| Manhattan State Senator Liz Krueger has posted a fantastic piece on the sub prime lending debacle over at Daily Gotham. It's a great post and definitely well worth reading the whole thing. Here's a taste:
Home, Sub-prime Home
We have all seen the ads: "No money? No Credit? No problem!" It is this type of irresponsible misinformation to consumers that has contributed to the sub-prime mortgage crisis facing New York, and gripping the country. Impacts of the sub-prime mortgage crisis are reverberating throughout the entire economy. As we saw with the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s, irresponsible and overly risky behavior on the part of financial institutions has the potential to undermine major sectors of the economy, affecting everyone. And as with the savings and loan crisis, much of the focus has been placed on bailing out the companies who made unwise investments. It is critical to remember that the victims in this sad situation are not the financial institutions, or even the broader community of investors in these companies, but the homeowners who were literally manipulated into taking loans they could not afford, many of whom have already lost their homes. The impact of foreclosures goes beyond the individual, destabilizing entire communities.
The truth is, we are talking about people who wanted the "American dream." They wanted to buy a house—to have a stable home for themselves and their families, and improve their communities. But there have been too many disingenuous, predatory lenders out there who have not been following the rules of the game, and who have been manipulating information in order to get people to sign on the dotted line for mortgages they can't afford.
Again, definitely worth your time. |
