City To Country Magazine July/Aug 2016 July/Aug | Page 11

“We’re in a terrible crisis, and it is part
of the reason for the emergence of Bernie
Sanders and Donald Trump.”
~ A Martinez
In 2006, housing prices all over the United States began
dropping. By 2008, what became known as “The
Housing Bubble” burst, rendering millions of
homeowners with insurmountable debt. While
there are many reasons for the crisis and
just as many opinions about our national
response to it, there is little doubt that
one of the primary drivers was the
marketing of easily obtainable, lowinterest, variable-rate mortgages to
financially vulnerable homeowners.
Very quickly, the news media
began focusing its attention on
the banking industry and the
government. This was soon

CALIFORNIA
WINTER
WITH A MARTINEZ
WRITTEN BY JAY LUSTER

JULY / AUGUST 2016 | 11