the modern state as a suburban house lot

[rich]

coulda just noted the repeal of the Glass-Steagal Act which
differentiated investment banking from commercial banking by cretins
like Phil Gramm (1999); commercial banking became alot less boring
forthwith

ARMs were partly the creation of those well-known philanthropist, Mr
and Mrs Sandler who are know bankrolling after making a killing
selling their banking biz investigative journalism at ProPublica.
think you can appreciate the irony of that

if folks don't realize how rigged Wall St against the small investor
now, they never will
and skippy, they never will

On Thu, Oct 1, 2009 at 6:57 AM, alice wellintown
<alicewellintown at gmail.com> wrote:
> Read the NYT and the WSJ, Barrons, an FT, and you can get a fairly
> decent idea about how, from Nixon to W-Bush the home-owner in America
> got into such a state. Or, one could read a business history that
> recounts the horrid tale of the "Thrift" industry in America. Yes, if
> we go back to the film, It's a Wonderful Life, we can get a good
> start. From there we can see how the Institutions, B&L, S&L, Savings
> Institutions that serve the working stiff (P notes that these lenders
> were vital to Minorities), were dismantled.
>
> In certain key markets such as California, savings associations or
> institutions were the leaders in meeting the housing
> finance needs of minorities and low-income persons and make such loans
> at a higher rate than other depository institutions (when measured as
> a percentage of assets).
>
>
> For example, about 90 percent of all multifamily mortgage loans were
> once provided by savings associations. Equally impressive, savings
> associations were the primary lenders in low- and moderate-income
> neighborhood. Savings Institutions, have much lower denial rates for
> African-Americans and His- panics than any other type of lender.
>
> Savings associations were leaders in originating and holding
> adjustable rate mortgage loans (ARM's). Many mortgage bankers and
> commercial banks were less likely  to originate ARM's because they are
> more difficult to sell in the secondary market.
> Nevertheless, ARM's are important because they often make housing
> affordable for  first-time buyers, especially when long-term interest
> rates are high.
>
> Savings associations are also industry leaders in originating and
> holding non-conformmg mortgage loans, that is, loans that have
> transaction-specific terms that  do not conform to the standard
> specifications of the secondary mortgage market.
> Almost half of all mortgage loans held by savings associations are
> nonconforming.  Many mortgage bankers and commercial banks have little
> interest in making non- conforming loans, again, because they are not
> easily sold into the secondary market.
>
>
> The troubles, as we can see in the Film, Its a Wonderful Life, run
> back to the Great Depression, but the Section 106 of the Bank Holding
> Company Act Amendments of 1970 was when the Savings Institutions began
> to act and look more and more like Commercial Banks.
>
> Long and complex history, but Aunt Reet's plan for Larry, "get a lot
> while you are young,"  only exacerbated a negative trend.
>
> As usual, however, it is on the actions of the little guys under the
> rocket's paranoia that P focuses. Jews & Nazis. Japanese & Blacks.
>
> It ain't easy to defeat Banks and Wall Street, not if you all can't
> even get along. But no worries. It will Fall on its own. It's a
> Wonderful Life.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErrzjGCi3gY
>