Stopped at Market this AM and had a chat with one of the gals handing out NewsLanc.  The cold fresh air and little crowd due to the conditions was most appreciated as the parking and foot traffic was great.

Back at the office I read the flyer and as I went down the list of all the stories and issues covered in 2010.   I for one am most grateful to Robert for his persistence.

Jim Huber, no longer with us worked hard for years to keep Wal-Mart off of South Centerville Road.  FAID sold hot dogs and soda, car washes and gave contributions to pay for the legal fees and PREVAILED.  This is what America is all about and as Lancaster County becomes a melting pot of new residents taking us to 1/2 million in population, as politicians like Barley and Armstrong with their buddy IOU’s fade into the sunset, the tides are turning

I wonder if the Mayor and the residents of Lancaster City as well as the County are thankful to those that took the hits for being anti-Trolley Car.  Just recently as I went to Market for Christmas items the city was at a standstill with construction.  Sitting in traffic, I recalled the streetcar proposal.  What a mess that would be, one couldn’t even taken a trolley.   The trolley would not have been able to move!!!

We here in Lancaster County are so very fortunate compared to many other counties in PA.  We are very up to date on accommodations for our government workers and programs such as farm preservation.   We need to be reminded that it is due to a few of our past elected officials that stood firm and tried their best to hold people accountable.  We are more transparent today as well; however, we have a long way to go…

Over the past two years, the Watchdog has repeatedly lamented the failure of the federal government to empower mortgage servicing agents to “cram down” the principle and interest owed on loans so that both reflected market conditions.  This would allow families to remain in place and save lenders the huge expense of foreclosure, restoration of the premises, transaction costs, and sale at a big loss, aggregating as high as 30% to 35% of market value.   The Watchdog has also opined that the government may be afraid to initiate such arrangements in order to protect banks from having to more realistically value their portfolios and thus put them in financial jeopardy due to lack of equity.   It has been a policy of ‘look the other way’ and hope that over time the market will gradually right itself.  Ominously, prices keep on falling.

It is flattering to note that Noble Award recipient in Economics Joseph Stiglitz in his best seller “Freefall, Free Markets and the Sinking of the Global Economy” makes so many of the same assertions as has the Watchdog, but he takes the issues additional steps suggesting plausible policies that the government should follow.  (And recent legislation by the lame duck session of Congress enacts some of Stiglitz’s recommendations in other areas.)

Concerning the issue of how to help borrowers to remain in their homes while avoiding lenders taking too much of a loss, Stitlitz suggests a “home owners’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy” program.   The amount owed would be reduced to market value or slightly below for mortgages “under water” (higher than current market value) but, upon the ultimate sale of the property, the lender would recoup a generous share of the proceeds that exceed the re-set mortgage amount.

Another approach, albeit more complicated, is for the non-recourse loans to be converted into recourse loans, which means the owners pledges all of their assets in exchange for reductions in principle and / or interest, with the possibility of added government inducements that would further reduce the monthly payments.

The sharp recession was brought about in large part due to a housing “bubble” which created a huge demand by unqualified buyers on the assumptions that homes would become more valuable year after year.   The lenders did or certainly should have known better; many purchasers were ensnared and duped.  Prosperity can only return after a way is found for the homes to remain occupied, mortgage payments to be made, and home prices to stop falling.

NEWSMAX:  One of the main pillars of the Obama administration’s massive healthcare law – the special plans devoted to those unable to obtain insurance through normal means – is attracting only a small fraction of what was expected. The result is that the program may end up costing taxpayers far more than the $5 billion originally set aside, according to the Washington Post.

One reason for the reluctance of consumers to sign up for the plans, collectively known as the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, is that they are far more expensive than alternatives the uninsured might find elsewhere, the Post is reporting. Since the plans opened in the late summer and early fall, the medical bills in some states are much higher than anticipated.

The reason is that if fewer people sign up, the costs cannot be defrayed over a huge number of people paying into them.

The plans, known as high-risk pools, will take time to adjust prices and benefits, federal officials tell the Post. But since last spring, when Medicare program’s chief actuary predicted that 375,000 people would sign up by the end of 2010, only 8,000 have enrolled, according to the Health and Human Services Department. Nationally, there are some 50 million uninsured who, in theory, should benefit from the plans…  (more)

USA TODAY:  So many Americans have been jobless for so long that the government is changing how it records long-term unemployment.

Citing what it calls “an unprecedented rise” in long-term unemployment, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), beginning Saturday, will raise from two years to five years the upper limit on how long someone can be listed as having been jobless…

The change is a sign that bureau officials “are afraid that a cap of two years may be ‘understating the true average duration’ — but they won’t know by how much until they raise the upper limit,” says Linda Barrington, an economist who directs the Institute for Compensation Studies at Cornell University’s  School of Industrial and Labor Relations…  (more)

PATRIOT-NEWS:  Any government ruling that has liberals griping about too much corporate control and the Wall Street Journal growling about a left-wing coup might not be a bad compromise.

Considering that the Federal Communications Commission had few good options last week, its new rules affirming “Net neutrality” were at least a stab at fairness…

As one critic put it, the FCC did a great job of protecting access to the Internet of the 1990s, but not to the Internet of tomorrow. The only thing that the FCC did for certain last week was to set the stage for lawsuits that, ultimately, will flesh out exactly how the new rules can be applied.

Meanwhile, just when you thought you no longer needed to pay for HBO, get ready to pay more for that streaming movie. For all the talk about freedom of speech, much of this is a tussle among corporate behemoths — Comcast and Netflix, Verizon and Google — for profit share…  (more)

INQUIRER:   Gov. Rendell has presented his successor with the equivalent of a state government playbook, including details on the workings of dozens of agencies and even a lengthy cautionary note on the fiscal crisis ahead.

In thousands of pages meant to smooth the transition for Republican Gov.-elect Tom Corbett, who takes office next month, Rendell administration officials prepared extensive files on 25 state agencies under the control of the chief executive.

The documents paint a bleak financial picture for 2011, citing the hundreds of millions of dollars lost in federal funding because of the end of stimulus spending, which delivered $12.6 billion for the Pennsylvania economy over the last two years…  (more)

Kudos to you Mr. Field.

I do not share your views that anything has been changed or as you say “reformed” within the local monopoly print media but you have done more than enough. It is rare to see someone really put their money where their mouth is in matters that transcend personal benefit. For this, you have my utmost respect and gratitude.

I have enjoyed reading Newslanc and while I have not always agreed with you, I have always respected your efforts.

EDITOR: Thank you very much. The web site remains and, with the active participation of visitors such as you in the form of comments and letters, can become better than ever.

A job well done! Thank you for being what the best of journalism has always been most proud of; to be nothing less than a guardian and champion of our wonderful American freedoms and democratic ideals.

At this particular moment our celebration of Christmas focuses upon “a light in the darkness” and honest journalism is a very real and necessary part of that tradition of enlightenment. A “Watchdog” is as good a way to say it as I can think of, and especially so when reviewing the record of the last five years.

You have served this community well with your enormous energy, selflessness, intelligence, and integrity. Hope to meet you sometime.

Thanks again

EDITOR: Thank you for the kind words! Just suggest some times to get together.

By Charlie Crystle

This is the start of my New Year’s post, coming later this week. If you don’t like foul language like bullshit, you might want to stop reading here.

And as usual, there are no hidden messages. It’s meant for all of us, but especially myself.

This year’s pledge?

End the bullshit.

Yours. Mine. The country’s. Our companies’, communities’…everyone’s. Cut out the bullshit. Start with that.

Adopt reality-based approaches. Stop the feel-good. Get down to the basics. When you cut out the bullshit–and as you think of your own life, job, or situation, you start to know what I mean–you get down to the real stuff.

Hard stuff, easy stuff, whatever. The real stuff.

Click here to read the full letter.

October 16, 2010

ON THE RECORD

To:  Marv Adams,  Gil Smart,  E. Cornelius

From:  Robert Field

Re:  Below NewsLanc article

If the funding of dire needs of the hungry, the homeless and the sick were not so demanding on my resources during this great recession, I would raise funds to create a foundation which would explore ways to bring transparency and civic responsibility to Lancaster General Health.

I appreciate the professionalism of the Lancaster Newspapers in prominently reporting the Beeman gift of over $1.2 million.  But where are the editorials criticizing the give away and the opaque manner in which LGH conducts its business?

People are talking…including prominent members of the community.  Some who have come up to me to praise NewsLanc’s coverage are associated with LGH.  LGH is a Public Charity which has taken on the worst trappings for profit corporations, but has no stock holders to hold it to account.

My feeling is that it is not enough for newspapers to report the news.  In blatant cases, it should opine.

Regards

Robert