The US economy collapsed in 2008 and we would have fallen into an economic and societal abyss had the federal government not taken massive interventions that we’ll be paying for for decades to come. As we know from the investigations that are now being made public, and which will continue to develop in the years to come, Wall Street Fat Cats teamed up with shifty players from the mortgage industry to monetize then liquidate the single largest collection of public wealth ever accumulated….the equity Americans held in real estate. The unchecked, unregulated and unrestrained business practices allowed two entire sectors of the economy- real estate/mortgage and Wall Street/finance to merge together in an orgy of greed, fraud and deceit. The “screw the rules”, “everyone for themselves” culture eventually led to collapse.
Apparently we didn’t learn our lesson because these same attitudes and business practices have infected our court rooms across the country. The results will be a new round of financial chaos because the land title industry simply cannot pay the claims that will come when the results of the improper court practices are litigated in the decades to come.
Reuters Article on Bankruptcy of LandAmerican
