Getting Real About the Banks' 'Toxic Assets': People Live in Them

By Lagan Sebert and David Murdock, American News Project. Posted April 16, 2009.

"Toxic assets" are actually mortgages and, by extension, houses and the people who are struggling to live in them.

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Economists, politicians, and pundits refer to "toxic assets" as if they are some unspeakable stew bubbling in a barrel behind an old warehouse. But "toxic assets" are actually mortgages and, by extension, houses and the people who live in them. Sandra Berrios is one of millions facing the prospect of ballooning loan payments forcing her and her family from their home. The bank that lent her the money is getting hundreds of millions in TARP money, but the federal dollars flowing to the bank show no sign of trickling down to Sandra's level.

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Lagan Sebert is an associate producer for American News Project. David Murdock is an executive producer for American News Project.

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What this country needs is an Americian Bailout!!! [Report this comment] Posted by: grosspointblank1986 on Apr 16, 2009 4:38 PM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Why doesn't the Government give every legal American age 18 an older a $ 100,000 bailout. Imagine what would happen to this country, Mortgages could be paid down then refinanced or just paid off. Everyone is talking about homes that are underwater because families have mortgages that are bigger than the homes worth. My Idea is that someone with a $200,000 Mortgage and a house worth $100,000 now. This idea would allow for the mortgage to realign. Of course, If the family is a married couple, then each would get the $100,000 a piece there by completely freeing them to pay off their mortgage. This would eliminate a lot of the so called toxic assets. It would also stimulate the economy by encouraging new home purchases by first time buyers, because the money could be used as a down payment. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Understand what those "toxic assets" really are [Report this comment] Posted by: ReallyBearish on Apr 17, 2009 6:08 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] CDOs contain mortgages, but do the owners of the CDOs actually own the mortgages? A judge in Ohio ruled that they didn't when Deutche Bank tried to evict someone from a house with a mortgage in one of these CDOs. Get the facts straight. Toxic assets are not the underlying asset. They're these imaginary constructs sold to the money center banks. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] Assets? [Report this comment] Posted by: Stew on Apr 24, 2009 3:10 PM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] There's no such thing as a toxic asset - if something is toxic it can't be an asset only a liability. These are toxic liabilities that could potentially have future value (asset). It may sound stupid but we, as consumers, actually control this economy more than the current crisis indicates. A simple, albeit painful, personal downsizing and a shift to local production will, over time create a more stable system. It would be perfect if we took money out of the equation altogether and developed a resource based economic system. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

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