Current.TV: Vanguard special (first of 3 parts) on the collapse of the US economy. During the boom years, no place in America boomed more than Las Vegas. But when the economy collapsed, Vegas fell hard. Laura Ling tours the wreckage of Sin City, from unemployed strippers and half-built, abandoned casino projects, to hospitals turning away cancer patients and ambulances, to one of the few remaining boom industries--evicting people.
Even if the present tenants have fully paid the rent, when the bank forecloses on the owners they were renting from, they are often evicted with very little or no notice. Many residents are struggling to make ends meet. One former mortgage industry employee now performs exotic dances and the tips are not as great as they once were. Local government budgets have also shrunk exactly when increasing number of the unemployed are seeking state services. Also, record numbers of students turned out to protest cuts in education.
5 Comments
rougysays...The miracle of capitalism.
The benevolent free hand of the market place, watching out for us all.
nach0ssays...I've heard about cases in other parts of the country where renters were evicted without warning due to the owner's delinquency. Surely this is a blind spot in the law. It is absolutely not reasonable to evict a renter with no prior warning, especially if they have been making payments to someone who is not in turn paying the mortgage. I know some places that have addressed this, but not LV apparently.
wagthedog1says...Hopefully the no warning renter evictions when the bank forecloses on the mortgage holder should now be coming to an end. This week, Obama signed into law a bill giving tenants who pay their rent on time, the right to remain in their home until the end of their lease, unless the bank sells the property to someone who intends to make it his own residence. Even without a lease, renters must be allowed to stay in their home for 90 days after the foreclosure. The provision is scheduled to expire at the end of 2012.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/22/AR2009052201467.html
balabingsays...Laura Ling must did this piece right before she went the North Korea. She's been detained there since march.
rougysays...>> ^balabing:
Laura Ling must did this piece right before she went the North Korea. She's been detained there since march.
That's very sad news I was unaware of.
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