And how did this get started? http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE7DB153EF933A0575AC0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
http://snipurl.com/40xsd [query_nytimes_com] Anyone know what Franklin Raines is up to these days? <g> Terry On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 10:54 AM, Jed Rothwell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This is kind of off-topic but also on topic. > > Here is a broadcast and transcript from the radio program "This American > Life." It explains the subprime mortgage fiasco more clearly than I have > seen elsewhere: > > http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?episode=355 > > This resembles the "Bird and Fortune - Subprime Crisis" video > (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzJmTCYmo9g) except that the interviews are > real. > > Below is a fascinating segment of the transcript that illustrates 'the will > to deceive oneself.' Bankers and loan officers deliberately set up > procedures that to hide the truth from themselves. The procedures to check > people's credit worthiness became more and more far-fetched and removed from > reality. We see the same trends in arguments against cold fusion, as Mike > Melich described: > > "I see no value in anymore 'panels' of experts looking at this subject. The > choice of the "Terms of Reference" and the choice of the panelist is likely > to be in the hands of the Garwin's/Jasons and the ERAB/Bard groups who have > thoroughly enjoyed seeing how successful they manage to avoid answering > technical questions seriously or doing any homework that informs them or > facing the possibility that they may > have made an error." > > Here is the segment from the radio show transcript: > > . . . And so Mike [Garner] noticed that every month, the [credit check] > guidelines were getting a little looser. Something called a stated income, > verified asset loan came out, which meant you didn't have to provide > paycheck stubs and w-2 forms, as they had in the past. You could simply > state your income, as long as you showed that you had money in the bank. > > Mike Garner: The next guideline lower is just stated income, stated assets. > Then you state what you make and state what's in your bank account. They > call and make sure you work where you say you work. Then an accountant has > to say for your field it is possible to make what you said you make. But > they don't say what you make, just say it's possible that they could make > that. > > Alex Blumberg: It's just so funny that instead of just asking people to > prove what they make there's this theater in place of you have to find an > accountant sitting right in front of me who could very easily provide a W2, > but we're not asking for a W2 form, but we do want this accountant to say > yeah, what they're saying is plausible in some universe. > > Mike Garner: Yeah, and loan officers would have an accountant they could > call up and say "Can you write a statement saying a truck driver can make > this much money?" Then the next one, came along, and it was no income, > verified assets. So you don't have to tell the people what you do for a > living. You don't have to tell the people what you do for work. All you have > to do is state you have a certain amount of money in your bank account. And > then, the next one, is just no income, no asset. You don't have to state > anything. Just have to have a credit score and a pulse. > > Alex Blumberg: Actually that pulse thing. Also optional. Like the case in > Ohio where 23 dead people were approved for mortgages. . . . > > - Jed > >
