Center for American Progress Center for American Progress
Issues Domestic & Economy Housing

Did Liberals Cause the Sub-Prime Crisis?

The idea started on the outer precincts of the right. Thomas DiLorenzo, an economist who calls Ron Paul "the Jefferson of our time," wrote in September that the housing crisis is "the direct result of thirty years of government policy that has forced banks to make bad loans to un-creditworthy borrowers." The policy DiLorenzo decries is the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, which requires banks to lend throughout the communities they serve.

Read more here.

This article was originally published in The American Prospect.

To speak with our experts on this topic, please contact:

For print, John Neurohr, Press Assistant
202.481.8182 or jneurohr@americanprogress.org

For radio, Andrea Purse, Deputy Director of Media Strategy
202.446.8429 or apurse@americanprogress.org

For TV, Sean Gibbons, Director of Media Strategy
202.682.1611 or sgibbons@americanprogress.org

For web, Erin Lindsay, Online Marketing Manager
202.741.6397 or elindsay@americanprogress.org

Related Articles

Jump-Starting Local Economies, by Andrew Jakabovics

This Week in Congress 5.5.08-5.9.08

Bailouts and Bold Action, by David M. Abromowitz

Bailout Fantasies, by Andrew Jakabovics

New Housing Numbers Underscore the Need for Action, by Andrew Jakabovics

Also by Robert Gordon

Criminal Intent, March 25, 2008

Smaller classes: the wrong investment for city schools, December 13, 2007

Point-Counterpoint: Should We Repair No Child Left Behind or Trade It In?, August 1, 2006