With the announcement of the Pulitzer recipients not far away (April 14th)-it occurred to me that when the winners and finalists are announced-a great many readers might not have been aware, let alone have read, many of these prize-winning works of journalism.
So, as a run-up to the official announcement, DailyNewsGems.com, will be highlighting some outstanding works of journalism, worthy of Pulitzer consideration.
-Bill Lucey
Photo Credit: The Center for Public Integrity
In 2008, the U.S. economy witnessed a sharp rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures and a corresponding decline of securities backed by said mortgages, which resulted in the collapse of several major financial institutions, while severely short-circuiting the flow of credit to businesses and consumers, triggering a panic-filled global recession.
Five years later, in September, 2013, The Center for Public Integrity, in a three-part series: “After the Meltdown — Where are they now?” re-examined the subprime lenders, Wall Street banks and government regulators that were liable for the crash —only to discover that few if any have been held accountable.
Their careful investigation revealed a number of troubling details, among them: five years after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. went bankrupt, the CEOs of the banks that got into the biggest trouble during the financial crisis are living in luxury, while none of the top banking CEOs or senior executives has been prosecuted for actions taken that led to the financial crisis.
``Five years after the financial crisis crested with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., top executives from the biggest subprime lenders are back in the game. Many are developing new loans that target borrowers with low credit scores and small down payments, pushing the limits of tighter lending standards that have prevailed since the crisis.’'
“Old habits die hard, especially when there’s no incentive to do things differently,” says Rachel Steinmetz, a senior underwriter-turned-whistleblower who worked at subprime lender GreenPoint Mortgage, later bought by Capital One, until June 2006. “The same shenanigans are going on again because the same people are controlling the industry.” http://goo.gl/o81NBr
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If you’re aware of any outstanding works of journalism that you would like to see included at DailyNewsGems, send links to Bill Lucey at [email protected]
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