So a dominant right-wing meme about the mortgage crisis seems to be that it was caused by the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, intended to help minorities achieve home ownership. Apparently this load of bunk has been making the rounds for many months now and was recently amplified by the likes of Neil Cavuto and other talking heads on Fox News. This American Prospect article from April handily dismantles the myth, yet I would not underestimate its potential to affect the presidential race. It’s a plausible-sounding narrative (to ignorant boobs, anyway) that taps into racial stereotypes and resentment of affirmative action.
Let me just say that after all the housing discrimination African-Americans have endured over the decades — from being denied loans unfairly, to being refused rentals, to facing all manner of threats when moving into white neighborhoods — making them into scapegoats for the collapse of the housing bubble is transcendently wack.
Do you remember those obnoxious web ads promoting super-cheap mortgages, the ones with the dancing cowboys and awful fonts? If you want to point fingers, that’s one place I might start.
[Update: I have more below in the comments. Here’s a clickable link to the article I mention.]