HFJ-Fuck You!

Guess who's congressional district has the most of these checking cashing locations? That's right its Jr's. You know what makes this really sickening. He is on the Finance Committee which oversees this very type of predatory lending. The largest donations he receives are from financial services and banking institutions. Apparently, he doesn't give a fuck about bleeding his own constituents. To add insult to injury he signed the bankruptcy bill too. Fuck you Jr. Now this corporate cocksucking, worthless piece of shit of representative has the nerve to run for Senate as a "moderate." I reckon moderate means doing the bidding of corporate parasites sucking lower middle class and working class people dry. What would be the fucking economic difference between you and Corker? I figure not fucking much. At this stage, I hope you get your ass whooped by Corker and your brother by Cohen too. There's an extra hot and humid place in hell for politicians like you.

The "C" and Check Cashing Locations

Here is a map of check cashing/pay day/title loan locations. I used a different break down of income to get a better idea of where these places are.

In the previous map posting, I noted that there were about 180 bank locations in the Shelby County. There are around 170 of these check cashing/pay day/title loan locations in Shelby County as well. This does not include liquor stores and pawn shops. The locations on this map are of larger franchises with 4 or more locations. (AAA Fast Cash, ACE America, ACE Cash, Advance America, Cash In a Flash, Cash Quick, Cash Depot, Check N Go, Money For U, and Neighborhood.)

I made these bank and check cashing location maps on a whim and used the phone book for addresses. I wish I had read this report before hand, but the maps matched much of what the report said. The Urban Institute commissioned this report. "Analysis of Alternative Financial Service Providers" written by Noah Sawyer and Kenneth Temkin. This is the website. http://www.urban.org/publications/410935.html

One of the eight counties examined for this report was Shelby County. Here are some quotes from the Executive summary of the report.

"Most Americans conduct their financial affairs using retail banks or similar mainstream financial institutions, giving them ready access to some of the most efficient and sophisticated financial services in the world. But alongside these consumers, millions of minority and low-income households conduct financial transactions without ever using mainstream financial services. Indeed, according to a recent estimate, as many as 56 million adults have no relationship to mainstream financial service providers. Many of these consumers often rely on alternative financial service providers—check-cashing outlets, payday lenders, pawnshops, rent-to-own stores, and auto title lenders.1 While these alternative, nonbank financial service providers offer convenient services and easy access to cash, their services often carry high costs, limiting low-income families' ability to accumulate assets and establish a credit history."

"To address the limitations of previous studies and to examine more definitively the location of alternative providers, this report investigates the location of three types of alternative providers—check-cashing outlets, payday lenders, and pawnshops—in eight diverse demographic and regulatory environments:"

"FINDINGS
Alternative financial service providers are disproportionately located in minority, low-income neighborhoods.

Alternative providers tend to cluster in neighborhoods with a higher share of minority and low-income residents.

More alternative financial service providers per capita (and fewer banks) are found in census tracts that are disproportionately minority and/or poor."

These are some my own impressions of the map:
The demographic data is almost 6 years old, but the locations are contemporary. Look at Raliegh, Hickory Hill, and even Bartlett. These areas are going through major changes. It will be interesting to see what the census data in 2010 will look like. The "C" will have expanded.

In the next map, I'll touch upon another aspect of the Urban Institute's report.

The "C", Banks, and the African American Community

The last map I posted showed median income of census tracts and bank locations. I figured it would be informative to switch the the demographic information to percentage of African American residents by census tract. In Memphis and Shelby County there are about 180 banking locations, dominated by a few large banks. These are Amsouth, Bank of Bartlett, Bancorp, Trustmark, Suntrust, and First Tennessee. (These are the banks whose locations are listed on the map.)In addition, there are about 50 credit union locations in Memphis and Shelby County.
Looking at this map, if you live in an area with African American residency of 58% or more, chances are you don't have a bank near you. If you live anywhere north of Poplar avenue and west of Graham within the 240 loop, there aren't any major bank locations. South of Poplar/Union and west of Highland all the way to Interstate 55, there are 2 major bank locations. Frayser has a total of 4 major bank locations. Whitehaven has 4 and 3 of them on Elvis Pressly Blvd.
But check out Union from Mclean west to 240. There are 5 bank locations. Downtown there are 7. On and within a block of Poplar Avenue there are a total of 26 major bank locations. Now I understand banks are in the business of making money, but this map helps show that lower income and especially African American residents in the "C" don't have much access to institutions which help build financial resources. There are nonprofits like RISE that try to work in this field of building financial resources but its pretty tough to get people to buy into building wealth and using financial services when so many in the community don't have exposure banks.
Having more banks in the "C" isn't going to miraculously solve poverty but it factor towards moving in the right direction.

Harold Ford and the Iraq War

Recently, I've been wondering what Harold Ford Jr's position on the Iraq War is. A year ago, just three days after Hurricane Katrina hit, some members of the Shelby County Democratic Party's Executive Committee put forth a resolution stating that the local party supports a timetable and phased withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The debate was very heated. The most memorable quote was from the Party's sargent at arms who said when he was in Vietnam he wished more people had called for US troops to come home. The strongest opponents to the resolution was from the Ford supporters. I'm pretty sure that was because they didn't want any policy daylight between the local party and Jr's campaign. Needless to say, the resolution was not passed.

Fast forward a year. A week and a half ago, I see a posting on a national blog by Chris D. Jackson saying that Ford supports the partitioning of Iraq. This is the policy Peter Galbraith has supported. It was also what I thought should have happened 3 years ago. This is a major policy shift for Ford, which I have not heard himself state. I don't know if this posting was just Jackson trying to make political hay on progressive blogs or this really is Ford's policy. If it is, why hasn't this been a story in the media? I'm not sure any other national politician has actually endorsed this plan yet. Now I hear Jr is going to make some "big" announcement about the Iraq War in the near future. I just listened to two sound clips on Ford's campaign website. Ford stated he does not support a pull out from Iraq, but then he says stay the course isn't working. He says there has to be a discussion of new ideas, yet he only references Joe Biden's idea of partitioning. Biden still hasn't come out fully in support of this. Is Ford and Democrats big idea for Iraq in September partitioning?

Welcome to the "C"

A few months back, I wrote about how poverty has just become the way things are in Memphis. I mentioned areas of the city that are gripped by poverty and not paid much attention, whether through government policy or just citizen awareness. Everyone knows poverty exists in our city and it’s a major problem, but perhaps people don’t think about the enormity and fluidity of it. Over the past month or so, I’ve been making maps of Shelby County. The same shape kept appearing. I asked the other map makers about it. They said it’s the “C” and let me tell you it’s not really where you want to be. 99 out of 100 social problems, teen pregnancy, crime, broken families, environmental pollution, high school drop out rates thru the roof, are all prevalent there. Fundamental to the “C” and tying all these problems together, is poverty.

For years now people with the financial resources have been leaving the city for the county. This has caused the two points of the “C” to expand. The south leg of the “C” has been moving into Hickory Hill and the area south of 385. The north leg of the “C” has absorbed much of Raleigh and is encroaching on Bartlett. (That’s right Bartlett, you’re next.) What’s interesting is that East Memphis and the Poplar Corridor has held its own against the onslaught of poverty. (A friend of mine likes to refer to the Poplar Corridor as the “underground railroad for white people into downtown.” I just about spit my water out my nose laughing when he said it.) This is another aspect to the “C”. African Americans have been so failed (screwed) by the system that they are the vast majority of residents of the “C”. Unless we address the poverty that affects so much of the Memphis, the “C” will continue to expand. How far will people continue to run?

Note: On this map is median, household incomes broken down especially for incomes under $45,000. The triangles on the map are bank locations. But that's soon to be the subject of another posting.

Lamont 52 Leiberman 48. Hell Yeah!

Today we woke up to a different national Democratic Party and Republicans should be worried. If the republicans really thought that a Leiberman loss would have hurt the Democrats, they would have supported Lamont. As you could have seen on Fox News, they didn't. Bushism enablers within the Democratic Party will be cowed to some degree and that may result in a tighter message for the Party.
Of course we have our own Bushism enabler in Tennessee. The Lamont win will not really affect this race because we're fucking backwards ass Tennessee and it takes two years for national political trends to get here. But the November elections look better and in 2008 Hillary will not be the Democratic Presidential nominee.

PS-Congratulations Jim Dean of DFA. I glad I got to meet you at the DFT Convention. Thank you for coming down to Memphis for DFA Candidate camp this March as well. You've put in a lot of hard work, as has your brother the DNC Chairman, and its starting to pay off. You did a great job in Conneticut and on Meet the Press too. You've got an eye for political talent and future of Party got a little brighter yesterday.

UPDATE- I saw something that completely changes my views on the Tennessee US Senate race. Leiberman loosing changes the dynamic here. National Republican Party has called off the dogs. Ford is unique and valuable. His stock has gone through the roof. Corker is expendible.

The 9th Primary

Well, the Democratic primary for Jr’s seat is over. Here are few of my passing thoughts.

-When did anti-Semitism get so common?
Was it Mel Gibson’s Jesus snuff film from a couple years ago? At least we know now that film was anti-Semitic. But as a campaign tactic, how does it help a candidate to play the Jew-hating card if several others of the candidates do it too? Doesn’t that just split the African American bigot vote? One candidate should have just called dibs on the bigots and just run with it. It’s confusing to bigot voters to have multiple hate-mongers to vote for.

-Economic efficiency of the campaigns?
Bolton raised $179,000 and got 8,000 votes. That’s $22.38 per vote.
Tinker raised $521,000 and got 19,000 votes. That’s about $26 per vote.
Stanton raised $208,000 and got 6,900 votes. That’s a whopping $30 per vote.
Cohen raised $31,000 and got 23,600 votes. Now this is a model of efficiency. It works out to be $1.31 per vote. How much is a record of achievement and name recognition worth? Priceless

-Tinker Campaign
Personally, I think it was terribly run and strategically flawed. She raised a king’s ransom worth of money. She was in the race since August 2005 but she didn’t campaign until the last 2 months, and even that was half assed. By not introducing herself to voters until so late, she allowed bloggers to characterize her and give the campaigns their talking points about her campaign. What really caught my eye and made me go after her, was A) her contempt for voters and B) the amount of money she raised, especially from out of town. She represented everything I don’t like about the American political system. Wealthy, corporate interests buying lackey politicians devoid of ideals. That really was the last thing we needed here in Memphis. One thing I have learned from Tinker and JW Gibson, political signs with a candidate’s picture on them are invaluable. Linking a face with a name connects with voters and pays off on election day.
I know everyone in the Cohen campaign is celebrating today, but Tinker is going to be back in 2 years. Bloggers and campaign workers, save your postings and research. There will not be a dozen candidates to split the vote either. Someone may run her campaign better next time as well. I’m not sure she could have won this primary, but she could have come a lot closer than she did. Cohen is going to need to spend almost every break from Congress back here in Memphis working in the African American community if he wants to hold onto that seat. I glad Cohen won the primary. If /when he beats Jake Ford, I think Cohen will be a star for actually standing up for the interests of the 9th. I can’t wait to see the fiery speeches on CSPAN.