Congressman Kucinich, after making sure Elizabeth would be there, I ran down to shop
the market and take some photos.
With them was Paul Bellamy, and Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis who is always a
pleasure to talk with.
Congressman Kucinich arrives as Elizabeth waves hello.
Congressman Kucinich speaks with Treasurer Rokakis, and Joe Benny while the
media waits in the background.
Congressman speaks with Jim Rokakis, as Elisabeth looks on
The announcement of the oversight begins, in front of a landmark fro the region
the Westside Market.
The gist of the "media moment" was to talk about the latest round of help from Washington,
that seems to have completely miss Ohio, and head to Nevada, Arizona, California. "Seems
that President Obama has forgot about Cleveland." said Jim Rokakis. He also mentioned
that foreclosures in Cleveland are reaching a record pace, and wondered seriously about
what the census would show of Cleveland and the region. Dennis who has shied away
from most of the stimulus money was visible upset with the administration and was
wondering how they could over look Cleveland and Ohio.
Congressman Kucinish, Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis, and Paul Bellamy
who runs the program to help stop foreclosures
We then headed out to the front of the Westside Market for the photos, and Dennis asked
is "Lakewood doing any better? How is the program going there to save homes?" So we
talked while I took a couple more photos than the TV cameras showed up, he did his
speech, as did Jim an Paul. I chose shopping at the Westside Market with Elizabeth!
You know, kind of cold out there.
Release:
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement after an announcement by the White House to provide $1.5 billion to five states for foreclosure prevention:
“President Obama’s decision to provide $1.5 billion from Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to assist homeowners in a select number of states is good news for some, but it falls far short of what is needed.
“For unexplained reasons, the new initiative skips some of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, such as Ohio. In Ohio, new foreclosure filings reached record levels in 2009, and are expected to get worse for 2010. In fact, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s most recent data, there are nearly 72,000 loans in Ohio that are more than 90 days past due and are receiving no relief. Making matters worse, Ohio already ranks 48th out of 50 states in terms of receiving any help from the Administration’s other major initiative, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). I cannot understand an oversight of this magnitude. This is not acceptable and it needs to be remedied.
“Next Thursday, my Domestic Policy Subcommittee will hold our tenth hearing since 2007 exploring the ongoing foreclosure crisis. I intend to ask the Administration about the reasons for this decision,” said Kucinich. The hearing will explore the changes needed to improve the Administration’s efforts to address the foreclosure crisis in this country. A Treasury official is scheduled to testify.
Group does the schtick for the TV cameras.
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As I got ready to leave to the Market, my new friend Roger stopped me to show me his
Alien art, saying "If you see this guy, run!" Roger reminded(?) me that he still makes most
of his good money winning Karaoke Contests with his rendition of 3 Elton John songs.
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Candle In The Wind, and Tiny Dancer, which he started to
sing as I left for the market. It was amazing, like he was there!
.
Whether or not Citibank repaid its government "loan" / welfare was not my point . It was the contrast in "bail-out" amounts for the people vs. Citigroup.