This book exposes the true predators in the ponzi housing bubble that occurred between roughtly 2001 and 2008. This book is not just for business people or investors, but is for everyone who wants and needs to understand the forces at work around us.
Ponzi housing pushed up the value of houses with artificial demand. This hurt those who paid mortgages on time, and those who took easy money loans while being told they could refi later. This hurt seniors, those getting ready to retire, boomers and the young who have had high unemployment looking them in the face.
This ponzi scam was much bigger than Madoff, and had the blessing of the highest levels of finance, even the central banks. This scam is a real life swindle, and is actually a testament to weak government, not over regulation. Don't be fooled by the talking points of many, because a shadow and unregulated banking system hid bad loans off bank books, which was criminal behavior when done at Enron. But this behavior was not prosecuted at all in the banking community, especially at the highest levels.
Excerpt
Government guarantees will subject greedy bankers to the temptation of writing bubble mortgages, at least starting with easy money ABS, knowing that they will be guaranteed by more and more bailouts by the government. That is probably why the Tea Party frightens both the Republicans and Democrats in their hatred of bailouts.
However, the Tea Party needs to understand that this scam was not just a Fannie/Freddie caused scam. Nor was it a borrower caused scam. The ponzi housing scheme had the highest level of finance, the central banks, in the middle of this scam, crafting it through Basel 2 and promoting it through Greenspan. They should speak out about speculation.
It is clear that MERS and the big banks are in the thick of denying due process to millions of foreclosed persons. If we understand that the ponzi housing scam was a form of speculation that was set up by the financial elite, then we must also note that none of these people would be underwater if the bankers had not set this scheme up in the first place.
Just like investment bank speculation led to false increases in prices for food commodities in 2007 and in the price of oil in 2008, so did this speculation set up by Wall Street and the central banks, and Fannie and Freddie lead to false increases in prices. People starved in West Africa in 2007, and the US consumer was hurt badly by oil prices going to $145 per barrel in February 2008. There is a pattern here of hurtful speculation. The housing bubble was a speculation driven by mainstreet but set up by Wall Street and the financial elites.
Professional Reviews
Goodreads review by Caroline Gerardo, Author of Toxic Assets
An excellent read. Factual details about where America went wrong, and why some Senator or Congressman can't repair the damage. Greed in the human heart is not good. Thank you Gary for an expose that makes sense.
Don’t Wait, Lead Now is a must-read for emerging leaders and anyone in leadership that wants to up their game— full of practical, real-world examples that highlight the traits and behaviors that create high-performing teams.
