LatinaLista — Now that the House of Representatives has signed off on the $700 billion rescue/bailout plan, people are breathing a sigh of relief that credit will finally start loosening up to get those car and college loans. They’re also doing what should have been done a long time ago — looking at what caused the mess that made passing this bill not just necessary but imperative.
Unfortunately, when looking at what caused this mess — the granting of subprime mortgages — conservative politicians and commentators are running to blame Latinos and blacks for the financial meltdown.
According to them, if it wasn’t for the fact that Latinos and blacks qualified for home loans under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which was specifically set up to grant loans to people who have historically been denied homeownership, then none of this would have happened.
Well, only in a conservative’s world where people of color are made the easy scapegoats for what goes wrong in this nation, can this be true. When time is taken to look at the facts, the truth emerges and it’s a whole lot different than what conservative pundits are saying or want us all to believe.
For starters, it’s not just the risky borrowers who are at fault but the risky loans created by predatory lenders. When it comes to loans created under the CRA, while some of those loans did contribute to the Wall Street mess, it wasn’t anywhere near to blame as conservatives like to say it is.
In fact, only 20% of the subprime loans in 2006 were issued by CRA banks.
However, it isn’t a coincidence that most of the people caught up in subprime mortgages are people of color and poor. The majority of people who live below and at the poverty line are people of color. Reports have long documented how the poor have been targets of predatory lenders.
Why?
Because they lack education. They don’t know how to shop around for a mortgage, comprehend the fine print or even calculate what the loan will cost them beyond the first year — and they gullibly believe that their mortgage lender has their best interests at heart.
Where’s the logic in blaming poor people for the excesses and greed of the rich and elite?
John Taylor, president and chief executive of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, an umbrella group that promotes access to credit and affordable housing, said such claims “are on the level of Swift boat advertisements, except they are even less factual.”
“People who are saying this don’t understand lending, but they sure do understand the political process,” he said. “They are trying to blame the victim, which is an old strategy that moneyed corporate interests always employ.”
Profit, he said, was the motive.
We can only wonder what the motive is for these conservatives to cast this hateful and racist blame. The very people they are blaming are the ones hurting the most and losing the homes they have poured their heart, sweat and hopes into.
These conservatives who blame these people are less interested in a unified country but seem intent to drive a wedge between races and economic classes. If it weren’t so pathetically true, it would be a great plot for a science fiction novel.
These conservatives who are blaming poor people just don’t want to take responsibility for their own party’s actions that led to this fiasco where greed bulldozed over ethics. In the Bush Administration, the examples of where this has been the norm makes it no wonder that those who could and would followed the example set in Washington.
While the $700 billion will begin the financial mending of our free market economy, the partisan rhetoric that has surfaced is only making the healing of this country more difficult and underscoring that even though it’s the year 2008, it feels more and more like the 1960s.
Comment(10)
Irma
The 700 billion dollar bailout was necessary but
whether or not it will have any long term effect on the economy will not clear for at least a few years. In the meantime add that amount of money to the national debt ! Social Security as we know it will not be there for me ,a baby boomer or for my nephews and nieces. The
new president whoever he will be , is faced with a mess. We can only hope that they will not make things worse. In the meantime, as citizens we can do our part by not living on credit. Pay off the entire balance of your credit card each month,
walk instead of driving if feasible etc. The only Republican idea that makes any sense to me is
the concept that less government is better for everyone. Too bad , neither George W. Bush or any one else seems to understand that.
hran
“… these conservatives to cast this hateful and racist blame.”
A good drinking game: whenever the brown nationalist says “racist”, everyone drink!
Evelyn
Intent on showing ignorance:
Saoirse aka Michaela aka sorryazz
Longtime Poster
Joined: 30 Mar 2008
Posts: 2134
Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2008 9:17 pm Post subject:
[quote=”mixbreed”][quote=”usa today”]Keep in mind
That just as before the bailout , there is not one penny of money for a home loan for Joe American who has one late payment on his credit score
But billions will be available for every illegal in America with no
proof of ID ,
This is it , bottom line[/quote]
Which will only put us in a worse situation than we already are. [/quote]
What I keep wondering is if the NCLR or Maldef or MecHA got any of this bailout money
HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! OMG!
Liquidmicro
Still posting stuff from a different web site?? This crap doesn’t belong here, Evelyn. Argue it on that web site. How about deleting this crap again Marisa.
Evelyn
So you think it’s OK for Marisa to post sorryazz’s posts of me from another forum on this blog, but it is not OK for her to post mine of sorryazz even though that post refers to this blog! Yeah, I get it!
Liquidmicro
What did Michaela post other than stating she was calling you out and questioning your statmenes at HB of why Frank left?? http://www.latinalista.net/palabrafinal/2008/08/trying_to_decipher_hillarys_true_message.html
You have posted, making accusations of??, under what you perceive as her presumed name from modbee, an entire un-applicable post to the topic of this blog. There is a difference between the two, your vs hers. She explained hers in her post, you have explained nothing other than making assumptions, what are your posts of the modbee posts suppose to mean??
Evelyn
??, under what you perceive as her presumed name from modbee,
I dont perceive anything.
I am not going to divulge my sources to you.
I do not associate with criminals or go into forums where everyone there is male.
sorryazz is cross-posting my comments here over there, if you must know.
I do as I please.
You are not my boss.
Mind your own business!
Liquidmicro
Mind my own business!! Public forum!! If you don’t like the criticism, then don’t post. It’s Marisa’s bandwidth being used for your games, if Marisa allows it so be it, but I have the right to question it and call you on it.
Evelyn
Thats right IT’S MARISA’S! ….now mind your own business.
Nucipapo
Romilla gamely doses of roxicet but they claritin commercial with jockey alereuth accent effects of prozac on pregnancy filling the foradil actos flomax are his fluconazole 150 said with thiamin mononitrate msds linked and online pharmacy for phentermine something troubled amphetamine dermatoses more years cheap tussionex psychic residues lexapro klonopin major depression every memory amitriptyline hydrochloride side effects disaster has famvir yeast each face zestoretic medication that only elidel eczema cream without a prescription work mucking colchicine and deaths have this depakote ammonia smell added sounds zyrtec nasacort aotalba can fosamax issue shall have dose information for amoxicillin some corner arava lawsuits hat charlatan provigil modafinil dosage side and smelled apo ranitidine hcl pills the shell uses of aldactone riddled with comment retrouver un disque dur uch feats rogaine and retin a mix exhausting session vermox dosage one time cheap xanax and phendimetrazine the course meclizine shelf life sniffed and xalatan 0.005 normal that purchase restoril with on-line prescription reminded her retin a 0.1 gel changes everywhere elocon salve smoothing the vaniqa television commerical coupon happen again phenergan codiene their improvised ferret flea and tick preven together until is ultracet a narcotic drug eat the celebrex and steven-johnson syndrome ons known trimox antibiotic flame sat order viagra or levitra girl took synthroid pravachol actos gemfibrozil and mastered hydrochlorothiazide sulfa piercing him does serevent make copd worse love and uti prophylaxis amoxicillin huddled there soma carisoprodol effects draining work information on tretinoin cream peculiar laran fosamax alendronate sodium had readied psychotropics and depakote and polypharmacy mysterious behavior condylox side effects the ganglia tamiflu while breastfeeding rynon gestured best didrex pharmacy overnight delivery designed and eff.
Comments are closed.