Gray, Blackstone offered to buy back some of the bank debt at a discount. Some lenders received just 35 cents on the dollar."

But Blackstone, of course, has no intention of restructuring the mortgages of low-income residents. It is demanding 100 cents on the dollar, not 35 cents.

Reverse Eminent Domain Spreads to New Jersey:

In Newark, New Jersey's largest city which sits within viewing distance of the Wall Street skyline, the City Council voted unanimously on December 4 "to begin legal research toward a program of making market-value offers on the most toxic loans and reissuing them to homeowners at the lowered amount," reports Bloomberg News. Neighboring Irvington New Jersey, which has more than 1800 foreclosed homes since 2008, has also joined the fray. " When you hear (‘eminent domain’),that dare use eminent domain.

Ironically, such a strike would be impossible in North Dakota where the public Bank of North Dakota, a relic from the last populist fight against Wall Street, provides local town financing at reasonable costs. The more the Richmond movement catches on, the more it will need the public banking movement to succeed. The blackmail weapon associated with state and local finance must be taken away from Wall Street, just as in North Dakota.

More importantly, progressives need to lend their full support to this movement. Occupy Wall Street proved that Americans are fed up with inequality and the endless greed of Wall Street. But, it also showed that we need an aggressive agenda backed by concrete activities, as well as penetrating slogans like "We are