Josh Sigurdson talks with author and economic analyst John Sneisen about a recent story out of Philadelphia as home owners are seeing homes repossessed over $300 gas bills.
As the Philadelphia economy falters and pension risk grows by the day, residents have been shocked to find the local gas company, a government monopoly called Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) can simply repossess their home.
As is recently reported, the gas company is filing liens on people’s homes for unpaid bills of as little as $300!
Liens are formerly registered security interest which your property serves as collateral for. Banks have them for the value of a person’s mortgage when people take out loans.
If you do not pay, the lienholder can repossess your home. Well in this case, the public gas company has an automated system which searches through its billing records and finds accounts where people are late on their bill and issues a lien on their property!
There is zero due process and say there is a system or administrative error at PGW, it doesn’t matter. Your home is then repossessed!
Also, imagine it from this perspective… You are a landlord. Someone who is renting misses their gas bill. The gas company comes and repossesses the home despite it not being the tenant’s home. Talk about a blatant infringement of property rights!
Landlords annoyed by this process are told by PGW that they have no say in the case and they need to go through a lengthy process disputing the issue with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.
Well, a whole bunch of landlords got together and sued the city in Federal Court. They lost.
The US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found that the City of Philadelphia has a right to hold property owners responsible for un-paid gas bills and seize their home.
More evidence of the government’s persistent obsession with stealing and plundering people’s wealth. More government monopolization of markets.
Another reason why individuals must break free from these centralized schemes and create their own self sustainable future rather than be dependent on these massive governmental and banking complexes. It’s incredibly important that individuals decentralize their lives and find independent avenues to escape the far reach of the state.