THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES HAVE US NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS COME IN TO ACT AS A GOVERNING STRUCTURE BECAUSE NO WESTERN-STYLE GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE IS THERE. IN THE US------A FIRST WORLD COUNTRY BEING TAKEN THIRD WORLD, ALL OF OUR EXISTING GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE THAT MAKES THE PUBLIC KING IS BEING REPLACED BY THE SAME NON-GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURES FOUND IN THE THIRD WORLD. THIS IS HOW YOU BRING A FIRST WORLD TO THIRD WORLD.....ELIMINATE THE PUBLIC IN ALL AVENUES OF GOVERNMENT.
In Baltimore, this was preceded by a complete dismantlement of all public agencies of oversight and accountability back in the 1980s. Right now, we have Baltimore Development Corporation and Johns Hopkins with their private non-profits running all public sector activities with absolutely no public oversight or accountability----JUST AS IS DONE IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. Just as in a third world country-----the entire system if rife with fraud and corruption.
SEE WHY CINDY WALSH FOR GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND MUST NOT BE MENTIONED IN A GOVERNOR'S RACE -----ESPECIALLY IN BALTIMORE????
Continuing on the second phase of social reconstruction now that the few have all the money -----THE NEW ECONOMY OR 21ST CENTURY ECONOMY------means they are coming back for the rest of public property and assets. I want to continue with the taking of public property to benefit the same corporations that owe trillions of dollars in corporate fraud.
You don't have to be living in a city to experience this----rural areas are seeing the same thing happen and it spurs from the State of Maryland allowing these billions stolen in fraud and billions in corporate subsidy to empty government coffers and force privatization of all that is public.
Across the state O'Malley and the Maryland Assembly are working to make government offices and taxpayers 'renters' because we wouldn't want the public actually owning government office buildings----not when we have a corporate government!!!!! The ridiculous policy of having the Federal, state, and local government pay rent to private building developers further deteriorates any ability of the people to have revenue OR public assets and services. With so many vacant buildings downtown Baltimore and across Maryland corporate pols----whether Erhlich as a republican or O'Malley as democrat and this ultra-corporate Maryland Assembly instead make renters of the citizens of Maryland.
That's not all folks. All of that prime real estate attached to public housing that is no longer public housing------plant a affluent residential highrise on public land and VOILA----that developer is not paying any property taxes and gets all kinds of tax subsidy for decades just for making millions in profit. So, we have M and T Stadium, Hyatt, and Hilton all with these public land with billion dollar corporations keeping any tax base from entering Baltimore City coffers. tHE CITY RIGHT NOW IS STARVED FOR DECADES BECAUSE OF BAD DEALS THAT ARE SIMPLY PUBLIC MALFEASANCE AND HURTS THE ECONOMY OF THE CITY -----NOT HELP IT.
THE CITY IS GOING BANKRUPT SAYS MAYOR RAWLINGS-BLAKE----WE MUST SLASH PUBLIC SECTOR WAGES AND BENEFITS BECAUSE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PENSIONS LOST 1/2 THE VALUE FROM PENSION FRAUD THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO SEEK JUSTICE TO RECOVER!!!!
Malfeasance in office
From Wikipedia
The court then went on to use yet another definition, "malfeasance is the doing of an act which an officer had no legal right to do at all and that when an officer, through ignorance, inattention, or malice, does that which they have no legal right to do at all, or acts without any authority whatsoever, or exceeds, ignores, or abuses their powers, they are guilty of malfeasance."
Nevertheless a few "elements" can be distilled from those cases. First, malfeasance in office requires an affirmative act or omission. Second, the act must have been done in an official capacity—under the color of office. Finally, that that act somehow interferes with the performance of official duties—though some debate remains about "whose official" duties.
People need to remember, the economy is being held hostage by global corporations and their pols who want the economy stagnant and unemployment high-----it makes them rich. All we need is to rebuild a DOMESTIC ECONOMY with small and regional businesses where Maryland citizens own the businesses and Maryland citizens are employed by these businesses----gaining wealth and spending to drive the economy and -----VOILA-----A HEALTHY ECONOMY. So, all of this poverty is created deliberately to create the conditions of moving all public wealth to the top.
THAT'S A NEO-LIBERAL AND NEO-CON FOR YOU-----WORKING FOR WEALTH AND PROFIT. SEE WHY ONLY BROWN, GANSLER, AND MIZEUR ARE ALLOWED MEDIA AIR TIME IN MARYLAND----THEY ARE ALL AIDING AND ABETTING THESE POLICIES. WHAT MASSIVE FRAUD AND CORRUPTION SAY BROWN, GANSLER, AND MIZEUR.
It is especially important in Baltimore that my campaign is unknown because heaven forbid a candidate running on rebuilding oversight and accountability and public justice actually get elected!!!
Let's take a look at how they are fleecing our public coffers with fraud and corruption and outright bad public policy:
Baltimore has completely mortgaged its future with these corporate tax breaks that are proven to do nothing useful for the public good. It is public malfeasance by politicians using policy that everyone knows harms the public-----and these corporate tax breaks do just that.
Rethinking Property Tax Incentives for Business
(Policy Focus Report) Author(s): Kenyon, Daphne A., Adam H. Langley, and Bethany P. Paquin
Publication Date: June 2012
$15.00; 76 pages; Inventory ID PF030; English; Paperback; ISBN 978-1-55844-233-7
FREE DOWNLOADS BELOW PURCHASE PRINT EDITION Rethinking Property Tax Incentives for Business PDF 3.66 MB
Abstract The use of property tax incentives for business by local governments throughout the United States has escalated over the last 50 years. While there is little evidence that these tax incentives are an effective instrument to promote economic development, they cost state and local governments $5 to $10 billion each year in forgone revenue.
Three major obstacles can impede the success of property tax incentives as an economic development tool. First, incentives are unlikely to have a significant impact on a firm’s profitability since property taxes are a small part of the total costs for most businesses—averaging much less than 1 percent of total costs for the U.S. manufacturing sector. Second, tax breaks are sometimes given to businesses that would have chosen the same location even without the incentives. When this happens, property tax incentives merely deplete the tax base without promoting economic development. Third, widespread use of incentives within a metropolitan area reduces their effectiveness, because when firms can obtain similar tax breaks in most jurisdictions, incentives are less likely to affect business location decisions.
This report reviews five types of property tax incentives and examines their characteristics, costs, and effectiveness: property tax abatement programs; tax increment finance; enterprise zones; firm-specific property tax incentives; and property tax exemptions in connection with issuance of industrial development bonds.
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If you haven't heard about the states who have been renting space for their Veterans Administration buildings now being told they will not receive some Federal funding because these agencies are no longer recognized after 50 years of renting space and outsourcing VA operations......AS IF THESE POLS ARE SURPRISED BY THIS ACTION......it is happening all across America. The amount of taxpayer money lost to government renting private property is tremendous. Maryland has placed this practice on steroids with Erhlich and O'Malley racing to hand all of government into corporate hands.
Do we really need a Baltimore City Hall if Baltimore Development Corporation and Johns Hopkins runs the city? Why not have the City Council meet in an auditorium at the Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health?
When this article says these behaviors are not illegal------we need to ask-----if we know these decisions are not in the public interest and a politician takes an oath to protect and work in the public interest-----it becomes public malfeasance.
Below you see Baltimore's State Center being handed to private developers who get the benefit of building on public land, tax breaks for being there, and have the citizens of Maryland paying leases for government space to this developer. Remember, the State of Maryland has dismantled all oversight and accountability and this is why the State Center has been emptied of agencies and employees. The Department of Labor and Licensing DLLR is a shell of itself in this State Center facility.
NEO-LIBERALISM MEANS NO GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND ALL PROFIT GOES TO CORPORATIONS WHICH IN TURN WRITE ALL PUBLIC POLICY. CITIZENS ARE ONLY NEEDED TO PAY EVER HIGHER TAXES TO SUPPORT ALL THIS CORPORATE SUBSIDY!!!!
GOV. O'MALLEY ANNOUNCES BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS APPROVAL OF STATE CENTER LEASES
US Fed News Service, Including US State News July 29, 2010
ANNAPOLIS, Md., July 28 -- Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md., issued the following news release:
Governor Martin O'Malley announced today that by a unanimous, 3-0 vote the Board of Public Works approved long-term leases at two new office buildings to be built as part of the redevelopment of State Center in Baltimore City. The state commitment to lease office in the redevelopment provides the private sector development team with the ability to seek the private financing necessary to build the first phase of the project.
"The Board of Public works took a big step today in shaping Maryland's future and bringing thousands of jobs to the heart of Baltimore City," said Governor O'Malley. …
NOTHING BETTER THAN USING TAX PAYER MONEY TO FILL OFFICE SPACE FOR PRIVATE DEVELOPERS AND HAVE PUBLIC PROPERTY ASSURE NO TAXES, PHYSICAL UPGRADES TO LEASED PROPERTY, AND PUBLIC MAINTENANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE! AND AFTER 50 YEARS----THE PUBLIC IS HANDED A TEE SHIRT AND TOLD TO LEAVE.
End Of Lease Cleaning O'Malley 2606
“Why waste time and effort cleaning your rental property when End Of Lease Cleaning O'Malley can do it spotlessly and efficiently? And, best of all affordably?”
The professionally trained and fully equipped cleaning team at End Of Lease Cleaning O'Malley will take your rental property from its current condition and return it to you spotlessly clean in no time. You won’t need to worry about a thing.
Landlords can be fussy when it comes to final inspections – after all they are only protected their asset. But, with the expert cleaning services of End Of Lease Cleaning O'Malley, you will have the peace of mind knowing that professionals are taking care of returned your rental back to its cleanest condition.
End Of Lease Cleaning O'Malley Perform The Following End Of Lease Cleaning Jobs –
Vacuum Carpets, Vacuum & Mop Flooring, Dust & Wipe Ceiling Fans & Light Fittings
Remove Cobwebs, Dust & Wash Cupboards, Wardrobes, Drawers, Wipe Down Doors
Clean Skirting Boards, Spot Clean Walls, Clean Windows & Window Frames, Dust Blinds
Scrub Tiled Areas, Shower, Bath, Shower Screen, Bath, Remove Soap & Mould (Light) Residue
Clean Drawers, Vanity, Tapware, Sanitise Toilet, Degrease Exhaust Fans, Clean Sink
Clean Oven, Stove Top & Grill
End Of Lease Cleaning O'Malley Perform the Following Optional End Of Lease Cleans –
Clean Decking Areas, Driveways, Garage, Remove Cobwebs, Clean Windows, Carpet Steam Cleaning
Using the expert services of an end of lease cleaning service is a reliable way of ensuring your rental is returned to its owner in its cleanest possible condition. Call End Of Lease Cleaning O'Malley when you’re looking for an end of lease cleaning service that ticks all the boxes when it comes to reliability, price and quality of cleaning services.
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Social Security office to move to downtown Towson next spring High-rise at 28 Allegheny Avenue will be new home
The Social Security Administration is moving its Towson office from the West Road Corporate Center at 110 West Road to the Penthouse Condominium high-rise at 28 Allegheny Avenue in downtown Towson next spring, and the move is being seen by some as a boon for the downtown area.
"All those people who work for or visit Social Security will be having breakfast or lunch or doing a little shopping," said Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce.
Some residents of the 28-floor Penthouse, though, are concerned that the presence of SSA could be problematic — depending on how many people the office draws to the building.
"There has been some discussion about bringing strangers into the building and people tying up the elevators," said Julio Gonzales. "And parking might be a big problem."
SSA spokesman Aidan Diviny said the new location will offer "the same service" as what's offered on West Road, but could not provide information about how many employees would be making the move and how many visitors come to that site routinely.
Gina Blyther Gilliam, a spokeswoman for the General Services Administration, said in an email that the Social Security Administration currently occupies 11,365 square feet of office space at West Road, and has been there since June 2003.
She said the GSA awarded a lease for 11,618 square feet of office space with 45 parking spaces in May 2010 to Ravens Penthouse. The annual rent will be about $322,400, she said.
Towson resident Joe Werner, who owns the 300-space mid-rise garage adjoining the Penthouse, said he believes parking won't be a problem. Ravens Penthouse is providing free parking for the SSA, thanks to fifth- and sixth-floor parking spaces they will lease from him.
The Social Security offices will be on the fourth floor of the Penthouse, which is at street level on Joppa Road. It will feature an entrance for employees and delivery people.
Since street level is different in the front of the building, SSA clients will use the main entrance on Allegheny and be directed to walk up one flight of stairs to SSA on the fourth floor, Werner said. Most won't be using the elevators.
Those who are driving to the SSA office will park on the designated levels of his garage and take an elevator to the entrance to the Penthouse's fourth floor.
County Council member David Marks, who represents the 5th District, which includes Towson, said he's anxious for the Social Security move as a means of adding people to downtown Towson.
"Every little project produces more foot traffic," he said.
"There's a tremendous amount of action going on in the core," Marks said. "Allegheny Avenue will just be hopping. I hope we can spread that down York Road."
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This list looks the same in Baltimore City. Public schools are being closed and often leased to charter schools and/or a private non-profit. Now, Montgomery County residents are shouting about a shortage of public schools just as Baltimore residents are, yet all these schools are closed and are now rental property.
Can we use these schools for government business if indeed there is no need for them in these districts? Many of these private non-profits look as though they are replacing the public sector health and social services. Why does that matter? There is no public transparency or oversight to assure equal protection and efficacy of programs. This is why Maryland is having a rise in reports from the low-income community that they are not able to access many services, or the services received were poor.
OF COURSE WE CAN....YET, WE LEASE GOVERNMENT OFFICE SPACE.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Montgomery Co. Leases for Closed School Sites
For your information, here is the list of leases for public school sites in Montgomery County for properties that are held in the name of the County. (This list does not include properties that are held in the name of MCPS.)
How many of these leases include an option to buy?
How many of these leases are standard Montgomery County lease forms signed by Montgomery County staff and how many of these leases have a unique arrangement and are signed by the County Executive.
Post your results. A quick review of these documents shows that one of these leases stands out from all the rest.
Closed Schools
1.Peary High School
13300 Arctic Avenue
Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy
Lease
2. Aspen Hill Elementary School
4915 Aspen Hill Road
Sheppard Pratt Health Systems, Inc.
Lease
3. Alta Vista Elementary School
5615 Beech Avenue
Beth Country Day School
Lease
4. English Manor Elementary School
4511 Bestor Avenue
The Children's Learning Center
Lease
1st Amendment
5. Lower Parkside Elementary School
9504 Burnett Avenue
Acorn Hill School, Inc.
Lease
6. Forest Grove Elementary School
9805 Dameron Drive
Holy Cross Hospital
Lease
7. Dennis Avenue Health Center
2000 Dennis Avenue
Spanish Catholic Center, Inc.
Lease
8. Holiday Park Senior Center
3950 Ferrara Drive
Mental Health Association
Lease
1st Amendment
Holiday Park Senior Center
3950 Ferrara Drive
Interages
Lease
9. Lone Oak Center
1010 Grandin Avenue
Centers For The Handicapped Inc
Lease
1st Amendment
10. Fernwood Elementary School
6801 Greentree Road
The Woods Academy
Lease
11. Gude Drive Shelter
600 E Gude Drive
Mobile Medical Care, Inc.
Lease
12. Randolph Junior High School
11710 Hunters Lane
Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
Lease
13. Hillandale Elementary School
10501 New Hampshire Avenue
Centers For The Handicapped Inc
Lease
14. Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Maryland Child Services
Lease
1st Amendment
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Casa de Montessori
Lease
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Kappa Alpha Psi
Lease
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Colesville Council of Community Congregations, Inc.
Lease
1st Amendment
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Montgomery Volunteer Dental Clinic, Inc.
Lease
1st Amendment
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Raising Hispanic Academic Achievement, Inc.
Lease
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Bethah Associates
Lease
15. Clara Barton Community Center
7425 MacArthur Boulevard
Clara Barton Day Care Inc.
License
1st Amendment
2nd Amendment
16. Arylawn Elementary School
5650 Oakmont Avenue
YMCA
Lease
1st Amendment
2nd Amendment
17. Georgetown Hills Elementary School
11614 Seven Locks Road
The Ivymount School
Lease
1st Amendment
18. MacDonald Knolls Elementary School
10611 Tenbrook Drive
Centers For The Handicapped Inc
Lease
1st Amendment
19. Broome School
751 Twinbrook Parkway
Threshold Services, Inc.
Lease
The lease for the Montgomery Hills Junior High School Closed School site is missing from this list.
That Closed School site is leased to the Yeshiva High School.
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To Rent Or Buy? For The Federal Government, It's Complicated
By Laura Sullivan
Originally published on Wed February 12, 2014 3:25 pm
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is supposed to manage federal relations with many Indian nations across the country. But the bureau is accused of doing a bad job managing its own affairs.
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
It faces questions about leases it's signed for many of its offices. A recent government report found the agency violated multiple rules that will cost taxpayers millions.
INSKEEP: Experts say it's just the latest in a long list of problems when it comes to federal property management. They say the federal government has lost track of what it rents, what it uses and what it owns.
NPR's Laura Sullivan reports.
LAURA SULLIVAN, BYLINE: The interior department's inspector general's office took look at 14 of the BIA's leases and found problems with all of them. The agency was overpaying for space or renting too much of it. In some cases, the agency didn't have the authority to lease space at all, all of which cost taxpayers an extra $32 million last year.
Leslie Paige with Citizens Against Government Waste says when it comes to federal property, that sounds about right.
LESLIE PAIGE: This is not illegal. It's just simply bad management practices that there are no incentives to fix.
SULLIVAN: Every year the federal government spends $4.2 billion renting office space. Some agencies rent instead of own because they're in critical locations with specific security or workplace needs. But others are more curious. Take Health and Human Services in Rockville, Maryland. When its lease expires, it will have paid rent on a private building for 60 years. Leslie Paige says that's crazy.
PAIGE: The truth is, some of this stuff is the big-ticket items. These are very expensive boondoggles that are going on.
SULLIVAN: Recent government reports have found many others. The Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle is renewing a lease that will put it in its building for 50 years. And these rents aren't cheap. The Department of Commerce in Alexandria, Virginia pays $60 million year in rent. But Kurt Stout of Colliers International, who represents companies that lease to the government, says leasing gives agencies flexibility to grow, shrink, upgrade or move.
KURT STOUT: It's kind of like buying a car. Over time, the annual cost of repairs and maintenance and upgrades to your space, and even things like furniture and telecom, far outweigh the actual cost of the real estate itself.
SULLIVAN: But if you're going to own that car for 30, 40 or 60 years, at some point you're doing better when you just flat out own it.
STOUT: I would agree with that. The thing is, is that ultimately in the federal government, capital is scarce, so a dollar spent on real estate is a dollar not spent on something else that maybe is more fundamental to the federal government's mission. And with private capital so plentiful in the commercial real estate world, why not take advantage of it?
BUT WAIT----THAT PRIVATE CAPITAL IN THE REAL ESTATE WORLD IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S MONEY STOLEN IN MASSIVE CORPORATE FRAUD OF TENS OF TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS....SO THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT DEPLETE OF CAPITAL.....IT IS DEPLETE OF JUSTICE.
SULLIVAN: Capital is a huge problem. The government's watchdog group, the General Accountability Office, found in its reports that the government rarely has the money to cover the upfront costs of buying land and building, even if that means agencies will end up paying 10 times more than that in rent.
And then the situation gets more complicated. Once vested in a place, agencies start renovating space they don't even own. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in D.C. recently told Congress it plans to spend $95 million to renovate a building it's renting. The State Department, it just spent $80 million renovating office space for a lease that's up in five years.
It has an option to buy, but if it can't come up with the money, chances are the landlord will think about that when it's time to renegotiate the rent.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CHAFFETZ: That's just is counterintuitive.
SULLIVAN: Congressman Jason Chaffetz from Utah sits on the Committee on Government Oversight and Reform. He's introduced legislation to help get rid of thousands of empty government buildings.
CHAFFETZ: When you see these departments and agencies leasing a building and then investing millions and millions of dollars to retrofit them for their specific needs, it just sort of drives you nuts. At the same time that we've got 77,000-plus buildings that are under-utilized.
SULLIVAN: Chaffetz says federal agencies like the General Services Administration have been unable to account for all the buildings the government owns so it's hard to know if they can be of use. General Services told Congress they're working on it. Laura Sullivan, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that what is happening below is happening in the US. All of it involves fraud and malfeasance and can be reversed if we elect pols who want to do that. This is why elections in the US are so controlled and orchestrated to make sure that the only people getting publicity are those that will keep the status quo.
WE NEED THE CITIZENS OF MARYLAND TO WAKE UP------
Wake-up Call Resist the Corporate State
World Bank and aid donors accused of enabling land grabs
by Ellie Violet Bramley Guardian May 21, 2014
Aid donors and international institutions including the World Bank and World Economic Forum (WEF) have been accused of promoting an environment that fuels land grabs through policies and initiatives that pave the way for large-scale private investment.
In a report published on Tuesday, the NGO ActionAid says public money and policy incentives such as tax breaks and cut-price loans are facilitating land deals that threaten the lives and livelihoods of small-scale farmers in poor countries.
ActionAid warns that the consequences of such deals, which are too often happening behind closed doors and with little or no consultation with local communities, include “forced evictions, human rights violations, lost livelihoods, divided communities … rising food insecurity and, ultimately, increased poverty”.
THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR!!!!!!
A spokesman for the World Bank said it was also concerned about the risks of large-scale land deals and stressed that it did not support investments that took advantage of weak institutions in developing countries.
ActionAid’s report says weak governance and regulation of land use and agricultural investments have left millions of smallholder farmers and indigenous people in vulnerable situations “lack[ing] recognition over their land rights, even if they have resided in or used the area for generations”.
ActionAid’s campaign manager, Antoine Bouhey, said a “nexus of different policies” at the global level, which encourage private investment as a route to development, were also to blame.
“Governments are turning to private capital to fill the massive shortfall in public spending but too often this blind rush for investment is leading to land grabs which are leaving communities landless, homeless and hungry. Growth cannot be achieved at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable,” he said.
The NGO’s report points to the G8′s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition as one of the international initiatives “via which taxpayer money and public policies are fuelling land grabs” and failing to ensure strong safeguards to protect the poorest.
The New Alliance was condemned as a new form of colonialism this year, after African governments agreed to change seed, land and tax laws to encourage private investment.
Last month, World Development Movement, the anti-poverty group, said the New Alliance was in effect carving up Africa in the interests of big business.
ActionAid’s report also looks at how governments of developing countries are facilitating large-scale land deals through direct intervention in sales and lease agreements, and by introducing public policy incentives such as tax holidays for agribusiness investors.
It says such deals, often justified on the basis of attracting increased investment into food and farming, have come at great human cost.
Public and private investment should be redirected towards supporting sustainable agricultural practices suited to the needs of smallholder farmers, particularly women, says ActionAid. A “zero-tolerance approach” must be taken by governments over land grabs and the incentives that fuel them.
Most of the 1.4 billion people worldwide who live on less than $1.25 a day reside in rural areas and depend largely on agriculture for their livelihoods. Globally, an estimated 2.5 billion people are involved in small-scale agriculture.
A World Bank spokesman said the organisation provided roughly a third of all aid to support countries in improving governance of land tenure. “Securing access to land is critical for millions of poor people. Modern, efficient, and transparent policies on land rights are vital to reducing poverty and promoting growth, agriculture production, better nutrition, and sustainable development,” he said. “Our role is to be a leader in assisting countries to improve land governance and the behaviour of private investors.”
Lisa Dreier, a senior director working on food security and development at the WEF, said its New Vision for Agriculture helped found the Grow Africa initiative, which created 33,000 jobs and gave 2.6 million small farmers in Africa access to technology, financing and new markets.
“Smallholder farmers are key to the future success of Africa’s agriculture and governments can support them by implementing clear rules on land ownership that protect smallholder rights and encourage investment,” she added.
What is a land grab?
“Many land deals are, in fact, land grabs carried out without proper consultation, consent and compensation,” says ActionAid.
The NGO uses a definition of land grabs that draws on the Tirana declaration, agreed at a 2011 international conference. The declaration defines land grabs as deals that are “in violation of human rights, particularly the equal rights of women, not based on principles of free, prior and informed consent, or are in disregard or fail to thoroughly assess social, economic and environmental impacts, not based on transparent contracts … ” or are not based on “effective democratic planning, independent oversight and meaningful participation”.
Conclusive, independent data on the scale of land grabs worldwide is hard to come by. ActionAid’s report looks at data from the international Land Matrix project, which suggests that the vast majority of large-scale deals have been struck in sub-Saharan Africa (41%), south-east Asia (32%), and the Americas and Caribbean (19%).
- See more info at: http://farmlandgrab.org/
In Baltimore, this was preceded by a complete dismantlement of all public agencies of oversight and accountability back in the 1980s. Right now, we have Baltimore Development Corporation and Johns Hopkins with their private non-profits running all public sector activities with absolutely no public oversight or accountability----JUST AS IS DONE IN A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. Just as in a third world country-----the entire system if rife with fraud and corruption.
SEE WHY CINDY WALSH FOR GOVERNOR OF MARYLAND MUST NOT BE MENTIONED IN A GOVERNOR'S RACE -----ESPECIALLY IN BALTIMORE????
Continuing on the second phase of social reconstruction now that the few have all the money -----THE NEW ECONOMY OR 21ST CENTURY ECONOMY------means they are coming back for the rest of public property and assets. I want to continue with the taking of public property to benefit the same corporations that owe trillions of dollars in corporate fraud.
You don't have to be living in a city to experience this----rural areas are seeing the same thing happen and it spurs from the State of Maryland allowing these billions stolen in fraud and billions in corporate subsidy to empty government coffers and force privatization of all that is public.
Across the state O'Malley and the Maryland Assembly are working to make government offices and taxpayers 'renters' because we wouldn't want the public actually owning government office buildings----not when we have a corporate government!!!!! The ridiculous policy of having the Federal, state, and local government pay rent to private building developers further deteriorates any ability of the people to have revenue OR public assets and services. With so many vacant buildings downtown Baltimore and across Maryland corporate pols----whether Erhlich as a republican or O'Malley as democrat and this ultra-corporate Maryland Assembly instead make renters of the citizens of Maryland.
That's not all folks. All of that prime real estate attached to public housing that is no longer public housing------plant a affluent residential highrise on public land and VOILA----that developer is not paying any property taxes and gets all kinds of tax subsidy for decades just for making millions in profit. So, we have M and T Stadium, Hyatt, and Hilton all with these public land with billion dollar corporations keeping any tax base from entering Baltimore City coffers. tHE CITY RIGHT NOW IS STARVED FOR DECADES BECAUSE OF BAD DEALS THAT ARE SIMPLY PUBLIC MALFEASANCE AND HURTS THE ECONOMY OF THE CITY -----NOT HELP IT.
THE CITY IS GOING BANKRUPT SAYS MAYOR RAWLINGS-BLAKE----WE MUST SLASH PUBLIC SECTOR WAGES AND BENEFITS BECAUSE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PENSIONS LOST 1/2 THE VALUE FROM PENSION FRAUD THAT WE ARE NOT GOING TO SEEK JUSTICE TO RECOVER!!!!
Malfeasance in office
From Wikipedia
The court then went on to use yet another definition, "malfeasance is the doing of an act which an officer had no legal right to do at all and that when an officer, through ignorance, inattention, or malice, does that which they have no legal right to do at all, or acts without any authority whatsoever, or exceeds, ignores, or abuses their powers, they are guilty of malfeasance."
Nevertheless a few "elements" can be distilled from those cases. First, malfeasance in office requires an affirmative act or omission. Second, the act must have been done in an official capacity—under the color of office. Finally, that that act somehow interferes with the performance of official duties—though some debate remains about "whose official" duties.
People need to remember, the economy is being held hostage by global corporations and their pols who want the economy stagnant and unemployment high-----it makes them rich. All we need is to rebuild a DOMESTIC ECONOMY with small and regional businesses where Maryland citizens own the businesses and Maryland citizens are employed by these businesses----gaining wealth and spending to drive the economy and -----VOILA-----A HEALTHY ECONOMY. So, all of this poverty is created deliberately to create the conditions of moving all public wealth to the top.
THAT'S A NEO-LIBERAL AND NEO-CON FOR YOU-----WORKING FOR WEALTH AND PROFIT. SEE WHY ONLY BROWN, GANSLER, AND MIZEUR ARE ALLOWED MEDIA AIR TIME IN MARYLAND----THEY ARE ALL AIDING AND ABETTING THESE POLICIES. WHAT MASSIVE FRAUD AND CORRUPTION SAY BROWN, GANSLER, AND MIZEUR.
It is especially important in Baltimore that my campaign is unknown because heaven forbid a candidate running on rebuilding oversight and accountability and public justice actually get elected!!!
Let's take a look at how they are fleecing our public coffers with fraud and corruption and outright bad public policy:
Baltimore has completely mortgaged its future with these corporate tax breaks that are proven to do nothing useful for the public good. It is public malfeasance by politicians using policy that everyone knows harms the public-----and these corporate tax breaks do just that.
Rethinking Property Tax Incentives for Business
(Policy Focus Report) Author(s): Kenyon, Daphne A., Adam H. Langley, and Bethany P. Paquin
Publication Date: June 2012
$15.00; 76 pages; Inventory ID PF030; English; Paperback; ISBN 978-1-55844-233-7
FREE DOWNLOADS BELOW PURCHASE PRINT EDITION Rethinking Property Tax Incentives for Business PDF 3.66 MB
Abstract The use of property tax incentives for business by local governments throughout the United States has escalated over the last 50 years. While there is little evidence that these tax incentives are an effective instrument to promote economic development, they cost state and local governments $5 to $10 billion each year in forgone revenue.
Three major obstacles can impede the success of property tax incentives as an economic development tool. First, incentives are unlikely to have a significant impact on a firm’s profitability since property taxes are a small part of the total costs for most businesses—averaging much less than 1 percent of total costs for the U.S. manufacturing sector. Second, tax breaks are sometimes given to businesses that would have chosen the same location even without the incentives. When this happens, property tax incentives merely deplete the tax base without promoting economic development. Third, widespread use of incentives within a metropolitan area reduces their effectiveness, because when firms can obtain similar tax breaks in most jurisdictions, incentives are less likely to affect business location decisions.
This report reviews five types of property tax incentives and examines their characteristics, costs, and effectiveness: property tax abatement programs; tax increment finance; enterprise zones; firm-specific property tax incentives; and property tax exemptions in connection with issuance of industrial development bonds.
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If you haven't heard about the states who have been renting space for their Veterans Administration buildings now being told they will not receive some Federal funding because these agencies are no longer recognized after 50 years of renting space and outsourcing VA operations......AS IF THESE POLS ARE SURPRISED BY THIS ACTION......it is happening all across America. The amount of taxpayer money lost to government renting private property is tremendous. Maryland has placed this practice on steroids with Erhlich and O'Malley racing to hand all of government into corporate hands.
Do we really need a Baltimore City Hall if Baltimore Development Corporation and Johns Hopkins runs the city? Why not have the City Council meet in an auditorium at the Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health?
When this article says these behaviors are not illegal------we need to ask-----if we know these decisions are not in the public interest and a politician takes an oath to protect and work in the public interest-----it becomes public malfeasance.
Below you see Baltimore's State Center being handed to private developers who get the benefit of building on public land, tax breaks for being there, and have the citizens of Maryland paying leases for government space to this developer. Remember, the State of Maryland has dismantled all oversight and accountability and this is why the State Center has been emptied of agencies and employees. The Department of Labor and Licensing DLLR is a shell of itself in this State Center facility.
NEO-LIBERALISM MEANS NO GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY AND ALL PROFIT GOES TO CORPORATIONS WHICH IN TURN WRITE ALL PUBLIC POLICY. CITIZENS ARE ONLY NEEDED TO PAY EVER HIGHER TAXES TO SUPPORT ALL THIS CORPORATE SUBSIDY!!!!
GOV. O'MALLEY ANNOUNCES BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS APPROVAL OF STATE CENTER LEASES
US Fed News Service, Including US State News July 29, 2010
ANNAPOLIS, Md., July 28 -- Gov. Martin O'Malley, D-Md., issued the following news release:
Governor Martin O'Malley announced today that by a unanimous, 3-0 vote the Board of Public Works approved long-term leases at two new office buildings to be built as part of the redevelopment of State Center in Baltimore City. The state commitment to lease office in the redevelopment provides the private sector development team with the ability to seek the private financing necessary to build the first phase of the project.
"The Board of Public works took a big step today in shaping Maryland's future and bringing thousands of jobs to the heart of Baltimore City," said Governor O'Malley. …
NOTHING BETTER THAN USING TAX PAYER MONEY TO FILL OFFICE SPACE FOR PRIVATE DEVELOPERS AND HAVE PUBLIC PROPERTY ASSURE NO TAXES, PHYSICAL UPGRADES TO LEASED PROPERTY, AND PUBLIC MAINTENANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE! AND AFTER 50 YEARS----THE PUBLIC IS HANDED A TEE SHIRT AND TOLD TO LEAVE.
End Of Lease Cleaning O'Malley 2606
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Clean Decking Areas, Driveways, Garage, Remove Cobwebs, Clean Windows, Carpet Steam Cleaning
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Social Security office to move to downtown Towson next spring High-rise at 28 Allegheny Avenue will be new home
The Social Security Administration is moving its Towson office from the West Road Corporate Center at 110 West Road to the Penthouse Condominium high-rise at 28 Allegheny Avenue in downtown Towson next spring, and the move is being seen by some as a boon for the downtown area.
"All those people who work for or visit Social Security will be having breakfast or lunch or doing a little shopping," said Nancy Hafford, executive director of the Towson Chamber of Commerce.
Some residents of the 28-floor Penthouse, though, are concerned that the presence of SSA could be problematic — depending on how many people the office draws to the building.
"There has been some discussion about bringing strangers into the building and people tying up the elevators," said Julio Gonzales. "And parking might be a big problem."
SSA spokesman Aidan Diviny said the new location will offer "the same service" as what's offered on West Road, but could not provide information about how many employees would be making the move and how many visitors come to that site routinely.
Gina Blyther Gilliam, a spokeswoman for the General Services Administration, said in an email that the Social Security Administration currently occupies 11,365 square feet of office space at West Road, and has been there since June 2003.
She said the GSA awarded a lease for 11,618 square feet of office space with 45 parking spaces in May 2010 to Ravens Penthouse. The annual rent will be about $322,400, she said.
Towson resident Joe Werner, who owns the 300-space mid-rise garage adjoining the Penthouse, said he believes parking won't be a problem. Ravens Penthouse is providing free parking for the SSA, thanks to fifth- and sixth-floor parking spaces they will lease from him.
The Social Security offices will be on the fourth floor of the Penthouse, which is at street level on Joppa Road. It will feature an entrance for employees and delivery people.
Since street level is different in the front of the building, SSA clients will use the main entrance on Allegheny and be directed to walk up one flight of stairs to SSA on the fourth floor, Werner said. Most won't be using the elevators.
Those who are driving to the SSA office will park on the designated levels of his garage and take an elevator to the entrance to the Penthouse's fourth floor.
County Council member David Marks, who represents the 5th District, which includes Towson, said he's anxious for the Social Security move as a means of adding people to downtown Towson.
"Every little project produces more foot traffic," he said.
"There's a tremendous amount of action going on in the core," Marks said. "Allegheny Avenue will just be hopping. I hope we can spread that down York Road."
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This list looks the same in Baltimore City. Public schools are being closed and often leased to charter schools and/or a private non-profit. Now, Montgomery County residents are shouting about a shortage of public schools just as Baltimore residents are, yet all these schools are closed and are now rental property.
Can we use these schools for government business if indeed there is no need for them in these districts? Many of these private non-profits look as though they are replacing the public sector health and social services. Why does that matter? There is no public transparency or oversight to assure equal protection and efficacy of programs. This is why Maryland is having a rise in reports from the low-income community that they are not able to access many services, or the services received were poor.
OF COURSE WE CAN....YET, WE LEASE GOVERNMENT OFFICE SPACE.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Montgomery Co. Leases for Closed School Sites
For your information, here is the list of leases for public school sites in Montgomery County for properties that are held in the name of the County. (This list does not include properties that are held in the name of MCPS.)
How many of these leases include an option to buy?
How many of these leases are standard Montgomery County lease forms signed by Montgomery County staff and how many of these leases have a unique arrangement and are signed by the County Executive.
Post your results. A quick review of these documents shows that one of these leases stands out from all the rest.
Closed Schools
1.Peary High School
13300 Arctic Avenue
Melvin J. Berman Hebrew Academy
Lease
2. Aspen Hill Elementary School
4915 Aspen Hill Road
Sheppard Pratt Health Systems, Inc.
Lease
3. Alta Vista Elementary School
5615 Beech Avenue
Beth Country Day School
Lease
4. English Manor Elementary School
4511 Bestor Avenue
The Children's Learning Center
Lease
1st Amendment
5. Lower Parkside Elementary School
9504 Burnett Avenue
Acorn Hill School, Inc.
Lease
6. Forest Grove Elementary School
9805 Dameron Drive
Holy Cross Hospital
Lease
7. Dennis Avenue Health Center
2000 Dennis Avenue
Spanish Catholic Center, Inc.
Lease
8. Holiday Park Senior Center
3950 Ferrara Drive
Mental Health Association
Lease
1st Amendment
Holiday Park Senior Center
3950 Ferrara Drive
Interages
Lease
9. Lone Oak Center
1010 Grandin Avenue
Centers For The Handicapped Inc
Lease
1st Amendment
10. Fernwood Elementary School
6801 Greentree Road
The Woods Academy
Lease
11. Gude Drive Shelter
600 E Gude Drive
Mobile Medical Care, Inc.
Lease
12. Randolph Junior High School
11710 Hunters Lane
Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
Lease
13. Hillandale Elementary School
10501 New Hampshire Avenue
Centers For The Handicapped Inc
Lease
14. Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Maryland Child Services
Lease
1st Amendment
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Casa de Montessori
Lease
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Kappa Alpha Psi
Lease
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Colesville Council of Community Congregations, Inc.
Lease
1st Amendment
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Montgomery Volunteer Dental Clinic, Inc.
Lease
1st Amendment
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Raising Hispanic Academic Achievement, Inc.
Lease
Colesville Elementary School
14015 New Hampshire Avenue
Bethah Associates
Lease
15. Clara Barton Community Center
7425 MacArthur Boulevard
Clara Barton Day Care Inc.
License
1st Amendment
2nd Amendment
16. Arylawn Elementary School
5650 Oakmont Avenue
YMCA
Lease
1st Amendment
2nd Amendment
17. Georgetown Hills Elementary School
11614 Seven Locks Road
The Ivymount School
Lease
1st Amendment
18. MacDonald Knolls Elementary School
10611 Tenbrook Drive
Centers For The Handicapped Inc
Lease
1st Amendment
19. Broome School
751 Twinbrook Parkway
Threshold Services, Inc.
Lease
The lease for the Montgomery Hills Junior High School Closed School site is missing from this list.
That Closed School site is leased to the Yeshiva High School.
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To Rent Or Buy? For The Federal Government, It's Complicated
By Laura Sullivan
Originally published on Wed February 12, 2014 3:25 pm
- Listen 4:41
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is supposed to manage federal relations with many Indian nations across the country. But the bureau is accused of doing a bad job managing its own affairs.
RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
It faces questions about leases it's signed for many of its offices. A recent government report found the agency violated multiple rules that will cost taxpayers millions.
INSKEEP: Experts say it's just the latest in a long list of problems when it comes to federal property management. They say the federal government has lost track of what it rents, what it uses and what it owns.
NPR's Laura Sullivan reports.
LAURA SULLIVAN, BYLINE: The interior department's inspector general's office took look at 14 of the BIA's leases and found problems with all of them. The agency was overpaying for space or renting too much of it. In some cases, the agency didn't have the authority to lease space at all, all of which cost taxpayers an extra $32 million last year.
Leslie Paige with Citizens Against Government Waste says when it comes to federal property, that sounds about right.
LESLIE PAIGE: This is not illegal. It's just simply bad management practices that there are no incentives to fix.
SULLIVAN: Every year the federal government spends $4.2 billion renting office space. Some agencies rent instead of own because they're in critical locations with specific security or workplace needs. But others are more curious. Take Health and Human Services in Rockville, Maryland. When its lease expires, it will have paid rent on a private building for 60 years. Leslie Paige says that's crazy.
PAIGE: The truth is, some of this stuff is the big-ticket items. These are very expensive boondoggles that are going on.
SULLIVAN: Recent government reports have found many others. The Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle is renewing a lease that will put it in its building for 50 years. And these rents aren't cheap. The Department of Commerce in Alexandria, Virginia pays $60 million year in rent. But Kurt Stout of Colliers International, who represents companies that lease to the government, says leasing gives agencies flexibility to grow, shrink, upgrade or move.
KURT STOUT: It's kind of like buying a car. Over time, the annual cost of repairs and maintenance and upgrades to your space, and even things like furniture and telecom, far outweigh the actual cost of the real estate itself.
SULLIVAN: But if you're going to own that car for 30, 40 or 60 years, at some point you're doing better when you just flat out own it.
STOUT: I would agree with that. The thing is, is that ultimately in the federal government, capital is scarce, so a dollar spent on real estate is a dollar not spent on something else that maybe is more fundamental to the federal government's mission. And with private capital so plentiful in the commercial real estate world, why not take advantage of it?
BUT WAIT----THAT PRIVATE CAPITAL IN THE REAL ESTATE WORLD IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S MONEY STOLEN IN MASSIVE CORPORATE FRAUD OF TENS OF TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS....SO THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT DEPLETE OF CAPITAL.....IT IS DEPLETE OF JUSTICE.
SULLIVAN: Capital is a huge problem. The government's watchdog group, the General Accountability Office, found in its reports that the government rarely has the money to cover the upfront costs of buying land and building, even if that means agencies will end up paying 10 times more than that in rent.
And then the situation gets more complicated. Once vested in a place, agencies start renovating space they don't even own. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in D.C. recently told Congress it plans to spend $95 million to renovate a building it's renting. The State Department, it just spent $80 million renovating office space for a lease that's up in five years.
It has an option to buy, but if it can't come up with the money, chances are the landlord will think about that when it's time to renegotiate the rent.
REPRESENTATIVE JASON CHAFFETZ: That's just is counterintuitive.
SULLIVAN: Congressman Jason Chaffetz from Utah sits on the Committee on Government Oversight and Reform. He's introduced legislation to help get rid of thousands of empty government buildings.
CHAFFETZ: When you see these departments and agencies leasing a building and then investing millions and millions of dollars to retrofit them for their specific needs, it just sort of drives you nuts. At the same time that we've got 77,000-plus buildings that are under-utilized.
SULLIVAN: Chaffetz says federal agencies like the General Services Administration have been unable to account for all the buildings the government owns so it's hard to know if they can be of use. General Services told Congress they're working on it. Laura Sullivan, NPR News, Washington. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that what is happening below is happening in the US. All of it involves fraud and malfeasance and can be reversed if we elect pols who want to do that. This is why elections in the US are so controlled and orchestrated to make sure that the only people getting publicity are those that will keep the status quo.
WE NEED THE CITIZENS OF MARYLAND TO WAKE UP------
Wake-up Call Resist the Corporate State
World Bank and aid donors accused of enabling land grabs
by Ellie Violet Bramley Guardian May 21, 2014
Aid donors and international institutions including the World Bank and World Economic Forum (WEF) have been accused of promoting an environment that fuels land grabs through policies and initiatives that pave the way for large-scale private investment.
In a report published on Tuesday, the NGO ActionAid says public money and policy incentives such as tax breaks and cut-price loans are facilitating land deals that threaten the lives and livelihoods of small-scale farmers in poor countries.
ActionAid warns that the consequences of such deals, which are too often happening behind closed doors and with little or no consultation with local communities, include “forced evictions, human rights violations, lost livelihoods, divided communities … rising food insecurity and, ultimately, increased poverty”.
THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR!!!!!!
A spokesman for the World Bank said it was also concerned about the risks of large-scale land deals and stressed that it did not support investments that took advantage of weak institutions in developing countries.
ActionAid’s report says weak governance and regulation of land use and agricultural investments have left millions of smallholder farmers and indigenous people in vulnerable situations “lack[ing] recognition over their land rights, even if they have resided in or used the area for generations”.
ActionAid’s campaign manager, Antoine Bouhey, said a “nexus of different policies” at the global level, which encourage private investment as a route to development, were also to blame.
“Governments are turning to private capital to fill the massive shortfall in public spending but too often this blind rush for investment is leading to land grabs which are leaving communities landless, homeless and hungry. Growth cannot be achieved at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable,” he said.
The NGO’s report points to the G8′s New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition as one of the international initiatives “via which taxpayer money and public policies are fuelling land grabs” and failing to ensure strong safeguards to protect the poorest.
The New Alliance was condemned as a new form of colonialism this year, after African governments agreed to change seed, land and tax laws to encourage private investment.
Last month, World Development Movement, the anti-poverty group, said the New Alliance was in effect carving up Africa in the interests of big business.
ActionAid’s report also looks at how governments of developing countries are facilitating large-scale land deals through direct intervention in sales and lease agreements, and by introducing public policy incentives such as tax holidays for agribusiness investors.
It says such deals, often justified on the basis of attracting increased investment into food and farming, have come at great human cost.
Public and private investment should be redirected towards supporting sustainable agricultural practices suited to the needs of smallholder farmers, particularly women, says ActionAid. A “zero-tolerance approach” must be taken by governments over land grabs and the incentives that fuel them.
Most of the 1.4 billion people worldwide who live on less than $1.25 a day reside in rural areas and depend largely on agriculture for their livelihoods. Globally, an estimated 2.5 billion people are involved in small-scale agriculture.
A World Bank spokesman said the organisation provided roughly a third of all aid to support countries in improving governance of land tenure. “Securing access to land is critical for millions of poor people. Modern, efficient, and transparent policies on land rights are vital to reducing poverty and promoting growth, agriculture production, better nutrition, and sustainable development,” he said. “Our role is to be a leader in assisting countries to improve land governance and the behaviour of private investors.”
Lisa Dreier, a senior director working on food security and development at the WEF, said its New Vision for Agriculture helped found the Grow Africa initiative, which created 33,000 jobs and gave 2.6 million small farmers in Africa access to technology, financing and new markets.
“Smallholder farmers are key to the future success of Africa’s agriculture and governments can support them by implementing clear rules on land ownership that protect smallholder rights and encourage investment,” she added.
What is a land grab?
“Many land deals are, in fact, land grabs carried out without proper consultation, consent and compensation,” says ActionAid.
The NGO uses a definition of land grabs that draws on the Tirana declaration, agreed at a 2011 international conference. The declaration defines land grabs as deals that are “in violation of human rights, particularly the equal rights of women, not based on principles of free, prior and informed consent, or are in disregard or fail to thoroughly assess social, economic and environmental impacts, not based on transparent contracts … ” or are not based on “effective democratic planning, independent oversight and meaningful participation”.
Conclusive, independent data on the scale of land grabs worldwide is hard to come by. ActionAid’s report looks at data from the international Land Matrix project, which suggests that the vast majority of large-scale deals have been struck in sub-Saharan Africa (41%), south-east Asia (32%), and the Americas and Caribbean (19%).
- See more info at: http://farmlandgrab.org/
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