Related to Foreclosure Problem: Posted to Michael Moore 12/12/09

Here's a huge part of the problem. Some people make the majority or more of their income off of ownership "dividends". Can't say how many of them are greedy and how many are just getting by, themselves.

Certainly, it would be easier to work with those who only make a small part of their income from economic rents (i.e. mortgages, rental collections stock dividends, equity trading, etc.). One can hope that those who are greedy can and will forego their greed and release their competitive advantage grip, but it almost goes without "saying" that they would be more problematic to a cooperative world.

Those who are just getting by (in a humble manner) with such incomes could perhaps be more easily persuaded to join the work force, especially if job training were made available to them.

Anyway, given the "invisible handed" practice of Capitalism, we are unjustly finding ourselves at the mercy of the unscrupulous, the evasive, the uncaring, and the irresponsible.

Some talk and write about Revolution, but it would be a whole lot easier to overthrow the government(s) than it would be to realize any real economic gain, especially a sustainable cooperative scenario, with violence.


In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union
Eugene, OR

Mortgage Defaults and Related Capitalist Fallaciousness

Let's not quibble about minor adjustments, "loan modifications", that cannot begin to deal with the structural malaise of a mortgage default and possible ensuing eviction.

The first matter at hand, is can we have a moratorium on evictions, both mortgage and rental related? It seems as the Chief Executive, Obama could issue an executive order relative to such. Whether it be heeded on local levels is an entirely different question.

More fundamentally, the whole mortgage/lending and landlord/tenant reality of the Capitalist system is wrong. When I make a payment of $500 to my property management firm, what good reason is there that I should not be getting at least $350, if not $400, of equity from such a payment?

Such a world unity cooperative housing policy and program needs to replace the current Capitalist rip-off.

We have to recognize that first, and come together as a peoples' union to demand that we be treated as such.

Similarly, the exploiters need to organize to protect whatever legitimate interests they may have and to work with us on a transition strategy.

I understand the cutthroat mentality of the Capitalists. I am not naive. But the massive suffering that we have been experiencing and being realized by an accelerating segment (One argument is that we are only beginning to discuss it because it is now starting to effect the ownership "class") in the real estate/financial sector as in all sectors of the economy is due to the complete inequity, fallaciousness, inhumanity/uncaring nature that has been the Feudal/Mercantile/Capitalist evolution.

Tinkering will not suffice.


In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,

Mike Morin
Peoples' Equity Union

Housing Ownership

Concurrent with financial systems reform, discussed in a previous essay where equity sharing and not-for-profit equity investing would replace the current financial paradigm of for-profit equity investing and usurious credit arrangements, we need to evolve to a different system with respect to residential and other real property occupation arrangements.

In lieu of rent or leases, people should be allowed to acquire equity in their abodes and business properties. For example, in the case of an apartment, if one paid $500 per month to a property management firm, let's say $50 per month would go to property maintenence, and another $40 to administration fees, insurance, etc. This would leave the resident with $410 of accumulated equity added to their account each month. If we had a large cooperative housing organization (preferably world-wide, and preferably the only form of property ownership) then when someone had to move or wanted to move, they could take their equity with them to the new property.

With regards to mortgages, they are horribly usurious and should be banned. The scenario related above would also replace the current system of financing "home ownership loans".

A huge problem that we are facing now is the terrible inflation in the market values of real property (and capital assets, for that matter). If we pooled our equity, pooled our assets, and collectively wrote off our liabilities, then we could significantly write down the market values of real and capital assets.