Mortgages: The New Road to Serfdom
Since Garth Turner was nice enough to post my favorable review of his book, I’ll expand on it a bit for readers who make their way back here looking for more to read. If you wish to understand the depth and breadth of the subprime mess, I suggest reading the articles of famed financial economist, Michael Hudson, particularly his old article in the Atlantic Monthly entitled, The New Road to Serfdom (pdf). You can read more of his articles at his website, and can even find others at the Appropriate Economics library (bottom of page).
As far as understanding mortgages goes, I highly recommend The Grip of Death, by Michael Rowbotham. Like Turner’s book, people either love or hate this one. If you’re trapped into a mortgage and have suffered the pressures caused by negative equity, don’t read it. If you’re close to paying off your mortgage, or are a renter, please check it out. If you’re a renter, check out one blogger’s case for not buying a home, and have a look at the NYTimes’ Rent or Buy calculator (might require registration).
“All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from the defects of the Constitution or confederation, not from want of honour or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nation, of coin, credit and circulation.”
