I've been trying to figure out how to be part of an effective protest that would have a real impact. I put this out as an idea and ask for input on whether it might be a feasible plan. I have a great respect for the writers here and feel this is the best place for me to present this.
One of the main things that has really pissed me off since the beginning of the financial crisis has been the lack of accountability the banks have enjoyed. They got bailed-out, executive bonuses were paid, and the banks were the first ones to recover. Instead of helping the rest of the economy by lending to small business and re-writing mortgages to enable homeowners to keep their homes, they essentially gave the finger to the rest of the country. They got theirs and that is all they cared about. Now that they are safe they can return to bundling mortgages and fighting any regulatory legislation that would restrict their financial dominance of the rest of the country.
Some hopeful things are happening. Elizabeth Warren, if elected, and Richard Cordray are champions for the working class but they have so much opposition that their influence will be limited. The appointment of Attorney General Schneiderman and his task force of regulators seemed like a step in the right direction. But many fear that the banks will once again avoid meaningful consequences and homeowners will get shafted.
The individual homeowner whose mortgage is under water is at the mercy of the banks. Their mortgage is over valued but they are still in their home. If they walk away then their credit is damaged and, in many states, they could face a default judgment if the bank sells the foreclosed home for less than is owed on it. The homeowner is then doubly screwed. Nice, Huh?
There were over ten and a half million mortgages under water in November of last year. The average mortgage payment is around fifteen hundred dollars a month. That is almost $16,000,000,000 a month. If a large percentage of these underwater homeowners went on strike and quit paying on their mortgages how much pressure would it put on the banks? How quickly would they start screaming if their cash-flow was reduced by billions of dollars a month. This is where my ignorance of big finance comes in to play. I don't really know how large an impact a mortgage strike would have but I suspect it could be substantial. I am asking for some input here. How many homeowners would have to strike to be effective?
For those with knowledge of real estate law, could the homeowners cover themselves by putting payments in an escrow account and demanding to see the origination papers on their mortgage before they pay the bank? Whatever stalling tactics that could be employed would add to the pressure the banks would feel. If every suspect mortgage was forced to go before a judge it would certainly clog up the system.
I think the banks are bullies. They have the upper hand with the individual homeowner who they can gobble up at their whim. I read a story in HuffPost a couple of days ago about a family who thought they had worked out a re-negotiation on their mortgage with one department of the bank when the foreclosure department of the same bank decided to go ahead with the foreclosure. Totally at the bank's whim, a family now faces homelessness because the bank comes out better. A single family they can push around. But I also remember B of A folding like a cheap suit when thousands of customers protested their arrogant decision to charge a $5 fee for the use of a debit card. I also remember reading here at at dkos how obliging and concerned many bankers became when large numbers of clients decided to move their money. You get their attention when you hit them in the wallet.
Who would have the backs of the strikers? A while back, the Occupy movement emailed me a questionnaire that asked if I would be willing to occupy a house to prevent foreclosure. I answered yes but there was no follow up. Who here on this site would be willing to occupy a family's house being foreclosed on? Who could contribute to a strike fund? Who could help with legal aspects? I am filling out a check to the ACLU tomorrow.
This whole financial fiasco started with the real estate bubble and the bail-out of the banks.
It seems a good place to draw a line as to what we will not accept just because the powers that be say we should. The objective would be to stop foreclosures and force write downs on underwater mortgages. We could also force a transaction tax on stock trades to finance some assistance to families who've been so devastated by this depression.
If the banks get away without being held accountable for their share of the mortgage crisis then it just encourages them to further abuse. If our government won't stand up to them then we must. If we don't stand up now then I can see the banks and Wall Street privatizing Social Security and stealing a big chunk of that just like they did with the value of our houses.
We were taught by previous working Americans that there is a time when conditions become so intolerable that they must band together and act against injustice. There will be no change if we wait and hope that the 1% will somehow develop empathy for the people who work for a paycheck. The 1%, as a group, is incapable of that ability.
This big bank-manufactured economic crisis has not only affected the underwater mortgage homeowner. The ensuing recession has been used as an excuse to slash wages, public services, and education budgets. As austerity measures have been passed, workers are told that they earn too much and must settle for less because government must reduce debt. This further weakens the middle class and strengthens the 1%. The rich delight in the profits increased worker productivity brings them. And they chuckle as their agents in Congress deflect any attempt to raise their taxes. The deficit is simply another tool to pry more from the 99%.
OWS has shown the narrative can be shifted. I believe a mortgage boycott would be an effective action. It is a just cause where homeowners are demanding they be treated equally with the banks. It threatens the big banks' resources and cash flow. It gives a rallying cause that many people like myself have been looking for in order to fight back. It is an action that could gain broad-based support as OWS did.
My wife and I are in our fifties and lost a lot of our assets when the crash happened. We were luckier than many in that we had some notes we could sell at a loss and maintain some liquidity. We will probably never recover what we lost and we know of many who lost it all. We have already "shared in the austerity" while the 1% and banks got to skip that part. It's time for them to catch up to the rest of us.
There is a place for the financial sector but it's not in the driver's seat. It's time for them to take a seat at the back of the fucking bus for a change.