The Subprime Mortgage Meltdown Blues Playlist
Unfortunately for thousands of American families, 2007 and 2008 will go down in history for the subprime mortgage meltdown, which has resulted in an unprecedented number of foreclosures.
I remember not too long ago when equity in my home went through the roof and all was well with the world. The President was touting all time high minority home ownership. People were on cloud 9 about the opportunities surrounding them. Many quit good jobs to "flip" real estate, as encouraged by numerous television shows featuring ordinary people getting rich. It's easy! Just leverage yourself, buy, fix up and sell for huge profits! It worked!
Temporarily...
Well, the mess we have gotten ourselves into is now impacting markets around the world and here we stand at the brink of (if not already in) a full blown recession. And this will certainly be a factor in the upcoming presidential election with both sides pointing fingers and offering solutions. But really it was just another bubble created by euphoria, greed and turning a blind eye to financial fundamentals. And I have news for you; it won't be the last bubble we see in our lifetime.
There's plenty of blame to go around on the consumer side, corporate side and governmental side. But if you take one thing away from this whole mess let it be an awareness to tread cautiously when things seem too good to be true.
As a lover of music I thought a playlist was in order. So I give you The Subprime Mortgage Meltdown Blues -- a playlist of songs about foreclosure, recession and economic failure.
And of course, only one genre fits -- the blues.
The Subprime Mortgage Meltdown Blues Playlist
1. No Mortgage On My Soul - John Lee Hooker
2. The Mortgage Blues-Part 1 - Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon
3. Recession Blues - B.B. King
4. Foreclosure On The House - John Lee Sanders
5. Eviction Blues - Blue On Green
7. All My Money Gone Blues - Lee Green
8. Ain't Got No Home - Clarence "Frogman" Henry
9. No Money, No Luck Blues - B.B. King
10. The No Soap, No Hope, No Mouse, No House Blues - Anita O'Day
I am a victim of the subprime crisis and in a lighter moment, I put it into a song. It is pretty good (at least that is the feedback I get) but it hasn't gotten much exposure. One professor I know used it in a recent classroom to quickly describe what the subprime problem is all about. Please let me know what you think as I tell the whole story of one unfortunate borrower in prose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3G1PdipmtI
Billybob