Grandstanding Obama Visits My Hometown

I couldn't believe it. President Obama hadn't been in office less than 1 month, and he was already travelling. I thought he wanted to live in that fancy white house? Wasn't he needed in Washington during this time of national crisis?

And where did he want to go? Dobson High School in Mesa, AZ. where I stopped substitute teaching because I thought it was too dangerous. Giving his Secret Service, and the Mesa Police Department headaches. I'm glad to report there were no incidents. No bomb threats or people taking shots at the President. Most of the students listened to the speech in the classrooms through closed circuit TV. Apparently, Presidents rate higher in prestige with high school students, then say Substitute Teachers, who students love to threaten with violence, or with lawsuits, if you don't let them wander around the campus unattended during class time. I bet you didn't know that every student that attends Dobson High has an attorney for a father that will sue you if you don't let them spend, say, 60 minutes in the restroom, or let them disrupt the class. The favorite classroom chant, "My father is a wealthy lawyer, and he is going to sue you." Apparently, no economic troubles here in Mesa. Why would Obama need to visit us at all?

I swear he loves to grandstand. Does he think he is still campaigning? He is on TV every single day, and chooses Arizona to make a speech when he could have easily made the same speech in Washington, DC for a lot less money in these hard economic times.

Dobson High, who can't pay their subs (Substitute Teachers) a decent wage, it is $90 per day now, had the money to put in new sod, and suddenly had the money to have Qwest come in and lay new cable, and telephone lines to accommodate the media, and the closed circuit TV's for the students' education.¹

And who did he all bring with him in his entourage? Well, the Secret Service men of course, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Sheila Bair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Chairwoman, and Shaun Donovan, Housing and Urban Development Secretary; all accompanied the President, but as far as I can tell, none were allowed to make their own speeches, or speak to the media.²

And after arriving on Air Force One which costs $69,000 per hour, by one estimation, to operate, a boatload, by the way, where did they all stay?

Well, you can't expect the President of the United States and his entourage to stay at an economy motel, do you? Say, like Best Western? But he didn't even stay at the world renown Biltmore Presidential Suites, where all his predecessors loved to stay at, for $1,000 a night. No ironically he stayed at the brand spanking new Presidential Suites at the Montelucia for $4,000 per night, where Montelucia's lenders started foreclosure procedures last month, attempting to do his best to help our local hospitality economy, by the way.³

Anyway, so what was the official word of why he chose Arizona, specifically Mesa, as the backdrop of his speech that unveiled his Homeowner Affordability, and Stability Plan? Well, it wasn't because of all those wealthy lawyers that Mesa supposedly has. It is because the Phoenix Metropolitan area ranks 3^rd in the nation in foreclosures, right behind California, and Nevada. And this area's economy is fueled by new construction, and the real estate market. And Mesa has one of the highest foreclosure zip codes in the country, 85204, qualifying for the new HUD money; my old middle-classed childhood neighborhood by the way. So dismal, the vacant houses, now bank owned, are in complete disrepair, with paint peeling, weeds, and cobwebs, and these vacant houses ignored by the banks make excellent drug, and immigrant drop houses, a real blight. So please wealthy lawyer, or not don't move to Mesa thinking that we have jobs here!

The truth is most of these Dobson High students do not have wealthy lawyers as fathers, but unemployed construction workers, as fathers. A young woman stormed out of my lesson on resume writing, stating that her independently wealthy lawyer father set up a trust fund for her, and she didn't need a job, or my crappy advice. After high school security tracked her down on campus, the last wealthy father lawyer that I heard about before I resigned as a Substitute Teacher turned out to be a ditch digger. Honorably work, but hardly an attorney, and not independently wealthy, either. I'm not even sure the family was here legally. And like it or not the underground economy such as illegal immigration, drugs, and even theft play into the housing crisis. If Dad goes to jail for dealing drugs, stealing cars, or even gets deported you can't make the house payment.

I know President Obama loves the accolades, and all the hoopla, and the mass of people lining the streets to cheer, or jeer him, but he still could have gotten his point across cheaper from Washington, DC, but then he wouldn't be able to meet all the local Republican, and Democratic dignitaries that came out to meet, and see him, including Governor Jan Brewer, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, Rep. Ed Pastor, Rep. Raul Grijalva, Rep. Harry Mitchell, and Mesa Mayor Scott Smith.

Actually listening to his plan on TV, even though I disagree with his views on abortion, and I also believe the stimulus plan had too much pork, and not enough roads, and bridges in it, I thought his plan was wise.

Phoenix area home prices have fallen more than 45 percent since 2006, where houses are valued far below their mortgages. It's wise to rework the bankruptcy laws so that bankruptcy judges can reevaluate your loan in regards to market forces that lowered the price for your house. Currently bankruptcy judges can do this for your investment homes, but not for your own residence. It's wise to remove the restriction that stops quasi-government giants Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac from refinancing mortgages that they already own, or guarantee.

It's wise to require that mortgage payments be no more than 31 percent of monthly incomes.

Besides all these changes, he also touted personal responsibility. It's wise not to help homeowners that bit off more than they could chew, with mortgages of more than $500,000. It's wise not to help speculators that drove up the home prices to inflated amounts. It's wise not to help people with too much additional debt, like credit card payments, and student loans. President Obama in his speech said, "Government has to take responsibility for setting rules of the road that are fair and fairly enforced. Banks and lenders must be held accountable for ending the practices that got us into this crisis in the first place. And each of us as individuals must take responsibility for their own actions. And all of us must learn to live within our means again and not assume that housing prices are going up to 20, 30, and 40 percent per year."²

Sounds like the views I espoused in my editorial on Don't Blame President Bush, and the Republicans for the 2008 Financial Mess at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1207147/dont_blame_president_bush_and_the_republicans.html?cat=9?

However, I'm not sure I like his plan to up all the mortgage derivatives, and bad loans, and reward lenders with money to give lenders an incentive to refinance customers' mortgages. Under the Homeowner Affordability, and Stability Plan lenders can earn $500 for each modified loan that enables a borrower to afford the payment, and stay in their homes. Considering all the fraud, and bad loans that they issued, now it seems like we are rewarding bad behavior. But at least there is no additional money; it will come out of the TARP, Troubled Assets Relief Program money that was established by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act that was passed last year by Congress. Ironically FEMA's, the Federal Emergency Management Administration's, tarps are what are used when your roof is blown off during a hurricane to keep the rain off. I don't think we are fixing anything. Like a FEMA tarp, this plan is just a band aid. Let's fix the roof. Let's once again outlaw mortgage derivatives, and bad loans.²

And Obama after his short stay, and brief speech in Arizona where did he go next, back to Washington, DC? Even though he praised Arizona's fine weather, apparently it was too warm for him here. He went to a foreign country; he left for Canada. Aren't the White House accommodations good enough for him?¹

References

¹ Channel 3 News, KTVK, Arizona's Family, Phoenix, AZ, http://www.azfamily.com/, February 18, 2009.

²"Housing Lifeline", The Arizona Republic, February 19, 2009.

³"Obama Bucking Biltmore Tradition" Jaimes Rose, The Arizona Republic, February 19, 2009.