In a time when people are experiencing unparalleled hardship, Miami-Dade county is ramping
up to steamroll more foreclosures. This news comes as rents are rising[1] in Miami spurred
on by international speculators and investors, and people losing their homes. Nationally
homeless is increasing due to the pervasive unemployment, sub-poverty wages of the lowest
tier of the working population, and the multi-decade long attacks on housing safety nets.
We are now witnessing a homelessness that includes young able bodied people some of whom
are working while homeless[2]. ---- A large backlog of foreclosures exists in Miami of
over 50,000 cases. This situation was created by the banks illegally ?robo-signing? and
ramming through foreclosures, and the lack of political will to fundamentally address the
issue in a way that challenged the banks[3].
With a hot market[4] in town, the pressure is on to free up the flow of capital in the
banks, produce more houses for the market, and make the scandal go away from the eyes of
the public.
The Miami Herald released a report Tuesday on the Miami-Dade Circuit Court?s attempts to
work through these cases[5]. The report describes the use of state funding, lightning fast
trials, and pressure from all sides to move forward. The article also cites a Bruce
Jacobs, a foreclosure defense lawyer, as detailing the pressures that make defending these
cases difficult. Jacobs, who blogs[6] and has a local radio show Mortgage Wars on
Wednesdays at 5pm on WZAB-AM 880, reports that Banks wait till the last minute to give
necessary documents and judges are not allowing proper time to evaluate those documents.
The net effect is familiar. Forces from all sides are pressuring embattled home owners
without any allies, organization, or fair process.
The county is being changed step by step daily by imposition. While investors,
politicians, judges, and businesses decide the course of the city, people?s lives hang in
the balance. If we want to prevent Miami from yet another cycle of displacement, class and
racial segregation, and stealing the wealth of countless of families, we need to take
action. Building neighborhood organization to resist these attacks is the way to start
taking back our city. Joining with our neighbors can help us build a living democracy,
decide the course of our city and our lives, and put forward another vision of how we can
live without the mass displacement and impoverishment of tens of thousands of people in
Miami-Dade.
[1] http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/23/3110169/allure-of-brickell-downtown-miami.html
[2]
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/us/since-recession-more-young-americans-are-homeless.html?_r=2&
[3] http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/18/foreclosure-banks-idUSL3E7II1UC20110718
[4]
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-19/miami-booms-like-never-before-on-rental-demand-mortgage.html
[5]
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/18/3148224/miami-dade-court-puts-foreclosures.html#morer
[6] http://www.miamiforeclosurelawyerblog.com/2012/10/miami-foreclosure-defense-atto-1.html
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