Each week, as more Tennessee families fall behind on their mortgages, the so-called rescue companies are lining up at their doors. Some are there – not to help– but to profit from misfortune. They will charge high fees, make false promises and then fail to put in the same time or energy as the nonprofits that offer these same services for free.
Economic suffering extends from poor neighborhoods to the luxurious gated-enclaves where two-income households have watched stock portfolios decline and, in some cases, completely disappear.
The people living on Main Street and the investors on Wall Street have a right to expect the government to go after the bad guys who contributed to this mess. Millions of people have lost life savings and have been victimized by predatory lending practices and unlawful discrimination. Thousands more are still at risk as unscrupulous rescue companies try to prey on their fears and take what little money they have left.
Given these economic hardships, it is hard to understand why the Democratic delegation in Tennessee is moving slowly in making a recommendation for a candidate to serve as the next U.S. Attorney. This powerful position will help set investigatory priorities for the Western District Tennessee and serve as the cavalry for distressed homeowners.
The problems of predatory lending and unethical mortgage practices should have been addressed years ago when African-American groups and credit counseling organizations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation first sounded an alert.
Policymakers who did not see these matters as a serious threat to America’s economic security got it wrong. Now all of us are paying the price.
In the first 100 days of the Obama Administration, Atty. Gen. Eric Holder and the Department of Justice have set three major goals: (1) protecting our national security consistently with the rule of law; (2) reinvigorating the Department’s traditional missions, such as fighting crime, safeguarding the civil rights of all Americans, preserving our environment, protecting our public institutions from corruption, and ensuring fairness in the marketplace; and (3) recommitting the Department to its vital traditions of independence, non-partisanship and transparency.
In addition, the DOJ has set up a multi-agency task force to go after rescue firms that continue to target homeowners. These are critical steps in the right direction.
So why is it that Tennessee’s Democrats seem to be in no real hurry to find a candidate for U.S. Attorney in the Western District of Tennessee? Other regions already have turned in their recommendations.
U.S. Rep. Cohen and the rest of the Democratic delegation need to pick up the pace and move as if making a recommendation for U.S. Attorney is its top priority. The people of Shelby County voted for change. Democrats should not be asking them to wait.
