what in the world are you talking about ? On Oct 28, 6:31 am, mark <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > if the dems would have listened to McCain and the republicans, instead > of collecting all those bribes, the mortgage industry would not be in > a meltdown. always trying to rewrite history, aren't ya murky. > > On Oct 28, 6:27 am, "moveon.org mike532" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: > > > > > If the GOP Had Listened to ACORN's Advice, the Mortgage Industry > > Wouldn't Be in Meltdownhttp://www.alternet.org/election08/104726/ > > Desperate Republicans are scapegoating the respected community > > advocacy group for Wall Street's disastrous lending > > spree. > > An increasingly desperate Republican attack machine has recently > > identified the community organizing group ACORN as Public Enemy > > Number > > One. Among ACORN's alleged crimes, perhaps the most serious is that > > it > > caused, nearly single-handedly, the world's financial crisis. That's > > the fantasy. In the reality-based world, it was ACORN that sounded > > the > > alarm about the exploitative lending practices that led to the > > current > > mortgage meltdown and financial crisis. > > > Since the 1970s ACORN, which has 400,000 low- and moderate-income > > "member families" in more than 100 cities in forty states, has been > > warning Congress to protect borrowers from the banking industry's > > irresponsible, risky and predatory practices -- subprime loans, > > racial > > discrimination (called "redlining") and rip-off fees. ACORN has > > persistently called for stronger regulations on banks, private > > mortgage companies, mortgage brokers and rating agencies. For years, > > ACORN has alerted public officials that the industry was hoodwinking > > many families into taking out risky loans they couldn't afford and > > whose fine print they couldn't understand. > > > Now John McCain and his fellow conservatives are accusing ACORN of > > strong-arming Congress and big Wall Street banks into making subprime > > loans to poor families who couldn't afford them, thus causing the > > economic disaster. McCain's campaign is running a one-and-a-half- > > minute video that claims Barack Obama once worked for ACORN, repeats > > the accusation that ACORN is responsible for widespread voter > > registration fraud and accuses ACORN of "bullying banks, intimidation > > tactics, and disruption of business." The ad claims that ACORN > > "forced > > banks to issue risky home loans -- the same types of loans that > > caused > > the financial crisis we're in today." > > > For months, the right-wing echo chamber -- bloggers, columnists, > > editorial writers and TV and radio talk-show hosts -- has pitched in > > with a well-orchestrated campaign to blame the mortgage crisis on > > ACORN and the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), the 1977 anti- > > redlining law. In a September 27 editorial, the Wall Street Journal > > wrote that "ACORN has promoted laws like the Community Reinvestment > > Act, which laid the foundation for the house of cards built out of > > subprime loans" and then falsely claimed the bailout bill would > > create > > a trust fund "pipeline" to fill ACORN's coffers. On October 14 the > > Journal's lead editorial, Obama and ACORN, described ACORN as a > > "shady > > outfit" and accused the group of being "a major contributor to the > > subprime meltdown by pushing lenders to make home loans on easy > > terms, > > conducting 'strikes' against banks so they'd lower credit standards." > > > Discussing the mortgage crisis on his Fox News show, Your World, Neil > > Cavuto commented, "Loaning to minorities and risky folks is a > > disaster." > > > Over at the Washington Post, columnist Charles Krauthammer complained > > that the CRA had led banks and other lenders "to extend mortgages to > > people who were borrowing over their heads." Holding forth on The > > O'Reilly Factor, Laura Ingraham laid the foreclosure problem on Bill > > Clinton, who "pushed all these institutions to lend to minority > > communities." Many of the loans, she said, were "very risky." Former > > Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, a putative populist, echoed on the > > Hannity & Colmes Show: "The truth is that Democrats controlled the > > ability to fix this [the mortgage crisis]. It was their harsh > > regulation under the Community Reinvestment Act that started this > > ball > > rolling down the hill. " > > > On September 10 on Fox & Friends, National Review columnist Stanley > > Kurtz described ACORN as "a group of community organizers [who] > > specialize in putting pressure, really kind of intimidation tactics, > > on banks, to get these banks to make high-risk loans to low-credit > > customers. They even show up at the homes of bank officials to scare > > them and their families. They send demonstrators into the lobbies of > > banks, all to get the banks to make these high-risk loans to people > > with low credit." McCain's anti-ACORN attack video is almost a word- > > for-word duplication of Kurtz's comments. > > > The right-wing case against the CRA is entirely bogus -- a > > diversionary tactic to take the heat off the financial services > > industry and its allies, like McCain. The CRA applies only to > > depository institutions, like commercial and savings banks, but > > thanks > > to Congress's deregulation mania, there are now many other lenders, > > including private mortgage companies like CitiMortgage, Household > > Finance and Countrywide Financial (which was recently bought out by > > Bank of America). These outfits, which exist in a shadow world > > without > > government oversight, account for most of the predatory loans in > > trouble today. > > > When Congress enacted the CRA in 1977, the vast majority of all > > mortgage loans were made by lenders regulated by the law. In 2006 > > only > > about 43 percent of home loans were made by companies subject to the > > CRA. Indeed, the main culprits in the subprime scandal -- the nonbank > > mortgage companies, which successfully grabbed the bulk of the > > mortgage market away from the CRA-regulated banking industry -- were > > not covered by the CRA. > > > 123Next page »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
