So now is the time to write concerning the mortgage broker sales of dud securities as a spinoff of the homebuyers who now hold an upsidedown mortgage and the people who hang on to actual cash now getting little or nothing for giving the bank the privilege of holding money. Another downside of this squabble for bubble profits are the tax rates raised by governments as the ‘value’ of the properties increased due to all the quick cash scams perpetuated by lenders now being rewarded with bailouts, cheap loans and smelly deals designed to buy $26,000,000 residences and high payoffs for CEOs. Amply rewarded CEOs of failing businesses preying on loopholes and gullibility did not accept any social responsibility. Just collect those profits, no matter how they were generated. The average person still has to pay higher taxes because of the real estate price hike.
The scam works like this:
The politicians decide that more people need to own houses so policy is suggested that loosens up credit guidelines for well researched clients who will most probably pay the loan. Not researching borrowers at all led to quicker deals and more profits, so why not?
Lending companies find that these loose guidelines allow for more and more people to qualify to buy homes, including speculators. The loose credit allows developers and builders to raise prices, because the credit will be OKed anyway. ARMs or interest only payments become the norm, in order to qualify more people for more and higher amounts of credit. These loans were structured to fail, which would give foreclosures a nice equity in a property or would allow the borrowers to refinance, as long as prices kept rising. Profits were to be had either way. If prices dropped, then people would be left owing more than the property is now worth, plus they would have the ARM factor or the interest only loans that hugely balloon in payment size. No surprise that foreclosures are on the rise.
Back to the scam. So first we have non-researched loans structured to fail that are ‘bundled’ and called securities and sold like they are a viable investment sure to balloon as soon as the ARMs or interest only payments did. It was all planned out. Everybody would pay up and the profits would flow, but it is really better if I cash out now when I sell these bogus securities to investors rounded up by big name brokers. I guess to pay the appraisers of these ‘securities’ a little would be enough if they kept their jobs.
Criminal activity? Loans structured to fail should be a criminal offense. Loaning money to people who cannot pay it back is reprehensible and rips off somebody. Who gets paid? The developer, builder, construction workers, loan personnel, real estate, appraisers, all get cash out. The bond bundlers and bond brokers cash out. The investors who put up the money to be loaned are expecting starry eyed profits based on recent paybacks based on more investment. A Ponzi scheme. The foreclosure rate woke everybody up and the profits disappeared in a wash of red ink.
Lo and behold our government takes steps to prevent this red ink from getting on anybody important. Cut the interest rates and the ARMs don’t adjust upward. It does not matter that the interest rate cuts also cut the rates paid to those unfortunate holders of cash in banks. The cut in interest rates also cut foreign investment, a little side effect of saving your buddies from taking a loss. The falling dollar makes oil cheaper for everybody but us, so the low interest rate is doing a number on the little guy in more ways than one.
So now the latest link in the scam is that a huge brokerage firm will get a bailout in order to avert a financial meltdown. What is going on? Why the bailout? Why not just let it go broke?
Retirement funds invested in low or negative yield bundled mortgage securities? Is this true? Would these retirement funds then be lost while at least three of the perpetrators lounge in millionaire luxury? Exactly who bought these worthless securities? I want to see a list of investors, how much they invested, and why is it necessary to bail them out.
It is my opinion that all this money never existed. It cannot be found because it was only a figment of the imagination fueled by cheap credit. Printing money is not the answer. Inflation is horrid as it is. The inflated housing prices were a scheme to get money via the easy credit avenue. This ‘value’ does not exist. Allow the real estate to deflate and allow people to renegotiate their loans. They did not steal the value. Somebody else did and they are living in luxury at investors and now taxpayers expense.
So the Fed bails out these same charlatans and expects to continue to do business with them, rather than bypassing them and working with the investors and homeowners. They deserve to live in a homeless camp in California where so many former homeowners now live, some in tents and some in camp trailers. I say give them a pup tent until they go to jail.
What is normal? Fair interest rates when cashholders can make a little. Fair rates for loans to people who can and will repay the money. Interest rates that attract investment. Stable currency. Raise the interest rates.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
SAVAGES
The news stated that a most wanted man with a $25,000,000 price on his head is assassinated in Lebanon. Our state department spokesman issued a statement that justice had been done rather than choosing to say that our preference would have been to try him in a court of law, which was a significant choice on the part of our leadership.
A lawless attitude on the part of our state department does little to forward our expressed goal of Democracy. Condoning assassination is acting as judge, jury and executioner in one ill conceived comment. I would hope that our state department would adhere to the law. Public statements should reflect the rule of law.
Continued lawlessness on the parts of opposing forces will continue the conflict. If the expressed desire of an organization is endless war, lawlessness serves that purpose. President Bush should rein in the team at the state department lest the USA be identified as a rogue nation who touts but does not respect the rule of law.
We say we believe in due process, yet pronouncements belie what we do espouse for others.
On the other side, the instant threat of retaliation was no doubt made in grief for the assassinated man. Continued savagery does not promote the causes of peace and a happy life for citizens. It would behoove both sides to call for talks in recognition and respect for each other and religious tolerance. What has been done is now over and there could be a chance for peace if retaliation from either side does not occur. Bringing the perpetrators to a court of law can remain a goal.
What leaders among us are savages?
A lawless attitude on the part of our state department does little to forward our expressed goal of Democracy. Condoning assassination is acting as judge, jury and executioner in one ill conceived comment. I would hope that our state department would adhere to the law. Public statements should reflect the rule of law.
Continued lawlessness on the parts of opposing forces will continue the conflict. If the expressed desire of an organization is endless war, lawlessness serves that purpose. President Bush should rein in the team at the state department lest the USA be identified as a rogue nation who touts but does not respect the rule of law.
We say we believe in due process, yet pronouncements belie what we do espouse for others.
On the other side, the instant threat of retaliation was no doubt made in grief for the assassinated man. Continued savagery does not promote the causes of peace and a happy life for citizens. It would behoove both sides to call for talks in recognition and respect for each other and religious tolerance. What has been done is now over and there could be a chance for peace if retaliation from either side does not occur. Bringing the perpetrators to a court of law can remain a goal.
What leaders among us are savages?
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Friday, February 08, 2008
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Public Money for Public Schools
Public School Reform
A recent article in the Arizona Daily Star informed the public of this series of town halls concerning public school reform. I have a few suggestions in the area of school reform.
Short and long term reforms in these categories will be discussed:
Physical facilities
Curricular issues
Staffing
Transportation
Budget
Sports
1. Physical facilities
The present facilities require busing to the school site. If the school sites were smaller and more neighborhood oriented, no busing would be required. I suggest renting buildings like charter schools presently are doing, which would make the schools within walking distance of the people.
If present regulations on the part of the state or city do not allow the use of these buildings, then these regulations should be reviewed. I believe that the public school system is choked with expensive regulation designed to provide jobs for the regulators.
Any new schools should be located where no busing is required. This includes high schools.
Each of these small schools should have distance learning, internet learning and enough equipment for each student to have access to advanced learning. Any new school should employ ‘green’ technology and retrofits should be considered.
*Research indicates that smaller schools are more successful in academia and discipline.
2. Curricular Issues
The state of Arizona has a competent course of study for the students already in place, plus a battery of tests designed to diagnose success levels in the classroom. The funding for the curriculum and testing has been adequate and all this investment should not be discarded.
This course of study developed over the years by the Arizona Department of Education should also be taught and it is the duty of the teachers to teach it. It is the duty of the administrator to make sure the curriculum is taught and that the materials necessary to teach it are available to the teachers. This includes books and other materials for all the students, which is not currently the case.
The establishment of internet learning, equipment and books for each student within the schools would ensure that the students would receive expert instruction or remediation in any subject. Small high schools could participate in the internet learning while teachers on site assist and monitor progress. No bright student would be without learning opportunity.
The small high school need not be large in order to offer various topics taught by experts. The large high school concept was originally justified in that students would have access to more teachers in more subjects, but the internet corrects that problem. I believe that the huge high school concept results in higher drop out rates.
It appears that the textbook funding formula has severe problems and that students are deprived of books when the textbook money from the state is diverted into other spending. This practice needs review.
3. Staffing
A change from large, distant schools to small, neighborhood schools need not result in laying off of staff members. It is suggested that the class sizes be reduced to no more than 25 plus an aide to assist with instruction and recordkeeping. Money now spent on busing could now be used to hire more instructional staff. I know that this is money in a different category but that can be changed. Huge sums are now spent on busing, insurance etc. that could be used in the classroom or assist in dealing with the deficits in the state budget. Class sizes are too large, which leads to less effective, less personal instruction.
The small schools would have a head teacher who is given time to do administrative duties but the larger percentage of time would be spent in the classroom. The head teachers would report to an administrator over several small schools.
4. Transportation
The finance of school transportation by the state needs review and reform. It appears to encourage the use of busing through the funding formula. It appears that fuel costs are continuing to rise and it makes better sense to phase out busing rather than take an ever increasing bite out of the state budget to continue this wasteful practice. The high cost of insurance is also another reason to phase out busing.
School busing can be gradually phased out beginning at the present time. Programs for merging public transportation with student busing are used elsewhere successfully. Students ride public transportation to school. The school bus system and the public transportation system are actually an expensive duplication of services that wastes fuel, equipment and other costs.
This obviously requires an expansion of public transportation, which would be a good thing for our city. Compare the costs of the school busing and public transportation. Giving parents a voucher for rides might be cheaper than financing all those school buses.
I don’t see this as a job loss. The expansion of public transportation would absorb the workers. Bus maintenance and repair yards would still function, but as part of the public transportation system.
5. Budget
The phase out of the transportation costs would benefit the state and the schools by freeing up money currently spent hauling students. If students were charged a nominal fee to ride or the state provided vouchers to ride, the public transportation system would benefit financially.
Another wasteful practice is the provision of cars and mileage to administrators. This should be reviewed and cuts made. Video conferencing should be required in lieu of expensive travel. Long term contracts with administrators often result in high payoffs, which discourages excellence in job performance. If conferences are attended by anyone, attendees should be required to share the ideas with other staff members at meetings.
Insurance should not be free to any employee. Insurance costs could be contained by allowing staff members to control the money used to buy insurance. Each staff member would then be free to buy insurance on their own, join a plan or not have insurance. This idea would free the schools from being insurance providers for the staff and would allow staff members freedom of choice for the money they earned.
6. Sports
Physical education in the form of lifelong exercise activities and games that anyone can play without expensive equipment should be incorporated into the curriculum of the small schools.
Extracurricular sports would be available at a central location on bus routes, so students can access it. Students would be responsible for their own transportation by using the public buses. Small high schools could join a consortium and field teams in all sports for both genders. A few buses would be retained for team trips. Brilliant sports students would have the opportunity to shine and earn scholarships just like now.
Extracurricular sports would be funded through the schools by donations from parents and the business community, plus public funds and grants. It is my belief that students should not have to pay to participate in extracurricular sports if the programs are under the aegis of the public schools. These sports opportunities should be available to all, no matter what the income of the family.
I hope these suggestions assist in the school reform process. My qualifications for making these suggestions come from a long career in public education where I taught in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California. My educational credentials are: B.A. University of Arizona in Education 1973, M.A. in Educational Leadership Northern Arizona University 1990, and an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction 1995, Northern Arizona University. My dissertation, titled An Historical Review of Public Education in Arizona, not only describes the development of public education in Arizona from 1865, but gives reform ideas and other relevant information. I am a Tucson native and deeply care about the future of this state and nation.
Dorothy Prater Niemi
niemicat@msn.com
A recent article in the Arizona Daily Star informed the public of this series of town halls concerning public school reform. I have a few suggestions in the area of school reform.
Short and long term reforms in these categories will be discussed:
Physical facilities
Curricular issues
Staffing
Transportation
Budget
Sports
1. Physical facilities
The present facilities require busing to the school site. If the school sites were smaller and more neighborhood oriented, no busing would be required. I suggest renting buildings like charter schools presently are doing, which would make the schools within walking distance of the people.
If present regulations on the part of the state or city do not allow the use of these buildings, then these regulations should be reviewed. I believe that the public school system is choked with expensive regulation designed to provide jobs for the regulators.
Any new schools should be located where no busing is required. This includes high schools.
Each of these small schools should have distance learning, internet learning and enough equipment for each student to have access to advanced learning. Any new school should employ ‘green’ technology and retrofits should be considered.
*Research indicates that smaller schools are more successful in academia and discipline.
2. Curricular Issues
The state of Arizona has a competent course of study for the students already in place, plus a battery of tests designed to diagnose success levels in the classroom. The funding for the curriculum and testing has been adequate and all this investment should not be discarded.
This course of study developed over the years by the Arizona Department of Education should also be taught and it is the duty of the teachers to teach it. It is the duty of the administrator to make sure the curriculum is taught and that the materials necessary to teach it are available to the teachers. This includes books and other materials for all the students, which is not currently the case.
The establishment of internet learning, equipment and books for each student within the schools would ensure that the students would receive expert instruction or remediation in any subject. Small high schools could participate in the internet learning while teachers on site assist and monitor progress. No bright student would be without learning opportunity.
The small high school need not be large in order to offer various topics taught by experts. The large high school concept was originally justified in that students would have access to more teachers in more subjects, but the internet corrects that problem. I believe that the huge high school concept results in higher drop out rates.
It appears that the textbook funding formula has severe problems and that students are deprived of books when the textbook money from the state is diverted into other spending. This practice needs review.
3. Staffing
A change from large, distant schools to small, neighborhood schools need not result in laying off of staff members. It is suggested that the class sizes be reduced to no more than 25 plus an aide to assist with instruction and recordkeeping. Money now spent on busing could now be used to hire more instructional staff. I know that this is money in a different category but that can be changed. Huge sums are now spent on busing, insurance etc. that could be used in the classroom or assist in dealing with the deficits in the state budget. Class sizes are too large, which leads to less effective, less personal instruction.
The small schools would have a head teacher who is given time to do administrative duties but the larger percentage of time would be spent in the classroom. The head teachers would report to an administrator over several small schools.
4. Transportation
The finance of school transportation by the state needs review and reform. It appears to encourage the use of busing through the funding formula. It appears that fuel costs are continuing to rise and it makes better sense to phase out busing rather than take an ever increasing bite out of the state budget to continue this wasteful practice. The high cost of insurance is also another reason to phase out busing.
School busing can be gradually phased out beginning at the present time. Programs for merging public transportation with student busing are used elsewhere successfully. Students ride public transportation to school. The school bus system and the public transportation system are actually an expensive duplication of services that wastes fuel, equipment and other costs.
This obviously requires an expansion of public transportation, which would be a good thing for our city. Compare the costs of the school busing and public transportation. Giving parents a voucher for rides might be cheaper than financing all those school buses.
I don’t see this as a job loss. The expansion of public transportation would absorb the workers. Bus maintenance and repair yards would still function, but as part of the public transportation system.
5. Budget
The phase out of the transportation costs would benefit the state and the schools by freeing up money currently spent hauling students. If students were charged a nominal fee to ride or the state provided vouchers to ride, the public transportation system would benefit financially.
Another wasteful practice is the provision of cars and mileage to administrators. This should be reviewed and cuts made. Video conferencing should be required in lieu of expensive travel. Long term contracts with administrators often result in high payoffs, which discourages excellence in job performance. If conferences are attended by anyone, attendees should be required to share the ideas with other staff members at meetings.
Insurance should not be free to any employee. Insurance costs could be contained by allowing staff members to control the money used to buy insurance. Each staff member would then be free to buy insurance on their own, join a plan or not have insurance. This idea would free the schools from being insurance providers for the staff and would allow staff members freedom of choice for the money they earned.
6. Sports
Physical education in the form of lifelong exercise activities and games that anyone can play without expensive equipment should be incorporated into the curriculum of the small schools.
Extracurricular sports would be available at a central location on bus routes, so students can access it. Students would be responsible for their own transportation by using the public buses. Small high schools could join a consortium and field teams in all sports for both genders. A few buses would be retained for team trips. Brilliant sports students would have the opportunity to shine and earn scholarships just like now.
Extracurricular sports would be funded through the schools by donations from parents and the business community, plus public funds and grants. It is my belief that students should not have to pay to participate in extracurricular sports if the programs are under the aegis of the public schools. These sports opportunities should be available to all, no matter what the income of the family.
I hope these suggestions assist in the school reform process. My qualifications for making these suggestions come from a long career in public education where I taught in Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California. My educational credentials are: B.A. University of Arizona in Education 1973, M.A. in Educational Leadership Northern Arizona University 1990, and an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction 1995, Northern Arizona University. My dissertation, titled An Historical Review of Public Education in Arizona, not only describes the development of public education in Arizona from 1865, but gives reform ideas and other relevant information. I am a Tucson native and deeply care about the future of this state and nation.
Dorothy Prater Niemi
niemicat@msn.com
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