And So It Starts

You can expect to see a lot more of these stories. It will happen slowly, but it will indeed sink into the national consciousness. What happens then is anybody’s guess. We may wind up with better laws. We may wind up with civil disorder.

Meet Lady Subprime

”How was Madoff's alleged scheme so different? He could go to jail. The other guys are scot-free. But they had to know that Halterman could not pay off her mortgage. They had to know that she could not afford a 15.25 percent interest rate. It didn't matter. One institution sold to another, taking its fees, passing along this Ponzified paper like it was a hot potato -- don't hold it for too long or you'll get burned -- and then offering it to the vaunted, all-knowing and downright perfect Market, our secular god.“

I know that quote is a little obscure but I want you to go read the article. Ms. Halterman got an $11,090 bribe to take out a mortgage on her shack. The mortgage company got a $9, 243 kickback to write it. They didn’t use those words, but they should have.

Don Brown
January 14, 2009