ACORN’s Fingerprints on Mortgage Crisis Appeared 20 Years Ago
by Kyle OlsonACORN has been fairly criticized for its actions that led up to the mortgage crisis, which culminated in a huge rash of foreclosures last year. While the tide appears to be waning, it’s a problem that is still occuring.
Specifically, ACORN strong-armed banks and worked with members of Congress, such as Barney Frank, to weaken credit standards in order for banks, as well as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, to fund risky mortgages. Mortgages, of course, that stood little chance of ever being paid, as we witnessed last year.
But ACORN’s penchant for shaking down banks didn’t begin 2 years ago, or even 10 years ago. Check out this article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from 1988. Grant Williams was an organizer for ACORN at the time ( I wrote here about his new gig at SEIU), and he managed to weasle ACORN into a bank’s proposed interstate merger. From the article:
To settle a legal challenge by a community group, Bank South has agreed to chip in another $5 million in home loans at low interest rates in Atlanta’s black and working-class areas.
In return, the community group says it will drop its challenge to the bank’s first interstate merger.
The tentative agreement was reached at a negotiating session Wednesday, according to bank officials and leaders of ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. They plan a joint announcement Thursday.
The bank also has agreed to consider making a large deposit in a community credit union ACORN says it might establish in Atlanta.
The $5 million will increase Bank South’s contribution to the Atlanta Mortgage Consortium to $7.35 million. That makes it the largest supporter of the pool formed in May. The pool now has $25 million, in addition to $47 million in loan programs set up by larger Atlanta banks, for a total of $72 million.
So not to apparently be accused of implied racism, the bank joined others to meet ACORN’s demands. But, two weeks prior to this revelation, the Journal-Constitution ran another story where Bank South put up a little bit of a fight:
“Bank South has one of the worst records on community reinvestment among all the Atlanta banks, and we just want to make sure they clean up their act before they acquire any more southeast banks,” said ACORN President Annette Wilcoxson.
A Bank South spokesman, Bo Spalding, responded in a written statement: “The comments made by ACORN are inaccurate, misleading and without merit. We are disappointed that the ACORN representatives did not give us an opportunity to meet with them before they filed these complaints and issued the news release. We have scheduled a meeting with ACORN for Friday to discuss these issues.”
So, presto: drag a corporate name through the mud and receive a hefty payoff. It’s the ACORN way. At what point is some American corporation going to tell ACORN to go to hell and Al Capone’s shakedown tactics won’t work anymore?
Fighting back and not rolling over is the only thing that works with terrorists and just may work with ACORN, too.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Vince Humphreys, greychampion, Michael Chavez, DNC DUDES, Smoky Mountain 912 – and others. Smoky Mountain 912 – said: ACORN’s Fingerprints on Mortgage Crisis Appeared 20 Years Ago: ACORN has been fairly criticized for … http://bit.ly/8jXtvv -VOL360.com- [...]
Exactly – always stand up for your principles. If shouting loudest always wins the day, we're in deep trouble…
"At what point is some American corporation going to tell ACORN to go to hell and Al Capone’s shakedown tactics won’t work anymore?"
I've been wondering this myself. Not just ACORN. Soros' shadow criminal enterprise is a virus that has infected every element of American culture. Either we stop the spread in 2010 and begin the process of extermination or go right ahead and kiss the great USA goodbye.
We have 11 months to get this right.
I think they are now also trying to get into the reverse red-lining business. It's a win win!
Jimmah Carter, Community ReInvestment Act, Bill Clinton, Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, ACORN.
Birds of a feather……….
The name of the game is SHAKEDOWN 101.
you must watch these three videos to see what is happening, based on extortion from ACORN????? and the Community Reinvestment Act????…..targeted against banks all across the country….forcing them to lend money to people with no jobs, bad credit and no cash equity makes no sense???.watch your tax payers dollars at work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLOJFD6Wtnk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7DC3zqyh6M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdOm-uFwyJo
Everyone should ask their financial institution if they contribute to acorn and if so tell them you are going to change banks of they don't stop. Better yet do your banking with a local credit union.
ACORN and other groups have been allowed to extort funds from Corporations for years. And they have done it in front of the FBI and others with no retribution. Why does the government not put a halt to these thugs? This is pure and simple extortion and they are right up front with it. It is not the corportations fault for doing the payoff but it is the governments fault for not procecuting ACORN and other extortion groups. Jesse Jackson is famous for doing this same tactic. We must demand the FBI shut these extortion groups down.
now that the ACORN 'brand' has been so damaged- at least among the two-or-more-functioning-brain-cells segment of society- you'd think it would be a marketing advantage to announce loudly and proudly that your bank has not ever, does not now, and will not ever have any association whatsoever with those clowns.
And the Dems blame it on Bush.
ACORN did not take advantage of an obscure loophole. The Democratic party happily created the laws that benefit ACORN, over those3 20 years. The Republicans were not as enthusiastic, but did not object to, or repeal those laws because they didn't want to be called anti-poor.
Trial lawyers do not take advantage of obscure errors in the law. These powers and practices are in the law intentionally. We speak of tort reform, but tort abuse has been created intentionally, and most new laws provide more reasons to litigate rather than being reasonable and clear.
Our financial crisis is not an obscure, unpredictable event that overwhelmed good practices. Housing policy, government control, and unconstrained lending to promote populist support was obviously dangerous. It required active disregard for the rules, in the House Financial Services Committee under Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA).
When you drive 120 mph, have an accident, and kill yourself, is it really an accident?
(continued in next comment)
(… continued)
Diagnosis is everything. Don't just blame ACORN, the lawyers, or the bankers. The government has a big sign up "Favors for sale. Votes bought here". They are doing this with your money, your opportunities, your future, and the future of your children.
Diagnosis is everything. Don't just think "It happened under the Democrats or Republicans". That makes as much sense as your being blamed for what your co-worker did. Investigate the facts. Start here:
We Guarantee It – The Government Caused the Economic Crisis
After accepting a bribe for your silence, standard procedure is to then actually be silent, not loudly proclaim "And next time you give us the money right away, don't make us have to force you!"
How many overly-dramatic gangster movies did they study to get their operating style anyway?
this reminds me of another using mob tactics. ol' jessie jackson did this sort of thing and the reason corporations caved is because it was cheaper (and better pr) to do so than fight a law suit. standing for ethics didn't even come into the equation. i think the only way this trend will change is if we make it worse pr to cave into acorn, big union, et al…
the CRA and the liberals involved did help set in place the financial dilemma we recently experienced… however they alone weren't the reason for the collapse.
Bush along with the republicans could've turned around the CRA. BUT, he ALSO felt it necessary for social justice to some extent to allow the poor to get into homes. He just wanted, MORE REGULATION.
It was a regulatory nightmare that helped create the problem, more regulation would just put market pressures elsewhere.
We've got to break this cycle of Government intervention. And the biggest source of intervention is the Federal Reserve.
It was the combination of low interest rates and forced bad loans that created the collapse. It was the democrat refusal for energy policies that Bush pushed (all the way back in 2001), that could've prevented it.
Think about 2007/2008. Energy prices skyrocketed at the same time the fed started to raise the interest rates to stave off a devaluation of the dollar. It was this one two punch that allowed the monster Jimmy Carter created to collapse our economy.
But it won't end until:
1) We allow energy companies to do what they do best and retrieve energy wherever it is.
2) We get rid of the Federal Reserve and get back on the gold standard forcing Government to live within it's means. They wouldn't be able to tax their way to big government, because the people would not stand for it.
3) We end the endless regulatory business that has been created from the last 100 years of progressive government. This will make the lobbies around DC evaporate. Lobbying only exists because the government has FORCED them to exist.
4) We seriously curtail spending on social justice programs and groups.
5) We prosecute groups like SEIU and ACORN and MANY MANY OTHERS, under RICO Statutes.
Too right. BoA basically asked said "we could answer ACORN's lies, but that would be too costly. And the priority is our shareholders". If something's a lie, fight it. Of course when do corporations do that when their balance sheet is affected. Good on Bank South on fighting this corruption!
Morris
Hit the wrong button, oops.
Soviets were, of course, known for their long-term planning abilities.
I upped it back for ya.
The civilized working people don't yell loud enough and are ignored only the lazy bums on welfare get heard.
don't forget obama helped ACORN sue a bank to get those sub prime mortgages
Democrats controlled the senate and house for 40 yrs and now the work they done has come back to bite us all. They taught people to live ABOVE their means and caused all of this mess. I say we go to war with dems, its time for Americans to wake up.
The bad part is – the gubment is IN ON the extortion.
FlatTaxer
:~)
I worked at a bank in Pittsburgh for many years and remember ACORN outside protesting their demands for mortgages for low-income people. That was in the late 80's and early 90's. While I didn't work in the mortgage department, all the areas in the bank knew about the rapid rise in the default rate of the loans that were being handed out under the ACORN shakedown and government pressure.
To me, ACORN and the Left-winger politicians are among the prime reasons that the sub-prime crisis happened.
[...] Big Government & Kyle Olson: ACORN’s Fingerprints on Mortgage Crisis Appeared 30 Years Ago [...]
The evil here, as in most areas these last few decades has been the open use of PC (in this case capitalize on white guilt) to manipulate the masses and destroy their nation and their freedom.
Marxism is like a pre-owned clunker with a new coat of paint – racism, multiculturalism, bio-diversity, green worship, and good old fashioned biblical envy!
To quote your article: "So, presto: drag a corporate name through the mud and receive a hefty payoff. It’s the ACORN way. At what point is some American corporation going to tell ACORN to go to hell and Al Capone’s shakedown tactics won’t work anymore?" WHAT's REALLY SAD is It's not just the acorn way, IT'S THE al sharpton, jesse jackon way too! WHEN IS CORPORATE AMERICA and THE REST OF AMERICA GOING TO TELL THESE SHAKEDOWN ARTISTS TO PUT IT WHERE THE SUN DOESN'T SHINE? One more reason why we need SERIOUS TORT REFORM NOW! We need a organization called ATORN. The Association of Tort Organizations for Reform Now! It's truly amazing that people like sharpton and jackon have amassed a fortune while their constituents are still poor, ignorant, and destitute!
The unfortunate thing that ACORN has in its favor, when you lob the hand grenade that is racism: just throwing it does damage. So these nuts can toss out "racism" and no matter what happens, the victim, in this case banks, gets their reputation harmed, whether it's true or not.
ACORN and SEIU are Communist organizations. See the proof, all the latest news and the deep, deep ties to Obama here: http://www.commieblaster.com/acorn/index.html
NIce ACORN Derangement Syndrome article and of course the reliable ranting that goes along with it but I have a question…How many ACORN mortgages are unpaid? How many ACORN mortgages were foreclosed? How many ACORN mortgages remain unpaid and outstanding right now? Does anybody know?
It's nice and swell to accuse ACORN of causing the financial meltdown but does anybody have any facts, percentages and numbers to support this accusation. You'd think the banks and financial institutions would be more than happy to release these damning numbers to shift the blame off of them but they're not. Where are the percentages and numbers of foreclosed and/or outstanding ACORN mortgages to support this accusation? The Right-wing news media have had a year to at least come up with some evidence to support this accusation but instead keep releasing carbon copy articles like this one with absolutely no evidence to support it what so ever.
Hello syn,
Nice to see you staying on point with the DNC "Talking Points Memo". That memo however is dated for last week. Whats wrong, aren't you in the loop? The Memo for this week is Health Care and Cap and Trade…
Hello Mr. Logic,
Well it's better than the RNC "Talking Points Memo" that is this article that's well over a year old. And after a year, still no numbers to back it up.
Ted Kennedy was the co-sponsor (see page 2 on link) behind the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988. This started the whole mess.
http://www.huduser.org/Periodicals/CITYSCPE/VOL4NUM3/schill.pdf
[...] From: BigGovernment.com [...]
[...] apart from illegal lobbying as told by a former ACORN lobbyist, having strong armed banks with racial quotas to sell risky mortgages and then use Fannie and Freddie to back them up and bundle them, using its [...]
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