The Mortgage Blame Game

Ever seeking to cast African-Americans into the role of victims, Jesse Jackson is now fulminating against sub-prime lenders, whom he calls "exploiters" for having the temerity to lend to high-risk financial groups. Those who indeed misled borrowers to take out too large a mortgage should indeed be punished according to applicable law, but consumers always take on debt at their own risk. Is it the lender's fault when a client cannot repay mortgage debt?

It's my guess that the sub-prime lenders would rather be repaid than see borrowers default. (Because if too many customers cannot repay, the companies themselves go belly up.) And it's a bit rich for Jackson to blame these companies. I'll bet he was out front years ago excoriating lenders for not loaning to blacks and giving them the opportunity to own a home. Now that it didn't work out, he looks to blame them for doing the very thing he advocated.