Word: block
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...does Block seem to have received any special break after the agricultural economy turned sour. He and his partners paid interest rates of up to 19.5%. Now that the value of farm land is falling,* banks are demanding collateral on formerly unsecured loans to their farmer-borrowers, including Block. The Secretary's press aide, John Ochs, says that since Jan. 1, Block has put up collateral on "most" of his loans. Just where all that leaves his personal finances is uncertain. His disclosure statement lists assets worth somewhere between $3.6 million and $4.8 million vs. liabilities of between...
Democratic critics insist they do not question Block's integrity, and indeed he had done nothing improper. Instead, Exon charges, the Secretary's difficulties prove the farm economy is in much worse shape than the Administration is willing to admit. Democrats grumble that the Farmers Home Administration, an arm of Block's department, refused to make or extend loans to other farmers at the very time banks were rolling over the Secretary's loans...
...Moines Register went so far as to call for Block's resignation on conflict-of-interest grounds. Said the paper: "If he proposes bold new programs to help debt-ridden farmers," Block will be accused of "serving his own financial interests," and if he does not, "there will be the suspicion that the Secretary avoided the issue for the sake of appearances or that he is among a select group of farmers who will benefit if the Government doesn't intervene in the crisis." Block's response: "This is another example of how ridiculous election-year politics...
...crisis came to a head when, in an effort to press home its demands for religious and regional autonomy, the Sikhs' Akali Dal Party announced that it would begin to block grain shipments to the rest of India from Punjab, which is the nation's breadbasket. The action would have cut off 65% of the country's crucial grain reserves, threatening widespread famine...
Some observers speculate that Sir Jimmy's bid for Continental is just an attempt to make a quick profit. According to them, Goldsmith may be out to scare Continental's management into buying back his shares if he should obtain a large block of stock...