would potentially have to shutdown because they couldn't afford to keep everyone if their sales are down and then EVEN MORE people would lose their job. Is that what you prefer?
What caused the housing crisis is that Clinton and Barney Frank had the great idea that everyone should own a home, even if they couldn't afford it (another great math problem that the Democrats feel can be magically fixed by regulations) so they had Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac approve mortgages that people couldn't afford. People were then able to buy houses but when their interest rates for their ARMs skyrocketed they couldn't afford the payments and defaulted. Because SO MANY people were getting approved it became unsustainable so banks lost billions because no one was paying the money back. The same thing is going to happen to student loans. So blame the people who didn't know how to do the math when the banks told them they could afford $500k mortgage on a $80k salary and then blame Clinton and Frank for their bright idea to push the banks to make sure those people got approved.
I wouldn't be all that bad if every rich person did earn his/her wealth. Nobody is clamoring that Bill Gates or Steve Jobs be taxed out of their fortunes. The problem is that some of the rich received their salaries with the help of Government bailouts and subsidies. People like the Executives of GM, aka "Government Motors", and the Executives at Fannie and Freddie, 2 Government subsidized mortgage giants. Not to mention the Presidents and Football coaches of PUBLIC Universities who are getting paid million dollar salaries by working at Institutions that receive State and Federal money.
seriously? didn't rely on government bailouts? check their government contracts, school contracts, college giveaways??? Apple and Microsoft are totally in bed with government...making BILLIONS in contracts.
There is so much crap in these responses its dis-heartening. Its not the bank's fault you entered into a contract you couldnt afford. This idea that somehow becasue life deals you an unfair hand that you shouls get to everything for free is mind-boggling. 15-20 years ago people lost jobs in past recessions and people lost homes. It is not a right to possess something that deosnt belong to you. Im tired of blaming politicians. Thr responses is third grade level especially how big goverment works. If you dont like whats going on then friggin VOTE! Less than 50% of the public votes on a yearly basis yet the pukes that yell the loudest dont vote. You are responsible for YOU, stop blaming others for low paying jobs, housing, living beyond your means. They are more opprotunities for success than ever before but everyone wants that 50k-70k job after a year. It took me 15 years to go from making $11 an hour out of 2yr college to $33 now. Hard work will ALWAYS WIN OUT over any difficulty in life in the long run. Tired of hearing these OWS protesters. They have no heart, no courage, no discipline, no nationalistic pride and worst of all no vision for their own life. That is the most tragic thing of all!
Lazy
The problem is that they want a bankers salary with a ditch diggers skills.
I swear I am so tired of OWS. Those people need to buy a vowel and a clue. Yeah they may be the "99%" but compared to the rest of the world you are living like the 1%. Making noise never changed the system, you have to get in the courts
Great news, the most effective way to help would be to catch up the payments. I invite the Occupiers to sign up and become co-borrowers on foreclosures so they can solve the problem. Idiots.
After college (1988) I decided to buy a home. I got a loan @8% interest/30 year. Refinanced the loan in 1993 @6%/15 year. Fortunately, I was able to pay off the house in 2006. THEN it became interesting. I started to ask for my title. Weeeeell, the title company disappeared with all of the deregulation of the early 2000's. It seems the line between banks, investment companies, realitors, and title companies had become "blurred". Likewise, these companies had been bought and sold, changing names etc.., for the last decade! Funny thing, I actually got a foreclosure notice, last year! Sure, the last company to "service" my loan said "sorry". But, the title chase still goes on. That title is MY property. If a banking/investment/realestate company "misplaced" it, I have grounds to sue. I don't want to tie up my money, getting them to do what's right! I just feel that these incompetent fools need a good spanking!
For such dumb bunnies, at least the OWS folks figured out where to stay warm and still be in the news at another person's expense.
And that sad part of the whole Occupy fiasco is that Obama, Pelosi and their kind support it. We made the biggest mistake in the history of this country when we elected that Marxist community organizer to the White House. Three years of hell so far but only one more to go. This is one of Obama's big re-election strategies. Let these morons detract from the criminal mischief he and Axelrod, Carney and Holder are up to.
I take it you've never read Marx
Funny guy. Too bad nobody was talking to you
Of course it's their next target. The rent's free. Who's bringing the bong and the shrooms? Don't hide it, divide it, you greedy hippies.
Unbelievable how many people on this board are of the opinion, "These people are breaking the law, they're worthless scum and deserve any police brutality they get!" There is something called civil disobedience that has been a part of political movements for decades. Breaking the law intentionally is the whole point. Nobody is saying those doing so shouldn't be arrested, but if they are willing to be arrested peacefully there's no need to suggest they should be brutalized anyway. This is still America even if most of the Senators wish it were the Fourth Reich
Civil disobedience doesn't entail breaking and entering on private property. The people who do so should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Otherwise, what's to stop them from deciding to occupy your house?
It can in some cases. University campuses and buildings are privately owned but have been occupied now and in the past. In this case they're targeting empty lots, common sense will keep them from occupying my house (that and they'd have a long trip up to Canada if they decided to). This is not the Occupiers brightest idea but it's getting them attention, which is clearly the goal
Skeet,
Actually not all of them are breaking the law. Some are getting permits to demonstrate and not occupying in camps, oddly we never hear of those who are doing it right, at least I had not until my retired brother shared with me his experience with them. Oddly some of the 99% do not approve of the conduct they they see from these other 99% groups.
I suppose the media finds the ones of the occupiers who want to damage and dismantle america much more entertaining. Apparently there are two groups of the 99% protesters.
Civil Disobedience was necessary in the 60s South because the people were being denied the right to march and speak. There is no such excuse for these worthless scum. Hell, don't beat them, give them a bath. They will consider it waterboarding of course, but then they are useless stopid morons!
Who made you the the one in charge of determining when civil disobedience is necessary? This is the start of something bigger. Obviously the craziest people get the most media coverage but at the root fo all this craziness are legitimate issues affecting millions of Americans. These protests have gotten people talking about those issues whether their actions have been right, wrong, or somewhere in the middle
Realtors beware! The cities will not be picking up the tab on these cleanups. The police better be called as soon as one of these bums cross a threshold or take a dump in a vacate lot.
They won't be doing this in Colorado. We have the unconditional right to shoot anyone attempting to break into our homes. I wonder if this is why we have so few such crimes in this state.
They can call this thr great recession it is just like the depression of the 30's.
Read a history book. This is nothing like the depression of the 30s. People are living on welfare - not selling apples on the street corner to survive. That being said, it is clear that Obama and his mnions have taken a bad situation and turned it into a catestrophe.
That's only because welfare wasn't around during the depression of the 30's. Most government welfare programs were created in response to the depression of the 30s. And our depression is compounded by the advent of credit cards. While people are able to maintain their homes and lifestyles a little longer, a lot of it is done by racking up high interest "flexible" debt, which means that even after the job market bounces back it will still take years to dig out of the hole. It's different than the 30s because almost everything about the way the current economy works is different than the 30s. But the basic premise of no jobs and growing poverty is exactly the same.
I heard a good idea today. We should have a Toy for Snots drive. We could then go to the OWS crowd and throw out "Give Me Stuff Free Elmos" and other such delights.
I just noticed in the article the other place that OCCUPY wants to camp out at - vacant lots? I think I'm actually OK with that, as long as they keep the sidewalk clear. Almost as funny as the desolate piece of farmland that LA was going to let OCCUPY camp out at.
Arrest them, fine them, and use the money to cut the deficit. These people are criminals pure and simple. The libs ranted at the TEA Party who had totally peaceful demonstratsions and then defend this scum who trample on the law and the rights of others.
Where is MY bailout ??
It's the 1 percent who want something for no work. They are the exploiters of other people's labor for their own greed and wealth. The essence of this sorry example of Capitalism that we have in this country. Not only do they take advantage of labor, but they purchase congressmen and congresswomen in order to rig the game in their favor, legislatively. They even have their own fake news program that spews neocon propaganda 24 hours a day.
What we have here in the United States is an oligarchy posing as capitalism to dupe the gullible and low information voters.
It is the 1% that make it possible for me and the others in the 99% to live the best life on the planet. It is their genius that invented computers, automobiles, televison and every other convenience that I have. And it was they who allowed me to make my living selling the products they invented and processed. It is the bloated useless bureaucracy in Washington DC that is causing the suffering we have today, not these geniuses who deserve everything they have and more!
Jeff you have to understand the liberal mindset. When Illinois tried to institute "workfare" - making people work on civil projects in order to get their welfare check, the cry went up that this was a return to slavery. That money belonged to them by right and it was akin to slavery too make them do something to earn it.
@Watermoon is clearly a teabaggian koolaid drinker.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste....but one has to have one to "waste" one.
I might ask him WHICH of the Konservative Klowns he prefers in this "presidential" candidates race to obscurity....
But I don't think he would understand the import of such a question....
While I can appreciate the frustration, getting yourself arrested for breaking and entering private property is not a solution.
Mad, lost and ignorant is no way to go through life.
Tony, the "lost" people in this country are those who watch Fox News and expect to get "fair and balanced" truth and information there.
Protests sometimes get ugly. The OWS movement is no different. The more effective this grassroots, pro-labor movement becomes, the more oligarchs will attempt to paint the movement in a negative light.
OWS is successfully changing the political conversations in this country from all the varied Republican smokescreens, like abortion and gay marriage, to a focus on our wealth and income inequality that is destroying the American dream.
Best of luck with that, Occupoopers. Tresspassing on private property and stealing utilities will get you into some real trouble. I hope you fools all look forward to occupying the county jail.
And Ill bet Big Bubba the butt stretcher down at the county jail is looking forward to doing a little occupying himself.
wow...these OWS protestors really don't have a clue. The only way to get the attention of large corporations is to hit them in the pocketbook and stop buying from them.
But wait, these home foreclosure people have already stopped paying their mortgages?
Guess that ends that.
Occupy is not about having sound and rational ideas. Occupy is about getting attention and feeling like belonging to something spectacular. Occupy is also well infused with professionally organized socialist fronts posing as "corporate reformists".
It's getting cold outside and the tent just isn't warm enough so now they've hatched a plan to become squatters in all those vacant foreclosed homes. Since the utilities are most likely shut off you can well imagine what a stinky mess this will turn out to be.
I saw an earlier post where you called yourself educated, all your other comments have made that earlierone pretty funny. In these turbulent times we all need a good laugh. Keep up the good work
"it will be ok... most of these fuks are fecal feeding fat azzes anyhow"
True and well said? Alrighty then......you guys must have failed out of the same high school
"Bank reform" means letting people get out of contracts they signed. The people who created this lie (Barney Frank et al) can skate while banks take a beating. What would all these poor souls do if they had a job? THEY'D PAY THEIR BILLS, STUPID! Barney said everyone should have a private home; the American dream. So he pushed the con. The housing market collapsed, people are losing their homes, people are losing their jobs, people are losing the home value they hoped for in retirement, the construction industry is a hollow shell of itself, and PEOPLE BLAME THE BANKS????!!!
Come on people, get a clue. Banks (love them or hate them) simply want to make an nice predictable interest on your mortgage for then next 30 years. They do not want to foreclose on the house you trashed in a de-valued neighborhood and sell it at a loss to someone else.
Back in the 'good old days' buyers came up with 10-20% down payment. That system worked very well. Of course people who could not demonstrate some financial dicipline could not ever buy a home. "Ol Barney Frank hated that idea. He made it so everyone could buy a home. And now everyone loses. Except Barney Frank. The people in the government who create these nutty ideas are never the ones to pay for them. They get to walk away and go to a nice provided lunch. We're stuck with the bill.
Predictable interest, huh? Then why are so many mortgages adjustable rate? A lot of people didn't go under until their interest rates skyrocketed, and their note payments along with it. Now I'm not defending them; I think accepting any kind of adjustable rate loan is a silly thing to do. But don't try to feed me the whole "banks just want a steady profit" line. Banks want every darn dime they can get, just like all other businesses. "Financial discipline" is a lot easier to maintain when your payment is the exact same, every month, for the duration of your loan. Adjustable rate mortgages are a rip-off they sold to suckers, and that isn't right.
If the bank violated your contract you can take them to court. If it has met the terms of your contract, you should too.
Buyers should read the contract. Buyers should understand the contract. Buyers should understand the true cost of owning a home. Several kinds of local taxes; school, town, county, whatever. Maintenance. Water bill. Sewer bill. Insurance. They should be learning about these as they save money and determine what type of home they can afford and where.
If interest rates go down people should refinance their DEBT not their HOME. How many people did that? Fell for the line, 'Sure we can refinance your house at its new market value and give you $40,000 too!' So uninformed homeowners wiped out their equity and went back to zero, or worse, negative equity.
People bought as much house as they thought they may someday be able to afford. They were happy to have the realtor tell them they would grow rich by simply living in the house.
You are correct. Adjustable rate mortgages are a rip off. And property transactions should not take dozens of pages of paperwork meant to confuse. The interest only payments sound very good. Unfortunately many people will spend more time studying a football pool than they will financial documents. Only later, when everything crashes, do they go back to see what they signed.
wow...why do these OWS protestors feel that everybody owes them? For what?
This is not civil disobedience. Civil disobedience means that one is fighting an injustice.
If you don't have a job or can't pay your mortgage, then unless there is clearcut discrimination, you just have to suck it up.
Civil disobedience is not defined as fighting injustice but as breaking laws through non-violent actions. But if you want to stick with your made-up definition, a lot of people don't have jobs and can't pay their mortgages because of political and economic injustices.
Skeet Surfer
Looks like someone hit his head on the coral after wiping out.
Civil Disobedience is non-violent refusal to obey government laws or commands, which are normally perceived by the protestors as unjust.
Your made up definition means that prostitution, speeding, taking illegal drugs, among other things is civil disobedience?
The protesters perceive the foreclosures as unjust and therefore are occupying that foreclosed space illegally. You can argue about whether they're right or wrong but in this case it falls under civil disobedience. I agree this move is slightly misguided but look at the discussion it's created. As long as they keep getting this kind of attention they are accomplishing something
How dare these people go against the law!! They did the same in the 1770's, they took the Kings tea and threw it in the ocean, and they didn't even have a permit!!! Then they took it upon themselves to quit giving the great King George his taxes... breaking the law again!! Then they decided to just take the land away from the great King and form their own Government..., how dare those people!! Breaking the laws like that!! And now they're doing it again!!