For every homeless person in America, there are seven empty homes, vacated in most cases by foreclosure action. Underwater loans are so common they don’t even raise an eyebrow in conversation anymore. This way of doing business would be preferred by Wall Street and mortgage lenders, whose hugely profitable lending practices contributed to the mortgage and lending crisis.

The city of Richmond, CA, wants this to change. They see an opportunity to resolve some of the problem by enacting eminent domain laws to secure underwater mortgages that could then be rewritten at realistic market values and terms the borrower qualifies to be able to repay.

But not so fast, says Wall Street, investors and lenders, who object because of the profit they could lose if this plan were to be put in effect. Filing lawsuits and charging that their losses would be too great, they are also filling the pockets of Congress in advance to be sure laws and restrictions can be erected to prevent this type of solution from moving forward.

Richmond’s rules: Why one California town is keeping Wall Street up at night

Ironically, the “bubble” over mortgage values was created through the deregulation of lending practices, resulting in undocumented loans and debt traps that the majority of borrowers were unable to maintain payments on. As the American people seek a resolution to the problem, any solution that threatens the massive profits the banks have become accustomed to is soundly rejected before it has any opportunity for full consideration.

When we find solutions that actually work for the benefit of the people rather than big business, it seems contrary to the purpose of their posts for any member of Congress to prefer the profits of corporations over the life and liberty of the American people.

Corporations are not people, and money is not speech.

It appears Congress, and perhaps members of the Supreme Court, are being paid very well by lobbyists to change that.