Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 30, 2014)
A p ril 30. 2014 |3orttani> OObeeruer Page 7 Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views o f the Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com. Driven by Weapons of Mass Deception Affordable housing goals under attack covery, dow n 2.5 percent since 2000. T he Jo h n so n -C rap o bill is driven by w eapons o f m ass deception that since the early 1990s - and through a reduced governm ent guarantee - w e are extrem ely concerned that the John so n -C rap o bill w ill lead to cost increases that m ake hom eow nership concerns about this bill in its cu r u n affo rd ab le fo r the m illions o f rent form. w orking and m iddle-class A m eri T o d a y ’s m ortgage m arket e x cans w ho have already borne the cludes fam ilies o f co lo r alm ost e n brunt o f the im pact o f the fo reclo tirely. sure crisis, w iping out the m ajority A ccording to the m o st recent o f fam ily w ealth am assed during the H om e M o rtg ag e D isclo su re A ct last decade. data, there w ere 1.3 m illion co n v en T his bill w ould also exacerbate tional m ortgage loans m ade in 2012; som e o f the w idening econom ic d is o f th o se, L atin o s re c eiv e d only parities highlighted in the N ational 69,217 loans, A frican-A m ericans U rban L eag u e’s 2014 State o f Black received 29,405 loans, and A sian A m erica report. F o r exam ple, the A m erican Pacific Islanders received black-w hite hom eow nership E qual 2,697 loans. T here w ere 4.9 m illion ity Index is now only 60 percent, and refinance loans m ade in 2012, o f blacks are three tim es as likely to be w hich L atinos received 76,038, A f d enied on a m ortgage application. rican-A m ericans received 75,785, O ur report also shows that blacks and A sian A m erican Pacific Island have a m edian w ealth o f $6,314 vs. ers received 10,611. whites at $ 110,5 0 0 -a w e a lth equality T h e Jo h n so n -C ra p o p ro p o sa l index o f a dism al 6 percent. W ith the does not adequately address this critical role that homeownership plays ongoing inequity nor does it p ro in w ealth accum ulation, any further vide an inclusive w ay forw ard for It w as caused by irresponsible fi im pedim ents to m inority and low-to- w orking and m iddle class com m uni nancial products and a subprim e m iddle-incom e hom eow nership will ties to participate in the future h o u s lending m arket that w ere faulty and only w iden that gap. ing m arket. predatory in design, a result o f reck T hat is w hy the N ational U rban H ousing finance reform is n eces less greed and doom ed to fail from L eague jo in e d w ith the L eadership sary. B ut w e believe that it should the start. C onference on C ivil and H um an be true refo rm - and not retro g res By repealing the affordable h o u s R ights, N A A C P, N ational C oalition sion. Its goal should be to create a ing goals that have been in place for A sian Pacific A m erican C om m u secure housing finance system that perpetuate the m yths that affo rd able ho u sin g goals and the C o m m u nity R ein v estm en t A ct created the by M arc H. M orial housing crisis w hen nothing could A new housin g re be fu rth er from the truth. T he form proposal slated for I * “ affordable housing goals o f Fannie a S enate B anking C om - and F reddie did not cause the m ittee vote this w eek crisis. In fact, according to the could accelerate the a l Fiscal C risis Inquiry C om m ission, re a d y sig n ific a n t p o st-re c e s sio n the body that w as created to in v es decline in hom eow nership am ong tigate the causes o f the financial com m unities o f co lo r and all w o rk crisis, the affordable housing goals ing and m iddle-class com m unities. only “m arginally contributed” to the T he bill, w hich is co-sponso red crisis. B ut they m ade a trem endous by Sens. T im Johnson, D.-S.D., chair im pact on helping responsible b o r m an o f the banking com m ittee, and row ers purchase hom es. M ike C rapo, R -Idaho, the ranking A s a resu lt, acco rd in g to the m em ber, w ould w ind dow n F annie N ational C om m unity R einvestm ent M ae and F reddie M ac and replace C oalition, du rin g the last 10 years, them w ith a new agency, the Federal m ore than 60 m illion hard-w orking M ortgage Insurance C orporation. fam ilies have benefited from the a f T his new agency w ould end the fordable housing goals. affordable housing goals o f F reddie T he foreclosure crisis- w as not and Fannie, w hich helped boost the cau sed by irresponsible borrow ers. p ercen tag e o f A frican A m erican hom eow nership to a pre-recession all-tim e h igh o f 50 percent. T he c u rre n t A f r ic a n A m e r ic a n hom eow nership rate is 43 percent, and A frican A m ericans are the only group that continues to experience a hom eow nership decline in the re nity D evelopm ent, N ational C o u n cil o f La Raza, N ational Fair H ousing A lliance, and C en ter fo r R esp o n sible L ending to voice o u r serious is open and available to all c re d it w orthy borrow ers and that p rovides affordable m ortgages to families with lesser incom es and w ealth. I n s te a d of e x p a n d in g hom eo w n ersh ip opportunities, the Johnson-C rapo proposal tells w o rk ing and m iddle-class fam ilies that hom eow nership w ill be reserved for the fortunate few. It says that these fam ilies do not deserve low -cost credit; that ow ning a hom e is not im portant to fam ily w ealth; and that com m unities no longer need a stable tax base to fund schools, police, fire and libraries. T hat is sim ply w rong, and w e can do better. T h e N a tio n a l U rb an L e a g u e strongly urges the Senate B anking C om m ittee to change course on this bill now , ensure the inclusion o f affordable housing goals, and pass legislation that w ill help to ensure access to affordable m ortgage credit for all creditw orthy borrowers, w hile at the sam e tim e protecting taxpay- • ers from bearing the cost o f a h ous ing dow nturn. A s it stands, w orking fam ilies - and the essence o f the A m erican D ream - cannot afford Johnson- Crapo. Marc H. Morial is president and chief executive officer o f the Na tional Urban League. A Lifetime Investment in Deserving Kids The Neil Kelly Memorial Scholarship by J. B yron K ellar E ach spring, for the past 16 years, I have seen the youth o f the w orld pass before m y eyes. V ietnam , Ethiopia, Cam bodia, G uatem ala, San S alvador - and yes Portland. I have seen teenagers w ho have im m igrated here, m any fleeing poverty and p er secution, face the challenges o f lan A lbina R otary F oundation has built a m odest endow m ent o v er the past 16 years that funds the N eil K elly M em orial Scholarship. N am ed after one o f Portland ’ s legendary com m unity leaders, the scholarship is dedicated to re c o g n izin g h ig h sch o o l se niors, w ho live in the A lbina R otary Service A rea, fo r their dedication to their c o m m u n i ties. W hile they all earn good grades, the h ig h er selection criteria for o ur co m m ittee is th eir passion fo r co m m unity in all its forms: family, school, church and volunteer com m unity organizations. T h o u g h p a s t w in n e r s h a v e c o m e fro m J e ffe rs o n , B e n so n , M a d iso n , C le v e la n d , D e L a S a lle N o rth , C e n tra l C a th o lic , R o o se v e lt, G ra n t, O p en M ead o w h ig h s c h o o ls a n d th e M c C o y A c a d e m y th ey h a v e all sh ared a guage, custom s and contem porary society. I have also seen m any bom here w ho face a different set o f c h al lenges, obstacles m uch m ore d au n t ing than m ost o f us w ould ev er experience. In this o n ce-a-y ear assignm ent, I help decide w hich four am ong d o z ens o f north and northeast Portland c o m m o n v a lu e th a t p u ts o th e rs high school seniors w ill receive a b e fo re th e m se lv e s, a tru e m easu re m odest $8,000.00 ($2,000 a year for o f th e ir c h a ra c te r. up to 4 years) college scholarship T hese young volunteers are in from the A lbina R otary Foundation volved in such diverse o rg an iza w hen so m any deserve so m uch tions as, N ational H onor Society, more. school m entoring program s. H abi tat for H um anity, S elf E nhancem ent In c ., O reg o n F o o d B ank, local churches, and youth groups, w hile often w orking part tim e and w eek end jo b s to assist their fam ilies. I have seen docum entation o f h u n dreds o f hours o f com m unity ser vice, w hich tells m e these kids u n d erstan d the value of; w ork, ed u ca tion and truly giving back to their com m unities. A lbina R otary Foundation m arks the 17th anniversary o f the Neil Kelly M em orial S cholarship this year, as well as the 67th anniversary o f N eil’s start in o u r com m unity. O ur 2014 goal is to continue to build the e n dow m ent to continually increase the am ount o f scholarship we aw ard o ur w inners. T he strength o f o u r city lies in the rich diversity o f o u r com m unity. T hese north and northeast Portland students can take genuine pride in w hat they accom plish now and, in tim e, w hat they will “ pay forw ard” to o ur com m unity for the next g e n erations. O ur jo b is to m ake certain they have all the enco u rag em en t we can m uster. W hen I first becam e involved w ith this program I thought it was will be on M ay 16 from 11:45 a.m. to about Neil K elly, now I know w hat 1:30 p.m. at the R ose Q uarter. Please Neil knew , it’s about investing in R SV P M argie D avidson by em ail at these kids w ho are absolutely d eter rodandm argie @ gmail .com or phone m ined to succeed. Kids w ho will a t503-287-6930. continue to giveback to us all. There J. Byron Kellar is president o f is no better investm ent. Albina Rotary and a member o f the O ur A w ards L uncheon this year Neil Kelly Scholarship Committee. THE LAW OFFICES OF Patrick John Sweeney, P.C. Patrick John Sweeney Attorney at Law 1549 SE Ladd, Portland, Oregon Portland: (503) 244-2080 Hillsoboro: (503) 244-2081 Facsimile: (503) 244-2084 Email: Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com diversity in T,lt Portland ( Observer ( ali 503-288-0033 ads@portlandobs erver.com \ d \ ertisc w ith
