What is America Thinking Coast to Coast?
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
I was on the nation-wide radio show, Coast to Coast AM, for 3 hours early Monday morning. Ian Punnett filled in for the regular host, George Noory. Punnett is a pro, and he guided me through many subjects I have been writing about for the past several weeks on USAWatchdog.com. I write about the economy, politics and the mainstream media the most, and we covered them all in my interview. The comments and emails in the last 24 hours have been massive and daunting. At this writing, I think I have answered more than a hundred emails and posted another 150 comments on several of the stories I have done. I love Coast to Coast for many reasons, but one of my favorites is I get to check the pulse of America and find out what people are thinking across the country. I did not get a single comment where someone thought things were getting better with the economy or politics—just the opposite. People are frustrated, scared and downright angry at how things are being handled. I have excerpted quotes from emails and the comment sections of the site to give you a feel for what people are thinking Coast to Coast.
(Phillip) Greg, great thorough article once again ! The Fed’s obvious (unspoken) plan is to take a huge ole guthrie on the dollar (and then wipe their maloney with the U.S. taxpayer), thereby allowing our country’s monstrous deficit to be inflated away ….this will end badly I’m afraid.
(Cowboy)Thank you for getting the truth out. As you and many others including myself know, there is no way out of this debt crisis. The damage was done over the last 10 plus years. It is now time to prepare for what is ahead. How and when our currency crashes is just a matter of time.
(Rex)1. Has EITHER PARTY done anything to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws? NO! (Now, we have CHERTOFF’s nasty Strip-Search Machines because of a (Contrived incident) which I bet will replay itself at: Mall, Grocery store, stadium, school, hospital, etc. and soon, these machines will be all over the place!..If I’m wrong, that’s great. It’s also spectacularly funny to see that NEITHER Chertoff or Napolitano gave or gives a rat’s behind about SECURING our borders or enforcing our IMMIGRATION LAWS, but they want these STRIP-SEARCH Machines foisted on us.
(Rob)The Great “Unsinkable” Titanic has now hit the iceberg of its own creation because fraud and hoxery is no longer sustainable and can no longer be covered up. Is it “fixable”? No it is not. What is needed is nothing short of an entirely New Paradigm, not remodeling, but an entire make-over where basic human
(Lew)I believe that the past few years (at least) have created a Constitutional crisis that the American people will need to face and resolve, if they are still able. I personally have my doubts, the Rugged Individualist is painted as an outcast, a loner, someone to mistrust. People have gladly handed over freedom for “security”; this is the largest indicator to me as the end of American society.
(Mike)I think the worst part of this whole scenario is the helplessness that we all feel. We’re just passengers along for the ride. And the car is heading for the proverbial cliff. I have bought precious metals and hold them in my own personal safe but, realistically, if the whole ball of yarn unravels, is that enough? I seriously doubt it!
(KC)On a very practical level, stock up on non-perishables; bottled water, juices, canned goods, toiletries, toilet power and paper towels, flour, sugar, oil. Prices are already rising on food. Get a freezer for meat and fish. By spring, all these things will have risen considerably. There are wholesale places to buy in bulk. If nothing happens, you’re just well supplied; there’s nothing lose.
(Al)All of these issues have the same problem, no accountability. No one goes to jail. They lie, they cheat, they steal and no one is held accountable for their actions. The poor guy stealing a candy bar at the local food-mart goes to jail, but the dunderhead in a three piece suit who steals billions gets a pat in the back and a bonus. Bring back accountability and all these problems will go away. JAIL EVERY ONE OF THEM! INSIST ON ACCOUNTABILITY FROM THE LOCAL LEVEL ON UP!
(Jan)My friend survived the fall of the USSR. . . . Last week, I asked him what happened to people’s money, their savings accounts in the bank. The answer “the government took it all.” He told me they were watching the news one evening when it was announced the ruble was dead and there was a new currency. People could exchange a limited amount of their old currency for the new currency. If they had ten thousand dollars, they got one thousand dollars. The stores were emptied out in no time. When the stores were re-stocked they stood in line for hours hoping it wasn’t all gone before they got in the door. My friend sees what is happening here, everything he escaped from there. He is well stock up, lives on a small farm and has lots of silver.
When it came to the gigantic problems in the foreclosure/mortgage-backed security fraud arena, there was much anger, frustration and confusion on what homeowners can do to protect themselves and fight back. (I’ve done several stories in the last few weeks that explain the mortgage-fraud mess. Feel free to scroll through the site to read more.)
(Robert)Hi Greg, heard you on Coast last night. As a mortgage payer, should I ask for a copy of prom note & if it cannot be ‘located’ or shown, should I continue payments or go to court, i.e., sue for fraud.
(Don)I can’t help but think the powers-to-be are very concerned about a citizen level discovery and movement to follow this example. Worth reviewing for anyone in the Cleveland area. If the promissory note holder of record cannot be determined in foreclosure proceedings, then the promissory note holder of record cannot be determined in a court of law contesting the validity of the mortgage of record. Everyone with a mortgage should proceed to invalidate their mortgage in a court of law, IMHO.
(Meylssa)“I am a homeowner from the heartland in good standing with a good amount of equity. Recently approached my lawyer to work with me to make the Bank of America show they can produce a clear deed/title to my home when I pay it off. Recently, I wrote to Bank of America and asked them to show the note. Insultingly they sent a computer generated form letter telling me my loan is with Freddie/Fannie. My lawyer came up with a brilliant strategy that I plan to share exclusively at first with Greg Hunter and his audience as soon as the suit is filed.”
I hope you do that Meylssa. I spent a few minutes on the phone last night with Mortgage Fraud and Forensic Analyst, Marie McDonnell, who is also a Certified Fraud Examiner. I asked her how people can protect themselves when dealing with mortgage companies. She told me, “Whether you are current or in default on your mortgage–rule number one is you must keep good records.” That means find and keep all loan origination documents, mortgage statements, tax bills, insurance bills and any correspondence with the mortgage lender. This is a multi-trillion dollar problem and many Americans still do not realize the enormity of the issue. Even if you are not in foreclosure or default, McDonnell says if you took out a mortgage in the last 10 years, the title to your home is probably impaired in some way. There are no quick fixes or easy answers. McDonnell says it will take years to get clarity through the court system on who really owns your home. I will be doing more on this subject with Ms. McDonnell in the future.
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About the Author
Greg Hunter
Greg is the producer and creator of USAWatchdog.com. The site’s slogan is “analyzing the news to give you a clear picture of what’s really going on.” The site will keep an eye on the government, your financial interests and cut through the media spin. USAWatchdog.com is neither Democrat nor Republican, Liberal or Conservative. Before creating and producing the site, Greg spent nearly 9 years as a network and investigative correspondent. He worked for ABC News and Good Morning America for nearly 6 years. Most recently, Greg worked for CNN for shows such as Paula Zahn Now, American Morning and various CNN business shows.
The person that stated that we all feel held hostage to people and events we can’t control on this train is right on. It seems any steps we take as individuals may be useless in the long run without leadership from Washington that is not there now. They still don’t get it on Wall Street & Washington:
-In todays New York Times Warren Buffet is praising the Fed , Obama & Bush for “saving” us from depression? Say What!
-The GOP now makes a pledge to end earmarks for a few years to help the deficit knowing that they are less than 1% of the budget! Big deal!
Iam sorry to say but I think we have to sink deeper before we crawl out of this hole. A true independent leader that forms a 3rd party may be the only hope for us. We had one in Ross Perot who saw the problem twenty years ago when in presidential debates said he kept hearing that giant SUCKING sound as American jobs left our shores with the new trade agreements! He got Clinton elected and it has been downhill since!
Jeff,
I agree with you and I have long thought Buffet was an opportunistic weasel. Thank you for the comment.
Greg
My hospital job just got farmed out to a multinational company with many employees in India. I can’t believe this is still happening. The big company did offer me and my coworkers the same job, however, at a fraction of what we were being paid 7 cents a line vs $3/pg (most of our reports are 1-2 lines). I was house-hunting, but that is over. Due to a cold, I canceled dental surgery the night before I got the lay-off news. That would have wiped out my savings. I have 30 years hospital records experience but the jobs out there are paying $10/hr and they’re all part-time.
The kicker is that even though about 100 jobs were eliminated, the hospital is spinning this as a “smooth transition” that will save patients money. The reality is, 100 people are out of work.
So sorry to hear this Deborah. Thank you for sharing this with us here.
Greg
In the case with USSR above when, If they had ten thousand dollars, they got one thousand dollars. Does this mean if that happens here, a $1000.00 mortgage payment is now $10,000.00, and a $300.00 car payment is now $3000.00 or would it be lower like the house payment $100.00 and the car payment $30.00 ???
Anyone got any ideas on this?
Jon,
I will leave this one for the group. Thank you for the question.
Greg
John, I wondered the same thing… I suspect if a new currency is introduced, the whole monetary system is reset and the latter of the two scenarios would be more applicable…Anybody out there been through a reset of the monetary system like that poster said happened in Russia?
I think many here would be curious to hear how that played out. I think the original poster also said there were food lines in the grocery stores and I seem to remember reading about them.. Why did that happen.. Why did resetting the monetary system cause food shortages? Were people afraid of a food shortage so their actions created one that wouldnt have been there if the people just retained their normal spending habits after the money exchange? Just curious if theres anybody out there that has been through something like this…
Ive read in numerous websites the direction were taking with the FED actions is similar to the Weimar Republic of 1920s and early 1930s Germany… we know where that lead them…
Seems like were all anticipating some kind of doom/gloom times but not sure what form it will take…
If grocery stores and everyone connected in the food industry hold operating cash flow to survive then a resetting of the monetary system could lead to companies holding a percentage of the original cash flow. ( they would lose massive value on the cash they are holding) This massive decrease in cash flow may cause a food shortage along with increased demand from consumers who are in fear over the whole situation.
Thanks for posting these thoughts from the public. When I listened to the show, I was impressed with how many women phoned in and also how all across the country everyone was informed on the economic news.
Your vibrant energy, enthusiasm for the subjects (you covered several) and presence was definitely felt through the airwaves! Although it was a 3 hour talk, I could have listened longer.
🙂 Diane
Diane,
Thank you for your comment and words of encouragement.
Greg
I listened to you on Coast to Coast Monday night talk about this foreclosure mess and you mentioned something about only buying a house if it has a free and clear title (or something like that). But isn’t that why we have title insurance and title companies that do title searches? And isn’t that why banks require that a title search be done on a property before closing anyway? I didn’t think you could even buy a property without it having a clear title or deed or whatever. But all this stuff about promissory notes, titles, and deeds is confusing to me anyway. So if my wife and I are going to buy a house, is the title search not sufficient? How do we know if a place is “safe” to buy? I’d appreciate some clarification on this. Thanks Mr. Hunter, I enjoyed listening to you!
-Adam
Adam,
I am going to write more about this topic in a future post, but the short answer is title companies insure for honest mistakes NOT FRAUD. You are not going to pay a title company $1,000 so they will magically take away all the fraud and risk–no way. My advice, save your money, invest in some precious metals and wait a few years on buying a house. The bottom will not be for at least a few years. Thank you for your questions, comments and support.
Greg
I just paid off my mortgage 2 months ago with those useless dollars I had in my saving account. Now I wonder if I made the right decision.
FuffyCone,
Try to secure the title and please let us know how it is going. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Greg
Look…The doom and gloom that you push has no real basis of reality. You can site examples of hyperinflation and decreased standard of living, however, show me an example of a USA size ecomomy holding the curency the entire world lives by and where that nation just folded. This is not a wrong or right issue. We will go to war and destroy all competing economies long before folding to the level that you imply. Men will die! The USA is still the only massive economy actually free to inovate for the time being. Our President listens to folks 5 bottles short of a six pack. China will fail due to being red, Japan is at 200% of GDP with a aging population – 20 years of no growth, yet Japan citizens still feel they are doing fine. Please, be real with your views. The USA will stop at nothing to remain on top. We have years prior to actually facing the reality you see.
Yvain,
I’d rather be a”doom and gloomer” and be right so I can protect myself than live in a fantasy world and be totally screwed. I hope you are right that America will always be on top. I think you are also correct that we may go to war. On that count, I hope you are wrong. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Greg
Actually, the doom and gloom Greg pushes is reality. Fraud is real. Part of the problem is the US sized economy and some of the massive fraud that got the economy this large. There is tons of evidence that supports Greg’s factual base besides what he talks about.
Your reasons to counter Greg include
-China being red? Where is the facts? This is just an absurd statement in my book. China has actually taken reform to promote capitalism. These include the SEZs to promote the rapid growth we see in America.
You state Japan is at 200$ GDP with an aging population. The USA has an aging population, exponentially increasing debt problems.. and the kicker we are fighting two wars.
There are plenty of more problems than just the financial death march the world is diving into, and the problems are connected.
What about food shortages in the near future? Drug induced sheep who are controlled by TV? Peak Oil? Post Peak Oil? This is real stuff. Why do you think we are having to drill farther out in the gulf? Plastic? I could go on and on. Have you actually walked around America? Have you seen the very sick population of people? And you still want to live in your fantasy world. That is sad.
Greg delivers news that is reality. Even if we have years prior to the reality Greg sees.. What is a few years in the scope of history? A few years is only time to prepare and become informed.
Thank you Luke for all of your comments!
Greg
Greg-
In early Oct I posted here that I issued a notice to my mortgage servicer Wells Fargo, requesting they proove my mortgage note along with other documents. This was a qualified written request under Section 6 of RESPA.
As of this post I have not received a reply from WF regarding my request. However, yesterday I received an invitation from WF to refi my loan with zero costs to me. Reluctantly I called and spoke to a live person who was very professional and eager to assist. I was told that I qualify to move from my current 15 yr 5.5% to a 15 yr 4.125 with zero costs to me. No appraisal, no face time with anyone from WF, WF will mail me closing docs and I will receive a follow up call from a WF Underwritter. If I agree just sign and have it notorized then return docs. My current loan is barely 3 yrs old and I am on target to be paid off in 9 yrs. If I apply my current payment amount which includes additional principal to the new loan I will be paid in full in 7.5 yrs saving approx $33K in interest.
Why would WF desire to do this? Maybe they want to discard my current loan docs and create new ones? Sounds too good to be true! I told the gentleman to proceed with processing. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Mark,
They DO NOT have your original Promissory Note. Remember a Promissory Note is in the same family as a Federal Reserve Note. Both are financial instruments, and they cannot be copied or counterfeited. Wells Fargo wants a new Promissory Note so they can actually Prove it owns the mortgage. No Promissory Note no proof. Also if there is no Promissory Note it could not legally be part of a security. No Note no security. You think they might want to redo some of their mortgage-backed securities so they are legally constructed? They sound desperate. I would make sure you have a qualified real estate attorney check out the closing documents if you decide to go through with the deal. I would personally demand that your loan not be securitized and held at the bank for the entire life of the loan, but that’s just me. Thank you for sharing this with all of us.
Greg
Seems to me the whole economic mess could be solved in quite a short span of time, say three years, if americans would only buy locally and if you can’t buy it locally then buy american products only, even if you have to shop at Walmart. Jobs would be created quickly as demand for the american products rise. Americans would be expected to pay a litle more for the “crap” they consume but that is a small price to pay to keep our jobs and our country. When I say buy american I mean products made, assembled, produced and or grown within the borders of america.
Good idea Art.
Greg
Dear Greg,
I would have loved listening to you on C2C, but the radio station that carried it changed their format and dropped the program! Aaaarrrrrrgh! Still, thanks for posting some of the listener comments. Now here’s a few of mine.
Yvain claims that “show me an example of a USA size ecomomy holding the curency the entire world lives by and where that nation just folded.” Ever hear of ROME, Yvain? High inflation is one of the reasons why the Empire fell (another was arms control, taking arms away from the citizens).
Now for mine. Clausewitz once wrote, “When at peace, prepare for war.” People should be doing the same here. Yes, buy precious metals (although, as an independent investment portfolio manager, I recommend gold and silver coins, as well as “junk silver” coins for trade), and perhaps some broken gold jewelry in case the economy crashes (also for trade).
Now is the perfect time to set aside a years’ worth or more of food. Author and nutritionist Peggy Layton tells you how in “Food Storage 101.” MREDepot is currently selling canned WATER, now is the perfect time to back up your bottled stock. In fact, now is the perfect time to get a Berky water filter, as well as additional filters for it. I live in the country and use mine all the time, not only for drinking, but for cooking, and even for my pets! While we’re talking about pets, get a years’ supply or more of food for them. Food storage takes up lots of ROOM (I can’t build my model railroad pike because my pantry takes up the space I had originally dedicated to it), but now I have peace of mind. To those of you who want to spew your psychobabble, all I can say is that I was once snowed in for a week. Home storage really saved my tail.
I see nothing wrong with owning a firearm, or several. Again, I live in the country so they are required, but then I enjoy target shooting (also great for stress relief). Stockpile ammunition. Get American Gunsmithing Institute’s DVDs on disassembling/reassembly of your firearm (stay away from the armorer’s courses if you are a beginner). If you want to learn to reload ammo, they have a good DVD on reloading.
Also, turn off the telly and READ. Forstchen’s book “One Second After” is a great scary read about what happens when the grid is down. FerFAL’s “The Modern Survival Manual” tells you about surviving an economic collapse from an Argentinian point of view.
Okay, I’ve vented enough.
Sam,
You have vented well. Thank you.
Greg
Greg,
A great show on C2C. I’ve been looking at the mortgage issues you mentioned for the past year. You kept saying that home owners should ask their lender to “show them the promissory note”, but what comes next? We hear time and time again that the judges just ignore the sloppy bank paperwork and will allow the foreclosure or will simply dismiss a challenge to the lenders standing.
What do you recommend?
BTW if you haven’t seen it check out Matt Taibbi’s article on RollingStone.com “Courts Helping Banks Screw Over Homeowners”.
Greg S,
Let me repeat some of what I told another reader named Mark. Remember a Promissory Note is in the same family as a Federal Reserve Note. Both are financial instruments, and they cannot be copied or counterfeited. . . . The Promissory Note actually Proves the bank owns the mortgage. No Promissory–Note no proof. If you are having mortgage trouble please get the help of a qualified real estate attorney in your state. This is a complicated very messy and enormous issue with no quick easy answers. Thank you for the question and info. Taibbi is great!
Greg
What do you guys think about GM’s IPO and Obama’s subsequent announcement? I found Obama’s speech to be infuriating. Does he not realize that the common man on the street isn’t benefitting at all from any of his so called economic policies?
nm,
I am one of the few that feels we should have bailed out GM. The reason?–they actually make something useful. Unlike the banks that spew toxic financial junk and rip=off the country. I do NOT like the way the GM bailout was done. The bond holders should have gotten more than the unions. I hate the way the IPO is going down because the small investor is being left out and the financial elites are once again lining up at the pig trough! GM is actually making some good cars and trucks right now, and I am happy about that. Anybody else have a thought or two on GM?
I too, agree that it was essential to bail out the automakers. And for those of you the espouse that Ford didn’t need a bailout because of some competitive edge they held, that is simply not true. Ford simply had good timing as they re-leveraged their existing plants and equipment to raise cash ( becuase they were broke) shortly before the crash got under way. They ,too, would have been in the same position as GM and ChryCo.
Anyways, living in central Michigan as I do,I can say that if the auto companies were allowed to fail the economy here would have simply gone belly up and practically seized to function. In fact, a whole chunk of the manufacturing base in the U.S. would have seized to exist. And we all know that the USA needs all the manufacturing jobs it has. In fact, allowing these companies to fail very well may have been the “tipping point” that pushed the entire economy over the edge and into a true depression.
Regardless of what the so-called economists have stated in the past, an economy cannot prosper or even function on service jobs alone. Where would the world be now if America was not the “arsenal of democracy” in world war 2?
Those auto jobs and all the related jobs that support the auto industry are essential to the well- being of this country and I, for one, am grateful that these companies were saved.
Mike,
Remember this “bailout” was a bankruptcy. The banks should get similar treatment only more sever. Thank you for your comment.
Greg
You said:
“People are frustrated, scared and downright angry at how things are being handled”.
Now to add insult to injury the Fed and the Government are in the process of destroying the value of everybody’s dollars with outrageous inflationary economic measures more akin to a poorly managed 3rd world country. Goods and services will now generally cost more across the board, the buying power of peoples’ incomes are being diminished and the value of peoples’ savings, at a time when savings are critical, are being seriously eroded. Just like a creeping financial cancer.
While all this economic destruction is ongoing, the arrogant “ruling elites” actually think they are the smartest people on earth. Ironic is it not.
Keep the rage alive Greg.
Thank you.
Sean S
Thank you for the comment. You also help me to keep things going by your support.
Greg
GM the bond holders and union should of been 50 50. But many unions have federal ins. on there pension plans. Maybe the way they did it save the taxes payer because the federal pension insurance is under funded. My feelings about all the bail outs was to keep the pension funds from going broke, which are federal ins. The bankers would be dead right now and DC burnt to the ground if the pensions went to hel- . peace
Bob,
I agree and I’ll go you one better. The bond holders should have gotten what the union got and the union should have got what the bond holders got. The union got the most in the deal and that is Not right. Thank you for the comment.
Greg
The fall of the USSR was due to the Bloc States rebelling. They withheld taxes and slowed down the flow of goods to Moscow. It would be like the state not remitting taxes to Washington DC. The stores and factories were mostly state owned, and the majority of people lived in state owned apartments. After forty years of factory work they were awarded a rent free apartment.
The politically connected had the power and the wealth. The people did not own homes like we do in the US. They had what little cash they had saved taken by the state. No one paid their rent or utility bills, they didn’t have enough money to buy what little food was available in the shops. The black market flurished and people sold or traded anything they owned to get food. Even the government Ministers were on the street corners trading and selling to get food.
This is a fairly good article on the subject: http://www.sras.org/privately_enforced_capitalism
Doom and gloom? I don’t think so. Better to prepare and hope for the best, but still plan for the worst.
The fools who want to “spread the wealth” do not realize they are forgetting to factor in greed. There will always be those who through force or political connections will end up with the most at the top again and the people in the middle and at the bottom end up with less freedom. The also end up with zero opportunity to improve their lives.
Good comment Jan, thanks.
Greg
What would that Carpenter of centuries ago now do, who boldly confronted the money altering “money changers” of his day, if among us today! He overturned their tables then; making apparent peoope do not have to sit idly by as thieves craft takeovers among them
in typical manner.
Allby,
We need some Divine leadership, that’s for sure. Thank you.
Greg
Greetings
I’m so tired of hearing hope for the best, but plan for the worst. It’s futile at best. The folks that actually store food, guns and supplies will come to recognize that in the worst case scenario, if you didn’t buy enough for all 5000 of your neighbors, you will be a target and probably killed as a direct result of not actually planning for the worst case scenario. So please, if you have 500 million, buy for all 5000 friends.
It only takes two or three weeks for people to do what ever it takes to feed their starving 3 year old. I hope that you, Mr. Hunter, take no offense to my opinion. My opinion is just that, one of approximately 300 million U.S. opinions that in reality means nothing.
It’s like trying to solve World problems at the dinner table….What’s the point. Please love the USA and know that are best days are ahead of us.
Yvain,
Actually you make some good points here. Thank you for the comment.
Greg
As I bike around the Midland, Mi area on the rail-trail I ride past a plaque in an open field that states “This is the former site of the community – wide fruit and vegetable growing plantation.It is where the local people grew many of the fruits and vegetables to support their families before the advent of modern – day grocery stores”.
When I read this plaque I always think that the site should be rejuvenated and replanted to prepare for….
Nahhh. It’s never going to get THAT bad, right?
But it could and may.
Communities should be steering their resources towards local sel-sustaining efforts in the future. The local economy and the local community are going to revert to self-sustaing grass roots prosperity. All are going to have to help and share in the work and fruits of their labor.One person, alone will not be able to succeed if all those around him are starving.
That is a recipe for anarchy.