08x16 - PACE financing

[bunniefuu]

Hi there!

Welcome to the show!

Still coming to you from this

Blank void, the whitest thing

On tv this week, aside from

Nancy pelosi desperately trying

To pretend she knows the words

To "lift every voice and sing."

It's been a busy week.

Juneteenth was declared

A federal holiday,

The supreme court upheld

Obamacare for the 400th time,

And joe biden had a summit with

Vladimir putin, prompting this

Do you think at

The present stage, we can talk

About a new stage of bilateral

Relations?

There is no

Happiness in life, there is only

A mirage of it on the horizon.

Wow, that's a dark

Answer.

But I can't say I expected

Anything less from a man

Whose face screams,

"I enjoyed the "joker" film."

Because of course putin dropped

Bleak tolstoy quotes.

That's very on brand.

It would've been much more

Shocking if he'd said,

"Follow your bliss," or

"It's wine o'clock somewhere" or

"Navalny, you have the floor."

But instead of that,

I want to focus on japan,

The country which gave the world

Karaoke, the best way to learn

Which of your coworkers is

Irrationally overconfident

In their singing abilities.

"Love on top" by beyonce?

The f*ck do you think you are?

Tokyo is set to host

The olympics in just a month.

They were originally supposed

To take place last summer, but

Didn't, due to...

Y'know.

And yet, despite the fact that

The pandemic is still very much

Not over, the games seem to be

Going ahead, and not everyone

In japan is thrilled.

Tonight, tokyo olympic

Organizers say the games are

A go, with music, medal trays,

And uniforms.

The possibility of these

Games going on is 100%.

But popular protests demand

They be stopped,

With shigaru omi,

Japan's verison of

Dr. Anthony fauci, saying

The situation is not normal.

A daily death rate higher than

When the games were delayed

Last year.

A slow vaccine rollout.

Now with half a million sh*ts

Each day, but the true target

Twice that.

Yeah, that's not good!

In fact, only 6% of the japanese

Population is currently fully

Vaccinated.

And while I don't know what

The target percentage should be

To safely host the olympics,

I'm pretty sure that right now,

It should be higher than

The number of entries in the

"Fast and furious" franchise.

So it's frankly no wonder that

Polls have shown many of

The japanese public oppose

Holding the games this year.

And perhaps no one represents

That sentiment better than this

Although hospitals are close

To collapse and people are

Exposed to risk, ioc said they

Will, for sure, hold the

Olympics!

It's crazy, isn't it?

The ioc said, "tokyo olympics

Would go ahead unless struck by

Armageddon."

Hmm.

What a joke!

Ha, ha, ha.

All you have to do is sit down

And listen to aerosmith.

That is excellent.

Just tens across the board.

Ten.

Plugging his ears instead

Ten.

Shouting an aerosmith lyric

Before his body is consumed

By a very shallow lagoon:

Ten again.

If the olympics simply have to

Happen, I want that guy to be

The entire opening ceremony.

Just him, alone in a stadium,

Screaming aerosmith jokes while

Occasionally jumping into water,

For four solid hours.

I'd watch every second of that.

The olympics going ahead is

Undeniably risky, but the

Organizers seem to be

Considering a lot of different

Factors, with many being

Financial, especially as japan's

Already officially spent over

$15 Billion on these games,

With government audits

Suggesting it's actually

Twice that much.

And the truth is,

Even if japan wanted to cancel,

It's not quite that simple.

The olympic host city

Contract signed between tokyo

And the ioc in 2013 doesn't give

Tokyo the power to scrap the

Games.

Only the ioc holds that right.

Yeah, it's true.

Japan doesn't technically have

The authority to cancel the

Games, which is kind of weird.

It would be like if your child

Got the flu and you tried to

Reschedule their birthday party,

Only to get overruled by the

Clown you hired.

"Hey!

I don't care if you've got

The bubonic f*cking plague,

From 2:00 pm to 5:00, you're on

Bozo's clock, bitch."

To promote safety at the games,

A ton of precautions are being

Unveiled, from barring

Spectators from abroad,

To encouraging people to keep a

Two-meter distance at all times,

To requesting attendees support

Athletes by clapping instead of

Singing or chanting, which is a

Shame because... As anyone will

Tell you... Half the fun of

Watching the men's trampoline

Final is the raucous bonding

With your fellow tramp-heads.

And while some of those

Precautions will hopefully do

Some good, I will say, others

Have absolutely no chance.

Olympic organizers typically

Give away tens of thousands of

Condoms during the games for all

The athletes.

But this year there is still

Going to be a condom giveaway,

But they are telling the

Athletes not to use them until

They get home.

Well, good luck with

That!

Have fun selling that message

At the the condom booth.

"Hi there, 20-year-old adonis

With the physical stamina of

A young gazelle.

Welcome to what is, essentially,

A lightly monitored dorm floor

That you'll be sharing with some

Of the most chiseled bodies on

The planet, all of whom you'll

Likely never see again.

Here are some free condoms!

But please, make sure you that

You save them until... Ah, I see

You're already f*cking.

Well, please, at least move to

The side, there is a line behind

You."

But I guess it's good news that

They're still handing them out,

Especially for japan's top

Condom-makers, who apparently

Saw the olympics as an extremely

Precious opportunity to let

The world know about japan's

High technology prophylactics.

Although, I will say,

I'm not convinced they needed

The olympics to do that.

Because japanese condom ads

Do a pretty good job selling

Their product.

Take a look at this.

The condom goro found was one

Of legend.

What's happening?

Holy moly!

Goro becomes a condom battler

Against his will.

Omg!

A condom hunter!

Ha, ha!

Doubling up gave me ultimate

Endurance!

I can last 13 hours!!!

No way!

Watch out!

Run, goro!

Look, his condom ripped!

Whoo-hoo!

Don't double-bag condoms!

That was close.

Goro begins his journey to

Become a condom battler,

Completely unaware of

The challenges ahead.

Yes!

That was part of an anime

Web series produced by japan's

Leading condom manufacturer,

Okamoto, in which a

"Condom battler" named goro

Finds a magical rubber on

The ground, which turns into

A suit of protective armor that

He wears while battling a bunch

Of anime villains.

So you know, just your average

Educational,

Contraception-themed, sci-fi,

Action cartoon ad for japanese

Cock socks about an anime w*r in

Which the dress code appears to

Be "latex casual," all of which

They claim is "to be continued"

...or, as the ad says, "to be

Condom."

That's so much more fun than

Sex-ed is here in the u.s.,

Where it's usually, "here's a

Condom, here's a banana, let's

Never speak of this again."

But the fact is, despite

Protests, it seems like

The olympics are going ahead.

And all of this is a good

Reminder that hosting the

Olympics is just never

A good idea for a city.

And it's not like japan needs

The olympics to boost tourism.

It's japan!

It's already got mount fuji,

Bamboo forests, and the world's

Wettest comedian.

Who wouldn't want to visit?

And while I truly hope for

Everyone's benefit that this

Works out, you can't help

Feeling that that main motivator

In this event taking place is

Money.

So will it be worth it?

Well, I guess all we can really

Say at this point is... To quote

My new favorite web series...

That is very much

"To be condom."

And now, this.

And now...

Please enjoy some better names

For the dogs from this year's

Westminster dog show.

Raise and
raisenette.

Beef.

Captain jean-luc pinard.

Drama.

Good carl.

Bad carl.

Claimed he witnessed a

High-ranking cia officer meet

With lee harvey oswald in

September of 1963.

Smooth chris.

Devourer of souls.

Dennis.

And jennifer aniston.

Moving on.

Our main story tonight concerns

Home renovations.

They're a big commitment that

Always turn out great, unless,

That is, you're on

"Trading spaces," in which case,

They can turn out like this:

We are in the room.

Open your eyes and see your new

Family room.

Wow.

I'm gonna have to leave the

Room now.

You're that disappointed?

Well...

I'm gonna have to leave the room

Now.

Wow.

That's a shame.

Kudos to pam there for being

Gracious enough to step out.

She's showing a level of

Restraint that those designers

Very much did not.

Because why is that fireplace

Opaque?

Who would look at a sexy

Flickering fire and say,

"Great, but what if it was

Blurry?"

Also, that's just too many

Candlesticks.

The whole room's a windowless

Inferno waiting to happen.

It's deranged, it's unsafe, and

Frankly, pam deserved better.

But specifically, we're going

To talk about a way to finance

Home improvements called pace.

It was originally designed to

Provide low-income homeowners

A way to make their homes more

Environmentally friendly.

And to explain more,

Here is netflix's very own,

We're making it easier for

American homeowners to take

Advantage of a new program

Called pace.

Here's how it works.

If you make the switch to solar,

You can now install solar panels

Or retrofit your home to make it

More energy efficient at no

Upfront cost, all by paying for

Them through the future savings

On your energy bills.

Well, that sounds like

A great program for homeowners!

By the way, if you're under the

Age of 35, let me quickly clear

Up your confusion here:

A "homeowner" is a person who

Owns their home.

They don't rent it.

The house belongs to them.

Like your parents... You know

How your parents live

In a house, but they don't

Have a landlord?

And they don't have to sign

A lease, and they don't pay

A security deposit?

It's like that.

It's their house.

Don't worry, though... That'll

Never be you.

You're not allowed to do that.

America decided a few years back

That if you were born after



House.

You do get to rent apartments

For the rest of your life,

Though, as you gradually pay off

The student loans from your

Liberal arts degree... That's

The thing you get to do.

So if you're under 35, you can

Actually skip this story.

Don't even worry about it.

Go fight with a 15-year-old on

Tiktok about the coolest way to

Part your hair.

Your life is sad,

And that's okay.

Pace, though, stands for

"Property assessed

Clean energy,"

And the idea originated in

California as the brainchild of

The former chief of staff to the

Mayor of berkeley who describes

Himself as an "capitalist

Hippie."

Which absolutely tracks for

A guy whose name sounds like

He's about to gentrify jazz.

There are actually two pace

One for commercial

Properties and one for

Residential ones.

And we're going to focus on the

Second one, where there are some

Huge problems.

Because after a trial run in

Berkeley, the residential pace

Program exploded across

California.

In just the second half of 2014,

Lenders issued $148 million in

Pace loans.

And just a year later, as more

Counties across the state signed

On, that number quadrupled to

Over half a billion dollars.

Right now, these three states

Have active pace programs, but

Plans to expand to other states,

Including new york and ohio,

Are very much in development.

And that should be a cause for

Real concern, because when pace

Loans go wrong, they can go very

Wrong.

Take this california couple

Who ended up losing their home.

And they say their problems

Started when a contractor turned

Up at their house, pitching a

Pace-funded improvement.

Their house badly needed a

New roof, so they signed up.

I thought it was a wonderful

Thing, just really a godsend.

One thing led to another...

Once he saw the roof,

He says, "well, looks like this

Wall..."

Then it was the floor.

Well, I think there's some

Damage there.

Then a few months later...

Jumped our mortgage payments

$600 A month.

Our life began to unravel

At that very moment.

My thought is that we're going

To wind up in a tent.

Look, there are some

Situations where the idea of

Ending up in a tent is exciting

...if you're going camping,

For example, or seeing

The circus, or walking into

The forest to finally abandon

Society forever and live among

The trees, but it shouldn't

Really be the desired outcome

When you're just trying to fix

Your roof.

Unfortunately, the story of pace

Is a cautionary tale about how

Good intentions, when not paired

With careful, smart design,

Can end in disaster.

And given that joe biden

Promoted the program as

Vice-president, and promised

On his campaign website to

"Expand the utilization of

Pace," it seemed that tonight,

It might be a good idea to take

A look at it.

And let's start with how pace

Works.

Because basically, it's money

Designated for repairs or

Upgrades to your house.

The average pace loan is about

$25,000, And repayment periods

Usually stretch between five and



But the way you pay it back is

Both unusual and very

Complicated... Even though I've

Already called it a "loan," it's

Technically a lien on your house

...a kind of debt directly

Attached to your property,

And which, in this instance,

You gradually pay back through

Your property taxes.

And ads promoting pace have

Liked to put that fact front and

Center.

Your house is actually

Borrowing the money and not you

Personally.

It's more like the house is

Getting the financing because

Payments are made through an

Assessment on your property

Taxes.

It's as if your house

Is borrowing the money,

Not you personally.

Okay, stop.

Because there's an obvious

Problem there.

Even if your house is

Technically borrowing the money,

That money comes in the form of

Property taxes, and you pay for

Those.

Your house doesn't.

Because houses can't pay taxes.

Because houses don't have money.

Because they're houses.

It's the equivalent of buying

A new sweater and telling the

Cashier, "oh, the sales tax is

On the sweater, so the sweater

Will pay that."

That's not how taxes or, indeed,

Sweaters work.

Those ads are from pace

Administrators... Private

Companies hired by cities to

Handle the logistics of the

Program, including providing

Financing and approving loans.

Some of the biggest players are

These companies, the largest of

Which is called ygrene.

Which is just objectively

A stupid name.

It sounds like a contemplative

Jazz album from kermit the frog.

But the real origin of the name

Is somehow even stupider,

As a ygrene representative

Explained during a local

"Sponsored content" segment:

Ygrene, I love this.

It's easy to remember because

It's actually "energy" spelled

Backwards.

Exactly.

Most people don't figure that

Out, but a couple reminders,

They usually get it.

Yeah, of course they

Get it, because it's not a hard

Thing to get.

Ygrene basically put about as

Much effort into their name as

"Trading spaces" put into pam's

Family room.

There are a number of flaws in

How pace programs are designed,

And here is one of the first key

While companies like

Ygrene may promote pace through

Ads and sponcon segments,

The majority of actual sales to

Customers are done by individual

Contractors who'll be performing

The renovations.

And think about what that means

For a moment.

The people with the

Responsibility of pitching

A very complicated financial

Product... A pseudo-loan that's

Technically a tax lien... Are

Contractors, whose training is

Not in finance.

No judgment, it's just, people

Are trained for different

Things.

It's the same reason you don't

Ask a banker to re-grout your

Bathroom tile.

They're going to make a mess.

In practice, the way it usually

Works is, a contractor will

Approach you... Maybe outside

A shopping center, or at your

Church, or even knocking

Directly on your door.

And they'll offer to sell you,

Let's say, solar panels, or a

New air conditioner, with the

Promise of no money down, and

That... Crucially... Should pay

For themselves through huge

Future savings.

The thing is, contractors are

Not always completely straight

With customers about just how

Much their property taxes could

Go up.

They came to my house.

They said that I needed the

Solar system, that it was gonna

Dramatically reduce my light

Bills.

When my property taxes came

Back in november, I had...

I went from $600 property taxes

To almost $10,000 property

Taxes, which I could not pay.

$600 To $10,000.

That is not good!

The only time the value of

Something should change that

Dramatically is if elon musk

Shits out a tweet about it.

We truly live in the best

Possible system!

But also, it seems pretty

Unlikely solar panels are going

To cut her electricity bill by

$10,000.

In fact, for all the talk about

How pace improvements will pay

For themselves, there is a

Fundamental flaw there, as this

Professor who's studied them

Will tell you:

A foundational flaw of the

Pace program is that there is

No independent energy audit

Required of a home before

Home contractors can start

Suggesting all sorts of

Things to do to it.

Some of these things are maybe

Put in incredibly expensive,

High efficiency windows,

Even though the existing windows

Are not the main source of

Energy waste.

And you would do much better

Just caulking a few leaks.

Exactly.

There is no independent party

Required to assess whether your

Renovations would cut close

To enough energy costs to be

Worth it.

Which really seems like

Something you'd want verified

By a third party.

It's the same reason we have

Independent health inspectors

Put a letter grade outside

A restaurant, as opposed to

Letting the owner put up his own

Sign that says, "trust me,

It's clean."

And that actually brings us to

The next key quirk of the pace

Program.

Because if those energy savings

Don't cover the additional taxes

You incur, you could be in big

Trouble.

Remember those ads about how

"Your house pays for

The financing, not you?"

What that means is,

Your house is now the collateral

For the debt.

So if things go wrong,

You could well lose your home,

And, you know, end up in a tent.

And there are far fewer

Protections to prevent that than

You might think.

Because this is a tax lien

Rather than a loan,

The financing isn't subject to

The same consumer protections

That you'd get with a standard

Home loan.

So for instance, in florida,

The state doesn't require

Pace providers to explain

The costs of improvements,

Check if the people who sign up

Can actually afford to pay back

The money, or if they even

Understand the terms.

And pace administrators will

Insist they do all those things

Anyway... That they're diligent

About vetting homeowners,

The projects they take on,

And their ability to repay.

But there are so many examples

Of failures to do that.

Thanks to pace, one missouri

Homeowner wound up with

$25,000 Of debt on the home that

Was appraised by the city at the

Time addressed $8400.

And if at this point you're

Wondering why on earth people

Sign up for these loans, it's

Because they're often presented

As a government program... One

That, remember, president obama

Promoted... Which might instill

A false sense of security.

They did mention a government

Program and that's why you hear

Government, you think this is an

Awesome deal and you don't

Expect what happened to happen.

In a hidden camera

Investigation last may,

We caught contractors touting

Claims of government programs.

So because of what you have

Going on, this government

Program could actually

Help you.

Oh, that is a government

Program.

Yeah.

When we showed up,

The sales pitch was over.

And then they had some

Parting words.

You suck, by the way.

I'd say I felt

Bad for that reporter, who was

Clearly just doing his job and

Was then met with a man berating

Him from his compact toyota.

But think of it this way...

At least now he knows what it's

Like to be a woman on the street

Who doesn't smile back.

And if this is all starting

To feel potentially predatory,

That's because it often is.

And if you know anything about

The history of predatory

Lending, it won't remotely

Surprise you to learn that

An analysis of one of the

Largest markets for pace in

Florida found that many of those

With the highest debt burdens

Under pace financing were found

To be in majority minority

Zones.

And it doesn't stop there,

Because contractors have also

Been accused of targeting

Neighborhoods of non-english

Speakers, senior citizens, and

Even those with intellectual

Disabilities, like this man, who

...as his lawyer points out...

Absolutely did not understand

What he was signing up for.

It's very apparent from

Speaking with him that he

Doesn't understand these loans.

He doesn't understand the

Contracts that he entered into.

He had kitchen remodeling done

And he doesn't even cook.

He gets meals on wheels.

He doesn't use his kitchen.

He's a nice guy, he wants

Someone to talk to.

So he invites them in, he talks

To them, and they talk him into

"Hey, you need these windows

Replaced.

You need your kitchen

Remodeled."

Look, I get that you're

On his side, and I do appreciate

That, but your client is sitting

Right there!

Someone should, at the very

Least, have thought to move

That interview outside.

The number one rule of talking

About someone behind their back

Is that their back should not be

Anywhere in your immediate

Vicinity.

And companies routinely defend

Themselves by arguing they

Disclose everything clearly,

And that people simply shouldn't

Sign these contracts if they

Can't understand them.

But that's a little disingenuous

When their whole operation so

Often emphasizes speed over

Slow, deliberative

Consideration.

These companies' websites

Brag about their "super fast

Approvals, " or their " speedy

Approval process," or make

Claims like, "get approved for

Ygrene financing in 30 minutes

Or less."

And the clear implication there

Is that you can basically get

Your money like that!

Oh, sh*t.

Oh, for f*ck's sake.

I'm sorry, george.

I snapped my fingers without

Thinking.

You know I'm busy, right?

John I do.

Actually, what are you up to

Right now?

Anything fun?

Fair enough.

The point is, though, a common

Sales tactic here is fast

Approvals.

Contractors often go

Door-to-door with a tablet,

Encouraging people to sign

Electronically.

And in one company's video,

A contractor talks openly about

Just how fast the e-sign process

Is.

I just take the people to

The adopt and sign portion of

It, have them pick a signature,

And sign all the remaining

Pages, and we're done in just

A matter of minutes.

I was in a house in rialto.

The patio door was open behind

Me, the rain was pouring,

The tv was on loud, three dogs

Barking, four kids yelling, and

We got through it.

And I fell in love with the

Esign program after that.

Oh, I bet you did!

Although, I'm not sure

"Look how easy it was to get

This stressed-out homeowner to

Sign a legally binding document"

Is quite the flex he thinks

It is.

There are, indeed, several

Things you can do in a matter of

Minutes while four children

Are screaming and three dogs

Are barking in the background.

You can schedule a grocery

Delivery, or have a tense

Eye contact-only argument with

Your spouse, or like an

Instagram post from

An ex announcing they're

"Making music now," then find

That ex's music on soundcloud,

Then send that ex's new songs

To your group thread, then watch

As they mercilessly tear tevis's

Amateur edm tracks a new

assh*le.

All of that can be accomplished

Under those chaotic

Circumstances, but signing up

For a massive lien on your house

From a guy who's in love with

His ipad probably shouldn't be.

Because this isn't like agreeing

To the terms and conditions of

An itunes update.

This is like sitting across the

Table from a banker, potentially

Signing your house away.

The problems is the incentives

Just aren't really there for

Contractors to make sure that

The people they're selling to

Can actually pay back the loans

They're taking on.

Especially because, in the final

Quirk of this program that makes

It so dangerous, the pace loan

Isn't just a lien on your house

...it's what's called a

"Priority lien," meaning that,

In the event of a foreclosure,

Pace lenders get to collect

Their money first, ahead of the

Mortgage lender or anyone else.

The fact that that's the case

Enables companies like ygrene

To bundle that debt together and

Sell it on wall street as a very

Safe investment.

Because for those investors,

It's a near-guaranteed return.

But for homeowners themselves,

It can spell complete disaster.

For one thing, it can make it

Much harder to sell your house.

Because no one wants to buy a

House with a lien on it for

Tens of thousands of dollars,

For renovations that might've

Been done a decade ago.

If you're house hunting and you

Find that out, it's like hearing

The realtor say, "here's the

Garage-slash-meth lab," or,

"Here's the basement where the

Kidnapped kids were chained up,"

Or "here are the popcorn

Ceilings."

It immediately kills any appeal

The house ever held.

And it's not just homeowners

Raising the alarm here.

That priority lien placement is

The primary reason why, in 2010,

Fannie mae and freddie mac

Stopped backing mortgages on

Homes that had pace loans.

And this is yet another

A potentially devastating

Consequence to a system with

No real accountability baked in.

Remember that california couple?

Here is their contractor

Explaining why none of what

Happened to them is his fault.

Did you as a contractor,

Though, ever confirm if they had

The ability to pay?

Because this is an older couple

On fixed income, they say

There's no way they could have

Paid for the work that you took

On in their house.

But... I don't qualify

People.

Pace qualifies people.

Well, there's a lot of

Passing the buck here because...

No, there's no passing

The buck, miss.

What you should do is talk to

Ygrene, who they had the

Contract with.

Well, hold on there.

Because it's pretty bold to

Claim "there's no passing the

Buck," only to immediately then

Pass the buck.

It hearkens back to that famous

Sign in harry truman's office,

"The buck stops here,

With larry down the hall,

He's the one who handles

All the paperwork, you should

Really go talk to him."

The point is, every player here

Is perpetuating a cycle of zero

Accountability.

The pace administrators blame

The contractors.

The contractors blame the

Administrators.

And sometimes, the finger of

Blame gets pointed directly

At the customers themselves.

Because here's where, legally,

I have to tell you that ygrene

...which is energy backwards,

By the way, it's very clever...

Insists that they have rigorous

Disclosure practices, exercise

Robust oversight over

Contractors, and have never

Personally foreclosed on a home.

They also insist that the couple

Received

All the appropriate financing

Documents, and that they, and

Not ygrene, selected the

Contractors to work on their

House.

Sort of implying that it was all

Their fault.

Which is pretty hard to take,

Given that ygrene selects which

Contractors it allows into its

Program.

If your seafood restaurant sells

Tainted lobsters, they shouldn't

Get to shrug it off by saying,

"You picked the one you wanted

Out of the t*nk," when they put

Those lobsters in there in the

f*cking first place!

And companies are always going

To insist that this is just a

Problem of a few bad apple

Contractors, and they're always

Improving their processes.

But I would argue the flaws of

This program are baked into how

It operates.

And no one knows this better

Than tax collectors, because

They're the ones who end up

Having to collect on the debts

Homeowners rack up, and are

Can be the ones having to do the

Foreclosures.

Just listen to this missouri tax

Collector begging his county to

Get rid of its pace program just

Last month.

I can tell you what the facts

The more of

These that you have, some

Percentage of people will lose

Their houses.

And you can make the consumer

Protections better, and you

Can make them a little more

Rigorous, but at the end of the

Day, some people will have their

Homes taken from them.

I think the bottom line is that

There is no circumstance, in my

Opinion, in which it makes sense

To offer the county's power to

Take your house in return for

Getting you money to buy a new

Air conditioner or solar panel

Or whatever it may be.

Exactly.

Nobody in this country should be

Losing their home because of an

Air conditioner!

They should be losing their

Home because of unexpected

Medical bills... You know,

Like an american!

And all of this may be

Coming to a head if foreclosures

Begin to rise in the wake

Of the pandemic.

In fact, one florida tax

Collector has even warned

That pace will become florida's

Next mortgage crisis if we're

Not careful.

Which is chilling.

Because the conditions are prime

For a disaster, but it seems

Like we're not doing anything

To stop it.

It's like how we inexplicably

Let harrison ford continue to

Fly planes.

We all know what's going to

Happen!

Somebody do something before

It's too late!

So what can we do?

Well, we could try reforms like

Stopping door-to-door sales.

But the truth is, as that guy

Said, people could still end up

Losing their homes.

The tougher question might be

Whether or not reform is even

Worth it.

Because for the record, pace

Isn't the only way low-income

Homeowners can get help to

Finance green energy upgrades.

Nationally, there's

The low income home energy

Assistance program, and

The federal weatherization

Assistance program, or wap, as

It's known to absolutely no one.

And in florida and california

Specifically, there are several

Programs that can assist

Low income households

In energy funding.

The point is, if you, your

Parents, or anyone you know is

Considering a pace loan,

You should definitely see if

You or they are eligible for

Programs like these first.

And if you live in a county

That's thinking of implementing

A pace program with for profit

Administrators, do whatever you

Can to stop it.

Because the fact is, this

Business model is fundamentally

Flawed.

And I'm not saying that

Affordable clean energy isn't

Something we should be investing

In.

It absolutely is.

But we shouldn't be putting

Vulnerable people in a position

Where they're risking their

Homes.

Sadly, this is yet another

Example where a well-meaning

Public program has been

Corrupted by the presence of

Private companies.

And if they come to where you

Live, you would be well advised

To tell them to kcuf ffo.

It's actually "f*ck off,"

Backwards.

Most people don't figure that

Out, but after a couple of

Reminders, they usually get it.

And now, this.

And now...

The winner of best in show at

The westminster dog show breaks

Newscaster's brains.

So I thought it was... I

Mean, he is pretty, obviously.

It's just hair.

It looks like a head of hair.

Like, amber, I picture... I

Picture yours or my hair just

Walking on the ground with no

Legs.

Like...

Someone's wig is controlling

Their brain.

Walking across the ground.

An alien.

This is gorgeous.

It's just so weird.

Is super odd looking.

Good for him.

A speaker that person probably

Spent more time on that

Dog's hair...

And money.

Then the three of us combined

And we are on tv every day.

I'm not into that.

It's just not cute.

It is so ugly.

That is such an ugly dog.

No offense to anybody.

You can't say that is an ugly

Dog and then say "no offense."

You have offended.

I don't mean it to be

Offensive.

It looks like a walking wig.

It looks like because in it.

A very unique look that

Wasabi has.

What do you mean unique look?

Furry.

You mean thomas most face?

...smooshed face?

I was asking a serious question.

Yes.

That was our show.

Thank you so much for watching.

We will see you next week.

Good night.