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Vol. 11 Issue 27…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…July 6, 2008
Venue for an Artist
Pantoum of the Great Depression
By Donald Justice
Our lives avoided tragedy
Simply by going on and on,
Without end and with little apparent meaning.
Oh, there were storms
and small catastrophes.
Simply by going on and on
We managed. No need for the heroic.
Oh, there were storms and small catastrophes.
I don't remember all
the particulars.
We managed. No need for the heroic.
There were the usual celebrations, the usual sorrows.
I don't remember all the particulars.
Across the fence, the
neighbors were our chorus.
There were the usual celebrations, the usual sorrows
Thank god no one said anything in verse.
The neighbors were our only chorus,
And if we suffered we
kept quiet about it.
At no time did anyone say anything in verse.
It was the ordinary pities and fears consumed us,
And if we suffered we kept quiet about it.
No audience would
ever know our story.
It was the ordinary pities and fears consumed us.
We gathered on porches; the moon rose;
We were poor.
What audience would ever know our story?
Beyond our windows
shone the actual world.
We gathered on porches; the moon rose;
We were poor.
And time went by, drawn by slow horses.
Somewhere beyond our windows shone the world.
The Great Depression
had entered our souls like fog.
And time went by, drawn by slow horses.
We did not ourselves know what the end was.
The Great Depression had entered our souls like fog.
We had our flaws,
perhaps a few private virtues.
But we did not ourselves know what the end was.
People like us simply go on.
We have our flaws, perhaps a few private virtues,
But it is by blind
chance only that we escape tragedy.
And there is no plot
in that; it is devoid of poetry.
About
Me: Donald Justice grew up in Florida and taught for many years at the
Iowa Writers Workshop. His New and Selected Poems about Florida, the Miami of
another era, and about growing up in the Depression years are especially
memorable. Justice is widely admired, a brilliant craftsman who has experimented
with a variety of forms.
Lewis S. Ranieri
Born in Brooklyn, New York in
1947, Lewis S. Ranieri grew up in Bayside, Queens, New York. He earned his
Bachelor of Arts degree at St John's University. In 1968, Ranieri started
working at Salomon Brothers Inc. in the mail room on the night shift. He rose
within the corporation to head its mortgage bond group.
As Vice Chairman at Salomon, Ranieri had responsibility for the firm's
activities in the mortgage, real estate and government-guaranteed areas. He
helped develop capital markets as a source of funds for housing and commercial
real estate. Ranieri is considered the "father" of the securitized
mortgage market in which mortgages are packaged and resold as securities by
Fannie Mae and many banks. Securitized mortgage market was supposed to make
mortgages cheaper for homeowners.
Ranieri established Salomon's
leadership position in the mortgage-backed securities area and led efforts to
obtain federal legislation to support and build the market. In 1987, after
nearly twenty years at Salomon, its chairman, John H. Gutfreund, fired Ranieri.
Shortly after leaving Salomon, Ranieri started his own investment firm,
Hyperion Partners, in Uniondale, New York. Ranieri founded Selene Residential
Mortgage Opportunity Fund, and chaired and/or directed various other
non-operating entities owned directly and indirectly by Hyperion and Selene.
Chairman, CEO and president of Ranieri & Co., Inc., a private investment
advisor and management corporation, he is founder and chairman of Ranieri
Partners LLC and Ranieri Partners Management LLC, investment management
companies that focused on financial service opportunities.
Ranieri is connected to 11 board of directors in 11 different organizations
across 7 different industries, including American Financial Realty Trust,
Capital Lease Funding, Inc., Computer Associates International, Inc., Root
Markets, Inc., an Internet-based marketing company, Five Mile Capital Partners
LLC, a private sponsor and manager of private investment funds, Reckson
Associates Realty Corp, Delphi Financial Group Inc., Allied Healthcare
International Inc., Transworld Home Healthcare, Inc., Peninsula Hospital Center
in Queens, New York, Hofstra University, Hyperion Israel Venture Partners Fund
and Signature Bank. He has also served as trustee or director of various
environmental, religious, and cultural institutions, including Environmental
Defense, Shrine of Elizabeth Ann Seton/Our Lady of the Rosary Church, and the
Environmental Defense Fund, The Metropolitan Opera Association and the American
Ballet Theatre.
From its inception in 1988 until its merger with Washington Mutual in February
2001, Ranieri served as Director of Bank United Corp., a thrift institution
caught in the savings-and-loan crisis that he bought in 1988, then expanded by
ramping up commercial lending and making a series of small acquisitions.
Ranieri and his partners made a fortune when Bank United was acquired by
Washington Mutual for $1.5 billion.
Since founding Franklin Bank Corp in 2001, Ranieri has served as its chairman
of the Board. Effective May 2008, he assumed the role of Chief Executive
Officer at Franklin, after the small Texas thrift institution that he founded
and oversaw as chairman restated its earnings following an internal
investigation that discovered the bank failed to book losses and made other
"accounting errors" in its portfolio of home mortgages. Franklin's
shares, which traded in the $20 range in 2007, fell below $1 on news the
Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating.
An expert and innovator in both the mortgage and capital markets, Ranieri has
served on the National Association of Home Builders Mortgage Roundtable
continuously since 1989. In recognition of his dedication and lifelong
achievements in the housing industry, Ranieri was inducted into the National
Housing Hall of Fame. A recipient of the lifetime achievement award given by
the Fixed Income Analysts Society, Inc., he was inducted into the FIASI Hall of
Fame for outstanding practitioners in the advancement of the analysis of
fixed-income securities and portfolios.
In November 2004, Business Week magazine named him one of "the greatest
innovators of the past 75 years." In 2005, he received the Distinguished
Industry Service Award from the American Securitization Forum.
On October 1, 2008, Ranieri is
the guest speaker at the 9th Annual John T. Dunlop Lecture sponsored by the
Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and the National Housing
Endowment. He will address the issue of 'Revolution in Mortgage Finance.'
(Sources: www.milkeninstitute.org, www.nytimes.com, www.snl.com,
www.reuters.com and www.fdic.gov)
A Meltdown
By Dr. Nouriel Roubini
We know booms and busts are
aspects of capitalism, and have been so historically. Many of them have been
driven by a technological innovation--whether it was the railroad or the
Internet--and they may create bubbles, fraud and eventual losses. But they are
also driven by real innovation.
This latest crisis we see today
differs from such historical examples in two important elements. First, with
housing there was no technological revolution of any sort. We still build homes
basically the same way we did 50 years ago. The innovation in this instance was
financial. We went from a system where banks held mortgages on their books to
one in which banks originate mortgages, and then securitize and distribute
them.
The idea was to reduce systemic
risk by getting the risk of holding mortgages out of the banks and into the
capital markets, and out of the United States and into the global economy. Of
course, as we see now with subprime, that has brought a massive contagion in
financial markets that is now affecting the real economy.
Comparing with some recent financial crises, I think it's worse than 1987, when
we just had a stock-market crash. It's worse than the savings and loan crisis
of the late 1980s, because the contagion then was generally limited to the
savings and loan thrifts and commercial real-estate sectors. It is much worse
than the Long Term Capital Management crisis of 1998. That was a liquidity
problem. Today, we have insolvency problems. It is much worse than the tech
bust of 2000 and 2001, when most of the problems were confined to the tech
sector and we had a mild recession.
You have to go back to the Great Depression for something comparable. We are,
of course, far short of a Great Depression now, but in terms of systemic risk
and the risks of a financial meltdown, you almost have to go back that far to
find a good analogy.
Dr. Roubini is a professor of
economics and international business at New York University's Stern School of
Business.
Foreclosure
Prevention Tips
Hope Now, the alliance of lenders, mortgage service companies and housing
counselors, helped roughly 170,000 homeowners in May avoid foreclosure. Since
July 2007, New Hope has helped 1.7 million homeowners.
According to real estate research firm PropertyShark.com, new foreclosures
almost quadrupled in Los Angeles and more than doubled in Miami in the second
quarter from a year ago. With over $5 billion of mortgages turning sour in LA,
the number of newly scheduled auctions of foreclosed properties in Los Angeles
County rose 63 percent to 14,505 from the first quarter and 282 percent from
the 2007 second quarter. Foreclosure auctions in Miami rose 108.8 percent to
2,677 from a year ago. Foreclosure auctions are booming in other areas of the
country as well.
To help homeowners avoid
foreclosure, U.S. Housing and Urban Development and Brothers Redevelopment Inc.
of Denver published some prevention tips. Homeowners are urged to: (1) Contact
your mortgage company as soon as you realize there may be a problem with making
payments. Make sure to respond to all mail and other correspondence from the
company. (2) Educate yourself about homeowner's rights, foreclosure prevention
options and foreclosure laws. (3) Read mortgage documents carefully to become
familiar with what would be required if you are unable to make payments. (4)
Prepare and follow a household budget to keep spending in line. Try to cut
costs on non-essential items, such as television subscription services and
other entertainment. (5) Look for ways to make extra money by selling
non-essential assets, taking an additional job or even renting out a room. (6)
Make an appointment with a non-profit housing counselor to review your
situation and provide any assistance that's needed.
For more information, visit the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department
at www.hud.gov.
On Idle Hands!
By Dot
"Idle hands are the devil's workshop."
Recently, on a walk through my predominantly black neighborhood, I was reminded
of this old adage. The hood is full of young men with apparently no gainful
employment. Of course, some of them had their hands full keeping their pants
from falling below their rumps.
In a fit of pique that they would be stuck on stupid sporting the sag, I caught
myself before blaming their economic situation on a foolish fashion statement.
To be fair, things were just as dire for black teens long before this current
fashion disaster arrived on the scene.
Historically, the unemployment rate for black teens has been well above the
national average. It is an aspect of the nation's structural unemployment for
which it should hang its head in shame. In June 2008, it was 29.6 percent,
slightly lower than the 32.3 percent recorded in May.
As the economy becomes more depressed, I fear these young idle men will explode
in discontent. Unlike past generations, they will not simply accept their
impoverished state, going without in a land of plenty. I expect the property
crime rate to rise, if something is not done to employ these idle hands.
Black in America
By Dot
On Monday, July 23, at 9 PM and
Tuesday, July 24, at 9 PM, CNN will premier its series 'Black in America' with
Soledad O'Brien. Already the series has received quite a bit of buzz on the
Internet. I recently received several email messages touting the program and
urging blacks to tune in. Below is one of those messages.
" Interesting.....Did you
know that companies in the US have said they would hire a white man with a
felony record and no high school education BEFORE they would hire a black man
with NO criminal record and a 4-year degree? ...I personally challenge you to
watch [Black in America] WITH your children, especially your sons, if you have
any, uninterrupted. The aforementioned statistic and many others will be revealed
during the series.
My sister had the privilege of
meeting with Soledad O'Brien and actually SEEING this premier on Monday, and
what she saw brought tears to her eyes and anguish, frustration, and a sense of
helplessness to her soul.
On Monday, the series will focus on Women and Families, and Tuesday is
dedicated entirely to the plight of the Black Man in America. I beg and plead
with you, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE watch and internalize what you see and hear,
no matter HOW disturbing the information revealed. You can (and will) thank me
later."
That email urged me to pass the message on and go to www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2006/black.in.america/
for more information. I, too, am urging everyone to watch the series. With all
the talk of Senator Barack Obama's presidential candidacy, and its meaning for
racism and the state of black America, a dose of realism will be welcomed.
Disgruntled
says: The June economic numbers do not bode well for the US economy.
More important, sentiment on the ground says conditions are far worse than what
is suggested by the government's manufactured figures. For instance, we know
the unemployment numbers do not reflect reality and the consumer price index is
a joke, when every week prices go up. Sure, for a day or so, folks felt better
because they had more to spend at Wal-Mart, the gas station and/or the grocery
store, but those rebate checks of $300 or more did little to boost confidence
that the economy is about to rebound. Folks out of work need jobs to pay the
rent, forestall foreclosure and/or hold off the repo man; those rebate checks
cannot do all that. These seriously depressed economic times call for more than
one-time checks. We need a New Deal!
Disgruntled
feels: Inhumane! Unseen by caring eyes, Esmin Green died on a Brooklyn
hospital floor on June 19. Via the cold glare of a video camera, we know a
security guard rolled his chair to the emergency waiting room door, where Green
lay on the floor, looked at her from a distance and rolled away, without
providing the dying woman any assistance. Other patients and visitors came and
went; none sensed her distress or bothered to check the black woman sprawled on
the floor. While Green was either dead or dying, hospital record shows her
blood pressure was normal or she was alert, up and about. Since her death,
several hospital personnel have been fired and an investigation is underway to
determine how this could have happened. As inhumane as it may sound, Green is
not the first person to die in an emergency waiting room; she probably will not
be the last. These kinds of deaths speak volumes about the level of compassion
in the world's richest society. And, as the Green video shows, it is not just
the hospital personnel that failed to act with a bit of humanity.
Disgruntled
wants to know: In Economics
101, students learn that a recession is a decline in the national real gross
domestic product in two or more consecutive quarters. According to the initial
report published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the
'recession' lasted from March 2001 to November 2001 with the US economy
shrinking in three non-consecutive quarters, i.e., the third quarter of 2000,
the first quarter of 2001, and the third quarter of 2001. It was the shortest
'recession' on record. Technically, then the US economy was not in a recession
in the early 2000s, as claimed by the Bush administration to justify its round
of tax cuts that disproportionately favored the wealthy and have since plunged
the country into unprecedented deficits. Even after the terror attacks of
September 11, 2001 and the stock market downturn, there were no two or more
consecutive quarters of real GDP decline. Question is, when will the NBER
revise its recession claims to save its reputation as the agency the nation
relies on to declare recessions?
Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and
Phone Calls
Email www.rockymountainnews.com...Nader:
Obama trying to 'talk white' ...By M.E. Sprengelmeyer...Ralph Nader, who is
running for president, talks about Barack Obama in his Washington, D.C., office
Monday. Nader said Obama should "candidly describe the life of the
poor." Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader accused Sen. Barack
Obama, the presumed Democratic Party nominee, of downplaying poverty issues,
trying to "talk white" and appealing to "white guilt"
during his run for the White House. Nader, a thorn in the Democratic Party's
side since the 2000 presidential election, has taken various shots at Obama in
recent days while ramping up his latest independent run for president. In a
wide-ranging interview with the Rocky
Mountain News on Monday, he said he is running because he believes
Democrats, like Republicans, are too closely aligned with corporate interests.
Email www.usatoday.com ...Rising prices hammer
seniors on fixed incomes ...By Lynn O'Shaughnessy...Long before workers at the
San Diego Food Bank began distributing cardboard food cartons from the back of
a truck on a recent day, elderly men and women, many needing walkers and metal
canes, formed a line in a church parking lot. The free food amounts to a
lifeline for these seniors, who have seen inflation wring much of the value out
of their fixed incomes. For these retirees, the prices of essentials --
notably, gas and food -- have galloped beyond reach. Perhaps most of all,
they're straining under the weight of crushing medical costs. Nearly all
Americans have felt the sting of inflation in recent months. But when you're
retired and your sole means of support is a fixed amount that arrives each
month -- from Social Security and, for the lucky ones, a pension -- the pain is
especially severe. Until recently, many retirees had assumed they had enough
income to retire on. That was before gas and food prices began racing out of
control.
Email www.ap.com...GM shares fall below $10 for first
time since 1954...By Bree Fowler...Shares of General Motors Corp. plunged
Wednesday to close below $10 for the first time in more than half a century, as
investors shrugged off better-than- expected June sales and analysts raised
concerns about the company's cash needs. GM shares fell $1.77, or 15.1 percent,
to close at $9.98. Their session low of $9.96 marked their lowest point since
Sept. 13, 1954, when they hit $9.92, according to the Center for Research in
Security Prices at the University of Chicago. The price is adjusted for splits
and other changes.
Email www.nytimes.com...Fiscal Poison Pill...By
Paul Krugman...A poison pill, in corporate jargon, is a financial arrangement
designed to protect current management by crippling the company if someone else
takes over. As I read the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center's analysis of the
presidential candidates' tax proposals, I realized that the tax cuts enacted by
the Bush administration are, in effect, a fiscal poison pill aimed at future
administrations. True, the tax cuts won't prevent a change in management -- the
Constitution sees to that. But they will make it hard for the next president to
change the country's direction. Exhibit A of the poison pill in action is the
sad case of John McCain, part of whose lingering image as a maverick rests on
his early opposition to the Bush tax cuts, which he declared excessive and too
tilted toward the rich. Since then the budget surpluses of the Clinton years
have given way to persistent deficits, and income inequality has risen to new
heights, vindicating his opposition. But instead of pointing this out, Mr.
McCain now promises to make those tax cuts permanent -- and proposes further
cuts that are, if anything, tilted even more toward the wealthy. And how is the
loss of revenue to be made up? Mr. McCain hasn't offered a realistic answer.
Fears for US consumption as houses fall 23%
Email www.economist.com...Public enemy
number one...Countrywide Financial's legal woes mounted when California,
Illinois and Washington state filed separate lawsuits, accusing America's
biggest private mortgage lender of a range of deceptive and discriminatory
trade practices stemming from sub-prime loans. Countrywide already faces a
number of regulatory probes and legal challenges on its business practices and
other issues, further complicating life for Bank of America, which is taking
over the company.