How the World Works

Subprime: "The financial N-word"

All aboard the subprime train! Even "The Daily Show" can't resist.

Of course being "The Daily Show," Jon Stewart and "senior black correspondent" Larry Wilmore eschew focusing attention on which hedge fund will be the next to implode, and get right to the heart of the matter -- the racially discriminatory aspects of subprime lending.

Jon Stewart: Are subprime loans geared to minority communities?

Larry Wilmore: Oh absolutely, Jon. Banks have tried to make subprime the menthol cigarettes of loans. But unlike menthol cigarettes these loans have a downside.

Turns out, not only are all blacks allowed to use Oprah as a co-signer for their loans (because they never check), but far from being a tool of exploitation, subprime loans are actually a means of fighting the power. So what if the borrower loses his or her house? Wall Street loses a trillion dollars when the market crashes!

Jon Stewart: Why let yourself be duped?

Larry Wilmore: Duped? Believe me, we know these loans are unfair. That's why we stopped paying them back.

Jon Stewart: So defaulting on loans with variable interest rates through subprime lending is how blacks will attain and retain power.

Next up: "The Daily Show" tackles collateralized debt obligations!

(Thanks to one of my new favorite blogs, Credit Slips, for the link.)

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Recycling the old bicycle
Another entry in the $4-a-gallon consumer behavior modification logbook.
The deep structure of kung fu panda-monium
An expert in modern Chinese literature takes on the cultural significance of Dreamworks' martial arts cartoon
Growing pains for Kiva
Call it Web 2.0: The African version. The online microfinance lending site stumbles, but doesn't get knocked down

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