U.S. Comptroller General Resigns for More 'Aggressive' Policymaking Position

Walker to head newly established Peter G. Peterson Foundation

BALTIMORE, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), has announced his resignation in order to accept the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the newly established Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

"As comptroller general of the United States," says David Walker, also
a leader of The Concord Coalition's Fiscal Wake-Up Tour and star of the recently debuted documentary I.O.U.S.A., "there are real limitations on what I can do and say in connection with key public policy issues, especially issues that directly relate to GAO's client -- the Congress."

As head of the Peterson Foundation, Walker will have "the ability and
resources to more aggressively address a range of current and emerging
challenges facing our country, including advocating specific policy
solutions and courses of action." Chief among Walker's duties at the
Peterson Foundation will be the funding and advocating of projects that will enhance public awareness of fiscal imbalance, entitlement programs and health care.

"The foundation is also going to end up funding other related efforts," Walker told the Federal News Network in and interview, "designed to get the message out to millions of Americas ... because they need to know more in order to make more informed choices at the ballot box."

A feature-length documentary entitled I.O.U.S.A. featuring Mr. Walker
debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah on Jan. 19th,
2008. The film documents Walker's efforts to educate the public on the
fiscal issues challenging the country and also boldly examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens.

I.O.U.S.A., from Agora Entertainment, also features interviews with a
stunning selection of financial experts -- including legendary investor Warren Buffett, former Treasury secretaries Robert Rubin and Paul O'Neill, Congressman Ron Paul and noted economist Alice Rivlin. The film was directed by Patrick Creadon (Wordplay) and was inspired by the bestselling book "Empire of Debt," by Addison Wiggin and Bill Bonner.



For more information about I.O.U.S.A, visit
http://www.agorafinancial.com/iousa.html

source

I thought that this was pretty interesting as well


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GAO Seeks Review of Spy Agencies

The Outgoing Chief Auditor Makes a Pitch on Capitol Hill


By Paul Kane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 7, 2008; Page A15

As he leaves his post as the nation's top auditor, David M. Walker is again asking Congress to give the Government Accountability Office the power to review the finances of the CIA and other intelligence agencies.

Walker, whose 10-year term as comptroller general concludes Wednesday, is supporting legislation that would give the GAO access to the last major area of the federal government not subject to its audits and investigations.

With some support on Capitol Hill, Walker said he is fighting powerful legislative patrons of intelligence agencies, especially the CIA, who have resisted examinations of how taxpayer dollars are spent.

"Everybody's for accountability in Washington until they're the ones subjected to it," Walker said in an interview. "There are a lot of forces that are vested in the status quo."

The GAO, Congress's investigative arm, has the power to review the finances and management of most government agencies. But the Justice Department issued a ruling in the early 1990s that restricted oversight of the CIA to House and Senate select committees on intelligence.

That authority has been a sensitive topic since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when information sharing between the CIA and law enforcement agencies that might have revealed the plot was bungled. More recently, the corruption scandal involving former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.), who used his influence to steer intelligence contracts in return for bribes, has added to calls for more oversight.

Prompted by recommendations from the 9/11 Commission, the House and Senate in 2004 reorganized the way their committees oversee intelligence and homeland security issues. But the lawmakers have never pushed to allow the GAO to examine CIA spending. They have questioned whether the GAO is too closely aligned with the congressional majority and whether its investigators have the proper clearances to handle classified intelligence matters.

"You can't just sort of wander in and do this stuff like you're investigating FAA weather stations," said Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Senate intelligence committee. Rockefeller called GAO investigations of the intelligence world a "rather bad idea" and suggested his committee should have more oversight authority, including the power to appropriate funds to intelligence agencies.

"The GAO does precisely what the majority [in Congress] asks them to do. It follows what the majority asks," said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who chaired the intelligence committee before Rockefeller. "I don't want any further politicization of intelligence."

Walker, however, said he is not asking to look into the "sources and methods" used by spy agencies. Instead, he wants the GAO to look into "basic management transformation challenges" such as how the CIA recruits and retains top talent and, more important, how the agency has allocated its multibillion-dollar budget.

The GAO is already empowered to examine the finances of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and it has highlighted many examples of waste, fraud and abuse. Walker said. "I have little doubt that those challenges exist within the intelligence community," he said.

The CIA disagrees. Mark Mansfield, a spokesman for the agency, said that in 2007, CIA officers testified at more than 60 hearings on Capitol Hill, gave more than 500 briefings, delivered 100 "congressional notifications about our most sensitive programs" and answered more than 1,200 on-the-record questions posed by members of Congress.

"That's hardly a culture of rejecting oversight. It's a recognition of the importance of it," Mansfield said. He said CIA critics have no basis for alleging that the agency is littered with waste.

Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii), sponsor of the bill that would give the GAO access to the intelligence community, said there is no way to know about problems unless the GAO can wade into CIA finances and management strategies. But in a brief interview, Akaka said he doubts the bill can clear the chamber given the bipartisan questioning it faces.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...8030603773.html

quote:

Originally posted by zookeeper WOW! Like the thread title says: "We're Screwed!" I have never been an optimistic person, but geeeze The state of California is going to be in big trouble, and I can't see this getting any better in the near future. This bleak outlook reminds me of the Carter years of the 1970's, when interest rates for mortgages were around 13% and fuel hit $1.00 I'm more concerned with fuel, right now (after paying heating costs of 852.00) but these two factors, happening at the same time, is like a one-two punch and we are wide open to a three-four punch which will be a K.O. to the U.S. I am starting to shake

One of my best friend's gas and electric bill was over $900 last month and we had a really mild winter here this year in Maryland.

I've been trying to talk him into getting a pellet stove.

quote:

Originally posted by Trancer-X One of my best friend's gas and electric bill was over $900 last month and we had a really mild winter here this year in Maryland. I've been trying to talk him into getting a pellet stove.

Does your friend live in a museum or something? I can't even fathom a $900 power bill (is that gas and power combined?). Maybe he should invest in better insulation! Kidding aside, it's amazing how bad inflation is yet how much our government wants us to believe it's not as bad as it seems. I spent $52 filling up the gas tank yesterday.

quote:

Originally posted by Trancer-X a pellet stove.

HA! Just priced one out! 3,200-3,500 installed to heat a 2500sqft home. I'll make that back in about 2 years. I looked at geothermal, because I have enough land, and that was a little costly $35k-$40k, so a pellet may be the way to go...but they are still pretty new.

Sorry to hear about your friends' high bill, energy is VERY expensive in N.Y. as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Shakka Does your friend live in a museum or something? I can't even fathom a $900 power bill (is that gas and power combined?). Maybe he should invest in better insulation! Kidding aside, it's amazing how bad inflation is yet how much our government wants us to believe it's not as bad as it seems. I spent $52 filling up the gas tank yesterday.

apparently times square is tapped into his friends power supply. my electricity bill is $30 a month in the winter and $80-90 in the summer.

quote:

Originally posted by Shakka Does your friend live in a museum or something? I can't even fathom a $900 power bill (is that gas and power combined?). Maybe he should invest in better insulation! Kidding aside, it's amazing how bad inflation is yet how much our government wants us to believe it's not as bad as it seems. I spent $52 filling up the gas tank yesterday.

A museum? lol

No, it's just a four bedroom house that was built in the early 1800's and probably isn't insulated nearly as well as it could be.

That's not really even that much, anyway. I have a relative that has power bills probably in the $2000+ range all year long but that's because they pretty much live in what amounts to a castle which still has the original leaded-glass windows.

EDIT: Maybe it's just more expensive around here because my grandmother's bill was over $600 last month and she lives in a townhouse.

Last edited by Trancer-X on Apr-07-2008 at 01:24

quote:

Originally posted by jerZ07002 my electricity bill is $30 a month in the winter

What do you heat your place with?



...sorry, just a bad case of sour grapes

quote:

Originally posted by zookeeper What do you heat your place with? ...sorry, just a bad case of sour grapes

nah, heating isn't the problem, it's cooling my apt that is the issue. i live in a 3rd floor apt which accumulates the heat from the bottom floors, so it stays nice and toasty. in the summer, however, my apt gets down right uncomfortable. two a/cs and about $50 more a month, and my apt is rather nice. i use all energy saver appliances and light bulbs.

quote:

Originally posted by jerZ07002 nah, heating isn't the problem, it's cooling my apt that is the issue. i live in a 3rd floor apt which accumulates the heat from the bottom floors, so it stays nice and toasty. in the summer, however, my apt gets down right uncomfortable. two a/cs and about $50 more a month, and my apt is rather nice. i use all energy saver appliances and light bulbs.

i can attest to that, i'm a third floor apt dweller too.

however my apt is horribly inefficient. my elec bill averages $70 p/month in the winter. we've had a very mild winter and i'm a light nazi with all flourecent bulbs!!!!! (gotta go 100% flourecent if your serious about cutting back on energy costs)

not looking forward too $120 cooling bills this summer though

quote:

Originally posted by Q5echo i can attest to that, i'm a third floor apt dweller too. however my apt is horribly inefficient. my elec bill averages $70 p/month in the winter. we've had a very mild winter and i'm a light nazi with all flourecent bulbs!!!!! (gotta go 100% flourecent if your serious about cutting back on energy costs) not looking forward too $120 cooling bills this summer though

fluorescent all the way!! the upfront cost isn't even that bad. i hear LED lights are the next big thing in energy saving.

You just knew this was coming...

quote:

Lenders Swamped By Foreclosures Let Homeowners Stay (Update1) By Bob Ivry April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Banks are so overwhelmed by the U.S. housing crisis they've started to look the other way when homeowners stop paying their mortgages. The number of borrowers at least 90 days late on their home loans rose to 3.6 percent at the end of December, the highest in at least five years, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington. That figure, for the first time, is almost double the 2 percent who have been foreclosed on. Lenders who allow owners to stay in their homes are distorting the record foreclosure rate and delaying the worst of the housing decline, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com, a unit of New York-based Moody's Corp. These borrowers will eventually push the number of delinquencies even higher and send more homes onto an already glutted market. ``We don't have a sense of the magnitude of what's really going on because the whole process is being delayed,'' Zandi said in an interview. ``Looking at the data, we see the problems, but they are probably measurably greater than we think.'' Lenders took an average of 61 days to foreclose on a property last year, up from 37 days in the year earlier, according to RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure database in Irvine, California. Sales of foreclosed homes rose 4.4 percent last year at the same time the supply of such homes more than doubled, according to LoanPerformance First American CoreLogic Inc., a real estate data company based in San Francisco. Reluctant Banks ``Some people stay in their houses until someone comes to kick them out,'' said Angel Gutierrez, owner of Dallas-based Metro Lending, which buys distressed mortgage debt. ``Sometimes no one comes to kick them out.'' Banks are reluctant to foreclose on homeowners for a variety of reasons that include the cost, said Peter Zalewski, real estate broker and owner of Condo Vultures Realty LLC, a property consulting firm in Bal Harbour, Florida. Legal fees and maintaining a vacant property while paying the mortgage, insurance and taxes can add up to as much as 15 percent of the value of the home, and it may take months for the foreclosure to work through the legal system, he said. ``The end result is taking back a property that the bank will have to manage, rent out and or sell,'' Zalewski said. In many cases, lenders also have to foot the bill for fixing up vacant homes that have been vandalized. Empty Houses Real estate broker Georgia Kapsalis is offering a home for sale in Birmingham, Michigan, a Detroit suburb, where the owner last wrote a mortgage check in July. He still lives in the house, she said. ``Some of the banks just don't want the houses to be empty, especially if it's in an area where there's a lot of theft or there are five other houses empty on the street,'' said Kapsalis, who works at Added Value Realty LLC in Livonia, Michigan, another Detroit suburb. ``They'll lose toilets, plumbing, appliances, everything. Banks are getting wise and allowing people to live there longer.'' Alexis McGee, president of Internet database Foreclosures.com in Sacramento, California, said she toured a property where the departing resident tried to make off with the outdoor air conditioning unit by sawing the metal legs off its concrete apron. ``People take what they want to take,'' McGee said. ``They feel that they're owed.'' Flooded Market With home sales dropping and national inventories rising, the lenders have another reason to delay foreclosures, said Howard Fishman, a real estate investor based in Minneapolis. ``What are the banks going to do?'' Fishman said. ``They don't want the house. They have a mortgage for $1 million and the house is worth $750,000.'' In February, 5 million existing homes were sold on a seasonally adjusted, annualized rate, down 31 percent from the peak of 7.25 million in September 2005, data compiled by the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors show. More than 4 million existing homes were on the market in February, 53 percent more than the 2.6 million average of the past nine years, the Realtors reported. ``Excess inventories pose the biggest risk to the market,'' Michelle Meyer and Ethan Harris, New York-based economists at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., wrote in a report last month. ``As long as inventories are high, home prices will fall.'' New Foreclosures Growing inventory pulled median home prices down to $195,900 in February, a 15 percent drop from the peak of $230,200 in July 2006, the Realtors said. New foreclosures rose to 0.83 percent of all home loans in the fourth quarter from 0.54 percent a year earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The civil court in St. Lucie County, Florida, is getting about 44 foreclosure cases to file every day. That's the same number it averaged in a typical month in 2005, said Clerk of the Circuit Court Ed Fry. ``It's pretty overwhelming,'' he said. Fry said he has 12 full-time employees and two temporary workers he just hired handling nothing but foreclosures. Still, the 50-page filings sit in cardboard boxes for three weeks before the court staff can process them, Fry said. Then it takes another two months to get a date on the court docket, he said. Mortgage servicers, who collect monthly payments and are responsible for starting the foreclosure process, also were caught short-staffed, said Grant Stern, a mortgage broker and owner of Morningside Mortgage Corp. in Miami Beach, Florida. `Moral Hazard' ``The most experienced people you can bring in are origination people,'' Stern said. ``But for a bank it's a moral hazard to have the same people who originated the loans now modifying those loans. That wouldn't be desirable. Once around is enough.'' The five largest servicers -- Countrywide Financial Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., CitiMortgage Inc., Chase Home Finance Inc. and Washington Mutual Inc. -- together manage more than half the home loans in the U.S., according to New York-based National Mortgage News, an industry publication. While more than 100 mortgage originators have suspended operations, closed or sold themselves since the beginning of 2007, mortgage servicing units are expanding. Chase Home Finance, a unit of New York-based JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the fourth-largest U.S. servicer, expects to spend $200 million more servicing loans in 2008 than it did last year, said spokesman Thomas Kelly. Delayed Foreclosure Kelly wouldn't say how many Chase borrowers have quit paying their mortgages and remain in their homes. Efforts to keep borrowers paying their bills have slowed the foreclosure process, Mark Rodgers, a spokesman at CitiMortgage, a division of New York-based Citigroup Inc., said in an e-mail message. ``In a number of cases, we have delayed foreclosure proceedings to allow our loss mitigation teams additional time to explore potential solutions to keep distressed borrowers in their homes,'' Rodgers said. Joe Ohayon, vice president of community relations for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Frederick, Maryland, a unit of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo, said trying to modify loan terms case by case adds time to the foreclosure process. ``Foreclosure is only a last resort after all available options for keeping the customer in the home have been exhausted,'' Ohayon said in an e-mail message. Affordable Payments Olivia Riley, a spokeswoman at Seattle-based Washington Mutual, said in an e-mail that the company's goal is to keep customers in their homes ``with payments they can afford.'' Representatives for Calabasas, California-based Countrywide, the biggest U.S. mortgage servicer last year, didn't respond to requests for comment. Few mortgage companies will admit they allow homeowners to stay in their homes without paying their bills. ``No servicer will say you can live rent-free for six months, go ahead,'' said Paul Miller, a mortgage industry analyst at Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. in Arlington, Virginia. ``Eventually, the servicers will clear these guys out.'' Homeowners usually get 90 days to resume paying before foreclosure proceedings begin with the filing of a complaint or notice of non-payment. State laws determine the length of time between the filing and an auction of the house. In most states, it's two to six months, according to Foreclosures.com. In Maine, it can be up to a year and in New York, 19 months; in Georgia, it's as quickly as one month, and in Nevada, it can be 35 days, according to the database. Borrowers in California who fight foreclosure can stretch the process to 18 months, said Cameron Pannabecker, chapter president of the California Association of Mortgage Brokers and president of Cal-Pro Mortgage Inc. in Stockton. That doesn't take into account the woman he knows who hasn't made a mortgage payment in eight months and hasn't heard from her lender, Pannabecker said. ``Now she's afraid to mail in a payment for fear it'll come to somebody's attention,'' he said.

>>Source<<

___________________
"...End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path...one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all change to silver glass...and then you see it...
...white shores...and beyond...the far green country under a swift sunrise."