Goal For The Green

What a week it has been. We (my husband and I), just finished what turned out to be one of the longest re-fi’s in history.  If you recall last February, President Obama, passed several plans to help Americans who got caught in the mortgage meltdown, and the economic crisis we all have been faced with.  The idea was to help people stay in their homes.  We started working on re-doing the mess in April, so it took 9 months!

Without going into a lot of detail here, suffice to say that, while the programs are sound, and meant to work well, the lender we were with, was less than cooperative.  I mean, have you ever heard of needing 3 appraisals for one piece of property?  They even had one of their own from their company come out.  Guess what, they tossed that one out too!

We have good credit, and I felt like they were trying to trip us up,by saying we were going to close at least three separate times. Then, having to make the payment with late charges each time that happened, so that it wouldn’t be reported to the credit bureaus.  At least, it is done now. But, I can’t help but think about all the millions of other people that haven’t fared so well, or are on the brink of losing their homes, because of the power trip of some banks and lenders, not wanting to budge and help, like they are supposed to.

So, as it is, I’m sure we all know someone who is a friend, or even family, that is impacted by the economic crisis in some way.  I know this is so, because I received this article in my inbox, from a friend who lives in Nevada.  Please be sure to read the whole thing, as she comments on it as well.

http://worldnewsvine.com/2010/01/americas-workers-deserve-better-please-help
-before-the-february-19th-deadline/

Which brings me to the State of the Union speech this week.
While the reaction to the SOTU speech was mostly positive, from my perspective, I was left to wonder, where are the meat and potatoes?  There did not seem to be much addressing the problems of the here and NOW!

In particular, WHERE ARE the JOBS?

Just this last December, the House passed a $150 billion jobs bill, that has now been pared down to $30-$40 billion.

Just this last week, another 470,000 Americans lost their jobs. This is absolutely NO, less than terrible, that 30 million Americans are simply asking for help http://www.nelp.org/page/speakout/FederalUI2010

Today, in Nevada, the Unemployment rate is somewhere around 13% or more, and in Youngstown, Ohio, 1/3 of the people live below the poverty level.  This is AMERICA, and this is UNACCEPTABLE!  The bottom line is, there is distrust in our government at all levels, all partisanship aside.

President Obama, is offering a tax cut for child care, and a cap on student loans, along with money paid back by Wall Street banks to help small business’s.  But, is it enough?  People are still crying, WHERE ARE  the JOBS?

While watching CNN, this week I came across this bit of info.  Did you know that in the Stimulus (Recovery Act), (at least in OHIO), over 1 million was spent for roadsigns, to let the public know how their tax dollars were being spent to repair roads?  So, the signs are up, but NO jobs have been created to repair those roads. They still need fixing.  I’m sure, this is the case across the nation, on how this package has been misused or spent.  Nevermind, the bank bailouts, and the bonuses they gave themselves!

To top it off, federal investigators have found cases of fraud and bid rigging, of Recovery Act contracts, for the Federal Highway Administration.  Cases are being investigated where prosecutors and contractors, may have been collaborating to win road improvement jobs.

The icing on the cake this week, was the election of Scott Brown, to Ted Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts.  It has always been considered a liberal, or Democratic state.  It is now 51% independent.  It seemed to send a wake-up-call to both parties in Washington D.C. The independents are the largest, and NOW, the fastest growing segment of society, moving away from partisanship. Our president needs to connect with the CENTER, meaning Middle Class- Middle America, and move this country forward!

My heart aches for the people in Haiti, and we must continue to show our help and support to them.  That is the American way!  But, it seems that our government has forgotten many of its own people here at home!

Please do not let families be sent out on to the streets.  Even though they are collecting unemployment, remember, they are spending those monies in your stores, or buying groceries to feed their families, paying your mortgages and taxes via rent monies. Please help NOW, by following this link and/or contacting your US representatives via phone calls, or email and let them know that if, the unemployment help is not extended before February 19, 2010, millions of  Americans and their families will suffer, or be homeless.  Again, this is UNACCEPTABLE in AMERICA!

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