Jim Devine forwards an article for me: >> Did Liberals Cause the Sub-Prime Crisis? >> >> Conservatives blame the housing crisis on a 1977 law that helps-low >> income people get mortgages. It's a useful story for them, but it >> isn't true.
I agree. The CRA was not "THE" cause of the housing/mortgage bubble. Anything so huge as the present bubble is going to have multiple contributing causes. Trying to quantify the contribution of the CRA compared to the other numerous contributing causes is almost impossible. I would go so far as to agree that a bubble would have occurred without the CRA, but that does not mean that CRA was still not a cause. I stand by my main point -- because we have numerous government policies that favor real estate investment and home ownership, strange things are going to occasionally occur. Compare to the relatively unsubsidized market -- where is the bubble in automobiles and automobile loans? They get securitized as well, but no bubble. I don't think it is a coincidence. David Shemano _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
