Before you get too involved with blaiming Carter for the housing mess, perhaps you should read that bill, and just what it did stipulate, and what it didn't.
Looks to me the bill authorized banks and financial institutions to stop the practice of redlining which meant they could no longer discriminate against low income neighborhoods where they possibly do some sort of business.
No where does it say the banks MUST make loans available to people who may not be qualified, in fact it states the oposite.
The words "safe and sound operations" sums it up pretty good.
The banks should observe these safe and sound operations when considering loans.
It also goes on to say, these activities shoul be handled in a "safe and sound manner", and the law does not authorize banks to make high risk loans.
That doesn't sound much like it was an all out plan to give loans to unqualified people.
That the banks did on their own so, blaiming Carter for the mess is an excersize in frutality.
Just because USA today wanted to spin their view on it, does not make it so.
Read the bill, then decide.
"The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 seeks to address discrimination in loans made to individuals and businesses from low and moderate-income neighborhoods.[7] The Act mandates that all banking institutions that receive FDIC insurance be evaluated by Federal banking agencies to determine if the bank offers credit (in a manner consistent with safe and sound operations) in all communities in which the bank takes deposits.[3] The law does not list specific criteria for evaluating the performance of financial institutions. Rather, it directs that the evaluation process should accommodate the situation and context of each individual institution. Federal regulations dictate agency conduct in evaluating a bank's compliance in five performance areas, comprising twelve assessment factors. This examination culminates in a rating and a written report that becomes part of the supervisory record for that bank.[8]
The law, however, emphasizes that an institution's CRA activities should be undertaken in a safe and sound manner, and does not require institutions to make high-risk loans that may bring losses to the institution.[3][4] An institution's CRA compliance record is taken into account by the banking regulatory agencies when the institution seeks to expand through merger, acquisition or branching. The law does not mandate any other penalties for non-compliance with the CRA.[6][9]"
Bob.
