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Hernando Today

Another Ballot Error

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Hernando Today

Published: October 15, 2008

Updated: 10/15/2008 06:00 pm

Another Ballot Error

My husband and I decided to vote by absentee ballot this year for the first time. When we opened our ballots, we were shocked to see that on the ballot, it said that it must be filled out with a No. 2 pencil, and yet the secret sleeve we were to put the completed ballot in before mailing said that the ballot had to be filled out in either blue or black ink. Both said that if not done properly, the vote would not count.

We didn't know what to do so I made a couple of calls and finally reached the current supervisor of elections for Hernando County, and she told me that all of the above would be OK, but that we just couldn't use red ink. She also said that she had only had about four calls on this subject as most people who vote by absentee ballot have done so before and they know that the No. 2 pencil or blue and black ink would be OK.

My question is that if this problem has happened before, why hasn't it been corrected so that both papers would say the same thing? With all the past inconsistencies in our elections, shouldn't our supervisor of elections have seen to it that this problem was taken care of before another election took place?

Shirley Dillon

Spring Hill

Vets Deserve Better

I am unhappy with the last eight years of unfairness that has been shown in the treatment of our veterans. It is time for a change in the treatment of these brave service members. I believe each man and woman who has served our country should be given health care equal or greater than the president of the United States. There can be no excuse for the commander in chief to be treated better than the troops that depend on him for leadership - both when they are away and when they return. Under George Bush, the VA hasn't been given the resources it needs.

With today's new technology we are experiencing a major increase of post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury that must be recognized and treated as serious wounds. These soldiers need support and care, not red tape and the runaround.

Sen. Barack Obama believes that our veterans should be at the forefront of national health care. He has a plan to modernize the VA allowing support of military families throughout the deployment of their loved one.

One of the most important pieces of legislation passed in this decade is the new GI Bill, which dramatically improves benefits for our veterans. Obama was a vocal advocate and co-sponsor of this bill, while Sen. John McCain opposed it.

Obama is committed to making sure our returning troops and their families have the support they need as they transition back into civilian life. He will bring us the change we need.

McCain has talked a good talk but I do not see him taking the walk. The death rate in Iraq has been unacceptable, but it does not compare to the injury rate. We cannot continue the same and allow our American soldiers to suffer.

Roz Odell

Lecanto

Deems To Blame

For Financial Crisis

As you know, accusations are flying around as to who is to blame for the financial crisis. Some say the Republicans and some say the Democrats. The answer is buried in past history.

Under the Carter administration, the Democrats passed what is called the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This act gave incentives to help low-income borrowers to purchase a home. It forced banks to issue $1 trillion in new subprime loans and from that was born subprime mortgage securities. Bear Sterns, no longer with us, was the first to do this. Then Fannie Mae followed by Freddie Mac, under Democratic influence, added fuel to the fire when they got involved.

Thus, subprime mortgages and its securities began to grow along with home prices. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government-sponsored enterprises. They guarantee the mortgages and then sell them to banks and investors. The more mortgages, the more Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac make. How do you increase the mortgages? You move down the income ladder with affordable mortgages.

Remember banks had to issue subprime mortgages or pay big penalties. In order to avoid penalties, they issued mortgages with no money down, interest only, no income verification and no credit checks. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranteed the most reckless loans for the most vulnerable communities. They kept telling the banks that they would guarantee the loans. Home ownership kept rising, so did prices. Then interest rates rose, gas prices shot up and paychecks got squeezed, especially for the low-income people. Then borrowers stopped paying. Fannie and Freddie guarantees were worthless because they kept overstating their assets. Banks then collapsed due to worthless government-sponsored securities issued by Fannie and Freddie. Then jobs disappeared, and here we are.

Why is the Community Reinvestment Act to blame? Before CRA, home prices increased with inflation. After CRA, home prices increased too fast by reckless speculation. Did it have to happen? No. In 2003 the Bush administration recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the house finance industry since the savings and loan crisis. The Democrats, led by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., stopped it, with Frank stating that there were no problems with the industry and affordable housing.

Again in 2005, Sen. John McCain warned of a potential collapse. He co-sponsored a bill to regulate the industry including Fannie and Freddie. The Democrats again blocked it. In 2007 the Democrats again blocked regulatory reform. All of this was because Fannie and Freddie had Democratic friends in the Senate led by Sens. Chris Dodd and Barack Obama. Obama took particular pains to always cover Fannie's and Freddie's backsides. It should be noted that Fannie was one of Obama's largest contributors in his current campaign.

Further, with respect to the CRA, the Association of Communities to Reform Now (ACORN) was formed to implement the intent of the act and force banks to issue mortgages that were affordable to low-income people. Their methods at times were by threats, by force and to sue. Obama was very active with ACORN. He trained people to implement the mandate of ACORN and worked for a law firm that sued banks that were reluctant to issue risky loans. It is during this time when he became associated with Bill Ayers, a domestic terrorist in the 1970s, while working for community causes in Chicago. It was also during this time that he developed relationships with Fannie, which continued after he was elected senator.

Now, poor people did not cause this problem, free markets did not cause it nor did deregulation. A bad government regulation known as the CRA caused it. It made Main Street banks become predatory lenders to fulfill a government mandate to offer affordable mortgages. Obama, however, got his wish. Lots of people got affordable mortgages; sadly though, they really couldn't afford them.

While Obama's executive friends in the industry got richer, the rest of us got poorer. Frank says that his efforts to block regulatory reform did not cause the problem. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says the Democrats do not accept responsibility, and Obama claims that his efforts in this area were not a part of the cause. Now Obama goes around the country espousing our failed economic policies and ridiculing McCain.

This is not change, this is shame and hypocrisy

John J. Davis

Brooksville

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