Wall Street on Jesse Jackson Foreclosure March: 'These People Are Not Victims'
Despite Jesse Jackson’s warning of an impending “economic tsunami” from the subprime mortgage crisis, the only people marching on Wall Street on Monday afternoon were the business people whizzing past the few dozen protestors chanting “Restructure Loans—Don’t Repossess Homes” on the corner of Broad and Exchange streets.
Most business people strode past picket-wielding demonstrators, nonplussed by the accusations of “predatory lending” and “white-collar crime” being lobbed from the podium inside the metal barricades one block south of the New York Stock Exchange. As one speaker called on “Wall Street to help out the main street," a suited passerby shook his head and muttered, “Yeah, well, don’t buy something you can’t afford.”
Some spectators, like lawyer Angelo A. Paparelli, agreed that the government needs to do more to stem the two million mortgage foreclosures that are expected in the next two years.
“Obviously, there has to be a political solution [because] someone’s ox is going to be gored the question is who suffers and who wins out,” he said on the sidelines of the protest. “Everyone is culpable here. I feel for these people, but if they had no realistic hope of servicing the debt, they should pay. If they were duped, then the duper should pay. [President Bush’s plan] is arbitrary and doesn’t go far enough though.”
Mr. Bush announced a plan last week to rescue holders of subprime mortgages by freezing interest rates for five years, but it is unclear how many of the two million subprime borrowers will be eligible for loan restructuring under the proposal.
In a statement released by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition last week in response to the plan, Mr. Jackson attributed the foreclosure crisis to a “white-collar crime wave in which billions of dollars were made and lost in real estate speculation in subprime loans by the biggest banks, hedge funds and mortgage companies in.”
The Center for Responsible Lending said in a study that the plan applies to only 7 percent of homeowners facing foreclosure, or 145,000 households. Mr. Jackson is calling for a bigger government bailout along the lines of the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild post-World War II Europe.
Other Wall Streeters resent even limited intervention in the economy.
One investment advisor who would not say which firm he worked for or give his name because he “would get in trouble” said he has been warning clients for the past three years that the housing bubble would eventually burst.
“I had clients cashing out $3,000 IRA accounts to put a down payment on a house they couldn’t afford and now someone has got to pay the piper,” he said in between drags of a cigarette outside the Bobby Van’s steakhouse at Broad and Exchange streets. “These people are not victims of predatory lending and this is not a racial thing. It’s like those guys on the street doing the card tricks--the deal looks too good to be true because it is. People went out and bought houses that they shouldn’t have bought, so eventually they are going to foreclose. The government getting involved is just forestalling the inevitable."
Another dealer who refused to disclose his name because, “I do business with a lot of the companies that I think should pay,” said Wall Street should be held accountable after earning high returns from subprime loans.
“These Wall Street banks are behind a lot of the mortgage companies with abusive lending practices, so yeah I think they should have to pay more,” he said, before stubbing out his cigarette and walking into the Stock Exchange.
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The article about mortgages is important but barely scratches the surface of a much larger issue. Has anyone ever thought of the danger in how these greedy masterminds have been able to get connected politically? And how the dollars they steal effect how everyone lives? Take the case of Vincent Abell a man who is not a stranger to controversy. He admitted to owning several hundred properties(of which I doubt many if any were acquired lawfully or fairly) has connected himself in the legal sysytem. All you have to do is look up his attorneys names and there will emerege a pattern. These very people who call themselves attorneys and now JUDGE make decisions that effect us all everyday. Imagine defending yourself in court not knowing their connection to the plaintiff and the outcome not being in your favor? Often times they have calculated the amount of money you have to spend and that usually does not include appeals. If you look up the same names who give to political candidates you would wonder why anyone would donate money to candidates who dont even live in their state but are in neighboring areas where stealing properties is rampant. Maryland and DC could have shut this foolishness down a LONG time ago when they were warned and sent a message to Abell (who by the way recently paid millions to a woman who countersued his behind) No one should have to go through the agony of defending fraud claims against a man who was already convicted of a felony by the US Government in the past. He may not be alone but I do believ he has been a compass to the path of greed and destruction
I bet if you diligently tracked the money trail, and how it benefited the banks, mortgage company's profits, and the commissions those thieves ultimately made on Wall St., they might be less smug, but most of them are con-persons anyway & they've made their money off working people's backs for decades, so why would they care anyway. Wall St was certainly involved in the Savings & Loan scandal of the 80s and the many Enron-like scandals over the yrs. The system is predatory. What about the folks with fixed incomes, that already owned their homes, and borrowed to keep up with ridiculous tax increases or losing their property via the local tax sales!?! Many of their homes are among the foreclosures. Sure a few home buyers conned their way in, but we're talking hundreds of thousands of people, so the comment about buying what you can't afford...come on. Greed is deeply engrained in our economic and political systems, so the average citizen just keeps trying to survive as best as they can with the deck stacked against them.
Yes, this absolutely has to do with greed and corruption but it's INDIVIDUAL GREED! It's individuals who lived beyond their means and got caught. I've been in that situation. I've made poor choices and then tried to make myself feel better by blaming everyone but myself.
The system is predatory but why is this suddenly a news flash? Much of this crisis IS due to people making poor choices, believing that they somehow were entitled to their piece of the American dream.
Greed is deeply engrained in American society, not just politically and economically speaking. People all across our country have champagne dreams, although their paychecks suggest a diet Coke. They want more and more and we have the poor savings rate and high consumer debt to back up my statements. Obviously there are those who succumbed to high taxes and there are those who may have lost their homes due to health concerns (i.e. doctors bills, insurance bills, etc.) but let's be serious, those are the exceptions not the norm.
I work in a major financial institution that did NOT lend out money to people just because. Those folks who accepted the ridiculous terms of the loans bit off more than they could chew and although learning the lesson hurts sometime, hopefully it's a lesson well learned!
Yes, there's truth in your words, but the individual greed is from those unscrupulous companies that wrote these loans. I also have worked in the financial industry & on Wall St over 25 yrs for numerous major lending and financial institutions. They knew people were in over their heads, and I agree that there are many with champagne taste and happy meal budgets, but in the final analysis, they can't get the funds unless some lender says yes. I often sit in on community seminars programs where everyday folks come in to ask questions, and often find they were misinformed and out of their league with these charismatic types companies send out to prey on them. Neighbors often knock on my door when they're uncertain about a financial decision, but many people buy into the hype and don't seek help until after the fact. I was involved in a test conducted by a local church that sponsored one of these outreach programs. I searched and provided email info for roughly 10 lenders. They ultimately generated close to 100 emails per day between them touting offers that make it seem so easy for anyone to buy a home. There are also local companies that have signs, billboards posted in many areas, especially when the rates were low. It's a complex mix of many lacking education, predators, unrealistic dreamers, poor fiscal responsibility ( when's the last time our leaders balanced a budget!) and con artists on both sides of the fence. I can only speak from my experiences, and I respect your point of view. Kudos to your institution for doing the right thing, but that wasn't the norm for many other lenders.
Everyone is culpable here. I feel for these people, but if they had no realistic hope of servicing the debt, they should pay.
Well, I advise people to look for an online loan, but for a loan that they can afford and not just buy a dream house that they will eventually have to give up.
Mortgage rates should not concern the government, but the problem is that our economy that is concerning the government is currently on a fall so I suggest that our government should do something to help the common citizens to live a fair life.
I respect your point of view. Kudos to your institution for doing the right thing