Monday, January 10, 2011

Hullabaloo

Wednesday, January 05, 2011

"Philanthrocapitalism" and the Lucky Duckies

by digby

If you read nothing else today, be sure to read Cynthia Freeland's piece in the Atlantic about the new super-rich. She discusses what may be the most important aspect of the plutonomy --- the fact that it's unmoored from national allegiance. This is an important insight and gets to what I think is really the big transformation of our time: the unraveling of the nation state. You see it in these international institutions like the IMF and in huge multi-national corporations, of course. But I hadn't realized until I read this just how much the super-rich had adopted a transnational identity.

I'm not entirely sure that it's a bad thing in the long run --- there's nothing that says the nation state is the only possible human organizing principle. It's actually fairly new in historical terms. Something different could feasibly end up being better. But at the moment the only people who are currently benefiting from this new arrangement are the very wealthy and powerful. And there is a very good chance that this will not go well for regular folks in the long run either.

In the meantime, here's what we are dealing with:
If you are looking for the date when America’s plutocracy had its coming-out party, you could do worse than choose June 21, 2007. On that day, the private-equity behemoth Blackstone priced the largest initial public offering in the United States since 2002, raising $4 billion and creating a publicly held company worth $31 billion at the time. Stephen Schwarzman, one of the firm’s two co-founders, came away with a personal stake worth almost $8 billion, along with $677 million in cash; the other, Peter Peterson, cashed a check for $1.88 billion and retired.
In the sort of coincidence that delights historians, conspiracy theorists, and book publishers, June 21 also happened to be the day Peterson threw a party—at Manhattan’s Four Seasons restaurant, of course—to launch The Manny, the debut novel of his daughter, Holly, who lightly satirizes the lives and loves of financiers and their wives on the Upper East Side. The best seller fits neatly into the genre of modern “mommy lit”—USA Today advised readers to take it to the beach—but the author told me that she was inspired to write it in part by her belief that “people have no clue about how much money there is in this town.”

Holly Peterson and I spoke several times about how the super-affluence of recent years has changed the meaning of wealth. “There’s so much money on the Upper East Side right now,” she said. “If you look at the original movie Wall Street, it was a phenomenon where there were men in their 30s and 40s making $2 and $3 million a year, and that was disgusting. But then you had the Internet age, and then globalization, and you had people in their 30s, through hedge funds and Goldman Sachs partner jobs, who were making $20, $30, $40 million a year. And there were a lot of them doing it. I think people making $5 million to $10 million definitely don’t think they are making enough money.”

As an example, she described a conversation with a couple at a Manhattan dinner party: “They started saying, ‘If you’re going to buy all this stuff, life starts getting really expensive. If you’re going to do the NetJet thing’”—this is a service offering “fractional aircraft ownership” for those who do not wish to buy outright—“‘and if you’re going to have four houses, and you’re going to run the four houses, it’s like you start spending some money.’”

The clincher, Peterson says, came from the wife: “She turns to me and she goes, ‘You know, the thing about 20’”—by this, she meant $20 million a year—“‘is 20 is only 10 after taxes.’ And everyone at the table is nodding.”

That's nice. One wonders whether Holly will be "satirizing" the lives of the millions of elderly Americans her father seeks to impoverish with his crusade to destroy social security. A crusade which Freeland inexplicably seems to think is a form of "philanthropy"!

well i don't have much thought provoking opinion in regards to any of those 5 subjects. except Øbomba is a liar and has no balls. now i am very confused what to think about JA. i just read a long article this morning on NYT about the accusations these swedish woman made in regards to him and having sex with him. i think they sound like tiger's dumb doo girls. they wanted it so bad from this julian man, probably secretly wanted to get pregnant. then twist the whole story and condemn him. i am just sick of all this shit being news anyway.

yeah, let's just all be really merry around here like WB7 is every day. winky faces galore and so happy holidays. jeeze get real, it ain't so happy for 99% of people on this earth. why are you pretending to be so above this blight of criminals, destroying every piece of earth, wildlife, ocean beings and people's lives and future, happy holly dazing. america showing all this fake shit like lights and cutting down evergreen trees and putting stupid fake ornaments and lights in each window. it is a BIG waste of energy, that gets EXCEL energy wealthy and those MOFO ceo's billions. christ someone here in boulder put up a HUGE light bulb star on flagstaff mt. it looks hideous. stars don't look like this, nor made of fake stupid incandescent light bulbs.

i don't celebrate christMASS, i get through it.

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TaxProf Blog provides resources, news, and information for law school tax professors. It is not affiliated with Auto Didactix LLC's TaxProf, a software-based tutorial for law students in the federal income tax course. ...
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bench craft company reviews bench craft company reviews
Top news stories in China 2010
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Friday, January 7, 2011

Fox News personality and former Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR) recently began appearing in television commercials calling for viewers to dial a 1-800 number to sign a repeal petition against health reform called “Repeal It Now.” The ad, a “project of Restore America’s Voice” (RAV), a political action committee run by Huckabee’s friend Ken Hoagland, also directs viewers to a website that solicits donations [...]

According to disclosures filed with the FEC, RAV’s campaign is managed by a firm called the 949 Media Group. 949 has been paid tens of thousands of dollars to set up RAV’s website and Google search optimization, and receives a regular commission of $10,000 for related media work from RAV. ThinkProgress spoke to a representative from RAV, who told us that 949 is run by an individual named Derek Oberholtzer. According to the representative, Oberholtzer has worked with RAV since the PAC formed in October.

Oberholtzer is well known as scam artist who has used a myriad of tricks to defraud people out of their money. In addition to 949 Media Group, he started a number of companies, including “Apply 2 Save” (A2S) and Giant Media Works. Consumer report websites are rife with complaints about Oberholtzer’s odious business practices. In one scheme, Oberholtzer paid for radio and other advertisements telling distressed homeowners to contact his company A2S to pay a flat $595 fee to receive assistance in renegotiating their loans or to block a bank foreclosure. The Federal Trade Commission has prosecuted Oberholtzer for deceptive practices. In numerous cases, Oberholtzer took the $595 payment, and never did anything to stop a foreclosure or even contact the mortgage company in question. In many instances he continued billing his customers further fees totaling nearly $1,000 without lifting a finger to actually renegotiate their mortgage or halt a foreclosure, as his “Apply 2 Save” company promised.

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Thursday, January 6, 2011

Making Money From the Internet

Values, Value and Valuation — The money is all relative

Oh how timing sometimes works out to be funny. I was driving home tonight and started thinking about the value of products, the valuation of companies and how the values that a company portrays can change the rest. No sooner had I sat down to write this piece than the news of Goldman Sachs investing $500 million into Facebook broke and refreshed the entire thing in my mind. So let’s look at these three things, and try to see if one manages to sway the rest.

Values

Do you, like me, find yourself more inclined to use or purchase something that comes from a company that you can believe in? The ethos of a company can — for me at least — completely break me away from the product. That very fact, because I feel that I’m likely not alone in my actions (or lack thereof) can have a serious impact on the bottom line of a company.

Look at Facebook, for instance. When the Social Graph was announced and the new privacy changes went into effect, many people threw up their hands in disgust. But many others continued with life as usual, even if a bit annoyed. Why? Because Facebook has this outward appearance of a company that’s simply trying to do cool things, and it needs information in order to do them. The company’s values seem, for the most part, to be in line with the things that we Internet users want. As such, there was a lot more wagging and a lot less barking from the angry dogs crowd.

You’re starting a company? There’s likely something to be said for developing an ethos ahead of time, making it known and then sticking to it. Would Google be where it is today if not for the “don’t be evil” tag line? Even if you don’t fully believe that the company runs that way, you still remember it. Point made.

Value

When value exceeds cost, even by a single cent, the purchase will be made – Grant Cardone

That quote is one that has stuck with me for some time now. A few years ago I was making my living selling cars and it is sometimes exceedingly difficult to overcome the objection of price. In the technology world, we’re constantly being offered products for “free”. The only cost? A bit of information, a slice of our privacy or somethings similar. But then, after using those “free” products, we start to build our own value for them.

Don’t believe me? Just look at some of the things that you likely use every day. Gmail? You’d pay for that. Twitter? You don’t want to admit it, but it’s likely become a valuable asset to your daily Internet life. The same can be said for so many things and yet we get them for “free”. But there’s a down side to this issue as well — it becomes very difficult for a maker to charge for a product when there are free alternatives. Don’t believe that? When was the last time that a box office movie didn’t get a torrent version?

And yet, even as companies try to build value in their products, still others think that the economy allows for them to set their own values and tell us what something is worth. TV networks are probably the most well-known perpetrators of this heresy. Apple TV launched, ABC and Fox decided to jump on board and see what would happen. Some of the rest? They decided that $.99 was devaluing the product and yet as the provider of the product, there is no one entity that is more unqualified to name the value.

Consider it a lesson in business, I suppose. The potential buyer will determine the value of your product. Always.

Valuation

Now here’s a sticky one. Valuation is one of those strange things because it means so many different things to different people. To the potential investors, it’s a measure of how much money can be made. To the business owner it’s a gauge of how well the business has done. To the end user? It’s…honestly not much.

As a case in point, around TNW we love Twitter. We want to see it succeed and we are sure that it will. The valuation continues to climb prior to any IPO and yet, as users of the service, it really doesn’t matter much to us. Sure, it would matter if the site closed its doors, but beyond that there simply isn’t anything about the valuation number that matters.

And so, as an entrepreneur you have to ask yourself where the balance lies. Do your company values allow you to build value in your product? If so, then the chances are that your valuation will end up right where it needs to be. There’s a fair amount of truth in the thought that, if you handle the small stuff, the big stuff will fall into place.

So with that, I offer you a thought going into the new year — start with your values. The rest will fall into place.

I have never been a gambler.

I pay attention to horse racing twice most years, and three times at most. I find out the winner of the Kentucky Derby (though usually not by watching the actual race) and then, when the Preakness rolls around, I check to see if the same horse has won both races.

If so, I pay just enough attention to learn if that horse also wins the Belmont Stakes, taking racing’s prestigious Triple Crown. The last time a horse actually won all three races was in 1978, so since then my excitement over the Belmont Stakes has been pretty limited.

In spite of all that, I thought I knew at least one thing about the gambling world: The house always wins. But it turns out that’s not the case when New York City or New York State takes the bets.

In early December, after about 40 years in business, New York City’s Off-Track Betting Corporation (OTB) closed its doors when it failed to receive a hoped-for legislative reprieve. In its last full fiscal year, ending March 31, the state-controlled corporation operated at a loss of $37.2 million after handing over the money it was required to give to the state, local governments, and race tracks. At the time of its closing, OTB had also racked up a pension bill that, together with health benefits promised to retirees, could be greater than $600 million.

This is a pretty astonishing feat considering that OTB’s business consisted of taking money from people and then giving some of it back to them. This is a business which was previously handled by neighborhood bookies, who never seemed to have a problem making money at it. To be fair, the bookies probably had a less generous pension plan.

Yet both New York City and New York State managed to fail to make money in the business of taking money for nothing. The city finally gave up in 2008, when it handed its mess over to the state.

Officials have tried to blame OTB’s collapse on decreased interest in horse racing. Speaking with The New York Times, John D. Sabini, chairman of the State Racing and Wagering Board, referred to off-track betting as “an industry that’s having a tough time…in a tough economy.” But while decreased demand is a fine excuse for not making much money, a gambling outfit should still be able to avoid losing money. All you have to do is reduce expenses to match revenues.

OTB could have easily closed down many or all of its betting parlors and relied on a small staff to manage Internet and phone traffic. For some businesses, atmosphere is everything, but OTB considered it a major upgrade in “customer amenities” when it installed restrooms and seating in 1993. It seems safe to say then that, while some may have enjoyed a sense of camaraderie in the storefront parlors, most people didn’t turn to off-track betting for the luxurious environment. With the cost savings from closing physical locations, OTB could have done some advertising to try to boost demand. That is what any rational manager would have done.

Unfortunately, instead of having rational managers, OTB had New York City and then New York State.

OTB was designed to function as a public benefit corporation, an entity that operates like a private business but turns over its profits to the state. However, everyone knew that OTB, being affiliated with New York City, was almost certain to become a bastion of patronage, if not corruption, and probably would never admit to having any profits to give back to the government. So lawmakers decided to have the corporation pay the city, and later also the state, a portion of its gross revenue, rather than its net profits. As Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow of Mount Vernon succinctly explained: “If they’re allowed to pay on the net there would be nothing left over.”

This structure meant that the state was sure of getting some money, but it also meant the government had little reason to encourage OTB to cut costs. Meanwhile OTB had no assurance that it would have enough money after paying the state and the city to actually cover its operating costs, let alone reinvest in its business. The result was inevitable. Now that inevitability has come to pass.

It may take some skill to lose money collecting bets, but it’s the kind of skill New York has in spades. When it comes to the sport of mismanagement, there’s no doubt about it: The people who run the Empire State are thoroughbreds.

For more articles on financial, business, and other topics, view the Palisades Hudson newsletter, Sentinel, or subscribe to my daily opinion column, Current Commentary.

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PHP: News Archive - 2011

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Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September, 30 ...

This might not be the 'most impressive' Star Wars announcement you were looking for. Not that it's a bad thing the complete saga will be.

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters
surface encounters rock tops

Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September, 30 ...

This might not be the 'most impressive' Star Wars announcement you were looking for. Not that it's a bad thing the complete saga will be.

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters michigan
surface encounters

Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September, 30 ...

This might not be the 'most impressive' Star Wars announcement you were looking for. Not that it's a bad thing the complete saga will be.

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters michigan
surface encounters

Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September, 30 ...

This might not be the 'most impressive' Star Wars announcement you were looking for. Not that it's a bad thing the complete saga will be.

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters
surface encounters rock tops

Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September, 30 ...

This might not be the 'most impressive' Star Wars announcement you were looking for. Not that it's a bad thing the complete saga will be.

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters macomb mi
surface encounters michigan

Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September, 30 ...

This might not be the 'most impressive' Star Wars announcement you were looking for. Not that it's a bad thing the complete saga will be.

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters michigan
surface encounters rock tops

Star Wars Complete Saga Blu-ray news: release in September, 30 ...

This might not be the 'most impressive' Star Wars announcement you were looking for. Not that it's a bad thing the complete saga will be.

Small Business News: Recommitting To Social Media in 2011

How important will social media be to small business in 2011? Likely even more important than it was in 2010. Let's face it. Social media gives small business.

PHP: News Archive - 2011

surface encounters noblesville

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Making Money Ideas

Even in times of severe budgetary crisis, WMATA still has to advertise itself. And what better way to reverse the public's negative opinion about random bag searches, constant maintenance, annoying talking buses, broken escalators, confusing fare structures and so forth than with some state of the art "guerrilla" marketing! Kytja Weir reports that the agency is going to try and get your attention the same way your local emo band does.

The transit system brought on Williams Whittle, based in Alexandria, earlier this month to help market the agency using traditional advertising but also possibly "guerrilla marketing" and "street teams," said Metro spokesman Reggie Woodruff.

"Williams Whittle will assist us as we continue to explore ways to increase revenue and off-peak ridership and to more effectively promote Metro and the improvements that we are making," he wrote in an e-mail.

That could mean "unconventional marketing" that directly engages potential riders, he explained. He could not provide any examples of what such direct marketing might look like, though.

What, was Evan Hensleigh not available? WMATA will be using about two-thirds of its $1.8 million advertising budget on Williams Whittle's services. For the sake of public transportation, I sure hope that Williams Whittle has some better "unconventional" ideas than those Second Life animations which Metro rolls out every now and then -- based on the company's website, it looks like they've got a ton of experience creating slightly annoying, yet oft-imitated television ads.

...hopelessly outgunned presidential campaign as if it was a business, not even spending more money than he had in hand. C'mon now, how laughable is that in this day and age in modern America that someone who wants to run the federal government should live within his own campaign means? Just like normal people who live on a real budget with no ability to vote themselves a pay raise and a higher debt ceiling when no one is watching C-SPAN!

When the ultimate Democratic winner, in league with the extraordinary gentleman Harry Reid and the tough-talking San Francisco grandma who's House speaker, has decided to spend a gazillion more dollars than any non-federal calculator has digits to display.

These people, for Nancy's sake, are already spending the income taxes of the unborn grandchildren of those 4,000 babies that Paul delivered. A shocking realization that may be helping to fuel the recent re-examination of Ron Paul, who never met a federal dollar that needed spending -- unless it was going back to his district near Houston.

Ron Paul came within something like 1,000 delegates of catching John McCain for the Republican nomination in St. Paul. But when he finally gave up, Paul still had about $5 million left over. He's been investing it traveling around the country to speak and helping like-minded RFR's (Republicans For Real) organize all over. And, who knows, maybe sell a few books.

But now, just as his fierce supporters fearlessly predicted all along, many in American politics are coming around to think that maybe RP's crazy ideas, for example, of auditing and controlling the Federal Reserve, are maybe not quite so crazy.

Our news colleague in Washington, Don Lee, details the sea-change in opinion in a comprehensive look at the old guy's rebirth for weekend print editions, which we're sharing here this morning as a distinguished guest post for Ticket readers around the world.

And for any surviving Ron Paulites, who won't dare leave their typically snippy comments below because that would require them acknowledging that their favorite fiction about a MSM conspiracy to ignore the old guy is fiction.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Because no federal funds are involved, Ron Paul would want you to click here for Twitter alerts of each new Ticket item. Or follow us @latimestot. Or join us over here on The Ticket's new Facebook FAN page.

Here's Lee's reported news item:

For three decades, Texas congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul's extreme brand of libertarian economics consigned him to the far fringes even among conservatives. Not a few times, his views put him on the losing end of 434-1 votes on Capitol Hill.

No longer. With the economy still struggling and political divisions deepening, Paul's ideas not only are gaining a wider audience but also are helping to shape a potentially historic battle over economic policy -- a struggle that will affect everything including jobs, growth and the nation's place in the global economy.

Already, Paul's long-derided proposal to give Congress supervisory power over the traditionally independent Federal Reserve appears to be on its way to becoming law.

His warnings on deficits and inflation are now Republican mantras.

And with this year's congressional election campaign looming, the Texas congressman's deep-seated distrust of activist government has helped fuel protests such as the tea-party movement, harden partisan divisions in Washington and stoke public fears about federal spending and the deficit.

"People are wondering what went wrong. And they're not happy with what the....

....government is offering up," said James Grant, editor of Grant's Interest Rate Observer, offering an explanation for why seemingly wonkish arguments over interest rate policy and the money supply are spilling over onto ordinary Americans.

Some of Paul's most extreme views are still beyond the pale for most economists. Despite the eroding value of the dollar, no one expects the U.S. to return to the gold standard, as Paul advocates; most economists think that could wreck the economy.

In their less drastic forms, however, Paul's ideas are being welcomed by conservatives and viewed with foreboding by liberals. For conservatives, runaway inflation constitutes the biggest potential threat to the nation's future. Liberals worry that cutting back stimulus efforts too soon could slow or even halt the current recovery.

The debate over that question -- what the basic thrust of U.S. economic policy should be -- is likely to dominate the coming elections and Washington policymaking.

And so far, Paul and his fellow conservatives are on the offensive. President Obama and congressional Democrats are repeatedly pledging not to increase the deficit and to begin cutting back soon.

"I think we're going to be in for more revival of fiscal responsibility," said William Niskanen of the Cato Institute, who headed the Council of Economic Advisors under President Reagan.

Niskanen sees the Texas Republican's increasing influence as stemming from the continued economic weakness. "To this extent, Ron Paul gains voice," he said.

Paul would go a lot further in cutting back the government's role than even free-marketers like Niskanen support. If Paul had it his way, for instance, he would do away with the Fed entirely. In his bestselling book "End the Fed," he lambasted the central bank as an "immoral, unconstitutional . . . tool of tyrannical government."

Such rhetoric might once have been dismissed as extremism.

But Paul's anti-Fed message has drawn broad support because of the central bank's failure to restrain the flood of cheap money and excessive risk-taking in the years leading up to the financial crisis.

It has stirred rallies on college campuses and supportive commentaries from Wall Street pundits. More than 300 representatives in Congress have embraced Paul's ideas for reining in the Fed.

The response "is even more than I ever dreamed," Paul said in an interview, reminiscing about one evening during his 2008 White House run when University of Michigan students chanted "End the Fed" and burned dollar bills.

Paul, a skinny 74-year-old with a hangdog expression, understands that historical circumstances have thrust his ideas to the fore. "An intellectual fight is going on," he said.

Paul traces his economic views to his frugal upbringing in Pittsburgh at the tail end of the Depression. He saved pennies from delivering newspapers and helping out his father's small dairy business.

And his first economics class at Gettysburg College was an eye-opener, Paul said. When a professor explained how banks keep only a tiny part of their deposits on hand and earn money by lending out the rest, Paul discovered one of the "tricks" of the financial system.

Beyond that, Paul's ideas are grounded in the work of economic thinkers from an earlier era who focused on problems similar to those besetting the U.S. today.

In particular, Paul is a disciple of Ludwig von Mises, an Austrian theorist born at the end of the 19th century who contended that government intervention in an economy would fail because free markets were better at allocating resources and fueling growth.

Having lived through Germany's devastating hyperinflation in the early 1920s, which helped pave the way for Hitler, Mises wrote long before the Great Depression that over-generous credit policies would encourage excessive borrowing, creating a boom and then a bust.

Mises' ideas became central to what is known as the Austrian School of economics, which emphasized tight controls on credit and money supply, a strategy that discouraged financial ups and downs but tended to slow growth.

By 1940, when Mises arrived in America, most Western economists had embraced the competing theories of Britain's John Maynard Keynes, who called for government to stimulate the economy by spending on infrastructure and cutting interest rates.

Obama has largely followed the Keynesian script, as President George W. Bush did when the economic crisis broke.

Paul's once-lonely espousal of the Austrian School's ideas has gotten new impetus from conservative economists and Republican political strategists.

"A lot of good ideas were shoved aside because of the Depression and the rise of the Keynesian view of the world," said George Selgin, an economics professor at the University of Georgia.

Paul contends that Austrian economics explains the most recent financial meltdown: "It says if you inflate too much, if you have no restraint on monetary authorities, you're going to bring on a crisis." Now, Paul says, administration policies are leading the country toward disaster.

Selgin and many mainstream economists agree that pumping too much money into the economy can lead to trouble, but they say Paul goes too far.

In the 1930s, say Selgin and many other economists, including Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the U.S. economy began pulling out of the Depression thanks to federal easing of monetary policy.

The economy tipped back into depression after the reins were tightened too soon.

"In this aspect of the monetary system, he's just blown it," Selgin said of Paul.

However, like Mises, whose portrait hangs on his Washington office wall, Paul is intransigent, and that has earned him an ardent following.

"His views are strong and hardheaded, but you've got to stand firm or you'll get blown over in this world," said Mark Skousen, editor of the newsletter Forecasts & Strategies and a former economics professor at Columbia University.

-- Don Lee

Photo: Larry Downing / Reuters; Orlin Wagner / Associated Press; Associated Press (Paul argues with Mike Huckabee in a GOP primary debate).

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Small Business News: Your Legal Brief

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Victoria Kolakowski: 5 Facts About America's First Transgender ...

Sworn in on Tuesday, Victoria Kolakowski became the country's first transgender trial judge. Surge Desk takes a look at her career and life accomplishments.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

foreclosure law

The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure are the Procedure Rules that all judges and courts in Florida must follow in order to insure the orderly administration of Justice and Due Process.

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 1.510, is the Rule that covers
Summary Judgment. According to Rule 1.510(e), Affidavits filed in
Support of Summary Judgment require the following:

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure

1.510 Summary Judgment

e) Form of Affidavits; Further Testimony.
Supporting and opposing affidavits shall be made on personal
knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in
evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to
testify to the matters stated therein. Sworn or certified copies of
all papers or parts thereof referred to in an affidavit shall be
attached thereto or served therewith.

“SWORN OR CERTIFIED COPIES OF ALL PAPERS OR PARTS OF PAPERS REFERRED TO IN AN AFFIDAVIT SHALL BE ATTACHED TO THE AFFIDAVIT”

This Rule of Civil Procedure cannot be abrogated or modified by a Judicial Administrative Rule. It has been around a long time and has served the Florida Courts well in all areas and divisions of the law. Rule 1.510(e) favors no one and is applied to all parties in a law suit whether it involves divorce, contract law, probate, real estate, etc.

Florida Courts have
routinely singled out Homeowners in Foreclosure for special (negative)
treatment. Florida Judges, who administer foreclosure cases, have been ignoring this Rule of Civil Procedure in favor of granting fast and expedient summary judgments.

The fact that these Affidavits in Support of Summary Judgment lack
the necessary attachments to meet the requirements of Rule 1.510(e) has
been a constant battle fought by every attorney who fights on behalf of
the homeowner; and, who seeks to have the Rules of Civil Procedure
applied in a fair and just manner.

This Order is a tacit admission that the Rules of Civil Procedure are not being followed in the same manner as these same rules have been followed in other
areas of the law or judicial divisions in the court system. This is the
travesty to which – www.4closureFraud.org – has dedicated itself to eliminated.

The Florida Rules of
Procedure was promulgated to be followed by the judges in all divisions, in all areas of the law, and equally among all parties. NO EXCEPTIONS!

When administrating the Florida Rules of Procedure, or the Florida
Rules of Evidence or applying the Florida Statutes, Judges should not
look first to whether or not the defendant is in foreclosure and adjust
the rules and laws to fit a perception of guilt or expediency. Rather
the judges and court should first look to see if the plaintiff even has
standing to appear before the Court; and, second, if the plaintiff has
proved its case through admissible evidence – not manufactured evidence. The rules of discovery should be followed and a proper chain of title, through admissible evidence, must be proven. Everything that happens to that Note is a proper focus of discovery according to the Florida Rules of Evidence.

Based on what www.4closureFraud.org
has seen, the fight for equal justice under the law and under the Rules
of Civil Procedure is still an ongoing battle. Homeowners are still
not being given due process under the law.

Here is a stark example of how the courts ignore the Rules of Civil
Procedure and treat Homeowners differently than all other parties in any
other area of the law:

On December 2, 2010, a Lee County Judge issued an order holding that Lee County
is not requiring the Plaintiff’s in a Foreclosure law suit file
affidavits that comply with Rule 1.510(e). This is judicial tyranny.

WOW – Is Lee County Foreclosure Court Above the Law?

Per the order below (hat tip Matt Weidner) a judge in Broward County appears to have cancelled all foreclosure sales in one of the foreclosure division from December 20 to December 31:

Broward County Judicial Order Canceling Foreclosure Sales

One might think this has something to with the Fannie and Freddie foreclosure halts, with run from December 20 to January 3. But the GSEs have made similar suspensions before, indeed, sometimes from Thanksgiving to New Year, so this seems unlikely to be the trigger.

Moreover, this action, at least based on the account of Florida foreclosure procedures per Lisa Epstein of ForeclosureHamlet, could not impact evictions that were due to take place over the holidays. It turns out that there is usually a significant lapse between the foreclosure sale and the loss of possession. Via e-mail:

The sale doesn’t throw families out on the street, the certificate of title has to be issued (Palm Beach County is 4-6 weeks behind the sale dates at least) THEN a writ of possession must be obtained, then the sheriff has to execute the writ.

Even though the motivation for this order is not clear, it may nevertheless be significant. Many judges have taken the view that they have no latitude to act on behalf of defendants who do not contest their cases, and some have taken the unusual step of expressing concern that procedural abuses have risen to a level where they feel the need to take a more active role, yet are not certain whether they can do so. From the Palm Beach Post:

Palm Beach County Chief Judge Peter Blanc is trying to decide whether judges can take a more active role in examining foreclosure cases after a meltdown in Ally Financial’s foreclosure proceedings last week.

Blanc said Monday that there has been an increase in requests by lenders and loan servicers to cancel foreclosure sales and vacate judgments following the disclosure that Ally was freezing portions of its foreclosure operation in 23 states, including Florida.

While judges granted those requests, Blanc said he was concerned about cases in which defective foreclosure affidavits aren’t being brought to the court’s attention, possibly because the borrower has given up or walked away from the home.

Also, he’s unclear on whether the court should scrutinize past cases for flaws.

“It puts us in an untenable position because we can’t both investigate and decide,” Blanc said. “We are supposed to act on things brought to our attention, but if no one files anything, I’m not sure what will or should happen.”

Blanc said he was looking at case law regarding the duties and responsibilities of judges to see whether there is precedent for the current situation. But he said Florida’s foreclosure crisis has brought many unique challenges to the courts and there is likely little historical guidance.

In other words, judges are also struggling to figure out what to do with the mess created by rampant abuses in the securitization industry.

robert shumake

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

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In this week's News and Notes, a celebrity spotting at a Timberwolves game and what's ahead for the Vikes during their off season.

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Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

robert shumake

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

Mike Max's News And Notes « CBS Minnesota – News, Sports, Weather ...

In this week's News and Notes, a celebrity spotting at a Timberwolves game and what's ahead for the Vikes during their off season.

Small Business News: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

robert shumake

The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure are the Procedure Rules that all judges and courts in Florida must follow in order to insure the orderly administration of Justice and Due Process.

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 1.510, is the Rule that covers
Summary Judgment. According to Rule 1.510(e), Affidavits filed in
Support of Summary Judgment require the following:

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure

1.510 Summary Judgment

“SWORN OR CERTIFIED COPIES OF ALL PAPERS OR PARTS OF PAPERS REFERRED TO IN AN AFFIDAVIT SHALL BE ATTACHED TO THE AFFIDAVIT”

The Florida Rules of
Procedure was promulgated to be followed by the judges in all divisions, in all areas of the law, and equally among all parties. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Here is a stark example of how the courts ignore the Rules of Civil
Procedure and treat Homeowners differently than all other parties in any
other area of the law:

WOW – Is Lee County Foreclosure Court Above the Law?

Per the order below (hat tip Matt Weidner) a judge in Broward County appears to have cancelled all foreclosure sales in one of the foreclosure division from December 20 to December 31:

Broward County Judicial Order Canceling Foreclosure Sales

The sale doesn’t throw families out on the street, the certificate of title has to be issued (Palm Beach County is 4-6 weeks behind the sale dates at least) THEN a writ of possession must be obtained, then the sheriff has to execute the writ.

Palm Beach County Chief Judge Peter Blanc is trying to decide whether judges can take a more active role in examining foreclosure cases after a meltdown in Ally Financial’s foreclosure proceedings last week.

Blanc said Monday that there has been an increase in requests by lenders and loan servicers to cancel foreclosure sales and vacate judgments following the disclosure that Ally was freezing portions of its foreclosure operation in 23 states, including Florida.

While judges granted those requests, Blanc said he was concerned about cases in which defective foreclosure affidavits aren’t being brought to the court’s attention, possibly because the borrower has given up or walked away from the home.

Also, he’s unclear on whether the court should scrutinize past cases for flaws.

“It puts us in an untenable position because we can’t both investigate and decide,” Blanc said. “We are supposed to act on things brought to our attention, but if no one files anything, I’m not sure what will or should happen.”

Blanc said he was looking at case law regarding the duties and responsibilities of judges to see whether there is precedent for the current situation. But he said Florida’s foreclosure crisis has brought many unique challenges to the courts and there is likely little historical guidance.

In other words, judges are also struggling to figure out what to do with the mess created by rampant abuses in the securitization industry.

robert shumake

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

Mike Max's News And Notes « CBS Minnesota – News, Sports, Weather ...

In this week's News and Notes, a celebrity spotting at a Timberwolves game and what's ahead for the Vikes during their off season.

Small Business News: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

robert shumake

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

Mike Max's News And Notes « CBS Minnesota – News, Sports, Weather ...

In this week's News and Notes, a celebrity spotting at a Timberwolves game and what's ahead for the Vikes during their off season.

Small Business News: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

robert shumake detroit

Sometimes we get ourselves into a financial pickle and we are left wondering which is a better option: bankruptcy or mortgage foreclosure? It definitely is not an easy decision to make as there are no clear cut answers.

A foreclosure happens when you are unable to make your monthly home payments. You can stop the foreclosure from happening by simply paying the mortgage lender. The loan for a mortgage is similar to a car loan. If you fail to make your car payments, what happens to the car? It will be repossessed. So the same thing will happen if someone does not pay their mortgage. The bank will foreclose on the house.

If you are really in over your head in debt and you are absolutely in dire straits that you cannot pay off those debts, you have the option to file for bankruptcy. Once you are declared bankrupt, nobody can take civil law action against you, the debtor. Even the mortgage lender is required by law to halt their foreclosure actions. However, the mortgage lender will respond by filing for relief from the stay. Once they are granted relief, the foreclosure proceedings will continue. In other words, bankruptcy doesn't really stop a foreclosure entirely. It will still go forward and if you want to keep your home, you still have to pay for it. The only way bankruptcy helps is to slow down the inevitable process.

In some instances, bankruptcy can be used to prevent a foreclosure. How? Well, it buys you some time to source for money to repay the mortgage lender. You are also given an easier way to make the payments. As mentioned before, mortgage lenders have to temporarily cease a foreclosure action when you declare bankruptcy. This additional time is your opportunity to raise money to pay the lender. Plus, when you are bankrupt, you are freed from other debts. This means you have additional funds now to channel towards your mortgage payment. A chapter 13 bankruptcy is a court ordered payment plan which allows you to payoff your overdue mortgage through several payments.

However, there is no guarantee that you will qualify for bankruptcy. Not everyone who files for it will get it. And if you do, be prepared to be slapped with large legal fees. The legal fees can be so high that it may very well exceed your outstanding mortgage payment. If you think that bankruptcy may help you stop or avoid foreclosure, counsel with a licensed lawyer. Don't try to wade through all these legal stuff alone as it is quite complicated. What we discuss in this article is merely a general guide. Get more details by seeking out a licensed lawyer near you.

robert shumake detroit

John Roberts Leaves CNN for Fox News - NYTimes.com

Executives at CNN confirmed Monday that John Roberts, who served as the morning anchor for the network since April 2007, would be joining Fox News as a national correspondent.

Mike Max's News And Notes « CBS Minnesota – News, Sports, Weather ...

In this week's News and Notes, a celebrity spotting at a Timberwolves game and what's ahead for the Vikes during their off season.

Small Business News: Starting Your New Business In A New Year

Whether your starting a new business or rethinking an existing one, 2011 offers fresh possibilities and a new start. If you're launching a new business, there.

robert shumake detroit

The Florida Rules of Civil Procedure are the Procedure Rules that all judges and courts in Florida must follow in order to insure the orderly administration of Justice and Due Process.

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 1.510, is the Rule that covers
Summary Judgment. According to Rule 1.510(e), Affidavits filed in
Support of Summary Judgment require the following:

Florida Rules of Civil Procedure

1.510 Summary Judgment

“SWORN OR CERTIFIED COPIES OF ALL PAPERS OR PARTS OF PAPERS REFERRED TO IN AN AFFIDAVIT SHALL BE ATTACHED TO THE AFFIDAVIT”

The Florida Rules of
Procedure was promulgated to be followed by the judges in all divisions, in all areas of the law, and equally among all parties. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Here is a stark example of how the courts ignore the Rules of Civil
Procedure and treat Homeowners differently than all other parties in any
other area of the law:

WOW – Is Lee County Foreclosure Court Above the Law?

Per the order below (hat tip Matt Weidner) a judge in Broward County appears to have cancelled all foreclosure sales in one of the foreclosure division from December 20 to December 31:

Broward County Judicial Order Canceling Foreclosure Sales

The sale doesn’t throw families out on the street, the certificate of title has to be issued (Palm Beach County is 4-6 weeks behind the sale dates at least) THEN a writ of possession must be obtained, then the sheriff has to execute the writ.

Palm Beach County Chief Judge Peter Blanc is trying to decide whether judges can take a more active role in examining foreclosure cases after a meltdown in Ally Financial’s foreclosure proceedings last week.

Blanc said Monday that there has been an increase in requests by lenders and loan servicers to cancel foreclosure sales and vacate judgments following the disclosure that Ally was freezing portions of its foreclosure operation in 23 states, including Florida.

While judges granted those requests, Blanc said he was concerned about cases in which defective foreclosure affidavits aren’t being brought to the court’s attention, possibly because the borrower has given up or walked away from the home.

Also, he’s unclear on whether the court should scrutinize past cases for flaws.

“It puts us in an untenable position because we can’t both investigate and decide,” Blanc said. “We are supposed to act on things brought to our attention, but if no one files anything, I’m not sure what will or should happen.”

Blanc said he was looking at case law regarding the duties and responsibilities of judges to see whether there is precedent for the current situation. But he said Florida’s foreclosure crisis has brought many unique challenges to the courts and there is likely little historical guidance.

In other words, judges are also struggling to figure out what to do with the mess created by rampant abuses in the securitization industry.

robert shumake detroit

robert shumake