Sunday, December 28, 2008

HOT5 Daily 12/28/2008

1. "Charts: The tragic results of the 'Community Reinvestment Act' " The title is self-explanatory.

Representative Sample: The charts provide ample evidence of the tragic errors associated with attempts to "social engineer" the free market system.

2. "I know where the WMDs are ...A look at the worst-case scenario of a nuclear war between India and Pakistan.

Representative Sample: The real threat of WMDs is also less that of a terrorist strike than of an unmanageable regional conflict in which one or both combatants employs them.

3. "What century is this again?" The barbarism of our "ally" Saudi Arabia.

Representative Sample: Want to read something that might just make you puke in your mouth a little?

4. "UN and Defamation: Something of a Scandal" The UN's latest ridiculous declaration.

Representative Sample: This nonsensical resolution flatly contradicts the principles of free speech and free belief 

5. "About Anarchy" A concise smackdown of the the underpinnings of anarchism & objectivism.

Representative Sample: People are asses. Given the opportunity, they will misbehave. Every Single Time.


To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.

8 comments:

  1. Another of my little rules about who to take seriously is that I ignore anyone who blames the crisis on the Community Reinvestment Act. The CRA requires banks to have uniform lending criteria, based on income, assets, credit history, and so on, across all neighborhoods. Previously, the government encouraged banks to redline, that is not lend to anyone who lived in neighborhoods with too many minorities, regardless of ability to pay. (That practice, incidentally, was one of the major causes of suburbanization: banks would lend money to middle class families to buy houses in the suburbs, but not in majority-minority or racially mixed urban neighborhoods.)

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  2. " who blames the crisis on the Community Reinvestment Act."

    It's not the only reason, but it was a signficant contributing factor in the housing bubble.

    "Previously, the government encouraged banks to redline, that is not lend to anyone who lived in neighborhoods with too many minorities, regardless of ability to pay."

    Redlining is one thing. Being essentially forced to loan to unqualified people is another.encouraged banks to redline, that is not lend to anyone who lived in neighborhoods with too many minorities, regardless of ability to pay."

    Redlining is one thing. Being essentially forced to loan to unqualified/underqualified people is another.

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  3. Redlining is one thing. Being essentially forced to loan to unqualified people is another.

    It's a good thing the CRA didn't do any of that, then.

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  4. "It's a good thing the CRA didn't do any of that, then."

    Sure they did, as part of the whole push for minority and low-income home ownership.

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  5. Alon,

    I suggest you check history. Although the CRA was not the only contributing factor, it did open the door for subprime loans.

    Also, its amendments, throughout the years, did assist in the market expansion of these loan types.

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  6. Oh yeah UNRR, very interesting blog concept.

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  7. Sure they did, as part of the whole push for minority and low-income home ownership.

    It didn't mandate any subprime lending. If big business couldn't think of how to loan to minorities without charging high interest rates, then big business is stupid. Community banks have never had this problem: a New York Times article from a few weeks ago talks about such a community effort in New York, which gave 4,000 mortgages to low-income families and foreclosed on 10.

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