Hello everyone, for this week, please focus on articles that relates to ethnic groups and foreclosures too. For instance, read the news article above and understand the amount of impact that the foreclosure has had on the ethnic groups.
"Foreclosures are increasing in 75% of America’s largest cities. The most devastated are the Black and Latino communities, where foreclosure and delinquency rates have almost doubled since Obama took office."
How come anglo people are not affected as much as other? What factors should we consider before making final judgments about this?
Im not a fan of dividing certain issues (like this one)into racial divides. Do we have data on how much whites were affected by this crisis? If so, that would be good to include in a post. My point is that making these kinds of issues race based takes away from the real issues at hand. Mainly the foreclosure crisis, and the economy as a whole being in the toilet. The mere fact that foreclosure numbers are increasing in 75% of cities where most minorities reside lends itself to the reasonable assumption that they would be more affected. I think that a lot of people were in such a rush to get a home that they were willing to overlook the tiny reality that is their bank account. Mainly that they couldn't afford it. For the most part, I feel for those who have been foreclosed upon, but at the same time, they are ultimately accountable for their finances. We can't just plead ignorance everytime we mess something up. Barring illegalities by lenders etc., people should be held accountable for the choices they make, otherwise they have no incentive to change.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Richard.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that either former President Bush or current President Obama are trying to keep the economy and housing crisis the way it is. Nor do I believe it is only there faults. We all let this happen. The entire country needs to take some responsibility. It’s time we take a look in the mirror.
Unfortunately people were taken advantage of in the mortgage/foreclosure mess. However, as Richard also states, we are each in charge of our own finances. It’s time to stop lying to ourselves and get on a real budget.
People don't comeinto these financial transactions on a level playing field, and a lot of that goes back to issues that trend along racial lines in America, so to ignore that is to ignore a big part of the story.
ReplyDeleteFor example, minorities receive much worse education on average. Without a decent grounding in math, interest rates on mortgages don't make a lot of sense and it isn't clear what questions need to be asked. Basic concepts like budgeting also need to be taught at some point.
Access to equity to make a reasonably large down payment also tracks along racial lines in a very strong manner: white on average have 6x the net worth of minorities in America (http://scorecard.cfed.org/financial.php?page=net_worth_by_race)
Finally, strong evidence has been presented that dangerous loan products were disproportionately marketed to minority communities indirectly and directly, often with much less than full disclosure.
So I think it's very naive and convenient to ignore the racial politics of the current crisis, but the sad fact is, it's just one more chapter in America's long racist legacy.
Paul to answer one of your questions, I believe that one of the factors we need to look at when making judgements about this is issue is location. A lot of the big numbers from the mortgage crisis has come from the big cities. Especially the case in Detroit, and also semi-large cities such as Kalamazoo, where people are trying to leave the city and live in the suburbs. People are doing this because, one it is cheaper, and two because many think it is safer and has a better sense of "community." I think location has a major part in dealing with the ethnic groups and how location has affected these groups.
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