Little Known Fact

Maybe not so little known...

All agree that the bursting of the housing bubble caused the financial collapse of 2008. Most agree that the housing bubble started in 1997. Less well understood is that this bubble was the result of government policies that lowered mortgage-lending standards to increase home ownership. One of the key players was the controversial liberal advocacy group, Acorn (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now).

Comments

[CaptDMO]

Nope, no "news" there.

Is a "bubble" bursting (in financialspeak) mean the same as The inevitable collapse of a pyramid (Ponzi) scheme?

Question.
How many tax dollars are generated by one 20 unit apartment building in five
years?
How many tax dollars are generated by 20 individual "households" in five years?

Consider that metropolitan/urban apartment dwellers tend to use public (well.. available-to-the-public) transportation as well.

[CaptDMO]

I seem to remember some time in the 80's, when "local community activist groups" were protesting banks with neighborhood branches (NYC and environs)because they weren't handing out enough "loans" to folk that came nowhere NEAR close enough in meeting the criteria of acceptable risk. Most banks simply decided to use the "Taming of the Shrew" approach.
"WHAT? We're not serving "your community" like you want? Well, we'll have
none of that!"
and closed the branch. I seem to recall that Citibank was priding itself with their brand new "edgy" office building at the time as well.
At the same time, black folks were being offered "unbelievable deals" on new slapped-up houses in sub-urban (upstate-4 hour daily commute away) "developments", that few ended up paying for in full and owning.

Apparently the lessons of "credit at the company store", popular songs of the day citing "E-Z credit rip-offs", as well as floating inner city used car lots with reappearing cars, wasn't enough big-picture education about the perils of the delusion in gettin' over.

Now, fast forward to Bernie Madoff, as well as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Barney Frank.

There's a (new)sucker born every minute!

[Tom Bowler]

I think you're drastically underestimating the sucker birth rate, Cap

[David]

The liberals for the housing bubble yes, but Wall Street piggy backed on that to do the same thing.

And, Phil Gramm of Texas, wrote a workaround for the Glass-Steagal Act on top of Jimmy Carters community reinvestment program cause the groups such as Acorn to harass the banker to provide loans to ill-conceived individuals to plop down in a new house with "NO JOB", (maybe selling on the side), is the combined efforts of a determined people.

Rewriting laws, introducing laws for the addition of progesterone analogues for eugenic purposed - per John Holdren - an O'Bama appointee, any an idea, while it may work, the male consumers of this drug might expect to get a bra at some point down the road. This is insane thinking. These guys, some of them are rejects of another world and I don't like it.

[David]

The earth is flat literally. The meeting of the minds are, let us say, "The Stars are no longer aligned", pardon the O'Bama speak.

Saturn (uh the car company)is now gone...

Citi bought a bank in China with TARP monies...We once again, lose.

GM is in the tank 1.2bn

I cannot go on with this...THE END!