Wow. The mechanisms banks use to take more and more billions from taxpayers is astonishing. I continue to argue that foreclosures, as they are being conducted in this country today, are a manifestation of the economic aspects of fascism, those economic conditions being the fusion of the state and government interests.
By and large, mortgages, foreclosures and the court foreclosure process show a fusion between the corporate interest utilizing the power and might of The State. We see this most recently in Florida with the Foreclosure BackLog Reduction Plan and it’s focus and attention to the more efficient and effective use of state resources to help the banks clear their cases more quickly. Nowhere in the report is there mention of all the efforts of homeowners and defense attorneys to get cases dismissed….no, the whole focus is on efforts that The State can take in order to help banks take homes more efficiently.
It seems that all of the programs proposed or implemented by The Government to address foreclosure or bank fraud contain within them billions for the banks whose conduct government and the courts should be regulating….not sanctioning. But in fact what we see is that for every penalty, there is in fact a bonus for the wrongdoer….
See this reporting from Palm Beach Post
Banks are getting tens of millions of taxpayer dollars through Florida’s key foreclosure prevention program to pay down borrower debt, but are also using the money to pay off their own attorney’s fees and other costs associated with taking back people’s homes.
The more than $1 billion Hardest Hit program has been operating statewide for two years, awarding struggling borrowers 12 months of mortgage payments and between $18,000 and $24,000 to bring a mortgage current.
But some homeowners exiting the program are finding themselves still in debt and on the same path to foreclosure after their lender subtracted legal costs from the Hardest Hit stipend.
While the Hardest Hit program allows lenders to use the money to pay their attorney fees and out-of-pocket expenses, the federal law that authorized the plan forbids homeowners from doing the same.
The Treasury Department determined in 2010 that legal aid for borrowers was not allowed under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. One of Florida’s original proposals to use Hardest Hit money was rejected because it included $25 million for legal counseling and representation for homeowners.
PALM BEACH POST
