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Economy

Missouri Becomes Second State To Divert Foreclosure Funds Away From Homeowners To Balance Its Budget

By Travis Waldron on Feb 13, 2012 at 9:25 am

Missouri AG Chris Koster (D)

Last week, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) announced that he would use the funds his state received from a $26 billion mortgage settlement between 49 states and the nation’s largest banks to help balance the state’s budget, even though the settlement money was marked to help homeowners. In all, Walker will use $25.6 million of the $31.6 million Wisconsin’s state government receives to help close a budget shortfall.

Though Walker’s move to push struggling homeowners aside may seem radical, it is now being followed by at least one other state. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon (D) and Attorney General Chris Koster (D) have pledged to put $40 million of the state’s $196 million share of the settlement into the state’s general fund to boost its higher education budget, Stateline reports:

Koster, a Democrat, told reporters on Thursday that he agrees with the governor’s call for more higher education funding and will transfer the $40 million Nixon has requested into the general fund, citing the “severe budget shortages” the state faces.

Though specific terms of the settlement have not been released, states have been given significant leeway on how to spend the money from it. According to the National Mortgage Settlement website, however, the money is supposed to “help fund consumer protection and state foreclosure protection efforts.” The full $26 billion, though, is already woefully short of what is needed to ameliorate the nation’s housing crisis, and diverting funds from it to other problems will only exacerbate that fact.

And while Nixon and Koster’s plan to boost higher education funding, which faces a 12.5 percent cut in Nixon’s proposed budget, is certainly a noble goal, there are other sources from which the money could come that wouldn’t jeopardize relief from homeowners. As the St. Louis Post-Dispatch pointed out in January, Missouri has a “propensity to hand out tax credits like legislative candy along a parade route.” Ending the credits, many of which go to corporations, could generate more than $500 million in new revenue, more than enough to restore the higher education budget without taking money from programs meant to help struggling homeowners.

Politics

The Incredible Shrinking Mitt: Romney’s 2008 Support Crumbles In Three Key States

By Alex Seitz-Wald on Feb 8, 2012 at 10:15 am

Rick Santorum decisively swept all three primary contests last night, shattering the myth of inevitability that presumed front-runner Mitt Romney has tried to construct. While the vote in Missouri assigned no delegates, the results there and in Colorado and Minnesota nonetheless show a clear refutation of Romney in states that will be battlegrounds in the general election.

But there is even more troubling news for Romney. As ThinkProgress has noted, Republican turnout has been down in virtually every primary so far, suggesting a lack of enthusiasm for Romney and the rest of the GOP field. But last night’s results are far more severe. Turnout was not just down but down tremendously, and in many places, Romney was unable to capture anywhere close to as many votes as he won in 2008.

Romney won Colorado with 60 percent of the vote four years ago, and its demographics favored the candidate, but this year, Romney won just 34.9 percent of the vote, coming 6 points shy of Santorum. In Minnesota, which Romney won with 41 percent of the vote in 2008, he won just 16.9 percent last night — coming in third behind Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX). And in Missouri, Romney was down slightly, from 29 percent in 2008 to 25.3 percent last night.

Looking at the vote totals, instead of percentages, which takes into account voter turnout, the numbers are even worse for Romney, as this graphic produced by ThinkProgress’ Adam Peck shows:

In some places, Romney’s collapse was even more stunning. As the New York Times’ Nate Silver noted, “Romney’s stronger areas in [Colorado] were associated with turnout declines of about 20 percent. But turnout was steady or slightly up in places where Rick Santorum did well.” For instance, in Pueblo County, where turnout was actually up, Romney took just 27 percent of the vote — a huge drop from the 62 percent he won in 2008. And in the Denver suburbs, which Romney won, he was still way down from 2008. In Douglas County, Romney went from 72 percent in 2008 to 46 percent; in Arapaho County, he went from 66 percent to 45 percent; and in Jeffferson County, he went from 65 percent to 39 percent.

Romney won comfortably in earlier primaries in Florida and Nevada, but only after drowning his competitors in millions of dollars of negative advertising. Romney’s campaign did not invest heavily in last night’s primaries, suggesting the candidate may have hard time winning on his own, without spending huge amounts to destory his competition in every state.

The results also seem to confirm the findings of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll, which showed that the more people learn about Mitt Romney, the less they like him.

NEWS FLASH

Missouri Grand Jury Indicts Mortgage Company On Foreclosure Fraud Charges | A Missouri grand jury has indicted DocX, one of the nation’s largest foreclosure services providers, on 136 counts of forgery of foreclosure documents, otherwise known as robosigning. The company’s founder and former president, Lorraine Brown, was indicted on the same charges. Despite the prevalence of robosigning by different banks and lenders, criminal cases resulting from fraudulent foreclosure practices have been rare. DocX could face $10,000 fines for each forgery conviction, and Brown could face up to seven years in prison for each conviction, according to the New York Times. “Today’s indictment reflects our firm conviction that when you sign your name to a legal document, it matters,” Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said.

Justice

Missouri House Committee Passes Voter ID Bill, Republicans Hold Near Veto-Proof Majority

By Scott Keyes on Jan 25, 2012 at 9:50 am

Missouri may soon join a growing group of states that have enacted laws requiring citizens to present a certain form of photo identification before being permitted to cast a ballot. These laws are widely denounced by voting rights advocates because they disproportionately disenfranchise the poor, college students, and minorities.

On Tuesday, the Missouri House Committee on Elections voted 7-3 in favor of Rep. Shane Schoeller’s (R) voter ID bill. The party line vote now sends the legislation to the floor, where it will almost certainly pass the Republican-controlled House with ease.

The Kansas City Star notes that Republicans have been trying for years to enact voter ID legislation in the Show Me state:

In 2006, Republicans passed a photo ID bill that was later struck down by the Missouri Supreme Court. The court said the law amounted to a “heavy and substantial burden on Missourians’ free exercise of the right of suffrage.”

In response to the court’s ruling, lawmakers passed a proposed constitutional amendment allowing a photo ID requirement to vote. That amendment is scheduled to be on the ballot this fall, although it is being challenged in court.

Legislation implementing a photo ID requirement, which was similar to the bill Schoeller is currently sponsoring as well as one passed by a Senate committee on Monday, also passed last year but was later vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat.

Though Nixon will almost certainly veto the legislation again if it comes to his desk, Republicans are on the cusp of being able to override a veto. A two-thirds majority is required in each chamber to override a veto, a hurdle the GOP is four House votes away from surpassing. Currently, the GOP currently controls 77 percent of seats in the Senate and 65 percent of the House.

Justice

Missouri GOP Pushes Alabama-Style Bill Requiring Schools To Check Students’ Immigration Status

By Marie Diamond on Jan 11, 2012 at 5:45 pm

In the past year, federal judges, many of them conservative, have blocked parts of radical anti-immigrant laws in Alabama and Arizona, including provisions that require carrying proof of lawful residency and mandate that public schools check the immigration status of all students before they can enroll.

The Obama administration has also challenged sections that force state law enforcement officials to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop or arrest if officials have reason to believe that the individual might be undocumented — a recipe for racial profiling.

But Missouri Republicans apparently didn’t the memo. They’ve introduced a copycat bill that includes the most outrageous — and unconstitutional — parts of the Alabama and Arizona laws:

Missouri could be the next battleground in a nationwide fight over tougher immigration laws.

State Sen. Will Kraus, a Lee’s Summit Republican, is sponsoring a bill that would mandate that all public schools verify the immigration status of enrollees. It also would require law enforcement officers to check immigration status on all stops when they have reasonable cause, and create a state misdemeanor for not carrying proper citizenship documentation. [...]

“This bill is a really bad idea,” [Vanessa Crawford, executive director of Missouri Immigration and Refugee Advocates] said. “This would force police and school officials to act as immigration agents, and would result in innocent people facing harassment. And passing a law that will undoubtedly end up in court is irresponsible.”

By ignoring recent rulings on anti-immigrant laws, Missouri Republicans seem to be spoiling for a fight. The Supreme Court recently announced that it will determine whether Arizona’s measure violates federal law.

The Court has already ruled that it’s unconstitutional for states to deprive undocumented students of an education. The Alabama law has effectively done just that, successfully intimidating immigrant families into withdrawing their children from school.

NEWS FLASH

Columbia, Missouri Unanimously Outlaws Gender-Based Discrimination | Last week, the city of Columbia, Missouri unanimously outlawed discrimination based on gender identity, becoming the sixth state community to do so. Gender identity — defined as as a person’s “identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other gender-related characteristics,” regardless of the individual’s designation at birth as male or female — is now “a protected category in the municipal code’s prohibition of discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.”

Green

Guest Blogger: Interrupting The President To Stop The Tar Sands Pipeline

By Guest Blogger on Oct 5, 2011 at 1:03 pm

Our guest blogger is Arielle Klagsbrun, a student at Washington University, St. Louis and a member of We Are Power Shift.

Arielle Klagsbrun, Washington University.

Yesterday, my friend Ken and I attended an Obama Campaign fundraiser in St. Louis. But we didn’t go there with any ordinary mission. We went to make sure our generation’s demand that President Obama reject the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline was heard.

After waiting over an hour, and with hundreds rallying outside, President Obama took the stage. As he began his speech, Ken and I prepared for our intervention. I unwrapped my shawl, and Ken opened his jacket, which both had our message clearly inscribed “President Obama: Veto the Keystone XL pipeline.”

After President Obama spoke about leaving a better future for our children, we seized the pause and asked, “Will you veto the Keystone XL pipeline?”

Watch the coverage on the local news:

Obama didn’t directly respond, but acknowledged us a few minutes later, saying, “We’ve got a couple of people here who are concerned about the environment.”

Yesterday, we were heard.

We stayed for the rest of event and explained to people that we voted for Obama and want to work to elect him again – we just need to re-inspired.

Interrupting Obama was a type of accountability. When President Obama met with young leaders during Power Shift 2011, he said, “Push me.” We are. Over 1,200 people were arrested outside the White House – young and old and in between – asking Obama to veto Keystone XL. People have organized actions all over the country when Obama appears to speak. Yet, he has not given any sort of response or indication of his opinion.

Yesterday, we made sure that President Obama got our message. People across the country are stepping-up on this. In the three days since I posted a letter on the blog explaining that we needed support for this action, 25 people responded. We had over 30 people outside and were joined in movement solidarity by a group from #OccupySTL. Inside, we demonstrated to the President that Keystone XL is too dangerous for him to ignore. As we push forward to the DC State Department hearing on Friday and the Nov. 6 action, we must continue to push Obama as directly as we can, just as he asked us to.

NEWS FLASH

Missouri School Ends Ban On ‘Slaughterhouse-Five’…Sort Of | This Summer, the Republic School Board in Missouri decided to ban Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five and Sarah Ockler’s Twenty Boy Summer after a resident complained these novels “teach principles contrary to the Bible.” After enduring serious blowback, the school board unanimously voted to overturn the ban yesterday. Technically. The two books will now be available “for independent reading as long as they are kept in a secure section of the school library. Only parents or guardians can check them out.” The teachers “still cannot make the books required reading nor read them aloud.”

By Tanya Somanader on Sep 20, 2011 at 1:45 pm

Economy

Missouri GOP Wants To Raise Taxes On 100,000 Seniors And Disabled Citizens To Pay For Corporate Tax Break

By Marie Diamond on Sep 7, 2011 at 6:05 pm

Yesterday, Missouri lawmakers began a special session during which Republicans will try to pay for a business tax cut by eliminating a tax credit that benefits more than 100,000 senior citizens and disabled people.

Missouri Republicans are just the latest in a long list of state legislatures that are funding more corporate tax breaks on the backs of low- and middle-income residents. In this case, Republicans are targeting a property tax credit that helps offset higher rent for some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens:

At stake is a tax credit that provides up to $750 for lower-income elderly and disabled people. Called the “Circuit Breaker,” it is designed to be an offset for the property taxes included in the rent paid by people with incomes of $27,500 or less. The tax credit costs $53 million annually. Repeal is part of a package that also would impose limits and sunset dates on credits targeted to developers. The Circuit Breaker tax credit is the only credit slated for repeal.

“The real issue is that many people with disabilities simply can’t own their own homes because they live on a subsistence income,” said Edward Duff of Joplin, a member of the Governor’s Council on Disability. “It really is a sort of parity to offer these renters this shelter.”

Once again, Republicans have shown they are not averse to raising taxes, as long as they are on the poor. The “circuit-breaker” tax credit is such an important aid for low-income residents that 29 other states offer property tax circuit-breakers or similar programs, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Killing the credit would raise taxes on groups including disabed vets and senior citizens by up to $750 a year.

The proposal has drawn criticism from a diverse range of groups, from conservative anti-tax crusaders to liberal groups. Opponents include the AARP, the Association of Retired Missouri State Employees, the liberal-leaning Missouri Budget Project and the conservative United for Missouri, as well as agencies that work with the disabled on the local level.

The Post-Dispatch reports that Republicans have faced such a backlash for trying to repeal the tax credit that the tax-credit package they crafted may be unraveling. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Chuck Purgason (R), has prepared an alternative plan aimed at spreading tax credit cutbacks more equally among low-income residents and developers.

“Republicans are always portrayed as taking from the poor and giving to the rich, and we didn’t want to do that,” Purgason said. However, it’s unclear if there’s enough of a consensus to pass the alternative bill.

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