[Occupymendocino] [Fwd: My letter to Shari Shapmire re: the Annual Investment Report]

[agnes at mcn.org]

Robin Sunbeam works with Occupy Mendocino and the Public Banking
Coalition. Please read this to see with what our County Treasurer is
investing our  county money including School Bands, Retirement Funds of
the $234 Million of the County Budget. I urge you to watch the video at
the end: Our money is not Safe in the Big Banks.
Best Regards,
Agnes Woolsey

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: My letter to Shari Shapmire re: the Annual Investment Report
From:    bodhirobin at pacific.net
Date:    Sat, August 16, 2014 10:54 am
To:      "Agnes Woolsey" <agnes at mcn.org>
         "Mary Zellachild" <maryzel at willitsonline.com>
         "Ellen Rosser" <ellen.rosser at gmail.com>
         "Ian Mackenzie" <ianmackenzie24 at gmail.com>
         "Jed Davis" <jedasiah at gmail.com>
         "Dan Hamburg" <vote at pacific.net>
         "Dan Gjerde" <dangjerde at netscape.net>
         "John McCowen" <mccowen at co.mendocino.ca.us>
         "Carre Brown" <carrebrown at pacific.net>
         "John Pinches" <pinchesj at co.mendocino.ca.us>
         "Bart Kaplan" <bobaka2 at comcast.net>
         "Peggy Backup" <pbackup1 at gmail.com>
         "Keith Wyner" <kwyner at mcn.org>
Cc:      "Jessie VanSant" <vjessielee at gmail.com>
         "Sheila Dawn" <sheila.dawn50 at yahoo.com>
         "Tom Davenport" <tom.davenport at vintagenet.us>
         "Phil Baldwin" <felipe at pacific.net>
         "Benj Thomas" <ukiahguy at yahoo.com>
         "Steve Scalmanini" <sscalmanini at yahoo.com>
         "Jane Jarlsberg" <jjarlsberg at gmail.com>
         "Sakina Bush" <sakina at mcn.org>
         "Linda Jupiter" <jupiter at mcn.org>
         "Jim Tarbell" <rtp at mcn.org>
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Letter
to Mendocino County Treasurer, Shari Shapmire, about the county Annual
Investment Report.

 Hi Shari,
 I arrived a bit late and
didn't hear the beginning of your Annual Investment Report.  I have
several questions.

  1) Did I overhear the Chandler adviser
mention something about "credit  enhancements" that might boost
your return...?  The derivatives market  is always coming up with
creative new  names for their high risk,
unregulated investments.  I surely hope that  you are not investing the
County's money in any fancy designer notes.

  2) The
Economic Update on p3 gives a surprising and rosy report.  Were  those
statistics for Mendocino County, California, or the USA?

 3)
Since farming is the largest income producer in our county, what do
nonfarm payrolls mean to us?

  4) Although the unemployment
rate fell, how many of those jobs pay a  living wage?  How many of them
also require public assistance to make  ends meet?

 5) Why
is it a good thing that consumer debt rose?   That just means that there
will be more fodder to foreclose on when  the Homeowner's Bill of Rights
expires in 2018.

 6) What is an "asset backed
security"?  What is a "mortgage pass through"?

They both sound like the mortgage backed securities that the big wall
street banks are paying settlements for defrauding people and the rating
agencies declined to take responsibility for their ratings of these  toxic
assets.  Although the big Wall Street banks have been paying  settlements,
the laws have not changed and the banks are still carrying  on the same
frauds.  The settlements are only a small fraction of the  amount of
profits gained from the fraud.

 Please remember that Orange
County went bankrupt from the Treasurer investing public money in
derivatives.

  I noticed that there were no ABS in June
2013.  Now there is 3.6%.   BEWARE!!!!  I suggest to stay miles away from
ABS or MPT for investing  public monies!  Don't be tempted by that smooth
Chandler guy.

  7) General Electric is one of the biggest
defense contractors in the  nation, and they control a large part of the
mainstream media.  They are  war profiteers and promote nuclear weapons.
They are an unethical  company and I suggest you divest our public monies
from them.

  8) Wells Fargo Corporation is one of the banks
that have settled over  their fraudulent foreclosure practices.  They are
an unethical company  and our public monies should not help fund their
unethical business  practices.

 9) Both Coca Cola and
Pepsico contributed to  defeat the GMO labeling law Prop 37.  They bought
fraudulent advertizing  with misleading and specious accusations shortly
before the election.   Considering that Measure H was passed in 2004
banning GMO agriculture in  our county, one could assume that your
constituents are in favor of GMO  labeling.  You must not invest our
public funds in companies that  actively fund opposition to the will of
Mendocino County voters.

  10) The Wal-Mart business model
depends upon paying such low wages that  their employees need public
assistance to make ends meet making  Wal-Mart one of the most profitable
companies in the world.  Wal-Mart  corporation is an unethical welfare
queen robbing the public coffers to  get richer and richer.  Please divest
our county's public money from  supporting a welfare queen like Wal-Mart.


 11) Why are we  investing all the county's money in
companies that have NOTHING to do  with Mendocino County?  Why aren't we
investing our county's dollars  into our own county's economic
development?

 12) Carmel Angelo  said our county loses about
$53,000 per year from MERS bypassing  recording fees.  If we started
recording assignments, and stopped paying  BOA $45,000/yr, we would be
$8000 ahead. (a joke)

 12) Please watch this 12 minute video
about the looming risk of depositing in the big banks. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIVRcYJvjwA

 In Peace,
Robin Sunbeam
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