1 - Introduction

Summary

The introduction provides a guide for readers and sets out the research methodology of the book. Evident is the structural nature of the racism undergirding the predatory lending scams in the 2000s, along with the inertia over a decade later that precludes help for individuals that have been victimized. Institutional policies in private financial institutions and public bodies provide little redress for many individuals victimized by predatory lending, exacerbating the racial wealth gap. The chapter introduces the need for a normative shift in lending practices that embeds accountability. It introduces the plight of mortgagors in three of the cities hardest hit by the subprime crisis, and recounts stories of loss and of the frustration of their legal advocates. We introduce several critically important questions. What are the intergenerational harms caused by the continuing crisis and what mechanisms might be available to change that trajectory? What structurally can be accomplished in an era of deregulatory priority? What are the current implications for middle class and working class Americans of all races with respect to the most recent developments?