Governor Brown, facing growing pressure to fund programs necessary for California’s future growth has decided to put 2.2 million homeowners facing foreclosure in further distress. Spotting a soft target for short-term revenue “growth,” he has raided the Attorney General’s homeowner bank settlement fund in the amount of $300 million.
The legislature will be voting during the week of June 4th on whether to approve this raid that could affect not just two million homeowners in distress but our state’s future economic growth. This growth is adversely impacted by the more than two million California families deeply underwater or in the process of foreclosure.
Apparently relying on the unlikelihood that homeowners in distress can quickly organize to stop this unauthorized although technically not illegal raid on the homeowner “cookie jar,” the Governor opted for this one-time $300 million strategy.
Most likely the, Governor will be successful since the legislature is preoccupied by the need to resolve the budget crisis by the deadline of June 15th.
But, homeowners generally and 2.2 million homeowners in distress specifically, will soon begin to consider the other options that were available to the Governor, had he cared to take on far more significant budget savings. For example:
The Governor continues his unrealistic dream of high speed rail by planning to spend almost $3 billion in taxpayer funds this coming year. This is ten times the amount involved in this homeowner “cookie jar” raid.
The Governor has failed to pursue his million dollar public pension reform program which he announced with much fanfare in October 2011 but has since not pursued
A growing number of budget experts have noted that the Governor’s November tax initiative neither solves the short-term budget crisis nor provides a base for sustained long-term growth.
It is possible that well before the Governor’s November tax initiative is voted upon, a majority of Californians, including an overwhelming majority of homeowners in distress, will decide that the Governor’s unauthorized raid on his “children’s cookie jar” should be punished.
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Faith Bautista, President/CEO, National Asian American Coalition
Len Canty, Chairman, Black Economic Council
