Washington Informer
Busniess Archive (201)
Mrs. Ella Mae Cheeks Johnson, of Cleveland, Ohio, recently died after having spent 106 years on this earth. As a fellow church member, I had the opportunity to visit Mrs. Johnson on numerous occasions and to share her philosophy on life.
Just before her 99th birthday she reflected on her life in the following way.
Just before her 99th birthday she reflected on her life in the following way.
Susan Lauten had done everything right during her trial mortgage modification under the government’s program to help struggling homeowners. She had submitted all the necessary paperwork and made the required trial payments on time each month.
Trial modifications are supposed to become permanent after three months of successful payments. But even though she held up her end of the deal, she found herself booted from the program, joining a swelling number of homeowners who are finding themselves in a situation that’s worse than if they had never entered the program to begin with.
And it’s just the latest example in a litany of problems that have beset the government’s efforts to save millions of struggling homeowners from losing their homes.
Trial modifications are supposed to become permanent after three months of successful payments. But even though she held up her end of the deal, she found herself booted from the program, joining a swelling number of homeowners who are finding themselves in a situation that’s worse than if they had never entered the program to begin with.
And it’s just the latest example in a litany of problems that have beset the government’s efforts to save millions of struggling homeowners from losing their homes.
Millions of people face losing their homes in the continuing foreclosure crisis, but homeowners often have more than the struggling economy and slumping house prices to worry about: Disorganization within the big banks that service mortgages has made a bad problem worse.
Sometimes the communication breakdown within the banks is so complete that it leads to premature or mistaken foreclosures. Some homeowners, with the help of an attorney or housing counselor, have eventually been able to reverse a foreclosure. Others have lost their homes.
“We believe in many cases people are losing their homes when they should not have,” said Kevin Stein, associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, which counts dozens of nonprofits that work with homeowners among its members.
Sometimes the communication breakdown within the banks is so complete that it leads to premature or mistaken foreclosures. Some homeowners, with the help of an attorney or housing counselor, have eventually been able to reverse a foreclosure. Others have lost their homes.
“We believe in many cases people are losing their homes when they should not have,” said Kevin Stein, associate director of the California Reinvestment Coalition, which counts dozens of nonprofits that work with homeowners among its members.
E-Payments of Benefits Raises Some Flags
WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department is making a hard push to go green -- and save a lot of green -- by switching millions of people who receive Social Security and other federal benefits from paper checks to electronic payments.
The announcement came just days before the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. And while the technological move will save paper, it will also save the government more than $300 million over the first five years and $125 million each following year. It now costs $1 overall to cut and mail a check but only 10 cents for a direct deposit. The Treasury issues more than 135 million benefit checks annually.
WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department is making a hard push to go green -- and save a lot of green -- by switching millions of people who receive Social Security and other federal benefits from paper checks to electronic payments.
The announcement came just days before the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. And while the technological move will save paper, it will also save the government more than $300 million over the first five years and $125 million each following year. It now costs $1 overall to cut and mail a check but only 10 cents for a direct deposit. The Treasury issues more than 135 million benefit checks annually.
Like many Black farmers around the country, Willard Tillman is waiting. He's been waiting for more than a decade to collect on a settlement from the government for being discriminated against by the United States Department of Agriculture. But waiting is all he can do for now because the government that owes him is still dragging its feet to pay him.
Tillman is one of thousands of African-American farmers who is due to collect part of a $1.25 billion dollar settlement from the government but is unable to collect because Congress has yet to appropriate the payout. Congress had until the March 31 congressional recess to appropriate the amount before plaintiffs could opt out of the settlement and pursue individual litigation. No farmers, including Tillman, have opted out as of yet.
“I wish more of the stimulus funds had gone to the senior community,” says Anthony Bell, California program manager for the National Indian Coalition on Aging (NICOA). “Everyday we get heartbreaking calls from older workers who have lost jobs and are desperately looking for work to save their homes.”
Seniors are an often overlooked demographic when jobs and the economy are mentioned, even though they are staying in the workforce longer than in years past. Out of the $787 billion in stimulus money, just $120 million, or less than 0.01 percent, went to senior employment, although older Americans are returning to work in greater numbers.
The Recovery Act did provide $100 million for nutritional programs for older Americans, and SSI recipients got an extra one-time check for $250 as part of the stimulus. While that might have paid a few bills, Bell says, $250 is a “a mere pittance to seniors who are struggling with job and housing issues.”
Seniors are an often overlooked demographic when jobs and the economy are mentioned, even though they are staying in the workforce longer than in years past. Out of the $787 billion in stimulus money, just $120 million, or less than 0.01 percent, went to senior employment, although older Americans are returning to work in greater numbers.
The Recovery Act did provide $100 million for nutritional programs for older Americans, and SSI recipients got an extra one-time check for $250 as part of the stimulus. While that might have paid a few bills, Bell says, $250 is a “a mere pittance to seniors who are struggling with job and housing issues.”
Published in
Busniess Archive
Written by Linnie Frank Bailey - Courtesy of New America Media/Black Voice News
Written by Linnie Frank Bailey - Courtesy of New America Media/Black Voice News
Persistently high black unemployment remains a problem here in the United States, as the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that African Americans have an unemployment rate of 16.5 percent, compared to 9 percent for white Americans. This rate remains the same as last month, even though the economy created 290,000 jobs during the month of April.
White unemployment rose slightly from last month's rate of 8.8 percent, but black unemployment is still over 80 percent higher than that of White Americans.
Black women saw their unemployment number rise to 13.7 percent from 12.4 percent last month. This number is 85 percent higher than the unemployment rate for white women, which is at 7.4 percent. Black males are at the bottom of the barrel, with an unemployment rate of 18 percent, which is 95 percent higher than that for white men.
White unemployment rose slightly from last month's rate of 8.8 percent, but black unemployment is still over 80 percent higher than that of White Americans.
Black women saw their unemployment number rise to 13.7 percent from 12.4 percent last month. This number is 85 percent higher than the unemployment rate for white women, which is at 7.4 percent. Black males are at the bottom of the barrel, with an unemployment rate of 18 percent, which is 95 percent higher than that for white men.
A new study shows that in the last 23 years, the gap between the average net worth of African-American families and white families has more than quadrupled. In examining data from 1984 to 2007, Brandeis University’s Institute on Assets and Social Policy found that the average white family now has accumulated $95,000 more in total wealth than the average African-American family.
Also, one quarter of African-American families, the report notes, currently have no financial assets to protect themselves from financial ruin. In a study published last year, the University of California, Berkeley’s Emmanuel Saez found that income inequality in the U.S. had reached a record high in 2007.
Also, one quarter of African-American families, the report notes, currently have no financial assets to protect themselves from financial ruin. In a study published last year, the University of California, Berkeley’s Emmanuel Saez found that income inequality in the U.S. had reached a record high in 2007.
A debt-collection agency claimed that Allen Jones owed a meager $200 on a credit card bill, and they intended to collect it by any means necessary. Instead, it may end up costing them more than $1.5 million.
Over the course of a few months, Advanced Call Center Technologies of Dallas called Jones several times and left harassing and racist messages:
"This is your mother******* wake-up call you little lazy a** b****," WFAA reported a collector as saying in one message.
"Get your mother******* n****r ass up and go pick some mother******* cotton fields," said another collector.
Over the course of a few months, Advanced Call Center Technologies of Dallas called Jones several times and left harassing and racist messages:
"This is your mother******* wake-up call you little lazy a** b****," WFAA reported a collector as saying in one message.
"Get your mother******* n****r ass up and go pick some mother******* cotton fields," said another collector.
Last week, a woman sat outside the Food for Less supermarket in San Bernardino attempting to receive cash for her federally assisted food supplements known as food stamps.
The US Department of Agriculture says this is an increasingly familiar sight outside many grocery and convenience stores in low income communities.
With high unemployment appearing to be a permanent part of the economic picture, the longterm poor are turning to increasingly desperate measures to survive.
Many are selling food stamps for cash. Over 6 million people today report food stamps as their only source of income according to an analysis of government data collected by the New York Times.
The US Department of Agriculture says this is an increasingly familiar sight outside many grocery and convenience stores in low income communities.
With high unemployment appearing to be a permanent part of the economic picture, the longterm poor are turning to increasingly desperate measures to survive.
Many are selling food stamps for cash. Over 6 million people today report food stamps as their only source of income according to an analysis of government data collected by the New York Times.
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