To add a little bit of a mood to this article, I've decided to add this song just for entertainment purposes. I also hope it will provide some deep thought about the situation discussed in this post.
I recently read this article on CBS news about recent information that has been discovered relating to the housing crisis. If you don't know what subprime loans are, read my previous blog and it will explain the term better.
I recently read this article on CBS news about recent information that has been discovered relating to the housing crisis. If you don't know what subprime loans are, read my previous blog and it will explain the term better.
In a country where racism should no longer be a government issue, the situation brought up in this article is alarming. Although this situation is not a direct implication of racism, it does have many signs of it. Statistics show that from 1993 to 2000, the share of subprime mortgages that went to minorities increased from 2% to 18%. Through the new information discovered by this study done by Princeton University, a whole new issue of what the causes of the housing crisis were have arisen.
While the traditional idea is that the housing bubble burst as a result of lender's risky loans that they made to those with bad credit, this article adds a level of responsibility to these financial institutions. There are many different sides to this argument.
On one side, people are making money. Yes, the subprime loans given to many people were not very ethical. However, in a time of which people saw short term money, not many people predicted the housing market would crash like it did. Therefore, many firms and companies gave out loans with the premonitions and intent of making money. This deed is not one of racism, but one of blind greed. The reason why it comes off right now as racism might be because of the demographic of the area of which these companies ran in. If all they're trying to do is make make money, and the market of which they sell to is predominately African-American, it would make sense that they would give a lot of subprime loans out to them, just like it would make sense if their market was predominately Caucasian. In other words, they might have been "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
On the other hand, maybe race did play into the situation. Maybe companies and firms had a racist intent going into the situation giving out subprime loans. The numbers don't lie, they did indeed give more foreclosures out to African Americans. Did they have failure in mind for these people?
With the economy in a bad state, so many houses are in foreclosure nowadays. Despite the speculation of whether or not these firms are being racist, the government should work towards improving the housing situation right now.
On one side, people are making money. Yes, the subprime loans given to many people were not very ethical. However, in a time of which people saw short term money, not many people predicted the housing market would crash like it did. Therefore, many firms and companies gave out loans with the premonitions and intent of making money. This deed is not one of racism, but one of blind greed. The reason why it comes off right now as racism might be because of the demographic of the area of which these companies ran in. If all they're trying to do is make make money, and the market of which they sell to is predominately African-American, it would make sense that they would give a lot of subprime loans out to them, just like it would make sense if their market was predominately Caucasian. In other words, they might have been "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
On the other hand, maybe race did play into the situation. Maybe companies and firms had a racist intent going into the situation giving out subprime loans. The numbers don't lie, they did indeed give more foreclosures out to African Americans. Did they have failure in mind for these people?
With the economy in a bad state, so many houses are in foreclosure nowadays. Despite the speculation of whether or not these firms are being racist, the government should work towards improving the housing situation right now.
Nice song choice, it made your already interesting blog that much better! I never knew people had blamed the housing bubble and crisis partially on racism. It seems so easy and overused to call racism in any economic or social status situation like the housing crisis. Normally I would not believe it, however, the data you've presented here seems to prove some questionable activity has occured. Rising from two percent to eighteen percent in a short span of seven years raises several red flags in my book. I do not believe that these large corporal companies were in the "wrong place at the wrong time". I believe they were looking to make a quick buck on unsuspecting citizens in search of a good oportunity
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to find racism related to this housing crisis, but after reading this post there does appear to be a positive correlation. The data you showed proves that racism has played a major role in this housing crisis and I also think greed was the driving factor behind it. These companies simply took advantage of these citizens just so they could make a quick buck, and it has now created a huge problem. Although I don’t know his plans exactly, I have heard that the housing crisis is a major priority of President Obama. The economy and this housing crisis should be our government's main focus at the moment. I just hope our political parties can learn to stop fighting, and truly listen to each other’s arguments to try and find a practical solution to these issues. It is disappointing to find racism rooted within the housing crisis, as it seems America had put that behind us. Although I don’t think this racism is as extreme and severe, it has resulted in a huge economic problem and was caused by irresponsible companies trying to take advantage of minorities. This was very shocking to learn that racism was related to the housing crisis, and it is truly disappointing to see in America.
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