S6 E7: Mobile Homes, Herman Cain & Baltimore: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Trump's Controversial Federal Reserve Picks

• President Trump made a major decision regarding the Federal Reserve, selecting Herman Cain, a former Pizza executive turned radio talk show host, for the Federal Reserve board, despite Cain dropping his 2012 Republican Presidential bid amid sexual harassment allegations (58s).
• Cain's resume is not typical for a Federal Reserve Board member, but it's noted that the current board has some unconventional members (1m20s).
• Trump also nominated Steven Moore, a TV commentator and fellow at a conservative think tank, for the Federal Reserve, causing concern due to their unorthodox economic views (1m30s).
• A former deputy secretary of the treasury explained that appointing unqualified individuals to the Federal Reserve board can be detrimental, as the Fed's credibility is crucial for America's economic power (1m41s).
• The Federal Reserve's independence and reliability are essential, and Trump has already filled four of the seven seats, including the chairman, Jerome Powell, with qualified individuals (2m34s).
• Herman Cain and Steven Moore are not qualified for the Federal Reserve board, with Cain advocating for a return to the gold standard and Moore being a strong advocate of supply-side economics (2m43s).
• Moore's economic views, including helping design the tax cut that affected Kansas's budget and questioning the need for the Fed, are concerning (2m53s).
• The main issue with Cain and Moore is not their economic views, but rather their lack of seriousness and tendency to speak without thinking, which can be problematic for Federal Reserve board members (3m11s).
• Federal Reserve board members are expected to be careful with their public statements, as markets can react violently to their words, and Cain and Moore are not known for their caution (3m25s).
• Steven Moore's past comments, including a joke about a porn star, demonstrate his lack of seriousness and potential to cause issues as a Federal Reserve board member (3m39s).
• Herman Cain, a former presidential candidate, once asked a crowd of Cuban Americans how to say "delicious" in Cuban and bragged about not knowing the president of Uzbekistan, also known as "Becky, Becky, Becky Stan Stan."
• Cain quoted a song from the Pokémon movie during a presidential debate, claiming it was a poem, which is considered both the worst and best place to do so.
• Cain's actions and behavior, including pretending to be in office and doing anything he was asked to do during interviews, raise concerns about his qualifications for the Federal Reserve.
• Trump's consideration of Cain for the Federal Reserve, along with Stephen Moore, is worrying as both men have shown a willingness to do exactly what Trump tells them to do.
• Trump's desire to bring the Federal Reserve under his control, along with his reported fury at the Fed's raised interest rates and public attacks on Chairman Jerome Powell, is a breach of custom and could undermine the Fed's independence.
• The Senate is urged to stand against Cain's nomination to the Federal Reserve to prevent Trump from gaining control over the institution.

Baltimore Mayor's Book Scandal

• Baltimore is facing a corruption scandal surrounding Mayor Catherine Pugh's business dealings with the University of Maryland Medical System, where she has served on the board of directors since 2001.
• Baltimore's mayor has made hundreds of thousands of dollars by selling her self-published children's books, including "Healthy Holly," to local entities, some of which have business before the city, totaling around $800,000 (8m24s).
• The books have been criticized for their literary merit, with errors such as inconsistent spelling of the main character's name and incorrect information about healthy eating habits (8m56s).
• One of the books contains a page with a picture of a family eating four massive plates of salad, with a smaller salad in the center of the table untouched, and the father saying, "We are having spinach with our dinner, it is a vegetable" (9m8s).
• The mayor also spelled "vegetable" wrong in one of her books, writing "veg tail" instead (9m24s).
• The mayor has been accused of misusing her office to promote her side projects, including her children's books and a clothing line for kids (10m1s).
• The clothing line features slogans such as "walk, run, crawl, skip, dance" and "eat healthy" on onesies and bibs, which have been criticized for being impractical and ineffective in teaching children healthy habits (10m8s).
• Investigators are now looking into the situation, and while there have been no formal charges, the whole thing does not look good for the mayor (11m44s).

The Mobile Home Trap: From Affordable Housing to Investor Playground

• Mobile homes, also known as manufactured homes, are often misunderstood, with many people picturing them as old, run-down trailers, but the industry has been trying to change this image through advertising, showcasing modern, factory-built homes with quality and affordability (13m9s).
• Despite the misconceptions, it can be genuinely hard to tell the difference between manufactured homes and conventional homes, with around 20 million people living in mobile homes, roughly one in 18 Americans, and they are one of America's last affordable housing options (14m11s).
• Mobile homes can cost up to 50% less per square foot than a conventional house, making them a more affordable option, but in recent years, big investors, including private equity firms, have moved into the industry, buying up mom-and-pop-owned home sites (14m42s).
• The rise of big money investors in mobile homes has led to a spike in rents, fees, and local news stories about people struggling to afford the increased costs, with some rents being raised by as much as 36% or nearly 60% (15m27s).
• The increased costs are affecting people living on fixed incomes, forcing them to make difficult choices, such as deciding which medication to take and how to stretch their limited budget (15m45s).
• Clayton Homes, controlled by Warren Buffett, is the largest seller of mobile homes in the US, with the company's ads featuring a down-home spokesman, but the key difference between a mobile and conventional home lies in how it retains its value (16m10s).
• Finance expert Dave Ramsey advises against buying mobile homes, stating they go down in value, even if the buyer owns the land underneath, and compares them to cars, saying "it's a car you sleep in" (17m20s).
• Mobile homes may be a terrible investment for buyers, but they have been an incredible investment for Warren Buffett, with Clayton Homes generating $91 million in pre-tax earnings last year (18m11s).
• Clayton Homes finances mobile home purchases through high-interest, short-term chattel loans, which can have interest rates exceeding 15%, trapping many buyers in loans they cannot afford (18m21s).
• An investigation found Clayton relies on predatory sales practices, exorbitant fees, and interest rates, although the company denies these allegations, citing isolated incidents and high customer satisfaction (18m31s).
• A Clayton customer who fell behind on payments was advised to donate plasma or blood to come up with the money, which is seen as an example of the company's questionable practices (18m55s).
• One of the biggest problems with mobile homes is not the payment or value, but where they are placed, as around a third of mobile home dwellers own their homes but not the land underneath, living in mobile home parks and paying rent to the park owner (19m34s).
• Investors have been buying mobile home parks, increasing rent and fees, and in some cases, tearing them down, as experienced by the Ingall family who sold their park to the Carlile group, which immediately increased space rent by 8% (19m54s).
• The Carlile group, an investment firm with $216 billion in assets, claims the price hikes are to pay for park improvements, but they have a safety net program that only applies to 21 of the 800 lots in the park, catching only 3% of people (20m42s).
• Mobile homes are not easily movable, with costs ranging from $20,000 to thousands of dollars to relocate, and 80% of mobile homes never move, making them attractive to big investors (21m31s).
• Frank Rolfe, an evangelist for mobile home park investing, controls over 30,000 home sites in 25 states and has expressed that his business thrives on having a captive customer base, comparing it to running a Waffle House where customers are "chained to the booths" (22m23s).
• Rolfe has also stated that his industry benefits from Americans getting poorer, with the lower half of the population continuing to struggle regardless of the election outcome (22m41s).
• The lack of mobility for tenants and the increasing investment in mobile home parks have raised concerns about income inequality and the exploitation of low-income residents (22m17s).
• Ralph maintains that a line taken from him was out of context, claiming he was discussing the consistent revenues in mobile home parks, not suggesting he's a heartless person holding all the cards in rent negotiations (23m39s).
• Ralph's online mobile home University features seminars where he discusses how customers are stuck in mobile home parks, unable to afford moving their trailers, and have limited options to object to rent raises (24m0s).
• Ralph's audio seminar on running mobile home parks emphasizes the importance of increasing rent, stating that customers are not hostages if they weren't stuck in their homes and lots (24m45s).
• Frank Rol's mobile home University is a crash course on how to make money in the industry, with a focus on increasing rent and taking advantage of customers who are stuck in their homes (25m3s).
• Rol's mobile home boot camp includes a field trip to a park, where attendees are taught to focus on infrastructure, density, expense, age of home, and location, rather than the living conditions of the residents (25m18s).
• A potential solution to protect mobile home residents is for them to band together and buy their own park, keeping it out of the hands of speculators or developers, with the help of nonprofit groups that provide financing (26m15s).
• Laws that give residents the right of first refusal and time to raise funds if the current owner plans to sell would also help protect mobile home residents (26m30s).
• Renting a mobile home can be financially catastrophic if the land underneath is also rented, and it's essential for anyone considering this option to be aware of the potential risks (26m51s).
• Mobile homes, also known as manufactured homes, are often marketed in a way that downplays the risks involved, such as the fact that they typically decrease in value over time and may have high-interest mortgage rates (26m59s).
• A key difference between mobile homes and traditional houses is that mobile home owners often do not own the land on which their home is situated, which can lead to increased costs and a lack of control (27m22s).
• Some mobile home owners have reported significant increases in rent after private equity firms have purchased the parks in which their homes are located (27m38s).
• The high costs associated with mobile home ownership can lead to financial difficulties for some owners, who may be forced to take drastic measures, such as selling their blood and plasma, in order to make loan payments (27m50s).
• Mobile home owners may feel trapped in their situation, with limited options for moving or escaping the financial burdens associated with their home (28m11s).
• The situation is often compared to being "chained" to a particular location, with the owner having limited control over their circumstances (28m21s).