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Wednesday, December 29, 2010
News Mortgage crisis semantics
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Wed, Dec 29, 2010 at 2:34 PM
Am I the only one who finds it striking that when giant banks talk about the mortgage crisis, they use words like "toxic"? But, when people speak of the those who fell for the scam, the people who signed up for loans they shouldn't have, they're described as idiots who should have read their contracts.
Well, which is it? Were the fast-talking bankers scam artists, preying on people with little financial knowledge — or are the people at the bottom to shoulder the blame for the Great Recession because they didn't do what no one does: Read lengthy legal documents before signing them?
Since the word"toxic" is showing up in the news again in relation to more lawsuits aimed at Charlotte's darling, Bank of America, I'm going to continue to lean toward the theory that it was the bankers and their "toxic" money making schemes that set the economy on fire, not the people at the bottom stretching for the American Dream. You?
From The Washington Post about Allstate's decision to sue Countrywide, the bank BofA purchased right before the economy imploded:
Charlotte-based Bank of America, the nation's largest bank, said in an e-mail, "We are still reviewing the complaint, but this unfortunately appears to be a situation where a sophisticated investor is looking for someone to blame for a downturn in the economy and losses on an investment it made."
Read more here.
Let the finger pointing continue.
Rhiannon "Rhi" Bowman is an independent journalist who contributes snarky commentary on Creative Loafing's CLog blog four days a week in addition to writing for several other local media organizations. To learn more, click the links or follow Rhi on Twitter.
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