Governor Kasich of Ohio - "we must help the least of them"

What do we know about John Kasich?  Kasich wants to expand Medicaid in Ohio- Kasich allegedly believes he is helping drug addicts by feeding their addictions.  Kasich goes so far as to citing Bible passages – For example – we are to help “the least of these”.   But where has John Kasich been when Ohio has been hit hard for jobs?  Could it be – these elected officials need to focus on why so much crime for these allegeldy underpaid Judges.  Could these elected officials serve this State better by focusing on jobs and corrupt Judges who overlook illegal foreclosures that help create blighted properties.  So, Gov. John Kasich has proposed State Lawmakers to Approve 20% raises for these Justices and Judges of the State of Ohio to Chief Justice would get $183,450/yr – The Six Justices would get $172,000.00/yr – Common Pleas Judge with his $26,250.00 raise would get $147,600/yr according to Kasich proposal.  Wonder if Gov. John Kasich even gives thought to those who have no jobs, those working 2 (Two) to 3 (Three) jobs just to stay afloat.  Students of Ohio whose loans are drowning them.  So much for John Kasich’s, “we must help the least of them” – his Bible quote to people.  Lets go over Kasich budget plan one more time – who is he looking out for?
Where was Kasich when foreclosures of homeowners ran rampant?  
A lot of illegal foreclosures let stand.  Now, that the foreclosures are ramping up again – where is John Kasich?  The foreclosure crisis is not over – $5.5 million homes lost nationwide since 2007.  More coming.  Millions of stories -but look how homeowners were blamed and treated like lepers, not the banks or corrupt servicers, lawyers, judges or politicians.  Follow the money.
One Edward Melton III who tried to get a modification for over 2 years-the man could not take anymore-he killed himself.  Only one of many who gave up the fight while the banks and mortgage companies made millions and received government bailouts as a reward for their corruption.
How many time have homeowners made phone calls to banks and/or servicers – only to be told  they would be transferred to their point of contact only to have the phone call dropped.  One woman was served foreclosing papers on Christmas Eve.  According to her, she got caught in the web of the housing mess.  She requested her lenders to modify her loan for years.  She was told whe had to be behind in her payments 3 months.  Wouldn’t talk until she was 3 months behind on mortgage payments.  She was told to stop paying – she did.  But, by the time they got to her, they had her down the rabbit hole so far with penalties, fees that were put on her payments and kept her on the string dangling until the fees and charges, expenses, came to almost $2000.00 of added on charges and past due payment of $32,000 just to get her payment reviewed.  This was their “modification plan”.  According to Marc Jacobs, a realtor-foreclosures are going to happen that haven’t happened “because people did loan modifications which was a band-aid on the problem”.  Now he says he is doing foreclosures on these people that did loan modifications that were set back to their old payments,  “The shadow inventory” where people are caught in a wave of deception.  One more quick example-then we move on.  The banks and servicer, Ocwen, were fined Billions and Billions for illegal misconduct toward homeowners.  The money was suppose to go to the States and especially help homeowners who were illegally foreclosed on and those caught in underwater mortgages or corrupt modifications.  Will get to that but first, a family who got behind- Litton agreed to modify their loan-reduced interest rate but not the principle-remember how high those interest rates were?  8.5 to 10 to 12 -not uncommon- Litton sells loan to Greentree- Greentree raises mortgage -family loses home.  This family was making payments on a loan of $139,000.00 and the appraised value was $45,000.00-Nothing new is it?  Overpriced houses, excessive mortgages, modifications with so many added on fees and expenses for over appraised properties.  What about the money that the States received to help homeowners from the big banks and servicers.  Oh yes, this family got $1500.00 and told to get out!  And these are not the worst cases – The families with children that had no place to go “tent cities” ring a bell?  Children and families uprooted due to loss of jobs, illegal foreclosures, slick modifications that created corruption.  Governor help that did not come for homeowners but bailed out banks and an Insurance Company, AIG, to the tune of Trilliions of Taxpayer Dollars.  Whrere are the lawyers who charged homeowners $1000.00′s (Thousands)  and Thousands , only to lose case after case.  Corrupt Judges who make up their own rules and laws to suit their merry go round.  Follow the money.
So, the banks and servicers paid out billions in fines for illegal abuse toward homeowners who were caught up in the housing meltdown.  Some went to the Federal Gov., some went to the States, the purpose was to help consumer relief but that didn’t really happen, did it?  The modification was a so-called scam.  The cash payments for taking peoples homes amounted to chicken feed for those who needed help.  Most important was to get those damn blighted neighborhoods cleaned up.  Who was really responsible for these “blighted neighborhoods”?  After all, who wants to be reminded of the crisis of 2008.  That hasn’t stopped.
So, lets use the money to tear down these once homes of families instead of helping the families.  John Kasich said, “we were to help the least of these” – I guess that means the neighbors who no longer want to look at deserted properties not the people that were deserted.  So, our politicians in Ohio set up a grant program in 2012 to beautify the neighborhoods $75 million dollars went to tear down these “abandoned structures” no longer called homes, just eyesores upon neighborhoods.  14,000 “blighted properties” have b een torn down past 2 years to benefit the areas of foreclosed properties but not the families that fell on hard times or were illegally foreclosed upon.  What about the banks who kicked these familites out – why were they given a FREE RIDE to leave the properties they took over, left abandoned and ignored to be left as the States problem?  If they are zombie properties, that is still the banks responsibility.  They created this mess – Look at the illegal foreclosures, the slick twisted misguided pathetic so-called modifications.  The overpriced lawyers that homeowners couldn’t afford to fight against the servicers illegally created documents plus all the added on fees for services not provided like the famous Ocwen did to raise homeowners payments.  The voracious appetite of lawyers and yes, even Judges who had the “You ain’t gettin a free house or any money syndrome”.  Back to the $75 Million Dollars that Kasich and DeWine spent on cleaning up neighborhoods came from “bank fines” that were levied against these banks for corruption against homeowners- How ironic.  The banks and servicers commit a crime-the homeowners are kicked out – the banks and servicers litigate settlement for their crime – the money from the fines goes to not help the families, but to tear down the homes taken from these families.  Where was the local government, the elected officials, the health department, the code officers to see these properties did not fall into disrepair.  The bank and the servicers took them.  It was their place – is it note to see they are kept up not become blighted properties – remember, they were charging homeowners for this – can’t have it both ways.  Why weren’t these properties sold?  noo clean title from the banks and servicers corruption they forced on homeowners.  
Ask yourself – where were your elected officials when this was going on?
Did you notice they do not list the amount of money “designated for consumer relief in form of cash payments” – No amount listed from this settlement fines for “modifications” or “refinancing” – Why?  But demolition programs got millions in Ohio.  “Eyesore properties, safety hazards, havens for crime” – Yes, they must be cleaned up but what if these elected officials had stood up for the homeowners, demanded these properties be kept up by those who took them or was responsible for leaving them.  As, John Kasich stated, we are “to help the least of them”.  Looks like the least of them got kicked out and the settlement money from banks and servicers went to clean up this mess but not for the “least of them” – the “least of them” got left behind.
These elected officials didn’t just stop at millions from the settlements of servicers criminal acts – they added matching taxpayers dollars – $119 million for demolition past homes.  This according to Mike DeWine “helped improve property values and rejuvenate neighborhoods”.  According to Mike DeWine, he admits the mortgage crisis left a lot of victims.  “Victims” would that be the people and families left homeless and uprooted?  Well, we can’t do much about that.  Wow.  What an attitude.  According to DeWine- this tearing down what use to be homes-the political demolition program made a “big difference”.  If the elected officials had stepped in and supported their State families from these corrupt big banks and especially servicers like Ocwen from homeowner abuse- would there have been so many blighted properties?  If the State and County Officials had done a better job on the job, would we have had these drug houses, snake infested properties that were not kept up?  If homeowners do not take care of their property  – mowing, junk or old cars in the yard, sidewalks not cleaned etc – they are fined by the city.  Again, why are these properties allowed to deterioate for so long.  Aren’t elected officials suppose to look out for the people and their States best interest?
John Kasich wants pay raises for Judges and Justices.  20% pay raises- accoridng to Kasich these poor judges haven’t had a raise since the housing crisis of 2008.
$36,600 pay raise for Justice.
$14,250 pay raise for county court judge and part time judges
This is John Kasich’s proposal for the budget.
Kasich proposes that the State (Ohio) cover all the pay increases.
Oh yes, we need according to Kasich to INCREASE the “Judiciary’s Operating Spending” including the raises by almost $10 million (6.8%) 2015-16 and $8 million 5.5% and 2017 who know what else.  
Does Mr Kasich know we have people without jobs in Ohio – that home foreclosures are on the rise again.  So, these judges in Ohio number 722 -need a raise while people are jobless and losing their homes BUT these judges haven’t had a raise since the crisis and they have the “nations 6th largest case load” according to Chief Justice Maureen O’Conner backed up by John Kasich.  If Ohio has that much crime, 6th in the nation, something is terribly wrong.  Yes, Ohio does have good Judges but Ohio has some judges who are part of the problems through crime and illegal foreclosures.  Judges who have disgraced the court system, the judicial system with their voracious appetities of deception and corruption in favor of corrupt servicers and banks.  Judges who have usurped their judicial authority most egregiously with biased and self serving opinion that does not follow procedural law or constitutional rights.  Judicial misconduct is suppose to have consequences – not pay raises.
Seperate “the wheat from the chaft” before going whole hog on raises Gov. Kasich.  Pay attention to what judges helped create.  The “blighted properties” that has cost millions to tear down and put millions of families homeless.  While you have a nice home, plenty of good food, travel expenses, vacations, clothes paid for – people in Ohio are struggling for full time jobs let alone jobs at all – living in poverty. children and old people going hungry.  Hungry, their stomach empty- poverty brings more crime.  If Ohio, as your State is 6th in the nation of overloaded court cases due to crime, drugs, homeless families, shouldn’t you be working on that?  A Priority?  More foreclosures coming up due to some Ohio Judges who are so ignorant of foreclousure laws or so biased against homeowners-that they ignore the facts, evidence, proof of cases in favor of the banks and servicers like Ocwen.  Take a good look at Ocwen’s record against borrowers.  Lies, deception, litigations, fines of billions from the Feds – Look at Ohio Judges who are still upholding Ocwen in illegal foreclosures.  Ocwen has even come into Ohio signing documents for New Century Mtge Corp which has an injunction placed on it by the State of Ohio – but was anything done to Ocwen – no more than usual – they slide by with the usual fines that do not help the families of this State.  More blighted properties, more homeless families and all on your watch- as Governor of the State of Ohio.
You have proven your loyalty to these Judges – where is your loyalty to homeowners?
“Help the least of them”?
Like Mike DeWine – proud of his spending millions of bank settlement funds and additional taxpayer funds to demolish what use to be homes.  He didn’t have much to say about helping the victims.  Only there were victims, left in the carnage, the wreckage that should have not happened.
The contributor is not an attorney and this article is not intended to give advice.