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Alien Bailout


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2007 May 1, 1:37am   19,278 views  266 comments

by Patrick   ➕follow (55)   💰tip   ignore  

Martian

Hi there,

I LIVE in southern CA, I’ve been reading these blogs and reports now for a few months.. AND I have to say that I have seen first hand the subprime types of loans and What type of people they are lending it to. What I mean by “first hand” is that I have friends, yes ,very good friends, that ARE illegal Aliens and they have gotten loans that I would NEVER have even considered… AND I made Alot more money than they do.. The sad thing is that before they got the loans, they informed me of their plan and I thought in my mind that ‘they will NEVER be qualified for one, because I know their alien status and I knew how little they made”… Guess what? I was wrong. On top of that, after they got the loan, I was the one that ‘read; it over for them to make sure that they understood what the monthly payments were gonna be and what type of loan they were getting in to. I advised them against it, BUT they ALL took the loans anyway.

So #1, I am caught in a very tough position. Yes, these are Very close friends of mine. I love them very much and I don’t judge them by their legal status, BUT I am so INFURIATED by our system that they would allow illegal aliens to get a loan to buy a home in the US whereas the real citizens (the legal, law abiding ones) get nailed for abiding by the lending guidlines and not taking on loans like these. #3, DON”T buy into this “its the low-income, hispanics, that Don’t understand english that are being taken advantage of… NO NO NO NO NO.. It is the other way around. THEY are taking advantage of our system and basically laughing all the way to the bank. And with the current ‘Bailout plan’ .. They seem like they will keep on laughing to the bank, because many o them will be ‘bailed out’..

What type of loans did they get?.. ALL of them 100% NO money down, stated income..and yes.. adjustable blah blah blah.

NOW how did they get these loans? Well on the loan documents their is one page that asks you if you are a permanent resident or a US citizen… And you know what?.. The bank or the loan officer just tell them to ‘MARK;’ the box that says that they are US citizen because then they will not ask to see proof. If you mark the box that says ‘permanent resident”, they will ask to see a copy of your green card, etc.. proof..
AND how did these illegal aliens get a VALID social security number so that you can check their credit history?… THEY BUY ONE. (How do I know?.. They tell me.. Remember we are very close friends.. I even know how much they pay for a good social security number..again.. they tell me ) Yes it IS ALL illegal.. ALL OF IT. SO all of you out there, I recommend you CHECK your credit reports Often.
You see its a WIN WIN situation for the illegals, because they got into the homes with NO MONEY down, they did it with a fake (bought) social security number… SO what’s the worse that can happen to them? Yes, they lose a home that they should not have been allowed to own AND their credit gets ruined.. OOPS.. NO not their credit.. Some other poor person’s credit gets ruined… ALL they have to do is BUY another Social Security NUMBER.. Do you GET the PICTURE yet???? AND the BEST that could happen to them if they took this NO RISK gamble… ?? Is that they WALK away with Hundreds of thousands of Dollars in Funny Real Estate Money.. So Can you BLAME These people for taking this OPPORTUNITY of a lifetime?

How do I know?.. Like I said I have VERY dear friends that are illegal aliens. AGain I love them very much. I don’t blame them for wanting to be in this country and doing whatever it takes to make it here.. ITS just a SHAME that our US govt. are NOT able to control nor protect its citizens. In fact , we are making being a citizen very unattractive when you see how much BENEFITS being and illegal has.

So PLEASE dont buy into the poor victim stories… They are NOT victims.. And please don’t blame the appraisers for it… A house will not be SOLD by they appraised value alone. You have to have a willing BUYER to pay the Price. We are being taken advantage and used and WE don’t even know it. Its just another strategy.. by whom.. I don’t know. But if I were them, I would be smiling too.. and telling ALL of my family members to HURRY and JET accross that border.. NO MATTER what it costs, CUZ life is REALLY good here in the US.

Huh, I could go on and on and on.. but I will stop here.. because we are talking specifically about real estate here.. AND frankly I’m tired.. tired of all this upside down mess. Do you know What the word ‘illegal’ means? Let me give you an example: It is illegal to murder someone.. What happens if you do?.. You go to jail for a long long time.. Another example. It is illegal drive past the speed limit.. If you are caught you PAY by getting a ticket…. get the picture?…

OK.. here WE are PAYING someone who has broken the law AND proposing other laws to bail them out.. in otherwords.. SUPPORT their illegal actions… Lord help us… What an UPSIDE down mess.

D.

#housing

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1   Patrick   2007 May 1, 1:45am  

I asked:

How do they pay the mortgage though? Even with a teaser rate, it will eventually adjust and they will have to pay real money at 6% or more to keep the house. Are the just doing it temporarily?

And Betty answered:

Good Question Patrick,

You see, I asked the same question?... the answer to your question is YES and NO.

Even WITH the teaser rate they STILL need help with meeting the mortgage payments and everyday necessities.. So HOW do they do it?

Coming from a different cultural background (unlike americans who really don't like to share their space), they don't mind renting out EVERY room in their house, INCLUDING converting the garages into 1 or 2 bedrooms or putting illegal additions to their property, if they have additional land space. Some even rent out their livingrooms. In fact, the friends that I know, both have rented other people's livingroom spaces and have rented out THEIR own livingroom spaces as well.

One of my friends bought a 1 bedroom 1 bath home (with all kinds of illegal additions and alterations to it, including garage converted to a 2 bedroom unit and an additional bedroom addition... yes, ALL illegal, without permission from the city) in LA for $164,000 in June of 2004. She sold it for $260,000 just one year later in July of 2005. She then rented a living room space from one of her friends for a few months. Currently she own's a 3 bedroom 1.5 bathroom home in WATTS. She bought it for $389,000 in October of 2005. Of course the garage is converted into a 1 bedroom unit, which she rents out for $600/mo. Plus she rents out 1 to 2 bedrooms in her 3 bedroom house, depending on their financial need or ability at the time.
This is a friend of mine who came to the US many years ago, and have lived in a small rented trailer for $150/mo parked in the back of the first home she bought (she knew the owners) for 9 years. She had NEVER been able to save up much of any money even though she was only paying $150 rent. Then she goes ahead and qualifies for a $164,000 loan, no money down, AND the SELLERS paid for ALL HER closing costs INCLUDING ALL the points and fees on her loan. YES, she knew that the initial rate was adjustable after a short time, BUT she was banking (hoping) that the market would continue to go up rapidly as it had been doing. She told me "Betty, it would be a good opportunity for me to save some money". Well her gamble paid off.. Did it not? In fact, she just re-financed her current home in Watts in December of 2006, which appraised for $425,000 at the time of refinancing, because one of the loans she had on the home went adjustable after one year. Now she has a 5 year FIXED rate loan AND on top of that she took $10,000 cash out of her home.

Can you blame her Patrick?.. When it IS SOOOOO easy to qualify and become an owner in the US? It was beyond her wildest dreams.. You see Patrick, these people NEVER dreamed that they could EVER own a home in the US, much less qualify for a loan here. Then on top of that, they make out like bandits and laugh all the way to the bank.

What is the worse that can happen to them? DEPORTATION? Even that doesn't stop them. In fact, this very friend of mine's husband was just deported to Mexico less than 2 months ago because the company he worked at was raided and he was caught, but he came right back to the US within 2 weeks.... UH where is the HEAVILY guarded border control?... I DON"T KNOW.. Do you?

I even heard that some of the latinos made so much money on the home that they just up and take the profits and GO BACK home voluntarily.... Live like Kings and Queens there.. so the money does not stay in the US.

OK.. that is friend number one.

Friend number 2:

Bought a home in WATTS after seeing friend number 1 (the one mentioned above) making So much money from the 1st home in just one year. Yes, they are good friends, they used to share the same rented living space. This time friend number 2 qualifies for a $485,000 loan to buy a BRAND NEW 6 bedroom 4 bath home in Watts in July 2006, on a low 600 fico score. How do I know? YES, I was the one that read and translated the loan papers to her. Her payments will be fixed for 2 years, then it goes adjustable. Again, I warned her against it, as I warned EVERY one of my friends who takes on these loans because I KNOW their financial situations, BUT AGAIN EVERY single one of them ALWAYS TAKES the loan anyways. I told her that the market is slowing and will probably drop in value, but she said to me "Well, it COULD also go up right?".. Of course I could not tell the future, so I told her Yes, perhaps, but highly unlikely. At first, I was PUZZLED as to WHY anyone would take out a loan like this? Yes, it was NO MONEY down, but the interest rate on one of the loans started out at about 12%.

Then I took some time to think about it AND it ALL FINALLY made sense. THEY have NOTHING to lose and EVERYTHING to gain. You see, Friend number 2 had 4 children and a spouse AND they were ALL staying in a one bedroom rented apartment in North Hollywood for $800/mo. As if that was not crowded enough you may ask, they also rented part of their livingroom to a friend for $150/mo. YES, that is 7 people living in a small 1 bedroom apartment in North Hollywood. Before this, friend number 2 was staying in a rented house with friend number 1, until she saw friend number one buy the house and made a bunch of money in just 1 year. (may I add that the living conditions that friend number 2 lived in with her 4 children was absolutely disgusting.. very bad, BUT they were living there anyways.. see)

So you see it all made sense. How do they manage the mortgage? Well, this 6 bedroom 4 bath home was divided into 2 floors. There were 2 kitchens.; one on top and one on bottom. There were 3 bedrooms 2 baths upstairs and 3 bedrooms 2 baths downstairs. So you guessed it. They rented out the bottom half to a family that had 10 children for $1500/mo. The youngest of those 10 children is now just about 7 months old.

What about when the loan adjusts in 2 years (which will be mid 2008)? Well, she is hoping that the value of her property would have increased enough by then that she could refinance and maybe get some CASH out like her other friends right? .. you and I know there is probably NO chance of that happening.. So what happens then? Well my guess is that if they cannot afford the payments and they find out that their property is going down in value while they keep paying higher and higher each month, they will default. Wouldn't you? What is there to lose? BAD credit.. OOPS.. NOPE.. Just BUY a NEW social security number.. NO PROBLEM.. Or CLAIM that you NEVER UNDERSTOOD the terms and hope to be BAILED out.

What did they LOSE? Nothing.. they got to live in a 3 bedroom (they were in a one bedroom apartment before this) 2 bathroom BRAND NEW home as owners for at least a couple of years. They rented out 1/2 the home for $1500/mo. Yes, they did put down $6500 for closing costs, BUT they will get ALL that back and more when they decide to default on the loan because they bank will start foreclosure proceedings after 3 months and you will have to be out of the house in 6 months. So during this time they just stop paying any mortgage at all and STILL collect the $1500/mo rent from the renters for a total of 6x1500 = $9000... That is more than enough to buy a GOOD social security number.
YOU SEE, Patrick, it is a win-win situation for them.. For ALL of them.

The ONLY losers in THIS game is US, the taxpayers. the US citizens, The ENTIRE UNITED STATES!

Gosh, Patrick, I have other stories.. true stories, BUT I get so tired when I write these , because I then I have to think about them... because it seems so unreal, BUT it is real. Happening today happening right now.

I am VERY surprised that you have this blog going on for years now but NOBODY has mentioned this to you at all.

There are others many more.. In fact, it goes as far as the illegals, claiming that they did not understand the documents, that they loan officer/broker lied on the form for them.. so they SUE these people and the BANK and they WIN.. Yeah.. they win.. This will be another trend to come. These people SUED and they WON a $250,000 settlement. AND they are ILLEGAL aliens. They even tell you that they used to live in a garage and just came to the US 6 years ago..... STILL.. they win!! .. NO deportation here..

ITS WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN .. situation in the US .. Period for them.
BUT I ask again.. CAN YOU BLAME THEM???? When we make it SO easy for them? Is it there fault or the Governments?

OK.. I'm tired now.. :)
Thank you for your question, I hope I have answered it for you. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask me.

Blessings

BEtty

2   Claire   2007 May 1, 2:04am  

I'm REALLY a JBR now! It pisses me off that we avoided taking out dodgy loans because we could see that we couldn't afford it and yet other people are really screwing the system and getting away with it!

Will it never end? What's even worse is that we will end up paying for all this fraud one way or another.

Can I blame them? YES I CAN - bear in mind that they are willing to ruin other peoples lives by stealing SS#'s, let alone the mortgage fraud and stealing money from the banks in cash backs.

3   sfbubblebuyer   2007 May 1, 2:10am  

Betty, why didn't you call the lenders and inform them of the fraud if you were so worried about your friends taking these loans out and so worried about the price the US would have to pay?

4   Ozman   2007 May 1, 2:47am  

The market will eventually sort it out. I don't blame the aliens taking advantage of it. The mortgage brokers are not stupid either. They know all too well what they are doing. Let the bag holders (ie CDO bond buyers) eat it. We just have to make sure the Fed does not intervene when some Hedge funds crash.
I will immigrate and never come back to the US if Bernanke and the Fed intervenes.
Let those damn Investment banks and their CDO holders feel the pain. Only then will RISK be priced correctly.
You have to understand that the mortgage brokers have no skin in the game, nor do the aliens. The only stupid idiots who deserve to burn and crash are the Hedge funds and their customers.
The problem is us not the aliens. You can not have a society mess with true Capitalism. This is what happens when risk is not priced correctly because everyone is counting on the Fed to bail out any crashes.

Enjoy and watch the another LTC in the making. Only this time, it is 1000 times bigger.

5   astrid   2007 May 1, 2:57am  

Time to get out this krazy kountry...

6   Steveoh   2007 May 1, 3:02am  

(Great graphic!)

This makes a lot of sense. I've been trying to figure out for years how picking cabbage could be such an increase in their quality of life, that they would risk everything to come here.

We really are the "Land of Opportunity." ...full of opportunists.

7   Randy H   2007 May 1, 3:30am  

Sorry to be a skeptic's skeptic, but something smells wrong in the account. Too many apocryphal coincidences, misconceptions and contradictions.

* How do you know they are buying illegal SSNs? "Undocumented" workers have been able to legally obtain so-called non-work SSNs since at least 2000. The reason was an attempt to discover and better track the number of children and size of families. (Also because SSNs are a de facto personal id #).

* If they are indeed buying SSNs, then they are committing identity theft at a felony level, perhaps even an Federal felony level. As such, most people would (a) feel a very strong ethical or moral obligation to inform law enforcement; and/or (b) be very afraid of these people and feel too intimidated to report them. Nothing in the OP style wise hints at either of those.

* These people are supposedly "very very good" and dear friends. That leaves us as the readers with the uncomfortable position of either judging you by the friends you keep and hold dear, or determining that you are overemphasizing your friendship to compensate for some missing/deceptive part of the story. I don't know, but I'd think I'd be better off without a friend who apparently abhorred me so much.

* You take great pains to make sure we know your dear friends are illegal immigrants. Yet you then fail to connect that directly to the fraud they are allegedly committing. Legal citizens can and do commit the exact same type of fraud; they can even and often do even flee the country after being caught.

* No where did you actually ask for any advice or suggestions in how to HELP your dear friends. Instead you implored us to not extend pity to them. But also no hint of tough-love intervention either. Are you concerned about them? They could go to jail or be deported, and lose everything. Illegal or not, they are your dear friends, no?

* Murder is not speeding is not fraud is not breach of contract. Regardless, how do you want your dear friends to "PAY"? What is your remedy, and is it consistent for your friends as it is for all the others who aren't fortunate enough to be your friends?

--

I apologize in advance if I'm mistaken. I have no way of knowing for sure how legitimate these claims are. But it sounds to me like a common case of establishing a facade straw man argument and attempting to lend it credibility by claiming friendship with the offenders.

And for the record, I am a firm believer that fraud has run rampant in the residential real estate market, from sales agents to mortgage brokers and financiers. But the inclusion of illegal immigrants in this mix is merely a factor, not the cause or nexus. The problem is much more systemic than that, and even without a single illegal immigrant mortgage holder there would still be a historically unprecedented real estate price bubble.

8   HARM   2007 May 1, 3:31am  

Betty, why didn’t you call the lenders and inform them of the fraud if you were so worried about your friends taking these loans out and so worried about the price the US would have to pay?

I'm sure if she had, the banksters would have covered their ears and said "Lalalalalala..." until she left. They know *exactly* what their doing and just don't care. Hell, they don't even have to *hide* the fact they're doing this and don't care anymore. Remember the news stories about BofA making loans to illegals last year? Once those loans are packaged and sold off, they've "earned' their fees & commissions and the risk gets "passed through" to the next sucker.

9   HARM   2007 May 1, 3:35am  

Randy H,

"Dear friends" aside, the rest of her story is quite believable. Anyone in or around L.A. knows of several places where you can easily buy fake IDs & SS#s --Pico-Union & MacArthur Park to name two of the biggies.

10   HARM   2007 May 1, 3:38am  

If they are indeed buying SSNs, then they are committing identity theft at a felony level, perhaps even an Federal felony level. As such, most people would (a) feel a very strong ethical or moral obligation to inform law enforcement

Good luck with that. Try informing local law enforcement or the Feds about all the illegals living among you and the rampant fraud & identity theft, and see what happens. You'll probably get laughed right out of their office.

11   HARM   2007 May 1, 3:50am  

Oh, and in case anyone noticed their commute being unusually light this morning, this might be the reason why. They seem to be protesting for more "rights". I guess the "right" to hop the border illegally and get basically unlimited free housing, education, medical care, food stamps, AFDC, etc. while our stalwart political "leaders" look the other way isn't enough "rights" for them.

12   astrid   2007 May 1, 3:54am  

Upon reflection, I agree with Randy's assessment. The "friends" here sound like a pair of red herring strawmen. There's plenty of fraud and illegality to go around without blaming illegal immigration for this particular bubble. We can start with all the natural born mortgage brokers.

13   HARM   2007 May 1, 3:56am  

Gee, if I were to immigrate to Mexico illegally, I wonder how the Mexican government would treat me? Oh, not very well it seems...

14   astrid   2007 May 1, 3:57am  

In any case, if America, or at least SW USA, has indeed become a third world country. Then it's time to look to migration to a first world country -- before Australia and Canada rejects our asses for being too third worldish.

15   DinOR   2007 May 1, 3:57am  

Randy H,

I'll have to agree, massive bubble with or without the "illegal as buyer" final wave. What does make this interesting is that I'm pretty sure this is one of the best angles a prosecutor will have to work on. These will provide them with their "juiciest" cases. Behind every strawberry picker/straw man I think we'll find a REIC shill looking to unload their own investment properties or get that one last commission.

True, I don't think there's much we'll be able to do to a rhubarb picker (other than deport him) but many of these cases will likely reveal some of the most egregious REIC activity.

16   HARM   2007 May 1, 3:59am  

But the inclusion of illegal immigrants in this mix is merely a factor, not the cause or nexus. The problem is much more systemic than that, and even without a single illegal immigrant mortgage holder there would still be a historically unprecedented real estate price bubble.

Agreed, but if anyone is wondering *why* the bubble is taking so long to deflate in SCAL (or still going strong in some areas), this thread topic is a good illustration.

17   DinOR   2007 May 1, 4:03am  

"We may not have it all together, but together we can have it all"

I'm taking to the streets!

WTF? What kind of message is that? We're as f'd up as the day is long but if enough of us b!tch you'll buckle and give us whatever it is that "we" want? WTF?

18   Randy H   2007 May 1, 4:07am  

My point has very little to do with illegal immigration per se. It has to do with what I see as "business as usual" in America. The source of the problem is *not* illegal immigrants, nor Casey Serin, nor San Francisco socialite Junior Leaguer amateur realtors, nor McMansion SUV NIMBYs. These are all *symptoms* of the problem. The problem is a system which rewards all this behavior, especially for the corporations and institutions which profit from it.

But, in traditional culture-wars fashion, we'll just bury the head of the monster in the sand and instead chase around the tail. But not without much vitriol, hatred, and a comment from Anne Coulter.

19   sam204   2007 May 1, 4:09am  

Do your friends really feel entitled to a bail-out? If my brother-in-law, a semi-legal immigrant had the mentality, I would report him myself.

I'm very pro-immigrant, but there are a few things that can really generate dis-sympathy among Americans like 1) going on welfare and 2) marching on a communist holiday with a mexican flag.

Mortgage fraud should be a good third.

20   Ozman   2007 May 1, 4:14am  

"We can start with all the natural born mortgage brokers."

The illegal immigrants are also natural born :)

I agree citizen or no citizen, greed is not limited by immigration status or ethnicity.
Lots of mortgage brokers who are Latinos are screwing other Latino immigrants. Actually there was a thread here recently about a couple of fruit picker families getting a 750 K mortgage and their mortgage broker was also a Latino I think.

21   astrid   2007 May 1, 4:19am  

See what happens when we give stupid people too much self esteem?

(Hmm, my curmudgeonliness is off the chart today...)

22   astrid   2007 May 1, 4:21am  

PS - that wasn't a comment targeted at anyone in this blog. It's mostly towards FBs.

23   Randy H   2007 May 1, 4:22am  

marching on a communist holiday with a mexican flag.

I suggest you read about the Haymarket Riots. If May Day has become a communist celebration, then we have only ourselves in the US to blame for it.

24   Randy H   2007 May 1, 4:43am  

The “friends” here sound like a pair of red herring strawmen.

Some of my best friends are __________________

x black
x gay
x liberal
x conservative
x realtors
x on MySpace

Funny how no one ever says some of their best friends are us Capitalists.

25   DinOR   2007 May 1, 4:47am  

SQT,

What makes it more depressing is that (as per your previous observations) this was altogether too predictable. Like watching those 1/2 hour "extreme sports" shows where every clip ends with a fire extinguisher and/or an ambulance.

26   astrid   2007 May 1, 4:47am  

(Some of my closest relatives are racists, like lots and lots of Chinese people)

27   astrid   2007 May 1, 4:52am  

My sane, nonhypocritical friends all believe in capitalism, though only a few has sufficient assets to qualify as "capitalists."

28   DinOR   2007 May 1, 4:54am  

I don't expect mortgage brokers and realtors to stand up and cheer or warmly embrace the WAVE of regulation they're about to face, (but if they were smart, they should!)

Looking back the only thing I can figure is that REIC henchmen were working the illegals either to go out in a blaze of glory or just until "things returned to normal" where they could go back to previous clients for more sales/re-fi's. How else does it make sense?

29   Peter P   2007 May 1, 4:55am  

My sane, nonhypocritical friends all believe in capitalism, though only a few has sufficient assets to qualify as “capitalists.”

Do they have a shot in becoming Virtual Capitalists (VCs) on the cartoon world?

30   Peter P   2007 May 1, 4:58am  

If my brother-in-law, a semi-legal immigrant had the mentality, I would report him myself.

What is a semi-legal immigrant?

31   SFWoman   2007 May 1, 5:06am  

After my pool man bought two houses in Sonoma I would be prepared to believe anything about the real estate market.

Watching the meltdown in the city is like watching paint dry! I have a thought bubble sitting on the top of my head half the time that says "You're griping about the price of gas, how are you paying that $2 million mortgage?" Ah well, Sonoma is in deep doo, and the Press Democrat had the skyrocketing foreclosures and decreasing prices as its lead story on Sunday. I expect the city to follow.

32   dp337   2007 May 1, 5:07am  

My Parents sold their house at Sunnyvale for $800,000 back in 2005. Personally, it was worth only $200,000. It was old, sketchy neighborhood, and my dad added an addition which he probably didnt get a permit.

A Mexican family bought it, which I wondered how they came up with the down? (Still thinking 30 year fixed mortgage - Old School stuff) Well, I drove by a month later, the house turned into a berryessa flea market. Ton's of cars, a couch, a stove, a table, tons of kids, mexican music blasting in front of the house. This wasn't a party because it was the same old scene whenever I drive by. Looks like it 4 families were living in there. Horrible. I felt sorry for the neighbors.

33   Peter P   2007 May 1, 5:13am  

We should have an informant network to enforce the immigration law and the internal revenue code.

34   Peter P   2007 May 1, 5:16am  

Looks like it 4 families were living in there. Horrible. I felt sorry for the neighbors.

This is why I prefer housing that is completely unfriendly to families.

I am even against street parking. If people want to park more vehicles they should build bigger garages.

35   Steveoh   2007 May 1, 5:23am  

Clearly, illegal immigration is not the cause of the current RE situation. But the opportunities presented by our real estate market must be a very enticing lure to those who would abuse it. And news like this travels fast.

As far as "buying a SSN" goes; it may be easier than described above.
When illegal immigrants bear a child on our soil, that child is now a citizen, entitled to all rights afforded as such. Including a SSN. The tradition of naming first born children, especially boys, after the father, works well with SSN fraud.

Confusion of fact to create new truth is an age old ploy. ...and despite this story making sense to me at first, further reflection has convinced me that there is a fair bit of "fact meets fiction" above.

36   Peter P   2007 May 1, 5:27am  

Illegal immigration is a major issue for California. Again, it is a symptom to a bigger issue: the labor market is broken.

37   Malcolm   2007 May 1, 6:03am  

I love this thread!

38   Peter P   2007 May 1, 6:03am  

I think a National ID card system combined with a semi-militarized border can stop the problem from growing larger.

39   Malcolm   2007 May 1, 6:06am  

Hey Patrick, you should send this thread to Sen. Feinstein.

40   Steveoh   2007 May 1, 6:08am  

A bit OT, but alarming just the same...

Anyone read the cover story in Business Week (MAY 7)?
"Hey Buddy, You Wanna Buy a Bridge?"

Basically, "Infrastructure: the new asset class."
The very roads, bridges, airports, and shipping ports of this country are being sold into private control. The current price tag on the Golden Gate Bridge is estimated at $3.4 Billion. Europe and Oz have seen this already, as early as the "80's. Global investors seem very interested.
And why not? The captive customer base virtually guarantees "cash flows as steady as a beating heart."

I'm reading hard copy, but here is a link to the Debat Room:
http://tinyurl.com/2yo4fu

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