Bringing America Back

On December 10, 2011 ABC News did a segment called Bringing America Back, American Dreamers. They highlighted people and a business that they thought exhibited American values. These are the stories on that show.

On November 8 it was reported that late mortgage payments were up for the first quarter since 2009 and on November 10 it was reported that foreclosures rose to 7% in October, the highest level since last spring. So, Bruce Boguslav, a 54 year old former Finance Management Consultant, started a not-for-profit company called HIS Trust - HomeSavers to help people whose homes are in foreclosure to get real modified mortgage plans and hopefully end foreclosure and/or auction procedures. He spends 8 hours a day fighting for months to get big banks to agree to a reasonable mortgage payment and delay proceedings. I don’t know what part Bruce played in this but on December 15 it was reported that November foreclosures dropped 17% from last year.  

On December 2 it was reported that the big 3 US automakers gained the market share for the first time since 1988. Ford Motor Company was billions in debt; wouldn’t take the bailout money or file for bankruptcy, and instead they turned the company over to an outsider to help get it back on track. The new CEO, Alan Mulally, in order to size production to demand, cut 17 plants and over 50,000 workers as well as having Ford take out $23 billion in private loans. Generations of Americans have been building Fords and the current workers took wage and benefit cuts. The CEO knew they had to be more competitive in other countries and when Congress asked him if he would reduce is salary to $1 from $17 million he thought he was earning his pay because things started to turn around. Mulally says Ford will be hiring 12,000 employees over the next 3 years and over the last 7 quarters (less than 2 years) they’ve repaid over $21 billion of their $23 billion in loans.

Dwyane Wade grew up on Chicago’s harsh south-side and was abandoned by his mother. When he was 8, his 12 year old sister dropped him off at his Dad’s house not knowing whether or not he’d keep him. His Dad brought basketball into his life and he learned that homework was more important. Dwyane now earns $14 million a year as a Miami Heat basketball player. He’s a single father raising 2 sons and a nephew (went through a 3 year custody battle and the kids do see their mother). He said he learned from his Mother’s mistakes and he’s reaching out to fathers and sons, trying to bring back the family (72% of blacks are raised by a single parent, mostly women). He hopes to get people to make good decisions and bring back the American dream of having your kids live a better life. He says it’s not about how much money you make but sitting down with your kids and helping them to get it right. President Obama appointed him ambassador at large for fatherhood.

On December 9, I heard that the Environment Protection Agency found that fracking polluted Wyoming ground water. On this special, the ABC commentator said - our ancestors tamed the wilderness and love and respected it. We’re proud of the beauty and the bounty of our land and that we can raise our children in a healthy and safe environment. She went on to tell the story of Erin Brockovich who was a file clerk when she began piecing together people’s sickness to a chemical (carcinogen chromium 6) used by Pacific Gas & Electric. People from around the country are emailing her and reporting suspected areas of concern and she meets with them. She’s returned 15 years later to Hinckley, California (where PG&E had settled for $333 million) to find that the water problem has not been fixed and the area of pollution has grown. Des Bell, Senior VP of PG&E says no one in Hinckley is drinking bad water (people say PG&E has lied and covered up the issue) but they do have a ground water contaminate issue to deal with and they do intend to stay there and do it right. To the people that tell her not to batter down the companies because they need jobs – she says there is an opportunity here to create jobs in science, technology, and in developing new ways to dispose of our waste.   

Dale Beatty (brain injury) and John Gallina (lost both legs) are both veterans and heroes who have taken it into their own hands to start a foundation called Purple Heart Homes in order to help disabled veterans by building and retrofitting homes. They wanted to bring back the times when after WW II veterans were cheered and embraced by their communities. They found that there were over 17,000 veterans living in their North Carolina community alone and millions of veterans that need help that the Veteran’s Administration won’t pay for. The guys go to communities and get volunteers to help do the work.