Category: Economic justice

Wasted Wealth: The Foreclosure Epidemic, a Generational Crisis for Communities of Color

By rachael_decruz | Published May 16, 2013

The foreclosure crisis continues to destroy wealth on a large scale across the U.S. and here in Seattle. Due to historical inequities and predatory banking practices, the most devastating impact has been felt in communities of color.

The foreclosure rate for majority communities of color is more than twice as high as it is for segregated white communities (11 per 1,000 and 5 per 1,000 respectively).

These are among the key findings of a new study by the Alliance for a Just Society, “Wasted Wealth: The Foreclosure Epidemic, a Generational Crisis for Communities of Color.” The report was released today by Washington Community Action Network, the Alliance for a Just Society and the Seattle King County NAACP.

Speakers at the press conference included Dixie Mitchell, a Washington CAN! member whose home is underwater, Jill Reese, Associate Director at the Alliance for a Just Society, Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata, and Gerald Hankerson of the Seattle King County NAACP.

The Wasted Wealth report analyzes 2012 foreclosure data to calculate lost wealth, examines the ongoing threat of foreclosures-in-waiting, and explores the economic impacts of principal reduction.

Here’s a snapshot of the impact on Seattle:

Citywide, communities in Seattle lost $289 million in wealth due to the foreclosure crisis in 2012, or $900 per household;
Communities with higher concentrations of people of color saw more wealth lost per household: $1,400 per household for majority-people of color communities compared with $600 per household for segregated white communities;
Even communities with only above average people of color population saw over one-and-a-half times the amount of wealth lost per household than segregated white communities;
There are over 48,000 underwater mortgages in Seattle on the books in 2012, and another $805 million in wealth at stake if a share of these mortgages go into foreclosure;
Resetting mortgages to fair market value could save underwater homeowners an average of $9,300 annually, generate $511 million in economic activity, and create 7,600 jobs.

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New Report Shows Impact of Foreclosure Crisis on Seattle

By rachael_decruz | Published May 2, 2013

With over 16,500 Seattle homes foreclosed on and over 42,000 homeowners underwater*, Washington CAN! is working with faith, community and labor groups to launch a campaign calling on City Council to stop at nothing short of principal reduction** to provide real relief to struggling families.

The coalition, Reset Seattle, is made up of over 30 organizations, and is working to achieve significant principal reduction for these families in crisis. Communities of color have been hit disproportionately hard by the housing crisis, losing 15 years in homeownership gains.

Washington CAN! has joined forces with the United Black Clergy, and other key leaders in communities of color to ensure that we find a solution that keeps homeowners in their homes, and restores equity to the system.

“What we are seeing here is a deterioration of generations of hard work for African American families,” said Reverend Lawrence Willis, the head of TrueVine Missionary Baptist Church and the President of the United Black Clergy. “Our elders are losing their legacies, and our young adults are losing hope that they will ever make it.”

At a kick-off event held this afternoon, Reset Seattle released a new report, “The Wall Street Wrecking Ball,” which details the impact of the foreclosure crisis on Seattle. The findings are grim. Between 2008 and 2012, there has been $4.4 billion in lost home value and a $142 million cost to the City of Seattle. $91,999 is the average amount by which Seattle homeowners are underwater.

In addition, the report details the positive impact that resetting mortgages to fair market value would have on Seattle. The results are staggering. It would save underwater homeowners in Seattle an average of $9,253 annually. This would pump $392 million into our local economy every year, creating 5,800 new jobs.

The report also includes a breakdown of the impact of the foreclosure crisis by zip code (Appendix A &B). Click here to find what the impact has been in your zip code.

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“Fix the Debt”: A Corporate Front Group

By rachael_decruz | Published May 2, 2013

Washington CAN! is strongly opposed to the “Fix the Debt” campaign, which is a front group for the corporate CEO agenda. Fix the Debt is pushing deep cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security in order to extend tax breaks for large corporations and the wealthy.

These cuts directly threaten the livelihood and well-being of seniors, people of color and low-income families in Washington State and across the country.

Here are some of the reasons we’re opposed to “Fix the Debt”:

The campaign has raised $60 million and has recruited more than 80 CEOs of America’s most powerful corporations to lobby for a debt deal that would reduce corporate taxes and shift costs onto the poor and elderly
63 Fix the Debt companies that are publicly held stand to gain as much as $134 billion in profits if Congress approves one of their main proposals — a “territorial tax system.” Under this system, companies would not have to pay U.S. federal income taxes on foreign earnings when they bring the profits back to the United States.
Of the 63 Fix the Debt CEOs at publicly held firms, 24 received more in compensation last year than their corporations paid in federal corporate income taxes. All but six of these firms reported U.S. profits last year.
For millions of seniors, Social Security is their sole source of income, and is particularly important for people of color because they are even less likely than white Americans to have pensions or retirement savings. Specifically, Social Security is the sole source of income for 36 percent of Hispanics and African Americans, and 25 percent of Asian and Pacific Islanders, as compared to 19 percent of whites aged 65 and older.

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