Selling off the
Post Office: Berkeley calls out Richard Blum
By blue denim
Saturday Dec 01, 2012 · 6:27 AM PDT
Angered by the proposed sale of their historic Downtown
Post Office, citizens of Berkeley, California are going to San Francisco on Tuesday, December 4th. They have two
demands. The first is that investment bankers stop profiteering from the sale
of public property assigned to the Postal Service. And the second demand is
that Congress stop bleeding the Postal Service dry.
Led by Citizens to Save the Berkeley Post Office, community members will assemble at 11:30 a.m. for
a rally at 909 Montgomery in front of the offices of Blum Capital Partners.
Blum Capital is a private equity firm founded in 1976 by Richard Blum, a
current regent of the University of California. Commercial real
estate giant Coldwell
Banker Richard Ellis (CBRE) is among the many investments of Blum
Capital. In fact the Chairman of CBRE is
Richard Blum.
The Postal Service is eager to sell properties in their
control to raise quick cash. CBRE advises the USPS on what properties to
sell. The properties are advertised on a joint CBRE/ USPS website and as a general
rule CBRE profits again as the listing agent.
After the rally in front of Blum Capital, the marchers
intend to proceed down Montgomery Street to One Post Street, the office of
California Senator Dianne Feinstein. Senator Feinstein's husband is Richard
Blum.
Newspaper headlines read "The Post Office is Going
Broke". Truth: The Postal Service is being bled dry by a law passed in the 2006 lame duck session
of Congress.
Senator Feinstein must take a lead in changing the 2006
law.
The USPS is managed by an independent Board of Governors
of 11 members. Nine are appointed by the President, no more than five
from one political party. There are three vacancies on the Board. Of the
six presidential appointments, only one was appointed by President Barack
Obama. The term of office of Dennis Toner, Obama's sole appointee,
expires December 8, 2012.
Elections must have consequences. Surely the
President should be able to make appointments to the USPS Board of Governors
and just as surely Senator Dianne Feinstein must reconsider her qualms on filibuster
reform. We are entitled in this democracy to have judges, agency
administrators and Postal Service governors appointed by the President that we
elected in 2008 and re-elected this November.
Rally and March from Blum Capital to the Office of Senator Dianne Feinstein,
11:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 4, 2012.
Rally starts at Blum Capital, 909 Montgomery St (at Pacific), San Francisco,
and then marches to Senator Feinstein’s office at One Post Street near Montgomery and Market Street.
"We will confront Richard Blum about his selling of our public property!"
"We well ask Senator Feinstein to act to save our post offices!"
More below the orange squiggle.
For background on the USPS read the excellent diary by
Laura Clawson back in April, "Republicans manufacture
a crisis for the Postal Service, and too many Democrats go along."
Stay current on the status of the Downtown Berkeley Post
Office by sending your email address to savetheberkeleypostoffice@gmail.com
The Save the Post Office website
has a wealth of current and background information.
HISTORIC POST OFFICES On June 6, 2012, the
National Trust for Historic Preservation named America’s historic post offices
to their “11 Most Endangered Places”
list.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has
indicated they will follow closely three post office transactions: Northfield
MN, La Jolla and Berkeley CA.
When the postal service sells a public building that
contains New Deal era art or when the building itself is on the National
Register of Historic Places, a covenant is placed on the deed. Postal
Service policy is to transfer the responsibility to enforce the covenant to the
state but the Postal Service keeps all the proceeds from the sale. State
Historical Preservation offices have resisted assuming this unfunded
responsibility.
Sixteen historic post offices
in California have either been sold or are being considered for sale. That's
more than any other state.
o Berkeley
o Burlingame
o Fullerton
o Huntington Beach
o La Jolla
o Modesto
o Orange Plaza
o Palo Alto
o Redlands
o Sacramento
o San Rafael
o Santa Barbara
o Santa Monica
o Southgate (Firestone)
o Ukiah
o Venice Beach
o Berkeley
o Burlingame
o Fullerton
o Huntington Beach
o La Jolla
o Modesto
o Orange Plaza
o Palo Alto
o Redlands
o Sacramento
o San Rafael
o Santa Barbara
o Santa Monica
o Southgate (Firestone)
o Ukiah
o Venice Beach
2006: CONGRESS, USPS & THE SHOCK DOCTRINE
"Thus it was that a new fund was established in
2006 — for the prepayment of health benefits for future retirees, with the
Postal Service agreeing to pay between $5.5 billion and $5.8 billion annually.
The money simply goes into an escrow account, where it is invested in special
issue Treasury securities. Thus does it somehow magically help with the
deficit." Joe Nocera, New York Times,
July 30, 2012
The 2006 lame duck session of Congress put the USPS in an
impossible situation by requiring the USPS to move between 2007 and 2016 a
total of $55.8 billion additional dollars of USPS operating revenue to US
Treasury securities.
While referred to as pre-funding of future retiree
medical costs, the law is more accurately seen as a simple cash transfer from
the Postal Service to the Treasury. It's like, well, the opposite of what the
Treasury did for the banks. The clever labeling also suggests extravagant
public employee benefits as likely culprits for the Postal Service crisis.
The media reports that the USPS has defaulted on two $5.6
billion annual payments. But no one reports that as of September 2012,
despite the $11 billion default, the Treasury still holds $45.3 billion in
the Postal Service Retiree Health Fund, a one-year increase of $1.5 billion,
for total reserves of approximately $45,000 for every current USPS career
employee, retiree or annuitant survivor.
The USPS makes additional annual payments of about $2.5
billion that fund all current retiree and
survivor health benefits.
The financial crisis that Congress has created for the
Postal Service (with some help from the recession and declining first class
mail volume) has created an opportunity for an old fashioned land grab.
"How much is USPS property worth? Nobody really
knows. The USPS, like every government entity, doesn't regularly appraise its
properties. But there is an estimate nosed about by the Right (that) the owned
USPS property portfolio is worth about $105 billion.
"Most of that owned real estate is prime, downtown
real estate in every town and city in America.
"A deal like (privatizing the buildings and land
owned by the USPS) is too big to be done all at once; it would flood the market
and undercut itself. It would have to be done slowly, quietly, and under the
radar -- hopefully so no one notices."
The Postal Service crisis creates opportunity for CBRE
and Richard Blum, an opportunity to profit from the dismantling of the Post
Office and from the conversion of our public buildings to private ownership.
ENVIRONMENTAL
ISSUES The U.S. Postal Service is the core of the trillion dollar
mailing industry that employs more than 8 million people.
The transportation of mail and small packages is a major
consumer of petroleum products. The USPS should be a leader in our
inevitable and necessary transition to a less petroleum dependent society.
Instead the USPS is pretending there are no environmental
consequences to facility consolidation.
In February 2012, USPS issued a Finding of No Significant Impact
(FONSI) on the Mail Processing Network Rationalization Initiative. The
proposal under consideration includes possible closure or consolidation of mail
processing for approximately 250 processing facilities and adjusting the mail
processing workforce size by as many as 35,000 positions. USPS is required
under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to perform environmental
assessments. The FONSI indicates USPS is gaming regulations to skirt their
green responsibility.
Berkeley
Haas
School of Business is a business school at the University of California, Berkeley.
Note: Laura D'Andrea
Tyson is a professor at the Haas
School of Business, a special adviser for the Berkeley Research Group, a director at the CBRE Group, Inc., was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a director at the New America Foundation.
Richard C. Blum
is a board member for the Haas School of
Business, married to Senator Dianne
Feinstein, the chairman & president for Blum Capital Partners, LP, a director & former chairman for the
CBRE Group, Inc., a regent at the University of California, an honorary
trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), and was a funder for the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Open Society
Foundations was a funder for the
Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, Jonathan
Soros’s father, and was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open
Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution
(think tank), and the New for the America
Foundation.
David H. Romer was
a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and is a
professor at the University of
California, Berkeley.
Haas
School of Business is a business school at the University of California, Berkeley.
Howard H. Leach
was a board member for the Haas School
of Business, and a regent at the University
of California.
Terry Tamminen was
a senior fellow & climate policy director for the New America Foundation, a secretary for the California Environmental Protection Agency, and a special assistant
for energy and environmental technologies, cabinet secretary for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Jonathan Soros is
a director at the New America Foundation,
and George Soros’s son.
California
Environmental Protection Agency is an agency for the California state government.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger was the California
state government governor, and Terry
Tamminen was his cabinet secretary, special assistant for energy and
environmental technologies.
Jerry
Brown is the California state
government governor, and Kathleen L.
Brown’s brother.
Kathleen L. Brown
was a California state government
treasurer, is Jerry Brown’s sister, and
a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
R. Eden Martin is
the president of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, and counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP.
Michelle Obama
was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.
Barack
Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin
LLP.
Newton N. Minow
is a senior counsel at Sidley Austin LLP,
and a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago.
Cyrus F.
Freidheim Jr. is a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
David H. Romer
was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and is a
professor at the University of
California, Berkeley.
Haas
School of Business is a business school at the University of California, Berkeley.
Richard C. Blum
is a board member for the Haas School of
Business, married to Senator Dianne
Feinstein, the chairman & president for Blum Capital Partners, LP, a director & former chairman for the
CBRE Group, Inc., a regent at the University of California, an honorary
trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), an Economic Advisory Council member for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and
was a funder for the Bill, Hillary &
Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Laura D'Andrea
Tyson is a professor at the Haas
School of Business, a special adviser for the Berkeley Research Group, a director at the CBRE Group, Inc., was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a director at the New America Foundation.
Bernard L.
Schwartz was a funder & director for the New America Foundation, a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, is a co-founder for
the Bernard and Irene Schwartz
Foundation, and the chairman emeritus for the Third Way.
Bernard
and Irene Schwartz Foundation was a funder for the New America Foundation, the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, and the Third Way.
Thurgood
Marshall Jr. is a trustee at the Third
Way, and was a board of governor’s member for the U.S. Postal Service.
William M. Daley
is a trustee at
the Third Way, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was the
the chief of staff for the Barack Obama
administration.
Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory A-Z (Past Research)
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Kathleen L. Brown
was a California state government
treasurer, is a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, Jerry Brown’s sister,
and was a California state government
treasurer.
Jerry
Brown is Kathleen L. Brown’s
brother, and the California state
government governor.
Arnold
Schwarzenegger was the California
state government governor, and Terry
Tamminen was his cabinet secretary, special assistant for energy and
environmental technologies.
Terry Tamminen
was a special assistant for energy and environmental technologies, cabinet
secretary for Arnold Schwarzenegger,
a secretary for the California
Environmental Protection Agency, and a senior fellow & climate policy
director for the New America Foundation.
California
Environmental Protection Agency is an agency for the California state government.
Jonathan Soros is
a director at the New America Foundation,
and George Soros’s son.
Bernard L.
Schwartz was a funder & director for the New America Foundation, a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, is a co-founder for
the Bernard and Irene Schwartz
Foundation, and the chairman emeritus for the Third Way.
Bernard
and Irene Schwartz Foundation was a funder for the New America Foundation, the Bill,
Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, and the Third Way.
Thurgood Marshall
Jr. is a trustee at the Third Way,
and was a board of governor’s member for the U.S. Postal Service.
Dianne Feinstein
is married to Richard C. Blum, a U.S. Senate senator, a California congressional delegation
senator, and was a San Francisco (CA)
mayor.
CA
congressional delegation is a delegation for the State of California.
California
state government is the government for the State of California.
Nancy
Pelosi is the speaker for the California
congressional delegation, the minority leader for the U.S. House of Representatives, and an investor in the Clean Energy Fuels Corp.
James C. Miller
III is a director at the Clean
Energy Fuels Corp, and was a board of governor’s member for the U.S. Postal Service.
Richard C. Blum
is married to Senator Dianne Feinstein,
a board member for the Haas School of
Business, the chairman & president for Blum Capital Partners, LP, a director & former chairman for the
CBRE Group, Inc., a regent at the University of California, an honorary
trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), an Economic Advisory Council member for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and
was a funder for the Bill, Hillary &
Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
Douglas W.
Shorenstein was the chair for the Federal
Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and is a trustee at the Environmental Defense Fund.
Janet L. Yellen
was the president & CEO for
the Federal Reserve Bank of San
Francisco, and is a professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.
Haas
School of Business is a business school at the University of California, Berkeley.
Laura D'Andrea
Tyson is a professor at the Haas
School of Business, a special adviser for the Berkeley Research Group, a director at the CBRE Group, Inc., was a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a director at the New America Foundation.
Richard C. Blum
is a board member for the Haas School of
Business, married to Senator Dianne
Feinstein, the chairman & president for Blum Capital Partners, LP, a director & former chairman for the
CBRE Group, Inc., a regent at the University of California, an honorary
trustee at the Brookings Institution
(think tank), an Economic Advisory Council member for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and
was a funder for the Bill, Hillary &
Chelsea Clinton Foundation.
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