Alan Michaels - Mortgage Banker
Silent War
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For a few years I have been trying to bring this to the attention of
anyone who will listen. I have been in the financial industry for over
12 years and what I have witnessed is startling but very real.
For quite sometime our social-economic society has
been converting from a cash and asset based society to a credit and
asset based society. This new structure has and will
continue to create a divide that unless curtailed will have an impact
far greater than the loss of community empowerment we suffered
when we accepted affirmative action and integration.
Chronicled Synopsis: In the mid late eighties I was awarded my
first finance position at a local car dealership at this time my
responsibility consisted of arranging financing through lending
institutions for customers seeking to purchase an automobile. Back
then the main credit criteria was simple; it was based on your
current and past lines of credit and weather they had been paid on
or are currently being paid on time as reported by the credit reporting
repositories.
In the early 90's lender's slowly began a shift to a credit scoring
system whereas the determination of your loan was based upon your credit
score as reported by the main credit reporting repository for your
region. There are 3 main credit reporting repositories
Trans-Union, Equifax, and Experian which was at that time called T.R.W.
They soon developed what was called credit scoring systems, they
would now attach a 3 digit score with an individuals credit history as
reported. These scores are based upon several factors, length of open
credit accounts, how the accounts were paid on, the high balance of the
accounts, the amount of outstanding credit as opposed to the reflecting credit
limit, the amount of reported derogatory credit, and or any judgments,
collections, bankruptcies and all other types of severe reported derogatoriness.
They take this information and determine a risk factor for the
individual, thus we arrive at a credit score. The lower the risk factor,
the higher the credit score and conversely so, the higher the risk
factor the lower the credit score. This seems a to be a
very logical way of helping lenders determine how much of a credit risk
a certain indivisible could pose to be. I do not have an
exact number on the hundreds if not thousands of credit reports I
have examined over the years, but I can assure you it is enough to come
to these conclusions. There is a huge difference in credit
scores from region to region as well as ethnicity.
There appears to be other factors involved that we are not aware
of. I left the automotive industry in 96 and went into the mortgage
banking industry were the trend I had noticed continued, this
time I could not ignore what I had been observing because now I was
dealing with credit applications and reports from all over the US
not just in my area or region. And I am telling you Blacks
and Hispanics score much lower than any other race in the U.S.. Granted
some of this has to do with our late induction into the overall
importance and education of a credit based economic structure, as well
as gainful employment and all the other conditions that stifles our
growth. These conditions I have taken into account. But when you
have access to pertinent information such as having an intervals credit
application and there credit report as well as their employment history
for the last seven years, job title, income, banking information
etc...you get a chance to really compare apples to apples.
The credit reporting agencies which are not operated by the
government. (these are independent organizations), have a lot control in
determining the economic well being of people in this country.
I have held in my hands many times the credit report and application for
white applicants and black and or Hispanic applicants and
in many instances I would have a mature credit report for a black
applicant with stable employment and income, overall a good credit
risk. and I could have a white applicant with the same conditions and
the credit score for the white applicant would be significantly higher,
and in some cases if the white applicant may not have presented a
bit worse risk factor and yet their score would be the same or even
higher than the black applicant.
This seems to be insignificant to most people I have talked with
about it, the typical response is "that's no big deal" well
consider this; all home financing is based upon this same scoring
system, the medium score is 640, this score allows you entry
into the world of conforming financing programs which offer a greater
variety of mortgage financing programs at a lower interest
rate than your government backed programs such as FHA, and VA.
Conforming programs offer a higher debt to income ratio, which would
allow families with lower incomes to qualify for a home easier,
especially in areas where housing is quite expensive.
Let's examine this; The average black household income was 26k last
year according to the census bureau, according to my statistics,
the average medium credit score for blacks is about 618, this
means you would be receiving more than likely an FHA (government backed
loan) or a non-conforming loan. (loans which have a higher interest
rate and a higher debt to income factor) These loans by far are where
most minorities qualify. For FHA loans your debt to income ratio
is 28% front end 36% back end (your debt ratio is calculated by taking
your outgoing monthly debt and dividing it by your gross monthly
income) front end debt is the percentage before your new proposed house
payment has been added to your debt structure.
By using this calculation lenders determine how much home cost
you qualify for. Simple math; the area I live in the average home is
171k the average, town home is 142k the average condo is 120k, if the
average income for blacks (which in my area is a little higher than the
national average) is 26k and the national housing cost is 120k that
means at a very reasonable interest rate of 7.125% @ 360 month financing and
no outgoing debt (yeah right) your backend debt ratio would be
37% guess what you don't qualify. The goal of anyone should always
be ownership, whether it is a home business etc... ownership is
empowerment. FYI...most SBA loans are based on assets that you own, and
the SBA's that are not, are based upon; you guessed it credit scoring do
not listen to your bankers they indeed take this into consideration when
making a decision. let's say you pay your small credit cards and maybe
your student loans on time, guess what, one of the more significant
scoring factors is your high dollar credit loans I.e. cars, homes,
signature loans and so on this helps you obtain a high credit when loans
such as these are paid on time. It is somewhat a catch 22.
How does this affect us? Anything that slows or
hampers your right to self empowerment which is ownership, be it as
an individual, family or a community (namely yours) is
detrimental in more than one way. Solution? I am not
sure, the real catch is the information I am allowed to view is
protected by the privacy act so even with the proof I have, I am legally
not allowed to disclose it on a case by case basis, so there is no
way for me to show people what I have witnessed over the years. Now
for employment on certain high end jobs credit is now being used
as a criteria for hiring. See where this is going? Anyone
interested yet?
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Enough is Enough (Part 1 of Many)
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by Casper Stockham
The recent turn of events during the election and the
general disregard for common sense has prompted me to examine the road to
victim-hood; how we got here and how we get out.
As the civil rights time line shows, people of color have
come a long way on the road to equality. We now have some great and, not
so great people that for one reason or another have been lifted to the
role of commander and chief of ALL people of color.
I truly wish Martin & Malcolm where here to see this.
They would not believe how far we have come as a whole in society. They
would also not believe that we have REFUSED to move out of victim-hood
into being proud of who we are, what we believe, and what we can achieve.
In some ways the black power movement of the 70's was on
the right track. Not the violent part, but the part that says we should be
PROUD of who we are. There was a reason that movement was suppressed, but
that is a totally different article. We need to be careful not to linger
in and on the past, because if we do we will separate ourselves from
society. We need society and society needs us.
Black is good, but so is white, brown, yellow and any
other race you find on the planet. We are all human, that is the bottom
line. It seems the only thing that would unite us together, in this day
and time, would be the landing of a REAL UFO.
In the mean time we spend way to much energy pointing
fingers and blaming others for our current situation. I have some very
good news and some very bad news for you. Where we are as a people is
exactly where we decide to be. No one put us here but us.
I can already hear you now. What about the slaves, our
ancestors, they where brought here by force. True, I will readily admit to
that, however that, as the time line shows, has LONG been resolved.
Restitution will never happen and is a mute point.
The best way I can explain this is with the following
example. If I took you exactly as you are today, with all your knowledge,
experience and wisdom, then I took away your job, your home and contact
with your family, then I took you down to the local homeless shelter, how
long would you stay there? Or better yet, I took you to a shelter in
another state or country, how long would you stay there?
The answer is simple. Remember in this example you are
free to walk out any time you choose. If you still have what really
counts, your knowledge, experience and wisdom, you would not be there long
at all. However, there are those who tell you daily, that you will have to
stay there for a long time. Maybe, you will have to stay there forever.
Unless of course, they help you, because you need them to get out of the
shelter.
As Malcolm would say, we are being bamboozled. The
chains have been gone for a long time, but we still feel them, we think
that we are not allowed to walk out of the shelter to get back into
the game of life. Well, I say ENOUGH is ENOUGH.
Now with all that said, as a black man trying to make it
today, I know there are obstacles we face daily that some people do not
see or understand at all. My point is this, those challenges face people
all over the world. It is not the challenge that worries me, it is the way
we have chosen to deal with them that needs to be addressed.
From the beginning of time there have been the haves and
the have knots. The good and bad news, is there will always be the haves
and the have knots. Today with the access we have to information and
technology there is NO reason for anyone to be in the shelter of life,
unless they are mentally ill or truly can not take care of themselves. IF
you can hold a sign on the corner, you can find a job.
Today it is NOT the have and the have knots that separate
us. It is the know and the know knots. An educated man is hard to hold on
the farm. An educated man is hard to hold in the ghetto and an educated
man will not stay in a shelter.
When I say an educated man I do not mean you have to have
a degree of some type. All you need to know is that you do NOT BELONG in
the shelter, that is it! If you think you belong there you will stay. If
you were to put me in that position the minute you started to walk out I
would too. You may ask where I am going and I would tell you "I don't
know but, I DO NOT belong here". That is all we need to do!
We, as a people, should NEVER follow any one man or
position blindly. There is nothing wrong with stepping back every once in
a while, and asking WHY? NO ONE cares more about you than YOU. The
government is not there to make sure your pillow is fluffed up at night.
However, they are there to sever and represent us. To make
sure our rights and interests are represented. They are also there to make
sure we are free to pursue or not to pursue happiness. Nothing is
guaranteed, and our happiness is not guaranteed either, sorry.
Your happiness is up to YOU and YOU alone. If you are not
happy now, CHANGE. If you do not like your job, CHANGE IT. If you do not
live in a good place, MOVE. If there is no water where you live, GO to the
water. If you think you can or think you can not, YOUR RIGHT.
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The Electoral College should end this year and here's
why
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Regardless of who supports it now my view is unchanged.
Hillary is an opportunist and will use anything at her disposal to reach
her destructive
goals.
The current system, as we have seen, is so open it can be contested in
court. Why is that? I thought it was clear. I thought GW Bush won the
vote count twice already. He should be setting up his cabinet not
arguing in court. The Electoral College nor the current system will
solve this.
The candidates are running a popularity contest whether we admit it or
not.
They are elected based on how they look first and how much they promise
us second. Everything else comes in a distant third. The sooner we admit
it the
sooner we can move on. Who wants what? The seniors want protection,
minorities want protection, children need protection, and the poor
middle
class always pay for everything regardless.
The Electoral College should end this year and here's why. Despite all
the destructive things it is suppose to stop, it has stopped nothing. We
still have an election process that is so antiquated we maybe in
legislation for weeks before it is over. We punch out ballots at the
voting booth but we scan a .50 cent product at the corner store, go
figure.
Candidates canvas areas with high Electoral votes and basically ignore
the rest. They could spend less of my money and just go on TV for a few
months
before the election and tell me all the wonderful things they will do
for me when they are elected. Then they could have a few debates and
maybe even a fist fight or two. Then we could really decide who we want
to lead us.
If we can do secure banking on the phone and online, when there are
millions of dollars at stake, why can't we have a secure uncorrupted
voting system? Well the answer is simple. Because the powers at be want
the process controlled, like pimp's, and the American people are being
used like hookers on the street. Their welfare is only a concern when it
can be used for the good of either party, but mainly the Democrats.
Even with my limited knowledge of the Internet I could design a system
to have one vote count for one person, removing the need for countless
recounts
and second guessing as to questionable voter intent. All could and would
be under strict regulation and control.
All US voting states can have separate systems so as to avoid hackers
tapping into one system and accessing everything. Besides it would be an
enormous effort, by someone, for a one day event. If banks can do it so
can states.
Everyone would have a code, like there bank code, that would count
for one vote. They could access this from the phone or the Internet,
just like banks.
If we can encrypt (secure) financial records we can surly encrypt
(secure) a voting system. Anyone that does not think this could be setup
TODAY has not
done any banking, brought anything, filled out any forms online or over
the phone. Or how about eating at a restaurant and given their CC to the
cashier.
The bridge to the 21st century appears to be paved with chads. But
that's just my opinion I could be wrong.
Casper Stockham
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The 12 days
after the election
On the twelfth day after the
election my country gave to me.
12 Counters Counting
11 Lawyers Suing
10 Courts Deciding
9 Spokesman Speaking
8 Hanging Chads
7 Nipple Chads
6 Swinging Chads
5 FLOATING CHADS
4 Talking Heads
3 Vote Recounts
2 Guys Waiting
1 And no one in - the -
White-house!!
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Republicrats:
Republican + Democrats
= Republic-rats
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This election year has been one for the record
books. We have seen a nation, which always has an opinion about
everything, split right down the middle. It will be weeks before a
President is chosen, and ironically it will be the Military and the
courts that choose him not the American people.
On the Democratic side there is a sense of
disbelief that a bumbling governor from Texas could beat their guy when
he was so well armed with whit, education and a solid command of the
issues.
On the Republican side there is a sense of
disbelief that a proven liar and an associate of Bill Clinton could
possibly remain such a powerful challenge for their guy when he
obviously has done a good job in Texas, and besides great Presidents
come from Governorships not Senators.
Well, they are both right and both wrong. In fact,
they are so right and wrong they are one in the same. This new breed of
politician I call Republicrats. They have both lost sight of the real
issues and purpose of Government. In their defense though it is the
fault of the American people. We have allowed this thought process to
prevail and now we have, created the preverbal monster.
The answers are simple and well within our reach.
However, it will, dare I say, never happen because we have become a feel
good brain dead nation that has made right wrong and wrong right. We
have taken prayer from schools because someone may be offended, but
devil worship is ok because, it is not a religion.
We kill babies and fight for the lives of convicted
felons. We blame guns for taking lives and not the person pulling the
trigger. We blame cigarette companies for selling a dangerous product
that people are free to use or not use. We put more value on an
animal’s life than that of human life. We try to force our way of life
on every culture we come in contact with. Then we wonder why our
representatives in Washington are dazed and confused. It’s our fault.
So what is the answer, well it is very simple, in
fact, there is only about a half dozen thing we need to do.
1)
Revamp the voting process and get rid of the Electoral College.
The reasons to keep it are not worth the problems it is causing in
modern times. This will insure the people pick the politicians not the
other way around.
2)
Instate term limits for ALL political offices. If there is no
challenger than the incumbent can stay, if there is only one challenger
than the incumbent must go. The incumbent can serve again after two
terms have passed. This will remove the potential for corruption from
the political system.
3)
Stop prosecuting ghosts and inanimate objects, and start
prosecuting the people that are committing the crimes. Guns don’t kill
people; people kill people. Hate crime bills are a waste of time. A
crime is a crime and if I get robbed I do not care who did it or why. I just want them punished. This will let the bad guys know
that if they hurt anyone they will have to pay.
4)
A helping hand, not a hand out should be the first step. Stop
feeding the animals. When you feed an animal you make it weak, it starts
to rely on you and cannot feed itself. This is what welfare has done to
the poor. We have a large amount of poor people today that think they
are supposed to be fed, spoon-fed. With that said no child or person
that cannot feed him or herself should go hungry in America.
5)
Stop trying to be all things to all people. America is the best
place to live on earth; however, we have NO right to impose that way of
life on any nation or its people. We should lead by example not by
force. We should be very hesitant to involve ourselves in the affairs of
others.
6)
Be happy with the way things are or change it. Do not complain
because we let it get this way. World peace is only a decision away. But
we most decide.
Editorial by C. Stockham
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GORE MUST BE STOPPED FROM STEALING VOTE
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Sunday, November 12,2000
Former Secretary of State James A. Baker went to federal court yesterday to stop a burglary in progress.
He didn't put it that way, of course. He said he was trying to "preserve the integrity and the consistency and the equality and the finality" of the presidential vote in Florida - and, we would add, not just Florida.
Make no mistake: What the Democrats are attempting to do in Florida is steal the election, pure and simple. What happens in the Sunshine State determines who governs the United States of America for the next four years.
The vote was counted in Florida - and Texas Gov. George W. Bush won, subject to the opening of absentee and overseas ballots.
The vote was recounted - and Bush still won.
Now the Democrats are demanding a third bite out of the electoral apple - but this time, it is to be a very selective recount indeed.
They want to re-canvass predominantly Democratic counties - and only Democratic counties.
And they want the recount to be done by hand, a process that offers virtually unlimited opportunity for ballot defacement and other imaginative types of election fraud.
And get this! They want the inspectors somehow to determine voter intent - as opposed to what the voter actually did. They'll be scouring the ballots for minute dents and depressions that might suggest how a voter would have voted, had they chosen to do so.
But they didn't, and that's what must count.
Remember that Floridians vote by punch-card. Every ballot that goes through a political operative's hands is a ballot subject to illegal manipulation.
The tactical objective of demanding recounts in Democratic counties is clear enough: to chum up enough Democratic "votes" to deliver Florida - and the presidency - to Al Gore.
There's no nice way to put this: Al Gore and his lieutenants are trying to steal this election.
And they are doing it without regard to the poisonous impact that it will have on the nation. Who could govern effectively in such an atmosphere?
Certainly not Gore.
That's why it is necessary for Baker and Gov. Bush to do what they had said they hoped to avoid: going to court to resolve the Florida impasse.
We don't doubt the Republicans will catch a lot of flak for this decision.
Too bad about that.
There is only one thing worse than stealing an election. And that is standing passively on the sidelines while an election is being stolen.
"Stop, thief!" James Baker said yesterday, loudly.
Good for him.
Editorial from New York Post
www.nypostonline.com
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