In part two of our interview with Danny Schechter, Danny provides up-to-date information about the housing crisis in the US. With 21 million families now finding their homes worth less than their remaining mortgage payments, the banks are being forced to readjust the loans in order to keep people in their homes. Danny also outlines some of the grassroots work that is being done in order to stem the tide of evictions. One organization that has a long history of work in this area is ACORN, and Danny believes that the voter registration scandal surrounding ACORN is more illusion than substance, created as a distraction from the important issues of the day.
Bio
Danny Schechter, "The News Dissector," is a former network TV producer, radio newscaster, and edits MediaChannel.org. He has written nine books on media themes. His latest, 'Plunder', was inspired by his latest film, In Debt We Trust: America Before The Bubble Bursts
Before you go and condem people for not being able to pay for a house or for thier rent or to pay for food or clothes you should go online and watch a completly free movie called zeitgeist.addendum at Zeitgeistmovie.com
mizlbrty 2008-12-12
This is absolutely ridiculous!! Stop foreclosures? Why? If you can't afford to pay for your house, you shouldn't get to keep it. This is at the core of what's wrong with this country. Nobody is allowed to feel bad, nobody is allowed to lose, there should be no pain or suffering. Where did people get these ideas? Life isn't fair and nobody promised you it would be. This idea that we can force equality/fairness only results in more unfairness. I do not own a house, I have no debt, my car is 11 years old, I have no children, I live within my means. I have thought very carefully about the life I've created for myself. Why should I have to carry the burden for those who did not? Whether it's individuals or corporations, you should pay the price for the mistakes you've made.
riverdeer 2008-10-28
Well someone is going to have to pay my part of the bill because im will hopefully be out of this country in a couple of months
wildpett 2008-10-28
One problem with stopping the foreclosures is that this will provide an incentive to stop mortgage payments, which will cause problems for the chinese and russian bondholders of the mortgage lenders, so this wont work. That is not to say something should not be done, but stopping foreclosures is akin to pooring gasoline on the fire.
John.Hawkins 2008-10-27
One of my favorite comments in this monolog while defending ACORN is that there is an attack on the rights of poor people. Does it not sound hypocritical that on one hand the poor are demanding the same rights as everyone else but then they are not wanting the responsibility of honoring the contracts they signed like everyone else? As far as ACORN is concerned, am I the only one who remembers seeing them protests and threat of protest againist banks for not loaning money to people who could not qualify? They are as much a cause of this mess as they are a help to those who can't afford the houses they live in. Why are people maxed out on their credit cards? Did they need the HDTV made in China that htey bought at Walmart? What about the guy renting down the street that didn't get in over his head, didn't buy the TV, didn't go ball game with his kids, why is he being asked to pay to support someone who lived a higher irresponsible lifestyle in the past 3-5 years.
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