By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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The Return of Subprime Lending (AJAM)
Matt Birkbeck says a new wave of subprime mortgages appear to be following much stricter rules and have far less usurious interest rates, but regulators are still watching closely.
Thwarted for years by the nation’s banks, which virtually shut down mortgage lending after the financial meltdown, and stricter rules imposed by federal regulators, a growing number of credit-impaired borrowers like McKnight-Baron are again finding their piece of the American dream. Unlike the risky subprime loans from before the financial crisis — many involving no down payment and no documentation — these new subprime loans require minimum down payments of 20 percent and proof that borrowers can pay the monthly mortgage. While investors have taken notice and are pumping billions into the lending institutions making these loans, government regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, say they intend to keep a close eye on lenders, with the hope that the loans don’t morph into the toxic products that were bundled into securities and devastated the nation’s economy.
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Paid Maternity Leave Is Good for Business (WSJ)
Susan Wojcicki says that the United States is behind the rest of the world in not offering paid maternity leave to all mothers, and that such a policy makes good sense socially and economically.
Federal Reserve Says It Will Be ‘Patient’ on Interest Rate Timing (NYT)
Binyamin Appelbaum reports on the latest comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen about when the Fed will start raising interest rates. The process won't begin before April.
Fired Walmart Worker Says She Had to Choose Between a Paycheck and a Child (The Guardian)
Lauren Gambino and Jessica Glenza profile one former Walmart employee who was still asked to work with dangerous chemicals after her doctor said they would endanger her pregnancy.
What Was the Job? (Pacific Standard)
Kyle Chayka says the gig economy brought with it a massive reinterpretation of what it means to have a job, leaving behind a disenfranchised workforce without any of the benefits it once enjoyed.
New on Next New Deal
Ten Years: Students Moving the Country Forward
Roosevelt Institute Vice President of Networks Taylor Jo Isenberg reflects on the Campus Network's tenth anniversary, and how Roosevelters can continuing pushing for a better country for all of us.
Two Contradictory Arguments That Dodd-Frank is Crony Capitalism
Roosevelt Institute Fellow Mike Konczal compares two mutually exclusive conservative analyses of what crony capitalism means and how to fix it, which suggest this isn't a useful concept in policy debates.