Note: This is a preview to two weeks of actions, rallies and mobilizations of homeowners who are fighting to “Make Wall Street Banks Pay” in the Bay Area (Spet 26-29) and LA (Oct 3-6). Details of events can be found at www.MakeBanksPayCalifornia.com

Last Thursday’s news was startling even for those who already knew California is at the epicenter of America's foreclosure crisis. New data showed that California had a staggering 55% increase in foreclosure notices in August, the highest in the nation. Coincidentally, it also marked three years since the shocking day that Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy and our economy began to unravel.

Last Thursday’s news was startling even for those who already knew California is at the epicenter of America's foreclosure crisis. New data showed that California had a staggering 55% increase in foreclosure notices in August, the highest in the nation. Coincidentally, it also marked three years since the shocking day that Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy and our economy began to unravel. It was appropriate, then, that a broad coalition of homeowners, students, faith leaders and activists spent yesterday shining light on the foreclosure crisis and economic despair and announced plans to fight back with even more intensity. Over the last two weeks, community events have been held across the state in Sacramento, San Jose, San Francisco, Richmond, Oakland, Los Angeles and San Diego, where people like Ana Guardado told their stories. Guardado, who lives in San Jose, has watched neighborhood friends of over 25 years move away as they lost their homes. She told the San Mercury News, “Two years ago, I saw a family outside in their yard on Christmas Day, and I decided I had to get involved. The family had all this stuff spread out, and they had a Christmas tree in the front yard so their kids could have Christmas.” Guardado invited people to get involved in helping affected families by visiting www.MakeBanksPayCalifornia.com

The new report released detailed the impact of the foreclosure crisis in neighborhoods across the state. In Sacramento, one of the hardest hit regions of the state, the numbers are staggering for a small city: by 2012, the 5 year total of foreclosed homes is expected to reach 71,470. Homeowners have lost an estimated $17.7 billion in property values, tax revenue losses are estimated at $108 million, and local government costs for increased safety inspections, police and fire calls, trash removal, and maintenance are estimated at $620 million.

“This report quantifies what people in California have understood for years – banks’ practices are financially devastating to our neighborhoods and cities,” said Peggy Mears of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), a statewide community organization helping California residents organize and take action to improve their lives.

The report offers the latest evidence that fixing the foreclosure crisis is central to fixing the economy. Data from the report shows that:

• The crisis of homeowners being underwater (owing more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth) could be solved by banks writing down those mortgages. It would save affected California homeowners an average of $810 every month and pump $20 billion annually into local economies.
• With the extra $810 per month, homeowners could start spending again, making purchases they have been putting off. The increase in consumer demand would in turn help create 300,000 jobs in California.
• Sacramento alone has 80,361 homeowners underwater by $7.4 billion. If banks wrote down those mortgages, it could pump $781 million into the local economy and create 11,544 jobs.

The situation is similar in Los Angeles, says ACCE member Lyneva Mottley, who lives in the Watts neighborhood. “For months now, banks have been ignoring the demands of residents in Watts and other neighborhoods to clean up the housing mess and end business practices that are devastating our communities,” said Mottley, who has seen foreclosures destroy her neighborhood. “It’s time to make Wall Street banks pay for their predatory actions. If they don’t clean up the trash they leave in our neighborhoods, stop unfair foreclosures and start paying their fair share of taxes, we are going to take our concerns directly to the banks and make our voices heard.” . Community members also went door to door in cities throughout the state to spread the word among neighborhood residents about a week of actions to force banks to pay their fair share.

The events are planned for September 26-29 in the Bay Are and October 3-6 in the Los Angeles. The rallies and protests will lead up to mass mobilizations in the Bay Area on September 29 and in Los Angeles on October 6. While Wall Street banks crashed the economy, are destroying local communities and are wrecking state budgets in California and across the country, regular citizens are paying the price. Today, California homeowners are still overpaying for their mortgages, students are getting hit with new fee hikes, and families are paying millions in overdraft fees because of the mess created by the banks (which are back to earning record profits and paying their CEOs enormous bonuses).

The campaign's goals are to: 1. Fix the economy by fixing the housing crisis through enacting a widespread mortgage principal reduction program, creating 300,000 California jobs and injecting over $20 billion into the economy. 2. Restore needed state revenue by making Wall Street banks pay their fair share of taxes and closing tax loopholes exploited by rich corporations. 3. Rebuild California neighborhoods by helping homeowners and restoring revenue to local communities by penalizing banks for foreclosures and blight, renegotiating costly interest-rate swap deals and winning court-based mediation for homeowners. California residents are encouraged to join the campaign and get more information by calling 877-633-9251  or visiting www.MakeBanksPayCalifornia.com