Hannity isn't the only wingnut trying to blame the Big Shitpile on the Community Reinvestment Act, several others are also piling on:
Conservatives try to dodge responsibility for financial crisis by blaming poor people, minorities.
In the aftermath of the financial crisis, conservative commentators have blamed the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), low-income people, minorities, and past Democratic administrations for the sub-prime mortgage meltdown:
- Laura Ingraham: “When Bill Clinton decided to tell Robert Rubin to re-write the rules the Community Reinvestment Act and push all of these institutions to lend to minority communities.”
- Neil Cavuto: “I don’t remember a blaring call that said, Frannie and Freddie are a disaster, loaning to minorities and risky folks is a disaster.”
- Gov. Mike Huckabee (R-AR): “It was their harsh regulation under the Community Reinvestment Act that started this ball rolling down the hill.”
I've tried to debunk this before (here and here) and Ellen linked to a good article in Business Week that also debunks the claim:
Community Reinvestment Act had nothing to do with subprime crisis
Posted by: Aaron Pressman on September 29
University of Michigan law professor Michael Barr testified back in February before the House Committee on Financial Services that 50% of subprime loans were made by mortgage service companies not subject comprehensive federal supervision and another 30% were made by affiliates of banks or thrifts which are not subject to routine supervision or examinations.
There’s plenty more good reading on the CRA and the subprime crisis out in the blogosphere. Ellen Seidman, who headed the Office of Thrift Supervision in the late 90s, has written several fact-filled posts about the CRA controversey, including one just last week. University of Oregon professor and economist Mark Thoma has also defended the CRA on his blog.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment