For a few days it actually has felt like Fall on the Front Porch. Brisk air, gusts of wind blowing leaves down the street and long sleeves or sweatshirts needed in the early morning and late evening. The rockers work best on a breezy late afternoon with temperatures hovering in the low ‘60s and a glass of something nice in our hands. Even on its hot days, Long Beach has the best weather in Southern California—therefore the United States; on cool autumnal and winter days with the soft sunshine it is perhaps the best in the world.
Early in September I wrote a post (here) encouraging readers to vote “no” on Proposition 8. One point I would like to add to my position is that while I am in favor of gay marriages, I am against using the judicial process to force churches or individuals to marry gay couples if they, the church or individual, choose not to participate in such unions because of their personal beliefs. It coincides with my belief that pharmacists and medical professions who are against abortion should not be forced by the courts to perform them, assist in them or dispense drugs such as RU-286 the “abortion pill.” In this I agree with many on the side of “Yes On 8”, allowing two people to legally marry does not make it a legal requirement for those opposed to such unions to perform the marriages. As they cannot impose their religion on you, you should not be able to impose upon their religion.
As I read the Press-Telegram every morning (yes I still like the ink on my fingers and flipping through the pages as I sip my coffee in the early morn) I am getting more and more frustrated with the dependence on wire services, overwhelmingly the Associated Press, for “news.” Is there a worse “news” source than AP? Other than Reuters, to which thank goodness the P-T does not subscribe? The P-T might be better served having some of the better reporters watch t.v. and comb the internet all day and then write the stories on national news—at least it might be news and not editorializing.
This past week wrote two pieces, one for the Long Beach Post and one for my weekly market and rate update for my mortgage blog and email to clients that dealt with the economic issues of the day and the mortgage markets. Some points I would like to reiterate:
Please contact your local Congressional Representative and our Senators Feinstein and Boxer to pressure them to work to keep our current loan limits and not let them decrease by over $100,000 on January 1, 2009. Long Beach and surrounding cities are seeing some recovery in the housing market and it is strongly fueled by the $729,750 loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA. Local condominium sales and neighborhoods such as Los Altos, California Heights, large sections of Lakewood and others are being supported by the higher loan limits. The role back of the limits in January could dampen the local housing markets when we do not need them. Long Beach and surrounding areas need the $729,750 limit.
Second, of the major banks that have failed, WAMU, Wachovia and IndyMac, only one was not acquired and closed—IndyMac. All three were very active in the “Alt-A” and stated income home loan markets. From the guidelines and loan programs we saw from these companies the past five years we were not shocked to see them as casualties of the combined housing market downturn and credit crunch. They made hundreds of millions of dollars in risky mortgages for many years—all the risk has hit at once.
Third, severely under-reported and probably not well known among the national media was the explosion of the automated underwriting systems of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and major lenders since 2000. Using software programs to generate loan approvals and conditions that did not require verifications of income or assets allowed lenders to fund mortgages and sell them to Fannie or Freddie without any human underwriting. The GSEs (government sponsored entities) automated underwriting systems got looser and looser as housing prices climbed. I would venture to say that from 2004 to 2007 over 60% of the mortgages approved in our area by the automated underwriting programs only required a verbal verification that the borrower was working and not actual verification of the income earned.
We do not see much in the way of huge new housing tracts in Long Beach, as mentioned last week in “Off My Rocker” our housing stock is existing and mature. In my travels in July to Colorado Springs and earlier this month to Scottsdale I saw thousands of homes built within the last five years or so. What amazed me was the complete lack of solar panels on these homes. With all the focus on alternative energy sources and an increase in the national consciousness to convert much of our energy generation to solar power, I am a bit amazed that home-builders have not incorporated solar power into their new homes. I remember standing on an elevated tee-box in the “Kissing Camels” development in Colorado Springs and looking down on hundreds of roofs—all tile and not a solar panel in sight despite the optimal setting for solar power. Instead of enacting legislation telling me how many calories are in a Big Mac, maybe our legislature should work with the homebuilding industry to see how the state may use tax breaks or incentives to encourage solar panels on new home construction in the future. The same goes for our local city council and government when approving plans for new construction—such as at Boeing Park.
It sure seems awfully quiet. Our city loses $20 million dollars in a terrible investment in Lehman Brothers paper and after the initial e-alert from the City Manager’s office and a piece in the Press-Telegram it seems the concern over the loss has gone the way of the $20 million, it has vanished. In a year in which City Hall was discussing closing the Main Library, shutting down other libraries even more than they are shut now, ceasing the PAL program and cutting back on other services to cover a $15 million budget gap it seems to me the loss of $20 million is a really big deal and needs a bit more inquiry and investigation as to what happened, who was responsible and what the plan is to recover the funds. What is particularly galling to me was the wording in the press release that converted the loss into 1.14% of the city’s investment portfolio—1.14% seems like such a small amount; $20 million is a huge amount. “The General Fund impact of the 1.14 percent investment in Lehman Holdings, Inc., is expected to be relatively minimal,” (emphasis mine) says the release. Relatively minimal? Twenty million dollars? Please explain the relativity and the minimal aspect of this loss.
On Wednesday Leadership Long Beach will hold its annual Excellence In Leadership Award honoring local leaders who have had tremendous impact on our city; former Mayor Beverly O’Neill, Mike Murray of Verizon, community volunteer Bill Barnes and Seaside Printing—known by virtually every non-profit in the City for their great assistance to their causes. Unfortunately at the same time on the same day LLB Alumnus Art Levine’s annual Distinguished Speaker Series will be happening at CSULB with the featured speaker being Seymour Hersh. Quite a paradox between the two events. One will have as its featured speaker a man who has made it his career to investigate and report on bad leadership; the other will have as it features individuals who had tremendous careers based on good, principled leadership that has benefited our local community. Too bad the calendar precludes me from attending both. I am extremely honored to be introducing one of my community heroes and mentors at the LLB function, Bill Barnes.
There was a lot of news this week on voter fraud in Ohio, Missouri and Nevada among other states centered on the group ACORN turning in fraudulent voter registration cards. Here in Long Beach we have tremendous potential for voter fraud built into our electoral laws. First, for those who go to the polls no identification is required. It is easy for someone so inclined to access the voter registration rolls, see the names of voters who have not participated in the past several elections and then show up at the polling place claiming to be the registered voter. With no ID check there is no way for the poll workers to verify whether the person signing in is the voter or not. Second, with the permanent absentee ballot provision voters can move, or die, and unless the clerk is notified ballots will continue to show up at the address on the voter registration roll. Sure there may be a forwarding order, or return mail provision, but how accurately are those orders and provisions carried out by the post office? We have been in our home for over ten years now and we routinely get mail for the prior occupant, not to mention our neighbor one street to the east. Oh and we get mail for Wilson High School several miles away and Forest Lawn Mortuary as well. The fact that a significant portion of our electoral integrity relies on the USPO mail handlers performing to perfection is a concern of mine.
When I was a kid the comics section was called the Funnies, and they were. My brother, sister and I would lay on the floor in our pajamas on Sunday mornings trading funny pages. Today the comics section doesn’t seem very funny and almost none of the cartoons seem appropriate or understandable to children. What a shame.
My post on Friday about the economy was a personal milestone, it was the 100th post I had written for the LBPost.com. Not everything I have written has been posted—there are standards you know—but a significant portion has been. I have very much enjoyed the opportunity to share my thoughts and opinions and some of my personal and professional life with everyone. Even more enjoyable has been the interaction with several of you and the “e-pals” I have gained. Thank you for your comments and the interaction and for supporting the Long Beach Post and My Front Porch. This post starts my next 100!
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