Monday, October 31, 2016
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
I Am ...
I Adjure Your Inner Core
To Replicate & Donate To Others
In An Effort To Embrace A Human Cure
Among Our Sisters & Brothers.
Luis
Ángel Pérez
Monday, October 24, 2016
Monday, October 17, 2016
Corporate Governing Puerto Rico Into Puerto Pobre Via Predatory Lending
Corporate Governing Puerto Rico Into Puerto Pobre Via Predatory Lending
By Luis Ángel
Pérez
Outline & Highlights of Democracy Now!’s News Coverage &
Rush Transcript
Respectively, Titled & Dated …
Puerto
Rico’s Payday Loans:
The Shocking Story Behind Wall Street’s
Role in Debt Crisis, July 15, 2016
“On June 30, …” (2016) “… President Obama signed into law
the PROMESA bill, …”
The PROMESA Bill -
* “… will
establish a federally appointed control board with sweeping powers
to run Puerto Rico’s economy.”
* “While the
legislation’s supporters say -
- the bill
will help the island cope with its debt crisis by
allowing
an orderly restructuring of its $72 billion in bond debt,
* critics say -
- it
is a reversion to old-style colonialism that
removes democratic control from the
people of Puerto Rico.”
“… it is a reversion to old-style colonialism that
removes democratic control from the people of Puerto Rico.”
“Meanwhile, -
* Even
before President Obama has named members of the new control board,
- we’re
beginning to learn just how bond holders are being protected
- and the people of Puerto
Rico made to suffer.”
“… bond
holders are being protected
and the
people of Puerto Rico made to suffer.”
“But does Puerto Rico really owe $72 billion in bond debt & to
whom?”
“A stunning new report by ReFund America Project reveals –
* nearly half the
debt owed by Puerto Rico –
- is not
actually money that the island borrowed,
- but instead -
- interest
owed to investors on bonds underwritten by Wall-Street firms …”
“… nearly
half the debt owed by Puerto Rico is not
actually money … borrowed, but instead interest owed to investors on bonds
underwritten by Wall Street firms …”
While the Puerto Rican people are facing massive austerity
cuts,
* bondholders are
set to make mind-boggling profits
- in what has been compared to a payday
lending scheme.
“While the …
people are facing massive austerity cuts,
bondholders
… make mind-boggling profits
in … a …
lending scheme.”
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
“The ReFund America Project suggests that –
* Puerto Rico
should not be required to pay back much of its debt,
- since
it’s illegitimate.”
“… much of
its debt, … it’s illegitimate.”
“The crux of the crisis centers on what are known as … –
* Capital
Appreciation Bonds.”
“… the
crisis centers on … Capital Appreciation Bonds.”
* “In some cases,
the interest rate will top 1,000 %.
It’s a scandal that –
* received almost
no attention during the recent congressional debate
over the
so-called PROMESA bill …”
“… a scandal
that received almost no attention
during the
recent congressional debate…”
Juan Gonzalez, Democracy Now!
“On June 29, 2016, -
* the
government-owned Puerto Rico electric company
…”
Where
Democracy Now!’s guest Carlos Gallisa
Is said to serves
as Elected Consumer Representative
to The Board
of Directors,
&
who is also an
Attorney, Politician,
Independence Movement Leader, &
Former
Member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives.
* “… announced its
plan to raise by 28% the island’s electricity rates,
- which are already higher than any state but Hawaii.
The extra money will be –
* earmarked to pay debt service on up to $9.3
billion in new bonds
the company,
known as PREPA, plans to issue to replace its old debt.
As part of the restructuring,
* the utility’s
new directors will come largely from the U.S.,
* & the new
bonds will pay an astounding interest of 10%.”
Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
“… a very large portion of Puerto Rico’s
debt is actually no debt at all,
* it’s actually interest
on a payday loan, on a series of payday loans,
- in fact,
where the island will be paying four-point –
the
island borrowed $4.3 billion and will pay back $33.5 billion in interest.
* That’s
an effective interest rate of 785%.”
“… the
island borrowed $4.3 billion and
will pay
back $33.5 billion in interest.
That’s an
effective interest rate of 785%.”
Saqib Blatti, Democracy Now’s Guest &
Director of the ReFund America
Project, Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, &
Co-Author of the new report - Puerto Rico’s Payday Loans
“And what we’re finding is that this is actually just the
tip of the iceberg.
* There’s actually
a lot of the debt that Puerto Rico has entered
into
that is either
–
- legally
or morally illegitimate.”
“… legally
or morally illegitimate.”
“And so, my organization, the
ReFund America Project,
we’re actually going to be
releasing a series of reports
over the next couple of months
that will –
* look at the different ways in which Wall
Street banks
really targeted Puerto
Rico with predatory deals,
* and really calling on the PROMESA control
board
to be putting the interests of the
people of Puerto Rico first,
to cancel the illegitimate debt so that
we can properly fund services.”
“… Wall
Street banks really targeted Puerto Rico with
predatory deals …”
Saqib Blatti, Democracy Now’s Guest &
Director of the ReFund America
Project, Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, &
Co-Author of the new report - Puerto Rico’s Payday Loans
“They were the lead underwriters on these deals that really
targeted
Puerto
Rico for these immense interest rates.
* … these payday
loans are called capital appreciation bonds.
* And the way
these bonds work -
- is very
much like a payday loan,
- where,
because you’re not allowed to pay back the principal or the interest
for many
years, and over time the interest keeps compounding,
* you
end up with these astronomical interest rates.”
“… these
Payday Loans are called
Capital
Appreciation Bonds.”
“… because
you’re not allowed to pay back
the
principal or the interest for many years,
and over
time the interest keeps compounding,
you end up
with these astronomical interest rates.”
Saqib Blatti, Democracy Now’s Guest &
Director of the ReFund America
Project, Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, &
Co-Author of the new report - Puerto Rico’s Payday Loans
“ And so, what happened over there was, -
* because you had
the situation where, you know, Puerto Rico is
a colonial economy
and is not in charge
of its own finances at the end of the day,
- there’s
so much pressure that’s coming from outside,
because
those issues couldn’t be resolved.
“… Puerto Rico is a colonial economy …
not in
charge of its own finances …”
In the same way that a cash-strapped family trying to put
food on the table
might go to a payday lender because they have to, to make
ends meet,
* you had, you
know, Puerto Rico trying to put food on the
table,
* run- provide
basic services, needing to find ways to make ends meet.
And banks swooped in –
* banks like
Citigroup, Goldman Sachs -,
* and said, ‘Hey,
here’s a deal,’
- even
though they knew that these deals would be really bad
and Puerto Rico would never be able to pay them in the long
run.”
“In the same
way that
a
cash-strapped family trying to put food on the table
might go to
a payday lender
because they
have to, to make ends meet,
you had, … Puerto Rico trying to put food on the table,
… provide
basic services,
needing to
find ways to make ends meet.”
“And banks
swooped in – … and said,
‘Hey, here’s
a deal,’
even though
they knew that these deals
would be
really bad and Puerto Rico would never be able
to
pay them in
the long run.”
Saqib Blatti, Democracy Now’s Guest &
Director of the ReFund America
Project, Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, &
Co-Author of the new report - Puerto Rico’s Payday Loans
For
example, according to this news coverage, a 2007 sales tax bond for $97 million
…
*“… was supposed
to be paid back in 2054.
* That means for 47 years,
- the banks agreed, you don’t pay us any
principal,
and you don’t pay us any interest
*
for 47 years.
* And at the end
of the 47 years,
* that $97 million becomes $1 billion
that Puerto Rico
has to pay back.
- That’s a thousand times what the
original loan was.
* So, the banks had to know that there
was no way that
Puerto Rico could pay this back,
- but yet they continued
to issue these bonds.”
“… at the
end of the 47 years, …
$97 million
becomes $1 billion …
That’s a
thousand times what the original loan was.”
“… banks had
to know that there was no way
that Puerto Rico could pay this back,
but yet they
continued to issue these bonds.”
Juan Gonzalez, Democracy
Now!
“It’s a complete outrage. And what you said is exactly
right, -
* that banks knew
… there’s no way that Puerto Rico can pay all
this back.
Puerto Rico’s debt per
capita burden is -
* 10 times higher
than the average of U.S.
states.
It’s a tiny island of -
* three-and-a-half
million people.
Banks knew that they couldn’t do this. -
* Banks … still
targeted Puerto Rico for these deals,
because they got to make money on the front
end.
For just these capital appreciation bonds, these payday
loans, just for a slice of them, -
* banks got to
make $221 million in fees.
* And they get to
offload the risk.
“It’s a
complete outrage.
Puerto
Rico’s debt per capita burden is 10 times higher than the average of U.S. states.
It’s a tiny
island of three-and-a-half million people.
… Banks knew
that they couldn’t do this.
Banks …
still targeted Puerto Rico for these deals,
because they
got to make money on the front end.”
“… there’s a secondary market for bonds,
* just like
there’s a secondary market for mortgages,
- where
the lender that sells you your mortgage,
they
package it up into a security,
* they
sell it off,
- and it gets traded.”
“… there’s a
secondary market for bonds …”
“Same thing with bonds,
* they get sold
off and traded.
A lot of these bonds now,
* because the
investors originally … didn’t believe they would be paid back,
- they
actually absorbed the losses and sold the bonds
for 15
cents on the dollar, as low as 5 cents on the dollar.”
“… they
actually absorbed the losses and
sold the
bonds for 15 cents on the dollar,
as low as 5
cents on the dollar.”
“And so, a lot of the investors that are now buying it,
* which are these
vulture hedge funds that are buying at dirt-low prices
and trying to make a huge profit,
- profits
up to … 2,000 %,
- if you’re
buying at 5 % and planning on trying to collect all 100.”
… vulture
hedge funds … are buying at dirt-low prices
and trying
to make a huge profit,
profits up
to … 2,000 %,
if you’re
buying at 5 % and
planning on
trying to collect all 100.
“… just to put that into perspective, -
* … there’s
something that theoretically on its face is worth one dollar ($1),
and I’m
going to pay you five cents ($ .05) to buy it up.
* And so,
even if I get back a small portion of –
- even
if I get back ten cents ($ .10),
* I’ve doubled my profit.
* And what
they’re trying to do is collect not just the full dollar,
* but
then 800 % interest on the dollar.”
For Example:
“… something
… theoretically ... is worth one dollar ($1),
and I’m
going to pay you five cents ($ .05) to buy it up.
… even if I,
(sell
it off and) , get back ten cents ($ .10),
I’ve doubled
my profit.
And what
they are trying to do is collect
not just the
full dollar,
but then 800
% interest on the dollar.”
“… there’s a devastating humanitarian crisis.
* I believe about
40% of the children live in poverty.
* We’ve seen mass
closings of schools.
* … there is
severe cuts to healthcare at the same time there’s a Zika outbreak.
We need to make sure, if there’s a PROMESA control board,
that –
* they are not
cutting services further.
* They need to
challenge the illegitimate debt.”
“… a
devastating humanitarian crisis.”
“… about 40%
of the children live in poverty.”
“We’ve seen
mass closings of schools.”
“… severe
cuts to healthcare at the same time
there’s a
Zika outbreak.”
Saqib Blatti, Democracy Now’s Guest &
Director of the ReFund America
Project, Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, &
Co-Author of the new report - Puerto Rico’s Payday Loans
“We are in a very difficult position now,
* and there will
be more [inaudible] to migration to the United States.
* There will be a
reduction in the government employees.
And [inaudible] that happened in New York before and
in Detroit
will happen [inaudible] once the control board comes into effect.”
“The power company of Puerto Rico,
which is the most important public corporation
in the [inaudible],
is going through a restructuring of its debt.
* The debt of the
power company is close to $9 billion,
out of the $70
billion that the government of Puerto Rico
owes.
* The debt service
is $700 million a year.
And in order
for the power company to meet its obligations,
the Energy Commission
of Puerto Rico …”
will
repeatedly increase the electricity bill,
* “… then the
people of Puerto Rico will have to pay
all these
increases in its electricity bill.”
“The Legislature of Puerto Rico approved a bill …
that the government of Puerto Rico
has to appoint a new board of directors, …
* And that’s another
imposition of the bondholders, …
- … they want to have a seat in the board
of directors.”
“We are in a
very difficult position now …”
“… there
will be more [inaudible] to
migration to
the United States.”
“There will
be a reduction in the government employees.”
“And
[inaudible] that happened in New York
before and
in Detroit will happen
[inaudible]
once the control
board comes into effect.”
“The debt of
the power company is close to $9 billion,
out of the
$70 billion
that the
government of Puerto Rico owes.”
“The debt
service is $700 million a year.
And in order
for the power company to meet its obligations,
the Energy
Commission of Puerto Rico …”
will
repeatedly increase the electricity bill,
“… then the
people of Puerto Rico will have to pay
all these
increases in its electricity bill.”
“And that’s
another imposition of the bondholders …
… they want
to have a seat in the board of directors.”
Carlos Gallisa (accent on last “a”) Democracy Now’s Guest &
Attorney, Politician, Independence
Movement Leader,
Former Member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives,
Now Serves on the Board of Directors of The Puerto
Rico Electric Power Authority,
As the Elected Consumer Representative on the Board
(a board which is said to be government owned)
“… they’re going to accept 85 cents for every dollar that
they‘re owed,
* but then they’re
– in new bonds.
* But the new
bonds have a much higher interest rate. Right?
- Isn’t it
10% now these bonds will require?
* Which
is astounding when you consider
most municipal bonds in this country are like 3%, 4%.
* Puerto Rico
is going to have to pay 10% for the electric company bonds?”
“… the new
bonds have a much higher interest rate.
Which is
astounding when you consider
most
municipal bonds in this country are like 3%, 4%.
Puerto Rico is going to
have to
pay 10% for
the electric company bonds?”
Juan Gonzalez, Democracy Now!
“That’s it.
* … we are paying
10, 11 % interest now on the new bonds
that are going
to be issued.”
“… we are
paying 10, 11 % interest now
on the new
bonds
that are
going to be issued.”
Carlos Gallisa (accent on last “a”) Democracy Now’s Guest &
Attorney, Politician, Independence
Movement Leader,
Former Member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives,
Now Serves on the Board of Directors of The Puerto
Rico Electric Power Authority,
As the Elected Consumer Representative on the Board
(a board which is said to be government owned)
“… it’s amazing to me that this
continues to occur,
* for the protection of the bondholders, …
* Whether it’s in … these payday loans that
…
somehow or other – someone is going to
make
a whole lot of money off the
restructuring of these payday loans,
* and now, with the electric company,
- these much higher interest rates
that will be required of Puerto Rico.”
“… it’s
amazing to me that this continues to occur,
for the
protection of the bondholders, …
… someone is
going to make a whole lot of money off
the
restructuring of these payday loans,
and now, with
the electric company …”
“… Carlos Gallisa,
* your sense of how the people of Puerto Rico are reacting to these latest events,
in terms of the increases in the rates
and the new information that’s coming out
in the last few weeks since PROMESA was
passed?”
Juan Gonzalez, Democracy Now!
“… demanding to end this situation, because, basically,
* the problem of Puerto Rico is colonialism.
* The people of Puerto Rico do not have the freedom
to do the
things [inaudible] have to do to look for a solution to this crisis.
* So, this is a
political problem, besides being an economic problem.”
“… the
problem of Puerto Rico is colonialism.
The people
of Puerto Rico do not have the freedom
to do the
things [inaudible] have to do to
look for a
solution to this crisis.
So, this is
a political problem,
besides
being an economic problem.”
Carlos Gallisa (accent on last “a”) Democracy Now’s Guest &
Attorney, Politician, Independence
Movement Leader,
Former Member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives,
Now Serves on the Board of Directors of The Puerto
Rico Electric Power Authority,
As the Elected Consumer Representative on the Board
(a board which is said to be government owned)
Wall Street
Firms Allegedly Complicit in This Predatory Scam
As Per This News
Coverage:
Goldman
Sachs
Citigroup
Merrill
Lynch
Morgan
Stanley
Bank of America
UBS
Investment
Banco Santander
Santander Securities
AG Edwards
Bear Stearns
Lehman
Brothers
Popular
Securities
Puerto
Rico’s Payday Loans:
The Shocking Story
Behind Wall Street’s Role in Debt Crisis
Democracy Now! with
Amy Goodman & Juan Gonzalez, July 15, 2016
- with quests -
Saqib Blatti, Democracy Now’s Guest &
Director of the ReFund America
Project, Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, &
Co-Author of the new report - Puerto Rico’s Payday Loans
&
Carlos Gallisa (accent on last “a”) Democracy Now’s Guest &
Attorney, Politician, Independence
Movement Leader,
Former Member of the Puerto Rican House of Representatives,
Now Serves on the Board of Directors of The Puerto
Rico Electric Power Authority,
As the Elected Consumer Representative on the Board
(a board which is said to be government owned)
Awareness Is Power So
Please Continue To Follow
Luis Ángel
Pérez
Degrees in
Psychology & Education
Mental Health
& Social Services Counselor, Public School Science & Mathematics
Middle School-
Seventh & Eighth Grades, Elementary School- First & Fourth Grades
Educator &
Advocate
Tumblr
http://writing4light.tumblr.com (Yahoo!)
Blogger
http://writing4light.blogspot.com
(Google)
Emails
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Financial Debt: Oppressive for Some & Lucrative for Others
Financial Debt: Oppressive for Some &
Lucrative for Others
The Back Story to Financial Debt
By Luis Ángel
Pérez
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Despite the fact that we are all
naturally equipped with a brain that inevitably yearns to learn - setting stringent
barriers around the access to education has historically been a tactical
solution toward facilitating the oppression and exploitation of targeted groups
of humans while satiating the greed for power and wealth of some already
affluent humans.
As time passed, this once publicly overt
yet unnatural imposition to the human condition, and its negative consequences,
began to clash with people’s moral sensibility in an infectious manner - to the
extent where complicit business and government leaders were forced to learn of
the critical value which a humanitarian-like public image has on allowing them
to get closer to their prey.
The negative stigmas forced greedy
wealthy folks, (and purchased government officials), to close the curtains on public
displays of malicious business practices and instead open the curtains to a new
act where said practices will still be conducted only in more of a stealth
manner.
When you are trying to hide something,
you look to hide it in a place where others are least likely to look for it. Who
would ever guess to look behind ridiculously high corporate and political
financial incentives for the answer to – Why
so many people in the United
States are always in financial debt and
cannot seem to ‘shake-it-off’? Who would have ever guessed that your financial
debt is actually a goldmine for wealthy Wall- Street financial institutions and
corrupt government officials and not so much the societal burden which they so
desperately try to have you believe?
Even today, many humans, including
scholars, do not expect and thus cannot even begin to wrap their minds around how
exactly is it that other humans greatly benefit financially from another’s
financial debt.
You also have humans that own a small
inkling to the back story of financial debt in this country but opt to mostly remain
in the dark about specifics in order to inoculate “a guilty conscience” which also happens to be easily nursed by
their own personal financial gains from financial lending schemes that
intentionally produce debt.
And then you have the sadists that are
completely aware but who secretly generate much pleasure and pride in the
financial, social, and psychological demise of other humans.
Government Bail-Outs for the Rich
A Business Person & Our
Government
One particularly lucrative lending
scheme that depends on oppressing others with financial debt is known as
Predatory Lending. Predatory lending is defined by the Farlex Financial
Dictionary as, “The practice in which a
loan is made to a borrower in the hope or expectation that the borrower will
default.”
A
wealthy businessperson and current United States Presidential Candidate was allegedly
legally allowed to file for bankruptcy in our United States Government
Bankruptcy Courts on four (4) or more separate occasions in order to “clean the slate” of his immense
financial debts while repeatedly coldheartedly leaving many dedicated workers/taxpayers
unemployed and in financial and personal hardship as he repeatedly walked away from
such damages much wealthier than before.
He was also allegedly repeatedly granted
complete immunity against ethical and moral responsibility for damages imposed
upon workers as a result of his repeated reckless business ventures.
Additionally, Wall-Street Financial Institutions (Banks) continued to approve
more loans for him to default and repeat such vicious cycle.
So, why did our
Department of Justice ignore
this wealthy businessperson’s
repeated reckless business ventures and all the devastation which such behavior
repeatedly imposed upon
working poor and middle
income families?
&
Why did Wall-Street
Banks repeatedly approve more loans
for him - given his
business-failure track record?
Essentially
Because …
Creating
Financial Debt is Lucrative Business for the Wealthy
While Oppressive
to Working Poor & Middle Income Families.
The Banks & Our Government
The recent infamous financial crisis created
by predatory-mortgage lending-practices is another example of businesses getting
rewarded and protected by government and Wall-Street Banks for merely facilitating
debt upon working poor and middle income families. This financial crisis
allegedly cost the United States taxpayers $700 BILLION to bail-out the banks
that were found to intentionally create such crisis, (an amount which was
openly scrutinized by Government Officials and the Media), and approximately
$13 TRILLION, (an amount that was not openly scrutinized or discussed by neither).
Government officials used massive
amounts of taxpayer funds to bail-out the repeatedly “failed” business ventures of the wealthy businessperson mentioned
above and used massive amounts of our taxpayer funds to bail-out Wall-Street
Banks despite the known reckless and predatory nature of their business
practices - which has a devastating impact on working poor and middle income families
while further enhancing the wealth of the wrongdoers.
Working poor and middle income College
Students, however, including those clearly dedicated to ethical and moral
business practices with immense benefit to our natural environment and the
human condition, and who are slated to be critical stimulators of the economy -
are vigorously oppressed and sadly robbed of their spending and intellectual
potential to help make this world a better place for all because of predatory
lending.
Government Bails-Out-On
The United States’
Working Poor & Middle Income Students
In contrast to the government bail-outs
mention above, College Students are not allowed to file for Bankruptcy
in our Government Bankruptcy Courts in order to “clean the slate” of their huge, exponentially growing,
student-loan-debt.
As a result, students and families cannot
seem to escape damages imposed by student-loan-debt, such as (a) the permanent destruction
to credit scores, (b) the disqualification from fair mortgage loans, automobile
loans, and future student loans, (c) the suppression of access to student
transcripts and college-registration-blocks imposed by the Department of
Education, and (d) the disruption of attaining employment and promotions since
most employers today conduct financial background checks in order to justify
implicit bias in hiring and employment promoting practices, just to mention a
few.
Why so many roadblocks
to ameliorating student-debt?
Why so much
interference in ensuring that students and families secure a viable income in
order to pay back their student loans?
Essentially
Because …
Student-Loan-Predatory-Lending
Benefit Officials of
The
Department of Education, Wealthy Corporations, & the Federal Government
While
Effectively Oppressing Working Poor & Middle Income Families.
“In a leaked memo,
Sallie Mae officials have listed
preserving the inability to discharge education debt in bankruptcy
as their second most important goal.”
“The Department of Education
actually encourages schools to withhold transcripts
of those who are behind on payments.”
Which creates an unfair imposition on employment
opportunities and
on returning back to school to further enhance
one’s education and possibly earning potential.
“The Congressional Budget Office
projects that the Federal Government made
about $50 BILLION on student loans in 2013.
This is $5 billion more than ExxonMobile,
the most profitable company in the country.”
- The Huffington Post, March 24, 2014
Government Bails-Out-On
Puerto Rico’s Working Poor & Middle Income Families
If you follow the money you will see
that many wealthy people are getting richer off the backs of working poor and
middle income families. If you follow history you will see that this is merely a
familiar exploitative slave-master footprint which has hovered over the human
condition for far too long.
One of the most salient demonstrations
of the devastation that results from predatory lending is the humanitarian
crisis currently happening in the island of Puerto Rico after government officials
in Puerto Rico were allegedly repeatedly loaned large amounts of money, by Wall-Street
Banks, with the condition that they cannot pay back the interest or the
principal of the loans until many years later, (close to 50 years later).
What they failed to mention to the
working poor and middle income families of Puerto Rico is that many years later
the unpaid interest and principal of the loans will accrue to such high amount
that it would make it impossible for Puerto Rico to pay back the loans and thus
guaranteeing the island’s financial debt.
Similar to the working poor and middle income
students in the United States, Puerto Rico is “mysteriously” not allowed to file for bankruptcy in order
to “clean the slate” of their immense
financial debt while the wealthy that facilitated the debt walk away from such
humanitarian crisis much wealthier than they started.
These predatory loans are known as
Capital Appreciation Bonds and are said to work the same way as the payday
loans familiar to many poor communities.
How Does It Work?
“… there’s a secondary market for bonds, just like there’s a secondary
market for mortgages, where the lender that sold you the … (loan) … package it
up into a security, they sell it off, and it gets traded. And so, a lot of the
investors that are now buying it, which are these vulture hedge funds that are
buying at dirt-low prices and trying to make a huge profit, profits … up to
2,000 % ...”
For Example:
If, “…
something … theoretically ... is worth one dollar ($1.00),
and I’m
going to pay you five cents ($0.05) to buy it up ...
… even if I,
(sell
it off and) , get back ten cents ($0.10),
I’ve doubled
my profit.
And what
they are trying to do is collect
not just the
full dollar,
but then 800
% interest on the dollar.”
Saqib Blatti, Democracy Now’s Guest &
Director of the ReFund America
Project, Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, &
Co-Author of the new report - Puerto Rico’s Payday Loans
Puerto Rico’s Payday Loans:
The Shocking Story
Behind Wall Street’s Role in Debt Crisis
Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman & Juan Gonzalez, July 15, 2016
What Are
We Teaching Our Children -
That
Financial Greed, Oppression, & the Exploitation
of Our
Fellow Humans
Are The
Favored Principles of Our Leaders?
Everything Starts With Our Thoughts
Vision for Changes
I have a vision where humans behind the
walls of the Department of Education, humans behind the walls of Wall-Street’s Wealthy
Businesses, and humans behind the walls of our Three Branches of Government all
begin to conventionally utilize a -“What
If It Were My Family & I?” - litmus-test in order to gauge the morality
and ethics of their decisions and actions prior to implementation.
I have a vision where humans maintain unbiased
Independent Special Prosecutors, for each of these entities mentioned, who will
take public complaints serious and collaborate with one another to enforce the “What If It Were My Family & I” test
and rigorously enforce Transparency, Accountability, meaningful Training, &
quality Oversight (TATO).
I have a vision where we all come to realize
that this obsessive “cut-throat” race
toward financial superiority, off the backs of the already disenfranchised, has
historically proven to be dangerously divisive to the human condition and has historically
proven to negatively affect all humans, one way or another.
I have a vision where we come together
to legally end the facilitation of debt onto others and instead genuinely
facilitate access to quality education for all.
I have a vision where we are constantly
reminded that independent of how much money one has and independent of what one
looks like on the outside - we are, first and foremost, all human.
I have a vision where we all sing and
dance to the tune that education is a natural human right and responsibility for
all humans and that true richness essentially comes from within and is further
enhanced by what we, as individuals, project onto all humans in this brief
journey we call life.
United
We Can Do Better!
Thank you for all you
do to make this world a better place for all.
Much Love to All.
Sincerely,
Luis Ángel Pérez
Degrees in Psychology & Education
Mental Health & Social Services
Counselor
Public School Science & Mathematics
Middle School- Seventh & Eighth
Grades
Elementary School- First & Fourth
Grades
Educator & Advocate
Awareness Is Power So
Please Continue To Follow
Tumblr (Yahoo!)
Blogger (Google)
Email
Window
of Opportunity
Build The Blocks That
Culture Shock,
Build The Wall To Cage
& Stall,
Distort Your Efforts To
Keep Us At Bay,
But Nature Always Finds
A Way,
Nature Always Finds The
Way.
By Luis
Ángel Pérez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gPheJSirOk
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