I love phrases like "order of magnitude" because they make problems seem too big to do anything about. As we aggregate the losses we lose sight of the individuals whose lives are at risk even as financial websites carry more and more articles about how to profit from foreclosures.
Today, it's not just that prime loans are about to go belly up but more and more tenants living in private homes are at risk--with no one looking out for them because they don't own anything and so are considered disposable.
Mounting foreclosures is an issue I have been writing and railing about. Protests against them are featured in my forthcoming filmPLUNDER The Crime Of Our Time.
There is a macro dimension to this crisis abut also a far more personal micro one.
Here's a story I was told about a middle class woman on Long Island, who happens to be Haitian. I am sure its not the worst case--and certainly not the best outcome. Read it and weep--but as you do remember this bell may toll for more of us.
At the same time, as a reporter, I find myself personally exposed to people experiencing these problems. One is a close friend of a close friend who found herself on the street last week.
I offered to help her write an op-ed about her situation based on what she told me. She really liked it,but then had second thoughts about having it appear under her name. It is intimidating if you are not used to challenging powerful institutions even after you have been terribly mistreated. There is always a hope that some deal might save you, or get your home back. I have to respect her right to anonymity, but I can vouch for the accuracy of this sad account implicating a predatory bank and their servicer, the County Sheriff, and a moving company that makes money off of people's misery.
Here is the account.
à ‚¬ MY HAITIAN EARTHQUAKE (BANKQUAKE?) IN NASSAU COUNTY
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