Sometimes it seems as if the housing bubble – which was the trigger for the ongoing Long Depression, or as some call it, the Great Recession-- has been forgotten. And that is very unfortunate – both for the success of policies designed to restart the US economy and for building a politics that could change the US political economy to benefit the 99% rather than the 1%. This paper examines the political economy of housing as the roots of the Long Depression. I begin by summarizing the scope of the existing housing catastrophe and then provide an overview of the policies and practices that created the housing bubble and collapse. The final two sections describe the work of the Home Owners Loan Corporation in the 1930s/40s and, using this model, outline some possible policies to address the housing problem we face today.
Anmerkung:
Informationen zum weiteren verlauf der sogenannten Subprime-Krise, zunächst in aller Munde, heute kaum noch ein Thema. Für die Betroffenen Haus"besitzer" waren uns sind es unzählige persönliche Tragödien, die längst nicht abgeschlossen sind.
