SNL Takes on the Mortgage Crisis
Saturday Night Live’s debate skits and Tina Fey as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin usually draw all the attention this campaign season, especially from the political
Jul 31, 202042.1K Shares1.3M Views
“Saturday Night Live’s” debate skits and Tina Fey as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin usually draw all the attention this campaign season, especially from the political blogs that post excerpts on Sundays.
But this weekend, the show managed to take on the mortgage crisis — not the easiest topic for humor.
At L.A. Land, Peter Viles saysthat not only was the skit pretty funny – it also made some accurate points that usually get lost in the mainstream press coverage of the crisis.
From Viles:
“„Two cents: In addition to being pretty funny, the skit makes two strong political points that are frustratingly absent in much of the bailout coverage. First, the blame game: Both political parties have mortgage mud and housing bubble goo all over them. Yes, Republicans tried to throw a rope around Fannie Mae, and Democrats stopped them. Well, some Democrats wanted to stop predatory lending, but couldn’t get much Republican help. But that argument misses the larger point: Both parties were happy with “financial innovation” on Wall Street and expanded levels of homeownership. Both parties worshiped at the altar of Alan Greenspan, never questioning the big-picture policies (low interest rates, crazy mortgage loans, unregulated credit markets) that got us here.
And homeowners don’t get away with anything, either:
“„The second political point, equally obvious and equally missing from most recent coverage, is that the current crisis has its roots in the housing bubble. And the housing bubble drew on willing participation from millions of Americans who wanted more house than they could afford and in many cases tried to play the housing market for profit. It’s all in the skit.
You can watch it below.
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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