Monday, December 26, 2016

State & Municipal DisenfranchisementAmerica Closed for Business::2017 And Beyond

The last of 2016, closed with the same activity which has plagued the American Society.  A scene, played out on video of a police officer, downing a Black woman and her daughter; taking them to jail, and then; protest.  A whole lot of shooting and killing in black communities, continued. 

Folks, observed Christmas, and consumed a whole lot of comfort food.  Gumbo, seemed to be the choice, all over, Louisiana.

It is noted, Louisianans are just as uncertain about the political climate as any.  And, when the climate changes so does moods.  The latest terrorist group has put a hit list on Christian Churches in the United States.  Specifically, though, the rich continue to get rich and the poor, steadily get poorer.  Further, criminalization of the impoverished to obtain new revenue is becoming the norm.

After flooding in both, North and South Louisiana; the entire state is distressed and yet trying to get past the damages of two cataclysmic events. Lousiana government, has a 300 million dollar deficit as the New Year approaches. In the last legislative session, the budget shortfall was dealt with. The push to find funding for needed state programs, resulted in every sort of possibility. 

In the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Office of Debt Recovery are collaborated together raise revenue by becoming a collection agency. Suspended licenses, along with freezing bank accounts through a crossmatching in system in place designed to capture delinquent child-support.  Big Brother technocracy.

In accordance with the, proposed procedures "the so-called office of debt recovery, will utilize 'support enforcement' 'financial institute data match' to track down monies 'owned' or accessible for this 'collaborative' to seize accounts.

It has been widely reported that this Act could result in $200 million in new state revenues over five years. We also were told by the Department that without a data match system to efficiently find and collect unpaid debts, other potentially more burdensome methods would be pursued. 
For instance, the Department has told us that in recent years they have significantly increased the amount of paper levies they send to banks in a geographic area where they believe a debtor may have an account. 

These are basically fishing expeditions with the hope of finding a debtor account. As a result, banks waste time responding to these levies even when they do not have that debtor as a customer. 

The Department indicated that the number of paper levies generated would likely continue to greatly increase without data match in place because the Department was looking at technology to reduce time and expense while greatly increasing the volume of levies produced. 

In addition to philosophical concerns and concerns with the alternative collection procedures being contemplated by the Department, LBA had concerns with the initial language proposed in the bill and we wanted to ensure that the data match program, if passed into law, would be conducted in the same manner as is currently being done for the collection of past due child support. 



And, so now in the City of Monroe, Louisiana in an initiative entitled "fight the blight, an ordinance has been passed to effectively seize property. Place Liens on the property, place the lien amount on the yearly taxes.

That, then becoming a debt. The property is sold/donated to specific -nonprofit/charity organizations, whose goal is and should be helping the disenfranchised.

In this case the groups organized to help the disenfranchised, will secure the disenfranchiseds' property and call it "helping" the poor.

There are different causes for these peoples' residences becoming blighted. And if the citizens representatives are about "representing" all its citizens, then they must create a governmental avenue to solve the problem created by local governmental insolvency.

Don't be fooled, the "fight the blight" law in the City of Monroe is a trap to seize property, apply liens, generate funds and then capitalize on the already distressed populations.  Eventually, the City of Monroe will sign an MOU with the state as the debtor is never released from the debt until it is paid.