The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) shut down Rob Arkley’s Statewide Bank today. Despite the bank’s promising logo, the bank was apparently not “on it.” 
From the FDIC press release:
Statewide Bank, Covington, Louisiana, was closed today by the Louisiana Office of Financial Institutions, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Home Bank, Lafayette, Louisiana, to assume all of the deposits of Statewide Bank…
The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $38.1 million. Home Bank’s acquisition of all the deposits was the “least costly” resolution for the FDIC’s DIF compared to all alternatives. Statewide Bank is the 30th FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Louisiana.
Arkley purchased the bank in 2003.
The FDIC issued a cease and desist to Statewide in 2008 for a list of bad acts. More recently the bank was embroiled in litigation with a victim of Hurricane Rita who claimed Statewide unlawfully seized her insurance money.
Whoa! Can’t wait to see how the salaried apologists spin this one for the big man.
Is there any way we can determine how much of his own money was lost, if any?
Isn’t it illegal for bankers to lose money?
I’ve never really understood why we allow our legal structures to permit someone to make profits from a business at Point A, mismanage the business into bankruptcy at Point B, and walk away from the business’s debt at Point C, either leaving creditors losing money or requiring a government bailout at Point D.
Whether it’s Charles Hurwitz of MAXXSCAM or Rob Arkley Jr. with his various shell companies, it all seems like part of the same structural problem to me. Business owners and managers are encouraged to make profit at any risk, since they can pocket the profits when successful, but walk away from the losses when things don’t work out.
No doubt this arrangement works out well for the top 10% of the wealthy, but why on earth do the other 90% of us allow this insane state of affairs to continue?
Socialism is okay when it benefits rich people!
Well yeah, but Rob donated money to the zoo and he rebuilt the,,,oh never mind.
I expect 50 tea-baggers to be out in front of Security National Monday protesting this $38.1 million taxpayer boondoggle.
That’s the whole purpose of a corporation, 4:53. It is a sociopathic “person” without any real accountability. It can “die” if it goes bankrupt, but the people behind it who gain the profits are shielded from responsibility for the corporations’ actions in most cases.
“Anonymous Says:
March 12, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I expect 50 tea-baggers to be out in front of Security National Monday protesting this $38.1 million taxpayer boondoggle.”
EXACTLY!
This is humiliating for Rob. He won’t be able to show his face in Humboldt County again.
sez http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/blog/2010/03/12/fdic-closes-statewide-bank-home-bank-to-acquire-assets/
How much is CUE’s indemnification worth now? I fear that it has suffered some devaluation. Tyson better stir himself to do some fast collection work on what Arkley owes the city.
The city should ask Rob for proof he has the financial resources to develop the Balloon Track. The City Council has gone out on a limb to support an unpopular development.
(Unpopular on a blog, popular with Eurekans.)
It’s unpopular with the people I know.
The Piyush “Bobby” Jindal fund raising reception in Robs’ Louisiana mansion did not “Pay Off” it seems, except for Bobby. How sad. Maybe Rob can sell the Boardwalk back to the City. Tyson probably has already thought of that and has Mayor Bass on his side…(Nope not going to take this any further…)
I know people against it, most of them do not live in eureka. It seems as you get more into eureka the support goes up. Still, at the heart of the bell-curve is the citizenry of Eureka, who are mostly apathetic and dont care either way.
FDIC is an insurance for banks and depositors. Kind of socialist too. But insurance non the less.
Rob should have known better than to do business in Louisiana.
Thanks to all the liberal idiots (clinton, Frank, etc.) forcing lenders to give loans to loosers now we have to pay for these foreclosures too. Old news.
This blog is dull.
“We’re on it.” Makes ya wonder what “it” was….
Does Arkley not have $38.1 million in his personal bank account? Why doesn’t the man pony up the money instead of leaving us on the hook for their mistakes?
I live in Eureka. I can easily tick off 10 other Eureka dwellers I know who are against it. The bell curve/apathy meme is specious when you base it on these sort of seat-of-your-pants anecdotals – yours and mine.
The only hard data that has any bearing in gauging Eureka resident opinion on siting mass retail at the balloon track is the Walmart vote. Too bad that so many on the city council ignore this basic reality.
Ponder z you allege liberals forced banks to lend to “losers”. Are you serious? You are making HiFi look almost sorta-smart. It was GREED Dude, simply greed. BTW what was your outrageous bonus this year??? Didn’t get one? Wonder why on that one! NOT.
Bolithio writes,”(Unpopular on a blog, popular with Eurekans.)”
Well part of the projects popularity is due to the fact that it is being sold to the public as if Security National was solely financing it,and no public funds would be necessary.Already before today’s events in Covington,that trust was broken when taxpayers funded a trip for council members and city staff to San Francisco.
As I’ve said before,the city needs to do a thorough examination of Security Nationals financial situation before proceeding any further.
You are aware that the FDIC does not use taxpayer funds to pay for bank failures, right?
Banks pay into the fund each and every year so that the fund can take any losses and not the depositors or taxpayers.
I think the title is sensational, but not quite accurate.
It is? I never saw that advertisement…
“”The bell curve/apathy meme is specious when you base it on these sort of seat-of-your-pants anecdotals – yours and mine. “”
Absolutely. But we are all talking with each other right? Its all we got.
“Banks pay into the fund each and every year so that the fund can take any losses and not the depoitors…”
Hmmm, where do you suppose the banks get the money they pay into the fund to bail out the Arkley bank and other irresponisble institutions? From bank customers (and with the recent federal bailout, perhaps from taxpayers, too).
No matter how you slice it, Arkley’s bank is being bailed out by people who got no benefit from it.
My bad.
According to Clean Cut McDaddy’s logic, drunk driving accidents are no big deal, as long as there is insurance to pay for it.
Bolithio I disagree with many of your positions. Sometimes not by a lot. Talking with each other elevates us above the “Fox Noise” and Talk Radio bullshit. Really appreciate you saying that and have a lot of respect for you for that. Open and honest discourse without so much venom is what we really need. Heated arguments are what our country was founded on, that’s OK. Provided respect is included.
The federal govt. guarantees the FDIC.
Jane is right. The FDIC is almost insolvent because of the number of bank failures. Ultimately, it will be the federal government that ends securing accounts at failed banks.
So, in addition to the indirect taxpayer bailout of the Arkley bank — in which the previously bailed-out banks use some of that taxpayer money to pay their FDIC insurance, we may end up with a more direct federal bailout of FDIC, and therefore of Arkley.
You’ve heard the phrase “laughing all the way to the bank,” but now greedy, irresponsible fat cats like Arkley are inventing a new phrase: “laughing all the way home from the bank.”
The savings and loan crisis (they were insured by FDIC) cost taxpayers directly about $124 billion and other banks and S&L’s approx. $30 billion in increased taxes.
So much for the “personal responsibility” that neocons like Arkley are always crowing about. I guess that’s just for the “little people.”
Remember, if you’re a single mom on public assistance you’re considered an irresponsible person and a serious drain on society at a rate of a couple of thousand dollars a year.
But a greedy, incompetent bankster who costs the public (depositors, bank customers and maybe taxpayers, too) millions upon millions of dollars?
Well, then you’re considered a pillar of the community! (All the more so when you use some of that stolen money to buy a theater you can stamp your name onto the front of, like a pathetic Donald Trump wannabe).
I’m not an Arkley admirer, but I appreciate it that he restored the old Sweasey theatre and bankrolled The Vance hotel restoration. If he wants to put his name on the theater, well that’s a small price to pay for keeping the building from the wrecking ball on just letting it sit and continue to decay.
Is anyone surprised that the people who complain the most about regulations are the same people whose business behavior needs to be regulated? Letting them make the rules is like letting criminals make the laws. (No snide remarks about congress)
I have to believe that if Arkley could not save his bank from failing then he must be in real deep financial trouble. I just hope it does not translate into layoffs at his office here.
Part of the problem is clearly understanding who is responsible. RA behind the banking fiasco of the last few years? Unlikely. That may not exempt him from his responsibility as a business owner – but these are still allegations. Even if the bank was involved in “unsafe” lending, RA was not at the helm of the bank. Was it the banks that are behind the stock market crash, the recession, the exodus of manufacturing, the insatiable hunger for more built into our culture? Maybe. Is RA responsible? Are you?
As tempting as it is to have faith that there is a simple answer to these issues, we know – deep down – that the answer is so complex that there may not even be one (an answer).
It really comes down to the right to profit, while not effecting (adversely) others. We all know that most of the time huge company/shareholder situation gives little thought to the effect on real people. It wasnt always like that, big companies used to pride them selves in taking care of their own. What happened?
But is RA really that bad? Do we really think he is laughing like a super villain in a cave with a white cat? Having big money sort creates a sort of guilt by association – especially by the way you invest it. But while not on the same scale – we are all participating in this system too.
Still, if you read this:
http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2010/03/statewide_bank_becomes_louisia.html
Whole things doesn’t seem that bad does it? Besides RA probably loosing big on his investment there.
(thanks ThinkingOutLoud2)
Jane is correct about past S&L failures ultimately costing taxpayer money.
It is quite possible that this time will be different due to two substantial differences:
1) banks have been required to pay three years of premiums upfront to build up the size of the fund
2) Many of the “losses” projected for banks in the current road of bank failures are only losses on paper. Mark-to-market accouting rules coupled with stringent reserve requirements have led to failures that will not cost the FDIC, let along the taxpayers, a dime.
All bank failures are a “big deal”. I feel sorry for the employees.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123630304198047321.html
The FDIC still can’t insure against a failure the size of the S&L crisis without federal funds.
Let us remember the last time the republicans worked with the democrats. In 1998 at the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency,
In 1999, 16 democrats joined 205 republicans in the house to pass a repeal of the Glass Steagall Act of 1933. The act that basically allowed banks to get into the gambling business was sponsored by 3 republicans, Phil Gramm of Texas and representatives Jim Leach of Iowa and Thomas Bailey of Virginia. The republicans were in the majority but supported Barney Frank and other democrats at the time to allow all of this to happen.
Since then, about the only thing the two parties have agreed on is the official story for 9/11 and one of two resulting wars.
Blaming democrats for this is ignoring the sponsors and overwhelming republican house support repealing Glass-Steagall Act. It should be put back in place.
Correction: Glass Steagall actually kept banks out of the gambling business because that had a lot to do with the last republican depression. They didn’t want it repeated.
“RA probably loosing big on his investment there.”
You’re missing the point: the way the current system works, creeps like RA can profit from an enterprise for years, then when the business hits the skids due to either mnismanagement, unwise risk-taking, or just a bad economic situation, these guys can just walk awaythe government, depositors and creditors to deal with the bad debts.
Even when an investor like Hurwitz pocketed millions in profits from Maxxscam over several decades, when the company finally went belly-up suddenly its all “Who, me? I don’t got the money!”
The Arkleys and Hurwitzs of the world can take money out when things are good, but they don’t have to put money back in when it all goes to shit. As long as this is the way the incentives work, there will always be plenty of bottom-feeders like Arkley who care so little for the effect their greed has on others that they don’t mind working within this corrupt system.
And plenty of apologists, lackeys and toadies to find excuses and justifications for the actions of these lowlifes.
And, amusingly enough, there are even some suckers who will bow and scrape to these crooks, obsequious in their thanks for works of “philanthropy” paid for by a man who, in essence, has just robbed the FDIC (and therefore depositors, bank customers, and perhaps taxpayers) of millions of dollars. If we didn’t have so many crooks and shady dealers like Arkley, sucking us dry with their parasitic practices, perhaps we wouldn’t NEED so much philanthropy in the first place.
WELL SAID, anonymous at 1:07 a.m.
Minor correction, Tom. That is Bliley, not Bailey.
TOL2: The Fanimac and Fanima were making lenders lower the bar for applicants for the last 16 years. Most foreclosures are from this action of lending beyond a borrowers means. Then the borrowers borrowed more against the economic equity in their new homes to buy a new truck and bass boat. Bank gets house, borrower gets truck and boat, taxpayers get anal sex, Barney Franks husband gets a raise.
You anti Arkleys keep forgetting and/or don’t even get how the government sticks its nose into so much business, the end result is disaster, and the business man is blamed for it all.
For example; the new commercial diesel smog rules for Kalifornia. This law will make trucking cost much more in Kalifornia. All to clean truck exhaust that is not really dirty. All because some fool think it will stop climate change. Way to go libs.
Still haven’t heard a compelling augment of how Arkley is a crook, shady, or “sucking us dry with their parasitic practices…”
—
Deposits in Statewide Bank will continue to be insured by the FDIC and will remain accessible to customers. All Statewide Bank locations will reopen Saturday morning as Home Bank branches, and Statewide Bank customers can continue writing checks and using their ATM or debit cards.
“Basically, the bank experienced significant losses in loans to real estate developers as well as in its commercial real estate loans,” said FDIC spokesman David Barr. “That, coupled with the weak real estate market conditions, really put some stress on Statewide Bank.”
Barr said that in 2006 and 2007 Statewide Bank also invested in private label mortgage backed securities, a type of asset-backed security where the cash flows are backed by the interest and principal payments of a set of mortgage loans. The bank incurred losses on those investments as well.
—
What has Rob done? Looks like a risky investment for sure. And our system shelters our financial institutions against these failures, hence the FDIC. Not saying its right or wrong. But still not smelling a supper villain here. RA is no Rothschild.
Less regulation, that’s the answer? Truck exhaust is not really dirty? Oh. Okay. Heh. Not.
Ponder z the “bundlers” could not care less if the people they were lending to had the ability to pay the loan. They sold the paper very quickly and robo-called or cold-called more victims and reaped more profit. The lenders agents would convince prospective borrowers they could swing it and would use any means possible to “sell” the loan. That’s how the lenders and their agents made money. Lenders hired a lot of part-time telephone solicitors to sell loans.
Did this relieve the borrowers of fiscal responsibility? No. However the nefarious tactics of many lenders surely clouded the judgment of many.
Don’t forget how many Americans were put out of their jobs by executives quick to outsource jobs to India and China to make quarterly dividends, thus making their outrageous bonus and salary.
The Wal-Marts and Home Depots of this country really greased the skids of this downward slide.
Yea, go ahead and defend the Arkley’s of this country, they have done soooooo much for us.
Ponder z is seriously confused. The FM’s didn’t make anyone lower the bar on mortgage requirements and has never had the power to do so. The financial industry lobby pushed for the FM’s to buy sub prime mortgages, not the other way around. The vast majority of the blame for the mortgage crisis belongs to lending institutions unregulated by the CRA, banks that lent to people anxious to buy homes in a sellers market before the gap between what they could afford and the actual price increased even more. This demand fueled higher home prices. When these flexible rate, high risk mortgages couldn’t be refinanced, the foreclosure crisis began which in turn affected the value of every other home in the market and, consequently, the value of mortgages held by banks and the FM’s.
Addendum: With stagnating wages, off shored jobs and inflation, people who wrongly believed they would be able to refinance their mortgages to a fixed rate before their balloon payments came due were stuck with no option but foreclosure.
Anonymous 1:07 makes the point so well I figured I’d just quote it in its entirety, removing the nastygrams for those who won’t listen to the point because of them. I apologize to 1:07 if they feel I’ve destroyed their words — that’s not my goal:
As I suspected, the haters are dancing with glee.
Businesses fail during a recession. A recession that will be made far worse because of the Porkulus bill the Democrats rammed through congress last February.
But no taxpayer funds were lost in this instance because of the bank failure, the insurance pool is funded by other banks. An insurance pool that Arkley’s bank also paid into.
I’m not a fan of Arkley, but I also acknowledge that he has done some much needed improvements for this city. When the balloon track was first proposed, I was one of those in favor of it. That was before Home Depot, & the half ass cleanup proposal.
Plain & simple, Arkley is a bully & now he is a broke bully. Oh well, what goes around, comes around. We make laws in this country because people like Arkley don’t Or won’t do what should be done in the first place.
I don’t think we will see him in the food stamp line anytime soon, but the city needs to collect the money he owes us while the getting is still good! If he doesn’t have it, put his home & businesses on the auction block!
With regards to the Balloon Track, the city needs to get Wash. DC involved to get the rail road to clean up the mess they left.
Home Depot is not an option at this point. But then, I’m one of those people that think that Eureka is already over run with dead-end low wage jobs. After the Balloon Tract is cleaned up, it will be prime real estate. Maybe then, we can get some living wage jobs for this city & see some real growth.
Timber is gone, mills are gone, & fishing is all but gone. We better figure something out, or Eureka will be gone. Arkley did not cause these problems, but a Home Depot is not the answer to these problems either! Eureka needs to pull their head out of their asses & figure out something or everyone with an education & jobs skills will be down the road.
Is Security National a “bundler?” Do they buy up distressed mortgages and bundle them to sell into the market? Did they sell any to this little country bank in Louisiana?
have a peaceful day,
Bill
“now he is a broke bully.”
No he is not.Don’t be fooled.That is the mantra they plan to use when asking taxpayers to pony up the money to pay for the Marina Center,if the support is there to develop it.If he’s broke then maybe Whitman will reimburse him 25 grand.
This is fallacious.
If you use a bank in this country, the fees that go to the FDIC to cover accounts at failed banks come from your deposits.
Banks pay fees to the FDIC. But they pass the cost along to their customers, like all businesses that has to pay fees to the Feds. Banks find all kinds of ways to charge their depositers fees. And like Republicans and tea baggers are fond of saying, a fee is a tax. In this case, the bank collects the fees on behalf of the Fed.
The FDIC is in trouble, deciding last year to assess banks three years’ premiums at once to replenish its funds. The FDIC has the ability to borrow up to $500 billion from the U.S. Treasury. At the end of the last quarter of 2009, the insurance fund that covers $4.5 trillion in deposits in the United States had a negative balance of almost $21 billion.
The taxpayers had to come to the rescue of the FDIC during Reagan-Bush I Savings and Loan crisis at a cost of $150 billion.
It is simply sophistry to argue that taxpayers don’t pay for failed banks.
Bolithio, you ask what has Rob done? Down here there’s a handful of us who helped him find and acquire his dream thrift and who were promised equity positions in return. Take a wild guess what we got? Nothing but a dare to sue his lying ass. Anyone who believes he is anyting but a creep is a fool.
A person who flagrantly and repeatedly lies to their spouse surely wouldn’t hesitate to lie to business acquaintances would they?
It all boils down to Rob is addicted to speculative projects and investments. The Eureka Reporter, the Balloon tract, two failed banks, farm lands all over the county that will be very hard to change zoning on, no matter how hard he beats on the county. So far he has gotten away with these tactics at the city level because of a very compliant council and city manager. He sells a pie in the sky idea to get a very public cheer leading team, gets his team of high powered lawyers to beat down the opposition, develops as much as he can to make it all look real, and hopes no one sees the pit falls. In this weaken economy, his stack of cards is falling apart. One wonders how many assets can fail before there is a very, very, big garage sale. I have a feeling it is going to be a long time before the city gets the EIR money from him, if ever, and even longer before he gets to play around with his tonka toys over on first street. For those of you that are waiting for Home Depot to arrive before you remodel, you might want to revise your plan. I’ll go so far as to say that the property will revert back to Union Pacific.
Mitch, I have no problem with your re-write of my 1:07 post, you did a great job. What you demonstrated was that Arkley’s modus operandi is common enough that the quote still rings true even when applied to generic capitalists.
Certainly Arkley and Hurwitz aren’t unique in being economic parasites. But they are two of the main economic parasites that have operated in Humboldt in recent years, and hence have a special place in my heart.
R.U.M.P.I.E.S.
Republican Upwardly Mobile Professionals.
They kick it when it’s down and kiss it when its up.
The Gilded Age begins anew.
9.29 am; by your reasoning, the bank buying a new desk, a newspaper ad and the cokes for the employee break room was also “funded” by the taxpayers.
I have never read such a twisted piece of logic such as yours. You’re just going to have to find another way to vent your class envy & attack Arkley.
And “The Monitor” calls Arkley a “parasite”? Bullshit. He contributes more to society than the Monitor could even dream of. Not only has Arkley donated many, many, millions of dollars to community projects in the Greater Eureka area, but the taxes he pays most years dwarfs what the Monitor will pay in his entire lifetime.
Living in Eureka – you make some good points. However, I would say that Timber is not gone. At least not like the fishery is gone. And Timber is one of the areas where relaxed regulation would help. But its more of market issue. Hopefully there will be a mill or two left when the demand catches back up with supply. I digress.
While Home Depot may not be ‘The Answer’ for Eureka – I think a larger retailer represents allot more than some ‘dead end’ jobs. If we look at the Marina Center as a whole, from the clean up, the construction of what ever gets constructed, traffic mitigation associated with it, and so on – we start to see how the job aspect of this carries over into allot more than just the feared big box store. Projects like this not only create jobs for higher paying local industry (contractors, environmental consultants, etc.) but also hosts a slough of steady base wage jobs. Dead end or not, its work for people who want it.
What other potential large scale projects are on the table right now in Eureka? If there are none, should we doom it because the primary investor happened to invest in the small bank 7 years ago? I get why people may not like him – but I dont get why they dont want to see other things which help out locally succeed.
I’d say this is another reminder that Arkley is just a big fish in a little pond, certainly not a brilliant businessman. And yes, he’s the principal of the bankso he’s responsible for the decisions, especially the strategic ones that determined what business lines to enter.
Arkley looks smart only to those who follow the Calvinist ideal that material wealth is an indicator that someone is righteous and elected for heaven(and poverty is an indicator that someone is sinful and destined to hell).
Arkley has made many stupid financial moves but because he started off with a lot more money than most, he can lose a lot and still have more. If Arkley’s business was trading on a financial exchange, it would be a highly speculative penny stock(and criticized for having bad management).
Bolithio, you have your economics upside down. First, any jobs actually created from cleaning up and building the Marina Center would be temporary, at best. Long term we would have only low wage retail jobs that do not support families. The real engine that drives an economy lies in light industry of all types. If a significant protion of the Balloon Track was used for a light industial park, it could be coupled with Short Sea Shipping (Containers on barges) from the Schneider Dock right down the street. The jobs this would create would be good paying, innovative, and wealth-creating. It would create FAR LESS traffic on Broadway and Waterfront Drive. Demands on police and fire services would be reduced. There could still be a retail ‘neighborhood’ aligned with Old Town that does not have a ‘category destroying’ big box.
RA is so bent on revenge that he seems blind to the realities and real needs of Eureka. I’m guessing that if the Coastal Commission or any of the lawsuits don’t go his way, we’ll see the escrow on the property magically ‘fall through’. The current BayKeeper’s lawsuit against Union Pacific could produce a real cleanup and progress toward a better future. It takes imagination, not dictatorial ‘my way or NO way’ proposals like the Marina Center.
HiFi, you really gotta change your moniker. You are just plain stupid,(& certainly ignorant of high finance) if you think taxpayers come out unscathed when a bank like Arkley’s fails.
Hi fi, I am just stating the facts as I see them. I didn’t call him a parasite. A parasite is an organism that attaches itself to and lives off a living host. I see him a bit more like a great white.
It’s interesting and revealing that certain folks — like High Finance — always attribute other folks’ displeasure with Mr. Arkley (and others) to “class envy.”
I believe that’s because that’s what lies in their own hearts, and they can’t really fathom other motivations. They are materialists, pure and simple, and wealth, acquisition and power (deriving therefrom) are what they see as the only real driving forces of human behavior.
So if you disagree with Mr. Arkley’s modus operandi, with his philosophy, with his politics, you are obviously envious of his wealth and position (“class envy”). But there are many principled reasons to disagree with the way Mr. Arkley does things, and I object to many of them. And indeed, he behaves like a bully.
If Mr. Arkley is indeed worth a billion dollars, then he’s worth at least 3000 times what I am (if I include my house), yet I wouldn’t trade places with him if I could. I’m happy with what I have, and don’t need or want a lot more.
I suspect that many of those who post here feel similarly. It’s not “class envy”.
No envy here.. how about just plain resentment that he can’t pay the puny little EIR bill owed to the city.
And when you come right down to it, how much credit does Jr deserve for the family wealth vs Sr. anyway.
Let’s have a history lesson shall we folks;
The timber industry would be thriving today if it wasn’t for greed, mismanagement, lack of conservation, last but not least, total lack of concern for the environment. But not because the of lack of demand for timber.
The pulp mill stunk up our city for years & polluted our bay. The people allowed this for years because of the almighty buck! The lack of a thriving timber industry = lack of product for the pulp mill.
You would have to live under a rock not to know what the dams have done to our salmon industry.
This city needs industry to support its community. Without it, there is no growth. Every family that moves out of our city to find work elsewhere, is a loss of talent to our city. Enough loss, our city will not survive.
If anyone would like to see what a death of city looks like, take a trip down to Stockton.
We could have a thriving tourist industry. Cruise ships dock up & down our coast every day. Filling other city pockets with their money. Our city could be part of this industry. WE might try the word this city hates the most…CHANGE! But the building of a Home Depot will not bring the CHANGE we need. If you disagree with this, take a shorter trip to our local mall. No jobs = No money, No money = No stores, No stores = No jobs!
Wrong. A desk, advertising or cokes for employees is a cost of doing business. A fee paid to a government agency is a tax, like those of your ilk always point out. Banks recoup the fees they pay to the government by assessing fees on your accounts.
You also conveniently neglected to acknowledge the FDIC has a $500 billion line of credit with the U.S. Treasury, taxpayer money. And you conveniently ignored the fact the FDIC is running a deficit and the last time that happened it cost the taxpayers $150 billion.
Those are great ideas Mouse, and in alot of ways its a shame that they are not being explored with more enthusiasm. Again, didnt think home depot was the answer. Just something in an otherwise big pile nothing. Temporary jobs are still jobs, and a few years of good jobs in the area might be part of what we need to keep the motor idling until the overall economy improves.
—
It might not be class envey allot of you are feeling. But allot of your arguments come across with great resentment. When the tone is set with adversarial comments, its hard get to the truth of what you are saying, and for your good ideas to shine through.
Also, there is another definition for Materialism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materialism
The relevant to this discussion definition of materialism:
Materialism refers to how a person or group chooses to spend their resources, particularly money and time. Literally, a materialist is a person for whom collecting material goods is an important priority. In common use, the word more specifically refers to a person who primarily pursues wealth and luxury. Sometimes such a person displays conspicuous consumption.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_materialism
“”The timber industry would be thriving today if it wasn’t for greed, mismanagement, lack of conservation, last but not least, total lack of concern for the environment. But not because the of lack of demand for timber.”"
Thats some history lesson ~Living in Eureka~. What is that based on? Im not getting a strong sense you have put much energy into understanding how forest management and policy has evolved in the last century. If your thinking of MAXXAM, remember that that represents only 16% of the timberland of this county. And Maxxam is gone. In their wake we have a new company, and the same amount of timberland (albeit a large chunk permanently out of production as part of their HCP). And guess what there is no shortage of trees on old palco lands, or any of the 1,500,000 acres of timberland.
Renewables are a huge part of our future as a society, and we would be fools to not be considering that now for eureka. The industry will change over time – as it always has. If we are going to try to create manufacturing here, shouldn’t we utilize our resources? Isnt that what a sustainable economic model would look like?
Just thowin a curve ball Jane. Most of us are guilty of the other kind of materialism from time to time.
I find the arguments about the economic benefits of a Home Depot somewhat specious, UNLESS there is significant economic growth in our industrial, technology, information or agricultural sectors, that is, in areas which will provide NEW jobs. Otherwise, it’s a zero sum game. There’s the same amount of money to spend and it’s simply redistributed in a new way. Jobs are created at Home Depot but lost elsewhere. It’s not like the Home Depot will draw in lots of new customers from outside Humboldt County.
The cruise ship idea certainly has merit and would benefit downtown businesses. There isn’t a cruise ship port between San Francisco & Astoria, so Eureka seems perfectly situated. How come the city manager, council and planners haven’t looked seriously at that? Probably because it isn’t an Arkley pet project.
Actually they have, Titan. There was a great deal of time expended trying to lure cruise ships here and one (?) came a couple of times. Other Heraldo threads have discussed this in depth. Mike Buettner’s comments are particularly informative on the subject.
Cruise ships were discussed at length this past fall at the Harbor District’s Economic Development forums. Eureka is just not at a logical stopping point. I don’t remember the specifics but basically stopping here puts them out of sync with other stops… arriving here at night and having to leave the early the next day. Or something like that. In addition the infrastructure requirements by the cruise lines offset any income. The lines also charge the port for every passenger that disembarks. Don Leonard who has been attending cruise ship conferences as a representative of the Harbor District said it is nearly impossible to get any interest at all.
Thank you P.J.
another aspect of the cruise ship problem is U.S. maritime law, put into effect when we actually had a merchant marine. The law states that a ship of foreign registry can only dock at two ports in any state and must dock in another state before returning to a new port in the previous state. Cruise ships usually like San Diego, Long Beach or San Francisco.
Lets face it, we don’t have the drawing power. Our forefathers sent our Chinese population packing to San Francisco about the turn of the century. San Francisco’s China Town is thriving today. That new Home Depot will sure lure the out of towners here however. Vision people, vision.
There were many reasons Statewide Bank failed, but surely the most central was that Rob and the men he put in charge had essentially no experience running a bank. It was hubris plain and simple.
Hundreds of banks have gone out of business in the last 18 months, a hundred more will in the next 18 months.
Recessions & the debt crisis will do that. But yeah, Arkley had no experience in running a bank. Is he broke? He once bragged he was worth a billion dollars. He probably is down to his last 400 million.
Cruise ships and the railroad, that’s it. We’re saved.
In 2007, 3 banks were closed
In 2008, 25 banks were closed
In 2009, 140 banks were closed
In 2010, 30 banks have been closed and most expect the total will exceed last year
Arkley and Hurwitz,
There is no comparison. Hurwitz was an out of town carpetbagger, full on bastard. When he dies I’ll snit on his grave. All that guy ever did was go into companies with max leverage and and suck from them like a tick until there was nothing left.
People may not like how Arkley does business locally. I know that I don’t in most respects, but give the man credit for bringing capital to this county instead of taking it away. He has created jobs rather than reduce them.
It is a bad comparison.
High Finance said “But yeah, Arkley had no experience in running a bank. Is he broke? He once bragged he was worth a billion dollars. He probably is down to his last 400 million.”
Well, with 400 million in hand, and of course his famous adherence to neoconservative dogma about personal responsibility, I expect he’ll dig right into his pocket and make the taxpayers and FDIC whole for the millions his lack of experience cost us.
Or maybe he won’t, he’ll give a small fraction of that amount to some local charities, for which some truly shortsighted individuals will no doubt sing his praises.
Although the FDIC and the bank customers who ultimately pay for the FDIC and the taxpayers who bail the FDIC out from time to time have lost tens of millions, at least we have the comic releif of watching these Arkley suck-ups fawning over him and scrambling over the crumbs he throws them!
I believe Arkley has given much to this community and though true about the scrambling for crumbs, those crumbs represent good jobs here. I have heard he treats his employees well here and in Lousiana. Saw him last night supporting a local cause but he and his wife did not appear to be competing for large auction items. He has to be very careful with money these days, in most people’s opinions.
1.56am, Arkley’s bank paid into an insurance fund to handle circumstances just like this. Why wouldn’t he let his insurance pay?
When is the last time you wrecked your car & said to your insurance company “No thanks guys, I’ll pay for it”?
And 8.19pm, last I read, he has 125 people working at his Eureka downtown office. I know for a fact that they are well paid. That does not represent “crumbs” to me.
Sad to see a small town bank run under by the federal “reserve” system in it’s efforts to consolidate it’s grip on our defeated nation.
If the national debt was paid off there would be no “dollars” in circulation, those dollars are notes of debt- not value.
Small town banks were the only banks that would loan to self employed persons- the very people that create wealth so government fat asses can obtain maximum lard, and stick their hand out demanding more when they can’t even feed themselves.
I agree HF. I know many people who have been employed by him for many years.
I am amused at those casting stones at our local timber industry; the one that is light-years ahead of other States and Countries with regard to environmental protection. Its a combination of NIMBY-ism and ignorance. Still waiting for some of you so-called experts to step up to the plate, purchase some land and do it differently yet profitably. Doesn’t need to be egregious profiteering, which has caused some of the industry’s problems, but enough to sustainably keep it going.
My point…easy to talk shit, harder to actually propose a workable alternative.
Oh yeah, also keep in mind the alternative
Bolthio, construction jobs will be created whatever gets built. It’s the type of jobs that building creates that counts in the long run. You probably agree but I wanted to make the point. It’s the light industrial jobs that pay and build the economy in the long run. Retail is, as was pointed out above, a zero sum game which only redistributes the wealth. It does not produce more.
At every opportunity we need to promote the Short Sea Shipping concept and the idea of an industrial park, whether it’s on the Balloon Track or not. I know of several businesses that wanted to locate here but could not find a place so they went to Arcata. Look at West End Road and you’ll see where the jobs are. An industrial park can only be a win for Eureka.
I remember a communication (ended up being a letter to the editor?) regarding Rob Arkley helping some of his employees during the Katrina disaster. She said how her boss, Rob, had taken over her mortgage payments after the hurricane so she wouldn’t lose her home.
Agreed, but does that mean if a project is not the best project ‘in some peoples eyes” that there should be no project?
Anony,miss, I remember something about that also and it wouldn’t surprise me if it were true. But I also believe that some of the awful tales that continue to be repeated are probably true as well. My guess is he rewards loyalty and wages war on those he deems traitors.
High Finance Said: “1.56am, Arkley’s bank paid into an insurance fund to handle circumstances just like this. Why wouldn’t he let his insurance pay?”
No reason, unless he was a genuine conservative and genuinely believed in taking responsibility for his own debts. But to neocons like him, personal responsibility is for the little people.
Bankster ethics are another matter entirely. Take profits when you can, and then slink away from huge losses, leaving the FDIC — and the bank customers who fund FDIC, and the taxpayers who gaurantee it — holding the bag.
I’m sure if drunk drivers could “let the insurance pay for it” they would, too. After all, they paid into the insurance, too, didn’t they? Fortunately, we recognize that driving drunk and causing mayhem should not be paid for by the insurance company, because that means it will ultimately be paid for by other policyholders who do not drive drunk and should not be paying to subsidize those who do.
Hopefully someday we’ll give similar treatment to banksters like RA, who are drunk with power, and take stupid risks, run up huge debts, causing economic mayhem and then walking away scot-free.
I think the “having a crash and letting your insurance pay for it” is a good analogy. It’s why you pay into insurance and getting paid to get back to square one is why you bought insurance. I agree that other stories also have truth but to tell only one side of the story is not good.
I seem to recal Mr. Arkley had a bank fail in Reno, Nevada recently. He seems to be making a habit of it. He obviously didn’t learn from his mistakes the first time, did he? How many times is the FDIC (ultimately us taxpayers) going to have to bail him out?
All of this still isn’t telling us why RA isn’t paying what he owes the city. And why the city manager and the council aren’t holding his feet to the fire.
but, do you think mr. potter is still laughing?
Anony-Miss:
The question is, how irresponsible was the driver (banker), in terms of causing the accident (bank failure)? Most people would agree that driving drunk should void your insurance policy, and the same should be true for irresponsible risk-taking by bankers.
Of course the real problem with the analogy is that in the case of the (sober) driver, they have a strong incentive to avoid causing an accident, as they know that they may killed, something no insurance policy can actually compensate them for.
In the case of the irresponsible banker operating in our current system, they have little incentive to avoid the “accident,” (if you can even call it that) of a bank failure, because they can take irresponsible risks in pursuit of high profit margins, pocket the profits for years when things are going well, then walk away from the debt if/when their high-risk investments go sour.
Yes, Arkley’s bank customers paid what amount to insurance premiums to the FDIC. But when a bank fails, it is not just their own FDIC payments that provide the bail-out. It is the payments from their other bank customers around the country that make the FDIC bail-out possible. And when the FDIC goes broke (which happened at the time of the S&L meltdown, and may soon happen again with so many Arkley-types mismanaging banks across the country) the U.S. taxpayer ends up bailing out the FDIC.
So the idea that crashing your bank and walking away from the debt, necessitating an FDIC bail-out, is somehow a victimless act, is ridiculous.
If, like Akley, you walk away from tens of millions in debts while holding onto hundreds of millions in your personal wealth, that can only be described as selfishness at a sociopathic level.
Funny how you communist enviro wack-o’s are upset at the arkley bank, while I’m betting each of you hasn’t said a peep about the money that went offshore when the fed imploded the debt bubble.
Oh you all hate the bank when it’s arkley, but you cheer on when Barry Soetoro signs your children’s children future to debt service and a devalued currency.
WEAK, now I understand the red backround on this site.
Knowing these people personally, I am very aware of their faults, but also of the miss-statements and exaggerations I see here often. Sometimes you all are completely accurate, but other times, dead wrong, and people here just jump to the conclusions of their pre-conceived feelings. I shouldn’t be surprised- what should a person expect to read on a biased blog? I just like to mention there is another side to many of the anti-Arkley stories. Can they do no right?
Obviously everyone brings up good and valid points about the banking problems of our county. Also, it is clear that the ‘make the share holders money at the expense of anyone else’ system is not sustainable.
Still the US tax payer victim concept may be over stated. I mean, how many things are you paying for as a tax payer that your dont believe in? How many of your tax dollars are appropriated to causes and programs that benefit a small group somewhere – rich or not? We may all find common ground in the notion that something is indeed seriously wrong in our system, but we are still required to participate.
We can can do it right, but not if we cant accept any error. We also have to allow our brains to expand enough to allow other peoples ideas and concepts to have a fair chance.
So the Fed comes in and takes over the bank that has made risky loans and what, pays them off so that the people capitalizing the bank are repaid? Then does Arkley get to come in with Security National and by the bad loans at a discount and service them on the back end?
Don’t give him any ideas!
His current bank failure got a mention on CNN today.
The Herald, CNN, Wall Street Journal, NBC, and other news sources all found this subject worthy of note. But not the Times-Standard? Maybe I missed it somewhere, but I haven’t seen a word about it there. I wonder if there was some “no bad press” clause in their big secret settlement agreement. Or maybe the T-S is afraid of waking the sleeping dog and being treated to another of his frothing, gnashing, hysterical barking fits he gets when he feels he’s being dissed and knows where to direct the froth.
Good question, Anon. It’s news all over the country, but the T-S ignores it.
Wasn’t Statewide bank the entity that sold the Old Town Bar and Grill to Kramer last month? In normal bankruptcy all transactions this close (weeks?)would be scrutinized to make sure nobody was dumping assets at the last minute. I wonder if this is handled differently with bank closures
Yes, Randy Gans told the Eureka City Council that Statewide owned the OTBG.
Sounds like an opportunity for some eager reporter to ask Kramer what will become of his purchase of the OTB&G. Maybe he paid cash.
7:51 and 9:51, my husband says he read about Statewide closing on Saturday in the Times Standard. I don’t think it mentioned that SN is the owner.
As a side note, Rob and Kurt were at the same fund raiser that evening, but I do not know if they spoke about Old Town Bar and Grill, Statewide, or anything at all for that matter. Even when a bank closes, the mortgages it holds still need to be paid.
ha
hahahahahaha haha hahahahahahaha
oh god
it wouldn’t be funny, but, it’s,
Rob.
In the week since word broke that Statewide Bank was being closed an intresting thing has happened down here along the I-10 corridor from Baton Rouge to Covington. Alot a folks who were intrested in the story started googling Rob Arkley to learn more and were amazed by some of what they learned, particularly how disliked he is by so many. I have heard this from no less than 4 unaffiliated people I know and each one was shocked by the level of vitriol he has generated. Seems like you all in Eureka had a better handle on this man than we did. Oh well, live and learn.
A tyrant and one of the most unprincipled people to ever burden this planet. It’s a disgrace to this country to call him an American.
“A tyrant and one of the most unprincipled people to ever burden this planet.”
Gee, there’s an awful lot of tough competition for that booby prize. I don’t think Arkley quite rates up there with Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, etc. Do you? Honestly?
Rob is not liked on this blog, so don’t go looking for answers here. I happen to think he’s a lot of fun, but don’t get on his bad side. He’s been very kind to many people I know.
Arkley reminds me of Mussolini.
If he gets run out Louisiana, that means we’re stuck with him until Eurekans have had enough and decide to do to him what the Italians eventually did to Mussolini.
So Rob ripped a new one for Kurt Kramer in public recently. Full finger pointing “I’m gonna get you…” sort a thing.
Then the Arkely’s up their repertoire for fine dinning and are seen shoveling down a big pepperoni at an Angelo’s power lunch.
“Dining”. Two consonants make the vowel short, genius.
Yeah well I’m not Rewdood either asshole. Bad spelling day. Lighten up.
Were you at the fund raiser they both attended?
I mighta been at both.
And neither was pretty.
They didn’t seem to interact at all at the one I went to. Maybe you were closer. like them both.
Bolithio Says:
Or understanding the current Orwellian double-speak involved in green washing such a destructive industry.
Yes, I was at the fundraiser.
A better example was the conversation between Peter Douglas & Arkley at the infamous Coastal Commission mixer at Avalon. No doubt this conversation ultimately lead to the rumble with Mr. Glass.
My Google Earth says that I-10 doesn’t take you from BR to Covington.
But you, being from Louisiana, would know that, right?
Fred;
Can you help me understand “the current Orwellian double-speak involved in green washing such a destructive industry”? That sounds interesting.
Arkley’s just showing his true scumbag colors.