biggest lenders for mortgages in plainfield, bank of america and wells fargo. bank of america had no comments. wells fargo say they continue to work with borrowers to find alternatives. we asked both to come on camera and talk about the situation, neither of those banks agreed to come on camera. >> poppy, what about mortgage modifications. what are the banks saying? >> you know, they're not talking to us. they gave those statements. i think what's interesting, brooke, if you look at the ripple effect t. the mayor says they've seen hundreds of thousands of lost revenue for the city. when people leave the city, they get foreclosed on, leave the homes, they leave the school district. that means less funding from the state to the city for those schools. the schools have laid off staff. >> it's a domino effect. >> domino effect. the city has laid off half their workers since february alone. so this is one city, but these emblematic of the crisis that continues in the so-called recovery that these folks aren't

crime is now rampant in plainfield.the police spend their time breaking up gang activity. and determining which came first is a chicken-and-egg situation for mayor sharon robinson-briggs. >> do you feel that the amount of foerks really the foreclosure crisis, in this city, led to this increased gang violence? >> there may be a relationship in terms of certain areas in the city of plainfield where some of our residents have been laid off. who feel kind of hopeless at this point. >> the highest density of foreclosures is near the gang violence. 123, within a half-mile. but there are hundreds more. all over town. >> the town is going down. taxes are going up. we're suffering. >> today, home prices continue to fall. there are layoffs in the schools and the city has cut 50% of its workers since february. at rise and shine restaurant, the owner says business is slumping. >> there are ups and downs. some days, better, some days are slow. it's tough. >> unless like something can turn around, we need a miracle. you know. >> a mi

but for one town, plainfield, new jersey, that is not the reality.the bank owns more homes than anyone else. here's poppy harlow. >> reporter: at a bird's-eye view, plainfield, new jersey, may look like a lot of small towns in america. but when you talk to the folks here, you start to realize something -- the bank owns a big chunk of this city. >> i moved in three houses and three of the houses that i've lived in have foreclosed and i was forced to move. >> reporter: of the roughly 9,000 homes in plainfield, nearly # 00 are in foreclosure. that's almost three times the national average. >> it's terrible. my kids have to walk past these empty houses. and i'm afraid for them. >> reporter: you won't find padlocks or boarded-up windows but it's not tough to find people thousands of dollars in debt on their homes. right here on east front street alone, there are 25 homes in foreclosure. and just down the way on berkeley terrace, you'll find eight more. crime is now rampant here. police spend their time breaking up gang activity. do you feel as though the

crime is now rampant in plainfield.vity and determining which came first is a chicken-and-egg situation for the mayor. do you feel as though the amount of foreclosures, really the crisis in this city led to this increased gang violence? >> there may be a relationship in terms of certain areas in the city of plainfield where some of our residents have been laid off, who feel kind of hopeless at this point. >> reporter: the highest density is near the gang violence, 123 within a half mile. but there are hundreds more all over town. >> the town is going down, taxes are going up, we're suffering. >> reporter: today home prices continue to fall. there are layoffs in the schools, and the city has cut 50% of its workers since february. at rise & shine restaurant, the owner says business is slumping. >> ups and downs. some days are better, some days are slow. it's tough. >> unless like something can turn around, we need a miracle. >> reporter: a miracle? >> we need a miracle. >> you know, the mayor told me we need help from the

>> of the plainfield has altered but what karzai is hoping to convince the pakistan is is that if they deal with him, then they don't need to destabilize him. if they can reach an agreement, pakistan has an incentive to sit at the table rather than trying to destabilize karzai. >> are you optimistic of the chances of a political settlement that has the backing of pakistan and can really work? >> not in the short term. this tension between the u.s. and pakistan does not bode well for this process. diplomacy requires patience. these countries have not been in good terms for over a decade. there are only beginning to talk to one another. >> i will debut in when you are feeling more optimistic. >> german health officials have confirmed that locally grown been sprouts are the source of the equal an outbreak that killed more than 30 people and made thousands ill. the national disease control centers as people who ate the sprouts were nine times more likely to have fallen sick and those that had not. the advice not to eat tomatoes and cucumbers has been lifted. a group has claimed responsibil

. >>> plainfield, new jersey has a dubious distinction.tage of foreclosures than anywhere else in america. people there aren't alone. as of this week housing industry data shows we are in a double dip. a housing crisis worse than the great depression. rather than get better, the rates to clean up the balance sheets may be inflaming the problem. causing home values to tumble further. poppy harlow has witnessed this firsthand. take a look. >> reporter: i'm here on east front street alone there are 25 homes in foreclosure. and just down the way on berkeley terrace, you'll find eight more. >> three houses and three of the house that's i've lived in have foreclosed. and i was forced to move. >> unless something can turn around, we need a miracle. >> a miracle. >> that's the worst case. poppy joins us now. what is it that is unique about this area of new jersey? >> i wish it was unique. this is emblematic of the crisis across the country. it is not every city but a lot of cities. what's going on is you have a city where you have a largely minori

. >> reporter: plainfield, new jersey, may look like other parts around america.to talk to folks around here, you realize something. the bank owns a lot of the city. >> three of the houses i moved into, foreclosed and i had to move. >> nearly 900 homes are in foreclosure here. that's three times the national average. >> my kids have to walk past the empty houses, and i'm afraid for them. >> you won't find pad locks or boarded up windows. >> right here on east front street, there is 25 homes in foreclosure, and down there you will find eight more. the police spent their time breaking up gang activity and determining which came first is a chicken and egg situation for the sheriff. >> do you feel as though the amount of foreclosures, the foreclosure crisis in the city led to the increased gang violence? >> there may be a relationship in terms of certificate areas where some residents have been laid off who feel hopeless at this point. >> the highest density of foreclosures are near the gang violence. 123 within a half mile. but there are hundreds more all over town.

wants to have their banks in the plainfield and you could double that. switzerland has made an unusual choice out of necessity for the reason you mention which is -- [inaudible] and let's be reasonable and leave other countries to build huge banks. i am sure this was would agree with this depiction and it is simplistic on my part of that is what we have seen for ubs. the conclusion is the future will have large banks only in large countries. switzerland was -- this was a small country. germany and the u.k. are countries that are too small to report. we have seen this disturbing abolition. like the relationship between banks and government and externalities' and implicit guarantees. the only institution that can compete on a global scale with the large economies of scale will be headquartered in the largest countries which is disturbing. switzerland has nestle. they are no longer in banking . >> in the back. >> the national champion model has been invoked. it appears to be official policy because it is mentioned by jamie dimon and tim geithner. prodi the

if you abandon the plainfield to your opponent, the democrats are going to the final position perhaps in a way that is not honest. -- if you abandon the playing field to your opponent. she should have responded and she did not. host: matt kibbe is our guest, of freedomworks. a link to their website is on our web site. bob is joining us from new york caller: city good morning. -- caller: good morning. i have had a hard time getting on the air. i am seeing this guy over and over. is he a close friend or so see it? host: he is neither. he is the president and ceo of freedomworks. we invited him to talk about the republican party as we invite the other guests. guest: i think this is my third time ever. i love c-span. i can understand your frustration with seeing my face or early in the morning, but this is the only one i have. caller: i like your look, but not the sideburns. cap.ou need is a robert cubber host: now to tampa, florida. caller: i have been calling twice a year to talk about how serious is that we get our tax system straightened out. people talk about it. talk about simplifyi

if you abandon the plainfield to your opponent, the democrats are going to the final position perhaps in a way that is not honest. -- if you abandon the playing field to your opponent. she should have responded and she did not. host: matt kibbe is our guest, of freedomworks. a link to their website is on our web site. bob is joining us from new york caller: city good morning. -- caller: good morning. i have had a hard time getting on the air. i am seeing this guy over and over. is he a close friend or so see it? host: he is neither. he is the president and ceo of freedomworks. we invited him to talk about the republican party as we invite the other guests. guest: i think this is my third time ever. i love c-span. i can understand your frustration with seeing my face or early in the morning, but this is the only one i have. caller: i like your look, but not the sideburns. cap.ou need is a robert cubber host: now to tampa, florida. caller: i have been calling twice a year to talk about how serious is that we get our tax system straightened out. people talk about it. talk about simplifyi