09 December 2011
WHEYE-IZ-IT?
I have been thinking about some nagging questions about issues with federal and local government agencies, some of which I have had for some time. The following items describe my gripes and frustrations with the status quo. I also think these issues could offer some common ground for the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street participants to challenge their elected representatives and public agencies at all levels of government.
1. There have been no federal or state special prosecutors investigating personal involvement/culpability/conspiracies in the banking industry, the financial services industry, and the regulatory agencies regarding the manipulation of our economy--and the world economy--between 1990 and 2009 that resulted in the current, Great Recession?
Were there agreements among lenders to raise revenues in an unregulated, retail credit market? Since 2009, have there been collusive agreements or practices within the banking industry to maintain standardized, underwriting rules on new mortgage loans that have resulted in the sharp decrease in available home mortgage or small business operating loans?
My experience was that all the bankers looked at their daily calendars to see what other lenders were charging mortgagors or small business owners and then would adjust theirs to conform to "industry practices."
2. Across the nation, foreclosed residential properties can remain unoccupied for months or years after the mortgagees/lenders kicked out the mortgagors/homeowners.
Why do local governments allow empty, usable housing stock to exist more than 90 days before taking over the ownership using eminent domain?
Local housing authorities, veterans housing contractors and active duty military individuals and families could use the increase in inexpensive housing stock without having to have their residence costs underwritten by public funding programs or housing allowances.
Note: Would create jobs for carpenters, plumbers and electricians to rehabilitate vacant housing to qualify for occupancy. Provides incentives for local small business to become property management firms. Increases job opportunities for additional office personnel to support increased business activity.3. Local, state and federal planning boards and their legislative bosses do not require developers to install all power utilities, such as power and telecommunication cables, underground, and to include this in their project concept proposals for residential housing, commercial buildings and inter-city grid connections.
How much money has been spent restoring power after ice storms, heavy snow storms, hurricanes, tornadoes and electrical storms? How would the total amount expended over the past 20 years compare with a one-time cost of eliminating overhead power lines throughout our districts, neighborhoods, rural areas and commercial buildings?
Currently, to retro-fit utilities from above-grade to below-grade, utility companies assess individual homeowners thousands of dollars each to bury existing electric power lines in the public easements between properties. Why should customers pay for the supplier’s ability to provide underground utility services? Local planning and use codes could be changed to support constituent property owners and aesthetics value, rather than the utility companies’ costs of operations.
After all, the utility suppliers have real incentives to pay the cost of supplying services to each property line, such as cost avoidance from restoring power interrupted by weather phenomena; avoid liability for building above-grade improvements that are potentially hazardous to drivers, small airplanes, birds, surface vegetation and persons; and fully cost the products they provide to their customers.
Note: Would create jobs for removing electrical junction boxes, telephone poles; for digging up ground, placing conduits, sub-contracts for job phases, fiber optic cable manufacturing and distribution, technicians for installing, testing and certifying power and other utilities installation and ongoing quality control of grids; for connecting individual consumers (residential and commercial) to utility grids.
[Memo to local municipalities and authorities: tap into federal stimulus funding for small business grants to spur contractors to hire more people.]
[Memo to Readers: This post may become a repeating theme, especially if readers supply their own issues or send me ideas for bringing common sense to such imponderables.]
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