If you're a Wall Street executive who drove your firm into the ground and nearly capsized the U.S. economy, it seems like all you have to do these days to get a multibillion dollar bailout from Congress is put your hand out.
But if you're like Guillermo San Pedro, a hardworking truck driver in Los Angeles who fell victim to a predatory loan and is at risk of losing his home, you're on your own.
Eight million people are at risk of losing their homes because Wall Street abandoned responsible lending practices to gain short-term profits. The housing crisis is not just a problem for families facing foreclosure - it's a problem for every homeowner in America. As long as foreclosures persist, home values will keep going down, and everyone loses. No Wall Street bailout will fix that problem.
We're collecting stories from people all over the country who have been hit by the housing crisis so we can show what's really happening on Main Street: while Wall Street takes hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money to pay for lavish executive bonuses and luxurious office furniture, homeowners at risk of foreclosure still aren't getting any relief.
We need your help. Have you been affected by the housing meltdown? Foreclosed on? Underwater? Trapped in a predatory loan? Do you know anyone else whose life has been turned upside down by the collapse of the real estate market? Record your story, or the story of a friend, family member, co-worker, or neighbor, and send it to us. If you have a video camera or webcam, then please send us your video. You can also add your written story along with a photo we can post on our interactive map.
We have gathered almost two dozen videos recorded and sent in by people telling their foreclosure story or a friend's. Here are two of them and check the site for more.
Penny from Texas:
Holly from Florida:
Help us tell the stories of families impacted by the housing crisis so we can give them a megaphone louder than Wall Street's. The banks have gotten their handouts; now it's time for working Americans to be put first.