Inattentive regulators, swashbuckling CEOs, greedy mortgage originators and misinformed borrowers have all been identified as contributing factors to the financial panic after the fall of Lehman Brothers a year ago. Each of these players did indeed make an important contribution to the meltdown and panic a year ago.

But...

My last post sparked an email exchange between me and my Georgetown University colleague,
Professor Richard F. America, Professor of the Practice, Director of the Africa Initiative and
Director of Community Reinvestment at the School of Business at Georgetown University.

I invited Professor America to write an...

The Gates arrest has produced a large quantity of commentary. However, there is very little directed to the legal boundaries of what Constitutional protections are available for a citizen who objects to an arrest.

NPR Opinion has published my essay: "You Said What? : First Amendment Protection of Heated Speech...

We have all read and heard the repetitive discussion of the "wise Latina" quote. But what many have not paid attention to is the unfair name-calling, and cultural and racial attacks that Judge Sotomayor's candidacy.

The Women's Media Center (WMC) of New York City has compiled a compelling video that...

On the last day of the 2008 term, the U.S Supreme Court issued its opinion in the much-anticipated Cuomo v. Clearing House banking case. Justice Scalia, writing for the Court in a 5-4 decision, held that judicial enforcement of state laws, such as the New York fair lending law, at...

Publication of the results of the bank stress tests has been delayed this week. Test results were originally supposed to be announced, Monday May 4th. The date has subsequently been pushed back to Thursday, May 7th.

Why should the public care about the delay in announcing the test results?...

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has once again fallen in the tank for the financial sector. The current crisis is the product of financial obfuscation and distortion of true value and risk in the valuation of mortgage-backed securities.

Despite this core problem, FASB has decided that firms...

The is the fourth in a series by students enrolled in my new course, Contemporary Issues in Economic Justice: The Subprime Crisis, at Georgetown University Law Center

Disclaimer
The views expressed here do not represent my views or the view of Georgetown University. The sole responsibility belongs to the...

The latest round of taxpayer tranfusions into the rotting corpse of AIG has sparked outrage, but no definitive action to halt $165 million in bonuses. The President, The Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve have all voiced their disgust at the news that a second round...

Third in Series

This is the third in my guest blogger series for students enrolled in my new Georgetown University Law Center course: Contemporary Issues in Economic Justice: The Subprime Crisis.

The Collapse of the Exploitation Economy By Bill Steinwedel,

Bill Steinwedel is a Second Year Student at Georgetown...

Second in Series

This is the second in my guest blogger series for students enrolled in my new Georgetown University Law Center course, Contemporary Issues in Economic Justice: The Subprime Crisis.

By Yeon Yoon, Third year student, Georgetown University Law Center.

The most recent expansion of the AIG...

The Subprime Mortgage Crisis: Individual Responsibility & Why Race Still Matters

By Nicholas Austin
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Like it or not, race still permeates every crevice of American life. From drawing school district boundary lines, to healthcare, nothing escapes this basic conflict. The subprime mortgage crisis offers textbook examples of racial...

As the state of the economy grows more dire every day, it is tempting to throw up our hands in frustration, or take refuge in our disorientation. Yet, the economic and political decisions being made today will affect the lives of young people for the foreseeable future. I want to...

There is general consensus that the distribution of first $350 Billion of the Trouble Assets Relief (TARP)Funds has been a disaster of non- transparency. The largest banks have not noticeably increased their lending to either consumers or businesses. Ending the "credit freeze" was the stated goal of Congress and former...

The powerhouse credit card company American Express has just joined the storied list of financial firms converting to bank holding companies. Like Merrill Lynch and Salomon Brothers, American Express is seeking shelter from the subprime storm by converting to the highly regulated Bank Holding Company form. In another economic climate,...

After two weeks of public wrangling between Congress against the Treasury and the Fed, we thought we knew all there was to know about the cost of the bailout. We were wrong. Old habits die hard. The same penchant for secrecy and partial disclosure that pervaded the last...