Subject: File No. DF Title IX - Municipal Securities and Municipal Advisors
From: John F Cockerill

March 9, 2013

March 9, 2013
A careful review of the Municipal Reinvestment bid form will show how the design and completion of this form is prone to avoidance of accountability, criminal completion, accountability of time of transfer, and forgery.

The following recommendations are offered for your consideration.

When I go to church and put a ten dollar check in the basket, I have to write out the amount in longhand. To insure a forgery claim in the event that another person should attempt to pass my check without my hand written payee, amount and signature, this written information is available for analysis.

On a multimillion dollar municipal reinvestment bid form, that is not required. A simple dash is provided to fill in the interest rate submitted. This means a blank form could be submitted and filled in later. the mere evidence of a written number of three numerals makes it difficult to examine for authenticity that the bidder actually filled in the interest before they sent the form to the bid recipient. The opportunity for forgery is all to easily available, especially if the receiver is familiar with the handwriting of the sender.

1. By hand writing the amount as:
"Six and two one hundredths percent per annum would leave more evidence for the investigation of potential forgery, as it does in a check writing investigation.

2. The record keeping requirements for these agreements should be expanded to include an originators file which would include the original bid form as sent with a fax confirmation form for the transmission.

The requirement that all valid copies retain the fax header on the transmissions and that any alteration of the original fax transmission be considered alteration or destruction of evidence, and obstruction of investigation, should they be found altered in the records of the transacting parties.

That all forms received after the posted dateline on the agreement be marked unacceptable as received and filed with the submissions received.

In this way incomplete forms would be visible in the files of the originator, and the forgery investigated from the acceptance fax returned to the bidder filed by the approval authority ,the broker and the winning bidder.

3. The denial of senior executives about behavior and actions on the part of traders is inexcusable. I order to help them become more knowledgeable of the activities in their organizations it is suggested that more accountability be implemented to assure that executives know: what, why, when, and who is conducting business for the corporation.

In the area of municipal reinvestment bid forms the simple endorsement of bids by a supervising Vice President of the Division which holds fiduciary responsibility for these transactions, endorses the bid form and it completeness and compliance with the disclosure requirements and completes his information on the form and sends the actual fax within the deadline. The Vice President will retain the original file for his records.

The Endorsement should include handwritten information as to name, title, approval of the bid, date and time of his signature, and telephone number.

Some would say this is demanding. Well the trader has to get a written approval to take someone to lunch from the Vice President. Why not let the Vice President supervise and approve a bid on a $30,000,000 investment bid.

4. Further, the Vice President or Vice Presidents responsible for this activity should be appointed annually by the Board of Directors for this responsibility.

Perhaps this procedure will make the Board of Directors and the Senior Officer more responsible when they have to answer to Congress and the Courts about improprieties and their lack of due diligence to avoid decades of fraud and abuse in their business practices.

 

 

Carbon Tax

 History Highway system  tools   gasoline tax

 2001  The industry thought conservation would occur as soon as oil was $100.00/barrel.

 Now we have a deadline of 2050 for climate change.

 The need is to penalize carbon emissions at all levels from consumers for heat and autos, to industry.

 The gradual implementation of a carbon tax on all carbon based emissions will encourage conservation and a changeover to renewable energy. 

With gradual implementation, the carbon tax base can be increased as the years pass.  Business and personal budgets will adjust to paying their fair share for pollution.  As the taxes increase, the consumer will think more about their personal need to conserve and change energy use habits.

 Kids in their cars will reduce unessential “bombing around.”

 As electric vehicles become more pervasive, road taxes will have to be collected at charging stations.  States will charge highway taxes at registration. 

 So what happens to the collected funds? The money can be used to finance infrastructure changes as do highway taxes.  Some can be set aside to fund incentives for newer technologies. 

 So what needs to be taxed?  Everything, from methane producing cattle, gasoline, fuel oil, trash, electricity, buildings, railroads, ships, power producers: all carbon emission sources.

 Electric utilities will have to raise rates to finance future infrastructure changes to bring the renewable non carbon emission electric power to the increased demand by industry and consumers and government to heat buildings and homes. 

 The key is to begin the understanding that everyone is going to have to change, and pay for the change.  With gradual implementation, society can adjust to the change.  The amount of money will be massive as the process progresses. 

 Folks will realize over time the necessity of having all carbon users pay and play for the transition from an unacceptable coexistence with their environment to a more sustainable relationship.

 The need for change will have to be sold to the people. Politicians will need to embrace the need, or be replaced by those that do. 

 We have all witnessed the need for education and repeated messages about the needs, during the recent epidemic.  A greater effort will be needed to educate and gain the cooperation of the people, to make real progress for carbon emission reduction.  This is not going to be easy.  The epidemic came out of nowhere, and will be dealt with in record time.  The environmental climate problem has been with us for 100 years.  It is never going to go away.  The importance and the urgency require us to move with purpose and determination from now, on into the future.

 We will never be free of carbon use.  Even with the transition to greater use of renewable energy, we will still have to maintain our carbon infrastructure. The most recent power failure in Texas demonstrates the need for current systems to be kept in place as back up to a frail electric grid.  This does not reduce the requirement that we install electric heating and cooling and appliances as soon as possible.  The reliance on carbon fuels to heat, bath and cook can be reduced now with electric means for the bulk of our needs.

 Conservation to improve energy use by making our buildings and homes less energy intensive, with insulation, window renovation and heating system efficiency will eventually pay off in reduction of current carbon emissions and the need for electricity when the transition is completed.

www.exqheat.com

 

 

 Black Wealth Development   1/28/21

 There are several means to acquire wealth to the new black economy.

 Workers at Large

There are those who have decided to take careers outside the community who attract income through their employment, bringing wealth into the community.  Transit workers, corporate employees, Hospital, Police, Prison, Fire fighters bring income to the community.  All this money must come into the community and never leave.  Money must be spent within, for consumer goods, appliances, automobiles, electrical and plumbing repairs, roofing, siding, painting, Kitchens and bath renovation, Heating, Air Conditioning, furniture, home improvements, clothing, food, and entertainment al as much as possible from community businesses.   10% or more of individual income must be set aside in community banks. Until Banks are established money can be stored in on line brokerage accounts and invested in secure stocks in order to compound interest at rates from10-20% per year.  As community businesses become public corporations with common stock available, investments can be made in those businesses. With the development of these businesses the return on investments should add substantial wealth to the community economy.

 Managerial Sector:

 These are the folks who go about the business of business within the community.  These are the retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, bankers; service trades companies, accountants, lawyers, transporters of goods and services, at every level of profit. Every level of exchange of goods from manufacturing to disposal, there is a level of profit that needs to be captured to the community. If it takes money from the community, it needs to be brought into the community.

 Innovators: 

These are the engineers, computer services, and marketers that will create new services and methods for the economy. Their vision for real estate, new products and services will make the community a more pleasant place to work live and play.

Family

 Family will be the heart of the value development of trust, ethics, direction and drive for youth to follow.  Community groups and action groups must reinforce the values to make everyone’s participation valuable and rewarded. The development of close knit community of trust and mutual benefit needs to model itself after the small villages all over the world, where everyone is important, contributes what they can and is looked after by the community as a whole.

Education:

 Education must be aligned with community goals. Local Boards can designate resources and time for state educational requirements, and community economic skills development. Every student should be graduated into a path of their own passion, to a life of contribution and sense of accomplishment. Every job is a good job.

 

Government:

Needs to be reorganized to provide assistance by providing the resources for education, public services, and using community resources for public works projects. Community contractors must be aggressively competitive to win these projects.  Companies need to bring together the community skills of labor, engineering, organization to meet the specifications of the work.  This will only happen with community goals of developing talent. None of this falls off a tree. It requires training, education and professional development. Experience outside the community can be brought back to the community. 

 Trade Groups:

Associations must be formed in neighborhoods, to meet and discuss business plans and new methods of improving business.  Cooperative buying, advertising, staff develop and recruitment. Youth from skills training in High Schools and trade schools should be invited to join as junior members. Mentoring activities will insure good success and encouragement through the hard times, and many avoided mistakes in business judgment. The craft guilds of Europe were at the center of advancement for centuries.

 Churches:

Churches are a part of the community, family fabric, provided they reinforce the values and motivation for people to trust and work together.  Churches have failed at this important function to be a forum for transferring values and codes of conduct to young and old alike.  There is a need for redirection, back to the basics of loving one another on a community level so citizens are respected and deliver respect in their inner intentions and overt action. Without respect, there is no trust.  Without community trust towards the common good, there is no community. 

These are what make every successful culture thrive.