Being poor becomes additionally difficult through a variety of laws.
Is It Now a Crime to Be Poor?
NY Times By BARBARA EHRENREICH
In defiance of all reason and compassion, the criminalization of poverty has actually been intensifying as the recession generates ever more of it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09ehrenreich.html

This article in “The Economist” illustrates what is wrong with our sex offender laws.  They were designed for the predatory serial pedophiles  (which is good) but they continue to ensnare many people that do not fall into that category.  I currently have two cases with men on sex offender probations for statutory rape that many years later are with the same woman in one case now married with two children.  These men were not predators.  These are men that loved (and still love) a woman that was too young according to the law.  The laws and the punishments need to be refined to winnow predatory conduct from normal human conduct.  This includes the sex offense registry.  I could care less if the guy down the street had sex with his under age girlfriend and her parents found out and had him arrested.   I do want to know if the guy who is dangerous to my child or my neighbors child is living near me.  I cannot currently tell from Connecticut’s sex offender registry.  All this does is vilify people that should not be struggling under this burden while not making my neighborhood safer by giving me information that is narrow enough to be useful to me.

See the following article in The Economist

http://www.economist.com/

UNJUST AND INEFFECTIVE
Aug 6th 2009

America has pioneered the harsh punishment of sex offenders. Does it work?

Consumer credit continues to decline.  There are two reasons for this.  The first is banks are reducing credit limits and squeezing any customer they view as possibly risky so they can reduce their risk.  The second reason is that consumers are not borrowing as much and are reducing their debt loads.  Jobs continue to contract either through lay-offs or reductions in hours.  “Only” 250,000 jobs were lost in July.   Because consumer spending is a major driver of the economy this is an obvious leading indicator of the continuing difficulties in the economy that are going to affect us all for a significant period of time.  See the following article for a graph of the contraction in consumer credit.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?p=2260598#post2260598

Investors may or may not have a say in a loan modification program.  your personal loan documents will control the actual terms your situation.  At any rate the servicers make more money from your mortgage when you are late or behind then when you are current.   It can be the servicer that will hinder a modification of the mortgage.  A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can force a bank to accept payments on arrearages in any secured debt (i.e. car or home)

Bundled Mortgages Pose Problems for Housing Program – by Karen Weise, ProPublica
Mortgage-backed securities are making it difficult for people to take advantage of the Making Home Affordable program. Part of the problem is that investors have a say in which loans get modified and which don’t.
http://www.propublica.org/ion/bailout/item/making-home-affordable-loan-modifications-denied-806

New York Times                EDITORIAL
As Foreclosures Surge …

Published: May 3, 2009
The Obama administration sat by last week as 12 Senate Democrats joined 39 Senate Republicans to block a vote on an amendment that would have allowed bankruptcy judges to modify troubled mortgages.

Related
Times Topics: Foreclosures

Senator Obama campaigned on the provision. And President Obama made its passage part of his antiforeclosure plan. It would have been a very useful prod to get lenders to rework bad loans rather than leaving the modification to a judge.

But when the time came to stand up to the banking lobbies and cajole yes votes from reluctant senators — the White House didn’t. When the measure failed, there wasn’t even a statement of regret.

Mr. Obama’s plan to keep struggling Americans in their homes now relies on lenders to voluntarily rework bad loans. The plan provides ample incentives, including payments to servicers who successfully modify loans and, in some cases, payments to mortgage investors who agree to modifications. Whether that will be enough remains to be seen.

The administration estimates that its plan will prevent three million to four million foreclosures, but it will take several months before there is enough data to evaluate. In the past, however, voluntary modifications have failed to curb the rise in foreclosures. The number of foreclosure filings in March was very high, with estimates between 290,000 and 341,000.

Even if lenders do agree to modify loans, many Americans will still be in trouble. That’s because nearly 14 million homeowners are “under water” — they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.

In a bankruptcy, such homeowners would likely have their loan principal reduced, lowering their payments and helping them to rebuild equity. In a typical voluntary loan modification, however, the monthly payment is reduced, but not the principal. That puts under-water borrowers at high risk of redefault, because there is no equity to fall back on if a financial setback leaves them unable to make mortgage payments.

The negative feedback loop — foreclosures beget falling home prices, which beget foreclosures, further weakening the banks — is well under way. We hope the president’s plan can break the loop, but without bankruptcy reform it is going to be a lot harder.

A version of this article appeared in print on May 4, 2009, on page A22 of the New York edition.

Lincoln lore at Law Day Luncheon
By Karen Florin
Published on 5/2/2009 in The Day   
Frank J. Williams, recently retired chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, regaled a gathering of local attorneys and judges Friday with stories of a lawyer who had everything it takes.
The attorney was a good negotiator and an eloquent speaker. He was confident in front of judges, yet had a knack for putting things in simple terms when speaking to a jury. He was known for his honesty and integrity.

”Remember the nickname Honest Abe?” Williams said. “Well, that was true.”

Williams, a lifetime admirer and scholar of Abraham Lincoln, delivered his remarks during the New London County Bar Association’s annual Law Day luncheon. The theme was “A Legacy of Liberty – Celebrating Lincoln’s Bicentennial,” since Lincoln was born in 1809.

Working their way through plates of pasta and chicken at Tony D’s restaurant, the lawyers learned that Lincoln had no formal training, but practiced law for 25 years in Illinois before he was elected President in 1860. Lincoln sat down for dinner with three members of the local bar who authorized him to practice law, and during his quarter-century career handled 5,500 cases, the subject matter ranging from eminent domain to the ownership of a pig.

Lincoln once refused to represent a man who had a $600 claim against a widowed mother of six, though the man had a legitimate claim to the money, according to Williams. Lincoln advised the would-be client to instead find work that would enable him to earn $600.

While representing a woman accused of murdering her husband, Lincoln called for a recess saying he wanted to speak with his client. The trial was not going well for her. She never returned to court and Lincoln was blamed for her disappearance.

”He said, ‘No, but she asked me where she could get a drink of water, and I told her Tennessee has darn good water,’” Williams said.

The Rhode Island justice ended his address with a joke about a burglar, a parrot and a Rottweiler, and to enthusiastic applause.

Also at the luncheon, the local bar association gave its 2009 Liberty Bell Award to Lawyers Concerned for Lawyers, a nonprofit group that helps those in the legal community suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, compulsive disorders and other distress that impacts the ability to practice law effectively.

The New London County Bar Association has more than 300 members who practice in all areas of the law and live or work in New London County, according to its president, Matthew G. Berger.

K.FLORIN@THEDAY.COM

“Regional”

Call – Write -E-mail Fax your senators – Ccontrol son these banks is long overdue.   At one time it was illegal to charge the types of interest rates that banks are now unilaterally imposing on people who have fallen on difficult economic times.

president calls top industry executives to the White House and demands they stop jacking up interest rates and adding unexpected fees to customer bills. The companies defend their actions.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-credit-card24-2009apr24,0,1720041.story

Negotiations Continue on Bill Allowing Judicial Modification of Mortgage Terms

April 17, 2009 by senatus

Senate Democrats “are negotiating with a handful of the nation’s largest banks and some credit unions to limit a controversial bill allowing judges to write down the value of home mortgages,” The Hill reports.

After passing the House in March, the bill has stalled in the Senate, leading to weeks of negotiations that have so far failed to produce a compromise.

“There are a number of points we’re discussing,” said Max Gleischman, spokesman for Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), a key backer of the policy known as “cramdown” in the financial industry. Gleischman said discussions concern whether to limit the bill to certain types of loans or to the date on which the loans were issued. The financial industry strongly opposes cramdown.

When President Obama unveiled measures earlier this year to support the housing market, he signaled that he supported judicial modifications as a last-resort option. Obama indicated that banks or servicers of mortgages should work with borrowers to reach an agreement voluntarily before borrowers turn to the courts. The bill’s supporters argue that cramdown is necessary to force changes to mortgages.

A draft proposal has slowly started to take shape, although it’s not yet final.

A draft compromise proposal indicates that borrowers who have been offered modifications consistent with the president’s Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan or with a congressional program on refinancings would not be able to turn to courts to modify their mortgage. Under the proposal, judges would be able to reduce mortgage principal to a “fair market rate” and limit interest payments to a conventional rate plus a “reasonable” risk premium. Only loans made before 2009 and less than $729,750 would be eligible.

Senate staff and industry sources cautioned that the proposal is fluid and a compromise has not yet been reached.

Don’t pay for something that you can do for yourself. Settling with creditors works best if you have a lump sum of money to offer the creditors. do not send money until you have the settlement offer in writing then send your payment certified mail and get a copy of the check after it has cleared. Keep these documents for at least seven years. Check your credit report to make sure the debt is shown as a zero balance.

Debt Settlers Offer Promises but Little Help
By DAVID STREITFELD
Debt settlement companies claim they help both creditor and consumer by bridging the abyss between them, but the firms often manage to please no one.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/business/20settle.html?emc=eta1

For a lot of reasons foreclosures are going to increase before they decrease.  Chapter 13 bankruptcy can help save a home.   Chapter 7 bankruptcy can help erase debts that don’t allow you to pay your mortgage.

Jump in Foreclosures Reaches Historic High in March
First Quarter Filings Topped 800,000, Up 24 Percent From Last Year
By Mary Kane The Washington Independent
A record jump in foreclosure activity in March that occurred just as a voluntary ban on foreclosures ended is raising troubling questions about whether lenders and servicers are genuinely willing and able to do loan modifications on a large scale. And it poses an even more worrisome possibility: That many borrowers can’t be helped at all.

Foreclosure filings reached their highest levels on record in March and during the first quarter of this year, RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure database, reported Thursday. Filings in March alone were up 46 percent from the same time last year. Total filings in the first quarter topped 800,000, a 24 percent increase from the first three months of 2008. Filings include default notices, auction sale notices, and repossessions.
http://washingtonindependent.com/39115/jump-in-foreclosures-reaches-historic-high-in-march