Update from the Foreclosure-Based Economy 0
Mary Winter, writing at the Denver Post, takes a look at “strategic defaulters”–persons who walk away from their mortgages because the houses are under water–and asks, “Just who broke a promise with whom?” (emphasis added):
But Paulson had it backwards.
Wall Street bankers, not homeowners, failed to honor their obligations. Bankers took excessive risks, designed loans to generate the greatest number of fees for themselves, pushed no-down and predatory loans on unqualified and financially illiterate customers, and paid lip service to modifications.
When housing collapsed, bankers took $175 billion in taxpayer bailouts and, to show their gratitude, promptly handed out $33 billion in performance bonuses to their executives.
