#151 Fall 2007

The Heart of the Story

CNBC’s “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer’s now-famous summertime tirade about the collapse of the subprime markets captivated media pundits and bloggers, as well as close to 2 million YouTube viewers. […]

CNBC’s “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer’s now-famous summertime tirade about the collapse of the subprime markets captivated media pundits and bloggers, as well as close to 2 million YouTube viewers. With his soliloquy about the mortgage crisis as “Armageddon” – extreme even for a man whose default mode is manic – the former hedge-fund manager momentarily shifted the focus of media attention from debt markets to people at the “bottom of the income ladder.” While some cynics expressed doubt that the hardnosed investment guru really cared about the millions of low- and moderate-income homeowners facing the threat of foreclosure, Cramer used his post-rant appearances on shows ranging from CNN’s “Reliable Sources” to Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report” to underscore his concern that “there are a lot of people who bought homes…and they’re about to be evicted or foreclosed, and it’s a problem for all of America.”

OTHER ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE

  • Cuffing the Hands that Feed Them

    May 4, 2008

    It’s not easy to rattle Louise Arbour, the Canadian jurist who was the chief prosecutor for tribunals on the genocide in Rwanda and human-rights abuses in Yugoslavia in the 1990s. […]

  • Identity Crisis

    May 4, 2008

    Shelters and food pantries are lifelines for homeless people. But soon they may be out of reach. When in May the House passed the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act (HR […]

  • Keeping Kukui Gardens

    October 2, 2007

    Faced with the prospect of losing their homes, residents of a Honolulu affordable-housing complex defied Hawaiian cultural traditions, getting organized and vocal and achieving a victory for affordability in one of the country's most expensive cities.