Nov/Dec 1999
Issue #108
As the turn of the millennium approaches, millions of children go to bed every night in unsafe, overcrowded, or unaffordable homes, along with hundreds of thousands who sleep on the streets. Very depressing. This issue gives readers reasons to be hopeful, among them, living wage ordinances in a growing number of cities; promising steps toward community empowerment in Seattle; and the preservation of the CRA despite attempts to weaken it.
Financial “Progress” Leaves Communities Behind
For the past 20 years, the financial services industries have lobbied Congress to rewrite the key law that regulates them to better serve their particular interests. President Clinton has just […]
Opportunity in Next Wave of Mergers
Final passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley bill means neighborhoods are likely to face two new investment battles, one local and one national. Locally, we’ll face a window of opportunity for new […]
Into Every Life a Little Sunshine Must Fall
An important part of the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s mission to ensure decent, affordable housing within healthy neighborhoods for everyone is the work state housing coalitions have done with […]
Congress Passes, Communities Pay
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley paves the way for a wave of mergers creating Citigroup-like conglomerates that span banking, insurance and securities, and control hundreds of billions of dollars in assets. The bill […]
You Get What You Need
To quote Mick Jagger, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try real hard, you’ll get what you need.” The CRA provisions in the financial modernization bill […]
Banks Spend Millions To Line Their Pockets With Your Money
In 1997 and 1998, banks, insurance companies, and brokerage firms spent over $300 million on lobbying and political contributions. While their “investment” in pushing so-called financial modernization legislation through Congress […]
Financial Reform Bill a CRA Coup, Despite Its Flaws
Though some have declared war on the financial services modernization legislation, it is important to keep perspective on issues such as the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). The conference agreement between […]
Communities Need to Capitalize on Financial Services Modernization Act
Seldom in legislation as complex as the recently enacted Financial Services Modernization Act does any group get everything it wants. In this case, however, I suspect that nearly everyone involved […]
CRA Weakened
The Community Reinvestment Act, a major tool for twenty years in bringing capital and fairer banking into low income neighborhoods, has been weakened by this year’s financial deregulation bill. This […]
Rural Lending in the Financial Modernization Era
The banking industry has touted financial modernization as revolutionary legislation that will improve services and reduce costs for all Americans. The actual outcomes may be mixed for rural areas, which […]
Financial Modernization: A CRA Organizer’s Worst Nightmare
Shortly after the passage of the Financial Modernization Act, a banker was heard to say to Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, the executive director of New Jersey Citizen Action, “Now you folks are […]
“Banking Jackpot”
“All in all, I think we hit the jackpot,” President Ronald Reagan told a Rose Garden audience of congressmen and lobbyists celebrating the deregulation of the savings and loan industry […]
CRA Survives Its Toughest Challenge
There is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result. –Winston Churchill The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) has survived the most serious attack in its 22-year history. The financial […]
Where Do We Go From Here?
Traditionally underserved communities lost on bank modernization. Policymakers missed a great opportunity to expand CRA to the new players in the financial sector. Moreover, CRA was weakened with less frequent […]
Planning Power
Many recent changes in Minneapolis, Minnesota – from community schools to traffic calming to new streetlights to community policing – are being designed, proposed, and even implemented by city residents, […]
Town & Gown: Making Research Serve Communities’ Needs
Academics often get a bad reputation for studying poor communities without involving them in study design. But some researchers are doing it differently.
Hopeful Signs
We hate being bummed out at the end of a millennium. Makes it tough to enjoy those 00 years. But as we approach the end of the year, the century, […]
Shelter Shorts
New York City Sweeps Up Homeless New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has struck again, this time against the city’s homeless. Homeless advocates were already concerned about Giuliani’s recently proposed […]
Capital Campaigns
Burdened by the typical funding limitation CDCs face – program specific, short term, restricted use, etc. – Isles, Inc. of Trenton, New Jersey decided to create an endowment – invested […]
Clearing the Air
The Bronx neighborhood of Hunts Point has one of the highest asthma rates in the world. Home to the world’s largest food distribution center, the Hunts Point Terminal Market, which […]