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Bush and the Texas Land Grab Bush and the Texas Land Grab July 16, 2002 By Nicholas D. Kristof Editorial Op-Ed To submit a Letter to the Editor: letters@nytimes.com Democrats and media hounds are baying under the wrong tree. The point in President Bush's business career where he took outrageous shortcuts was not at Harken Energy, but rather when he was grabbing land for a new baseball stadium in Arlington for his Texas Rangers baseball team. Mr. Bush broke no laws. Neither do the overwhelming majority of corporate executives. The cloud over the business world comes not so much from lawbreaking as from avaricious bruising of the public interest. The challenge is not catching criminals but injecting public scrutiny into a culture of cronyism in which executives, accountants, regulators and "independent" board members all ooze empathy for each other. When Asia had its economic crisis in 1997-98, Americans properly trashed its "crony capitalism." But we suffer from the same affliction ourselves, and President Bush will not address the issue seriously because cronyism has been his way of life -- the Bushes call it loyalty. I have a stack of court documents from Arlington that portray the "sordid and shocking tale" of the Rangers stadium, as one lawsuit puts it. Essentially, Mr. Bush and the owners' group he led bullied and misled the city into raising taxes to build a $200 million stadium that in effect would be handed over to the Rangers. As part of the deal, the city would even confiscate land from private owners so that the Rangers owners could engage in real estate speculation. "It was a $200 million transfer to Bush and Rangers owners," complains Jim Runzheimer, an anti-tax campaigner in Arlington. William Eastland, a leading Republican in Arlington, is also outraged, and puts it this way: "You're using public money for a private purpose." Mr. Eastland was a Bush delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2000 but still believes that the Bush group behaved shadily and against the public interest. Local voters overwhelmingly approved the deal, so maybe we shouldn't get so exercised by star-struck local officials giving $200 million to rich baseball owners. But the most unseemly part of the deal was that Mr. Bush and the Rangers' owners conspired with city officials to seize private property that would be handed over to the Bush group. "A group of wealthy and influential people threatened and traded their way into an unprecedented takeover of government power and private property in an awesome display of greed and avarice," charges a lawsuit by the landowners, in what strikes me as a fair recitation of events. Another suit charges that the deal "can only be described as astounding, unprecedented and blatantly illegal." A copy of the secret agreement among Mr. Bush and the other Rangers owners shows that they intended to make money not just by running a baseball club but also by land speculation. For example, one owner found a nice chunk of land and sent a memo suggesting that it "sounds like another condemnation candidate if you want to work the site into your master plan," according to the court documents. Another of the owners' internal memos casts a proprietary gaze on a property and declares: "We plan to condemn this land." For a group of financiers to go around town admiring properties and deciding which to seize through the government power of condemnation so that they can acquire free land and speculate on it is appalling. Even Kazakhstan would blush at such practices. Horace Kelton, for example, owned land that the Rangers wanted. The owners got Arlington to seize it, with the city paying less than $1.50 per square foot even though it had previously paid $10 a square foot for other land nearby. "It was an extremely low price, and that's why we had a court case that lasted seven years," Mr. Kelton recalled. Eventually, his family got $11 a square foot. In fairness, Mr. Bush was simply being a hard-nosed businessman. He did a great job leading the owners' group, and it's hard to take seriously the caricature of him as unintelligent when he led the Rangers so lucratively. Indeed, his $14 million profit on the Rangers financed his entry into politics. But it's also a sordid tale of cronyism, of misuse of power, of cozy backroom money-grubbing -- a more pressing threat to American business than outright criminality. LINK to source

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National Bank: Home Loan Calculators Day to Day Home Loans - Home Loan Interest Rates - What Are You Borrowing For? - Home Loan Calculator - Which Home Loan is Best For Me? - Thoroughbred Fixed Home Loan - Thoroughbred Floating Home Loan - Thoroughbred Flexible Home Loan - Useful Home Buying Information - Frequently Asked Questions - How to Apply Personal Loans Credit Cards Investments Insurance Retirement Savings Travel Products Private Banking Home Loan Calculators Here's an easy way to get an idea of some of the financial figures you may need when buying a home. Please note that this calculator is designed to give ageneral indication in relation to owner occupied homes only. For homeloans relating to other types of properties (for example, investmentproperties or apartments) call us on 0800 185 185, send an e-mail orcontact a Mobile Mortgage Manager . Enter the relevant information to: Work out how much you could potentially borrow Work out what the repayments may be Work out if you can afford it Renting? Work out how much you could potentially borrow if the amount you pay in rent was a home loan repayment. Please note that the figures the calculatorsprovide are estimates only. You will need to provide moreinformation when applying for a Home Loan. In addition, the propertyyou are purchasing will need to be approved by the Bank to ensure it will provideadequate security for your home loan. You've got the figures, where do you go next? Check out a Thoroughbred Fixed , Floating or Flexible Home Loan. You can also view our current Home Lending Rates . To see how repayments for a home loan will affect your budget, check the Budget Planner . You'll find plenty of handy hints on our Tips for buying a home page. And for a great selection of house listings throughout New Zealand, check out RealENZ and Open2view . Achieving your deposit If you find you need to save more for your deposit, the Savings Calculator will help you set up a plan and work out how long you'll take to reach your goal. FirstHome options may also be available for customers with a small or no deposit. Please note that eligibility criteria apply for FirstHome options. Moving here from overseas Thinking of immigrating to New Zealand? Check out the Moving to New Zealand section for information on applying for National Bank accounts and Home Loans. Applying for a loan Find out How to apply for a Thoroughbred Home Loan, apply online , or download an application form , or contact us: call 0800 185 185 to talk to a lending specialist call a Mobile Mortgage Manager near you e-mail for enquiries or feedback visit your nearest branch call from overseas on +64 4 462 1615 or find the overseas freephone for your country Work out how much you could potentially borrow This calculator requires JavaScript to run. Please adjust your browser settings. Income Your gross income (before tax) $ annually monthly fortnightly weekly If joint application, gross income for other applicant $ annually monthly fortnightly weekly Total income $ Commitments (not including home loan) Child support $ annually monthly fortnightly weekly Hire purchase $ Credit cards (limits) $ Overdrafts $ Student loan (first applicant) $ Student loan (second applicant) $ Other loans $ Percentage to be borrowed 80% 90% 95% $ This calculator is intended to provide an indication only and is not an offer of finance by The National Bank . All National Bank Home Loans are subject to the Bank's lending criteria, applicable fees and interest rates, all of which are subject to change. The National Bank requires a minimum of 5% of the purchase price, but FirstHome options may be available for customers with a small or no deposit. Please note that eligibility criteria apply to FirstHome options. All calculations relate to lending forowner occupied properties (which are subject to Bank approval as providingadequate security for the loan) and are based on a table repayment option. For full details or to apply for a Home Loan, call us on 0800 185 185 , send an e-mail or contact a Mobile Mortgage Manager . Work out what the repayments may be This calculator requires JavaScript to run. Please adjust your browser settings. Loan amount $ Term years Payment frequency Monthly Fortnightly Weekly Interest rate % $ This calculator is intended to provide an indication only and is not an offer of finance by The National Bank . All National Bank Home Loans are subject to the Bank's lending criteria, applicable fees and interest rates, all of which are subject to change. The National Bank requires a minimum of 5% of the purchase price, but FirstHome options may be available for customers with a small or no deposit. Please note that eligibility criteria apply to FirstHome options. All calculations relate to lending forowner occupied properties (which are subject to Bank approval as providingadequate security for the loan) and are based on a table repayment option. For full details or to apply for a Home Loan, call us on 0800 185 185 , send an e-mail or contact a Mobile Mortgage Manager . Work out if you may be able to afford a particular property This calculator requires JavaScript to run. Please adjust your browser settings. Income Your gross income (before tax) $ annually monthly fortnightly weekly If joint application, gross income for other applicant $ annually monthly fortnightly weekly Total income $ Commitments (not including home loan) Child support $ annually monthly fortnightly weekly Hire purchase $ Credit cards (limits) $ Overdrafts $ Student loan (first applicant) $ Student loan (second applicant) $ Other loans $ Cost of property $ Your deposit $ Term $ years Payment frequency $ Monthly Fortnightly Weekly $ $ This calculator is intended to provide an indication only and is not an offer of finance by The National Bank . All National Bank Home Loans are subject to the Bank's lending criteria, applicable fees and interest rates, all of which are subject to change. The National Bank requires a minimum of 5% of the purchase price, but FirstHome options may be available for customers with a small or no deposit. Please note that eligibility criteria apply to FirstHome options. All calculations relate to lending forowner occupied properties (which are subject to Bank approval as providingadequate security for the loan) and are based on a table repayment option. For full details or to apply for a Home Loan, call us on 0800 185 185 , send an e-mail or contact a Mobile Mortgage Manager . Renting? Work out how much you could potentially borrow if the amount you pay in rent was a home loan repayment. This calculation converts your rent payment into a home loan repayment. If you feel you could afford more, then include any regular savings that could go towards a home loan repayment to find out how much you may be able to borrow. This calculator requires JavaScript to run. Please adjustyour browser settings. Your current rent payment $ Rent payment frequency weekly fortnightly monthly annually Percentage of the purchase price to be borrowed 80% 90% 95% In some instances The National Bank may be able to lend up to 95% of the current purchase price or recent valuation from a registered valuer, whichever is lower. $ $ This is based on deposits of 20%, 10%, or 5% of the current purchase price or recent valuation from a registered valuer, whichever is lower. It is also based on a table loan over 25 years. The National Bank requires a minimum of 5% of the purchase price, but FirstHome options may be available for customers with a small or no deposit. Please note that eligibility criteria apply to FirstHome options. $ This calculator is intended to provide an indication only and is not an offer of finance by The National Bank . All National Bank Home Loans are subject to the Bank's lending criteria, applicable fees and interest rates, all of which are subject to change. The National Bank requires a minimum of 5% of the purchase price, but FirstHome options may be available for customers with a small or no deposit. Please note that eligibility criteria apply to FirstHome options. All calculations relate to lending forowner occupied properties (which are subject to Bank approval as providingadequate security for the loan) and are based on a table repayment option. For full details or to apply for a Home Loan, call us on 0800 185 185 , send an e-mail or contact a Mobile Mortgage Manager . ©2005 The National Bank of New Zealand, part of ANZ National Bank Limited ( Terms of Access )