Pennsylvania home foreclosure filings, bank seizures hit five-year highs
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The number of Pennsylvania homeowners falling behind on mortgage payments and the number of homes seized by banks hit five-year highs in August.
New figures out Thursday from foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. showed 6,500 Pennsylvania homes received at least one foreclosure filing in August, while banks repossessed 2,300 properties.
President Barack Obama:
“In just 20 months, this movement has accomplished a tremendous amount,” Obama wrote in an e-mail. “But we couldn’t have done it without the Democrats in Congress who were willing to take a stand and fight for policies that would move America forward.
“And with so much still left to be done, and too many families struggling to get by, we need to keep America moving forward -- which means I need you to support Paul Kanjorski for Congress.
Kanjorski, Pelosi, and Obama own this mess. It is time to clean it up and send them clean out of Washington
Joe Paterno's legacy isn't about football. Don't get mad yet.. Don't say McGruff is off base because this still isn't about baseball or football...
We must honor Joe "Pa" Paterno's benevolence, his commitment to Penn State University and to its programs. His tireless admiration, devotion, for the University and its mission. Joe Paterno didn't drive, he was driven by passion beyond explanation. Stars are the precursors of planets, Joe Paterno was the father to many in whom he instilled confidence, respect, determination, and, understanding.
Roll the television archives back to 2008 and a Fox News report by Gregg Jarrett over Kanjorski, his nephews, and Cornerstone Technologies.
In a startling interview, Joe Yudichak, who ran the non-profit Regional Equipment Center in Kanjorski's district, says the congressman initially tried to bully him into helping Kanjorski direct the money to Kanjorski's family members. In the documentary, Yudichak recounts his conversation with Kanjorski: "He said, 'You're telling me I can't take care of my family?' He said, 'Well, I'm telling you, it's gonna be done. And it's gonna be done with you or without you.' And he said, 'I'll bury you. I'll destroy you.'"
Kanjorski later earmarked more than $10 million directly to the company run by his family. The money was supposed to fund the development of new technologies to help turn around desperate coal towns and make them prosperous.
The company, Cornerstone Technologies, went bankrupt.
Harold Shobert, head of Pennsylvania State University's Energy Institute, and a leading expert on anthracite coal, worked with Cornerstone on one project. Shobert said "It was clear that these guys were clueless as to how to do research and development," "It was sort of like trying to collaborate with the cast of Looney Tunes."]
I submit to the public that it is Kanjorski who is playing politics by refusing to acknowledge Joe Paterno over Professor Shobert's remarks.
Yesterday on WILK Steve Corbett read an email sent by Ed Mitchell to him about Lou Barletta. Here is the response to part of the substance of his claims.
Fact 1: Hazleton is not nor can it be bankrupt And it is not broke either- Why? Have Ed Mitchell personally supply me with the bankruptcy filing for Hazleton. It doesn't exist. Wilkes Barre is in financial hardship and so is Scranton. Scranton's been in Act 47 for since 1992. Is Mitchell crowing about Doherty? Even Reading is in financial distress. Heck the country is in financial distress.
Hazleton's property tax millage is currently at 2.38 due to reassessment. Previously the millage was 25 mills with another 5 mills permitted by Luzerne County Court every year for a total of thirty mills per Third Class City Code. Hazleton was at 30 mills for at least 30+ years leaving it cash strapped over time with ever increasing costs.
After reassessment the millage was dropped to 1.4 last year. Hazleton City Council approved an increase to 2.38 this year. Since Third Class City Code permits cities like Hazleton to assess up to 25 mills it has a long way to go before it will ever be bankrupt or broke.
On the contrary unlike the federal government that can keep printing money Hazleton is trying to live within its means. It is reducing spending and laying off personnel. Their audit will prove those facts to be true for this year. They are not running up accumulated debt unlike Maryann Petrilla and theDemocrats of Luzerne County(last report $466 million), Ed Rendell, Todd Eachus and Pennsylvania( $40 billion or a 73% increase since 2002 ), and Barack Obama and Paul Kanjorski($13 Trillion and counting ).
Barletta found alternative solutions to prevent tax hikes before reassessment when Hazleton's tax rate was stalled at 25 mills by the same law for over 30 years. Imagine trying to run a business with the same income for the last 30 years(his tenure the last ten of those) while everything else went up. And he doesn't want to raise taxes although he and council were forced to this year just to keep the city operating.
It is true that property taxes were raised 70% this year but it amounts to $98.00 per $100,000.00 assessment and hadn't been raised for over 30 years. Since the average home in Hazleton is valued at less than $100,000.00 the impact is not as bad as it could be. Hazleton City government was sensitive to the burden it would place on taxpayers. Coupled with that tax increase was pending layoffs that will start next week.
Instead of raising taxes the City has an opportunity to sell the water assets of the HCA which is permitted by Pennsylvania law. Water rates may increase but they are going to increase anyway. There are too many miles of 80 year old water lines in Hazleton to prevent that from occurring. And the fiscal impact of water rates will monetarily be less than the tax consequences.
Fact 2: Citing the report in Hazleton's unemployment is totally inaccurate.- Why? The official from the state who was in charge of those figures stated they were misleading and should not be relied on from a statistical sense. "Sholly said the figure is a little misleading:" It should be no surprise that neither Mitchell nor Kanjorski would want to be honest about that fact.
Hazleton does not have industrial parks located within its boundaries. The Valmont Industrial Park, Humboldt Industrial Park, the McAdoo Industrial Park, and the Butler Industrial Park are all located outside its boundaries. The reason any figure on Hazleton is misleading is due to the residency of the people employed in those parks. Anyone working outside of Hazleton who is laid off would be counted as a residential statistic of Hazleton, not the place where they are employed
( "Data refer to place of residence ") .
That is the reason the government created Local Area Unemployment Statistics. In order for your statistics to be valid the sample must be broad enough to be meaningful, therefore it is better to look at a region or county. Here is a link to a state file that shows unemployment by county on page 12. Look at this chart located on the CanDo web page showing that unemployment in Luzerne County has been steadily rising.
Companies in those parks include ADM, Cargill, Hershey, OfficeMax, Nature's Bounty, Amazon, Quebecor, Autozone, and more. Those are national companies. The reason people are getting laid off is due to the national economy, not lack of sales to local merchants or customers. It is Paul Kanjorski and Barack Obama policies that are responsible for the national trends, not Lou Barletta.
Kanjorski made the claim that the stimulus program would create/save 7,700 jobs in his district when it was passed.
Any unemployment figure reported for Luzerne County or Hazleton for that matter is reflective of the ineffectiveness of the stimulus program to really create jobs. A look at Recovery.gov shows that only 131 jobs were created in the 11th Congressional district for the first quarter of this year. And the cost to create those jobs was over $329 million. What a dismal showing and hardly anywhere near 7,700.
"It's certainly is a very big stimulus bill, a very big stimulus bill, some politicians give you a lot less substance than their political rhetoric" I hear Clara Peller calling out to Paul Kanjorski "Where's The Jobs"?
Bankruptcy filings have jumped 21 percent in Monroe County so far this year as the harsh economy, falling home prices and predatory loans have ripped into the financial health of Pocono residents.
It was worse in Pike County, where bankruptcies rose 30 percent.
Bankruptcy filings (PDF File)Monroe County saw 360 new bankruptcy filings during the first four months of 2010, compared to 297 during the same period last year. Pike's new filings totaled 136 through April 30, versus 105 last year.
"I've never seen the economy this bad," said Philip Stock, a Stroudsburg attorney whose sole practice for the past 16 years has been bankruptcy law. "The mortgage foreclosures are higher than they've ever been."
"In my ongoing and extensive examinations, I have concluded that it is just as bad to place families in overvalued homes as it is to finance their homes either with excessive interest rates, points, fees, and charges or without considering their ability to make timely payments. All have the effect of potentially setting up a homeowner to fail," observed Congressman Kanjorski. "We therefore need to work in Washington to address appraisal matters, among other things, in any legislation to combat predatory lending that we consider next year."
In 2008 he issued this press release captured in another article by Howard Frank.
Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-11) will hold a press conference next week in the Monroe County Commissioners meeting room to address the growing home mortgage crisis.
Congressman Kanjorski has been a vocal critic of the current mortgage system, and said it does not effectively protect borrowers from abuses that can occur in the system. As the Chairman of the House Financial Services Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises Subcommittee, he has introduced legislation to reform lending practices and fight predatory lending.
The date and time of the press conference is expected to be announced shortly. So in four years Kanjorski is "still working on it".
Then he tries to spoon feed us with his rhetoric. George Campell once wrote [Rhetoric] is that art or talent by which discourse is adapted to its
end. The four ends of discourse are to enlighten the understanding, please the imagination, move the passion, and influence the will. Kanjorski's inaction given the present bankruptcy situation in those two counties should enlist more than enough passion to influence the will against his retention in office.
"We are helluva alot better off as a country and as an economy than we have ever been in the history of mankind."
