As if the Long Beach Harbor Department didn't have enough trouble with its "clean truck" scheme, now the NAACP has joined in the criticism, accusing port authorities and partner Daimler Financial Services of cooking up more than $1 billion in
"predatory, subprime" truck loans for local drivers.
An article in the Los Angeles Times quotes NAACP Chairman Julian Bond as saying the highly subsidized loans being pushed on low-income drivers are tantamount to sharecropping.
The NAACP and a few allies have even protested outside the German Embassy in Washington D.C. in recent days - ensuring the Deutsche government knows what Stuttgart-based Daimler is up to in Long Beach.
To read the NAACP's full report on the loan program, click here ( Foreclosures.pdf).
Paul Eakins reports on Long Beach City Hall, and local and regional
politics. A newcomer to the Press-
Kris Hanson reports on the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles,
covering environmental issues, economic triumphs and
pitfalls and trade trends of America’s largest port.
He also writes a weekly column “On The Waterfront”,
appearing Tuesdays, and also produces an occassional video
and column titled “On The Job,” which follows the hard-working
men and women who keep Southern California’s economy humming.
Karen Robes Meeks came to work for the Press-
Just curious: why do you repeatedly refer to Long Beach's plan as a "scheme" ??? Is it because Kris Hanson has pro-union biases?