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Activists blame crisis on gluttony

Home builders pushed subprime loans, labor says

By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published April 29, 2008 at 9 a.m.
Updated April 29, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.

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Men in pig costumes demonstrate at a meeting of Richmond American Homes on Tuesday in Denver. Laborers Inter - national Union of North America supplied the costumed pigs.

Photo by George Kochaniec Jr. / The Rocky

Men in pig costumes demonstrate at a meeting of Richmond American Homes on Tuesday in Denver. Laborers Inter - national Union of North America supplied the costumed pigs.

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Men dressed as pigs frolicked outside the annual meeting of Richmond American Homes in Denver on Tuesday morning, drawing attention to the role they say corporate home builders played in creating the mortgage and foreclosure crises.

The six costumed pigs were supplied by the Laborers International Union of North America, which hasn't had much luck unionizing house construction workers, but represent a lot of workers who work on commercial buildings.

The "Pigs at the Trough" campaign hopscotches across the country, attending annual meetings of corporate home builders, and today will be back in Washington, D.C., as Congress debates the Foreclosure Prevention Act, union spokesman Jacob Hay said.

Hay said corporate builders overbuilt homes, then to get rid of the excess inventory pushed subprime loans through their mortgage subsidiaries.

Often the loans "were pushed onto people who didn't understand the terms of the loan. Some could have qualified for better loans in the first place."

The consensus by local and federal officials is that home builders did play an important part in the foreclosure crisis by offering loans at, say, 4 percent, that would change in a few years to 7 percent - a rate that many of the buyers couldn't afford.

"We're raising awareness that these home builders are fighting for a $25 million bailout" through the Foreclosure Prevention Act, Hay said.

"We're keeping up the fight," Hay said.

Richmond American Homes is a part of MDC Holdings, founded in 1972 by Larry Mizel.

Despite a loss of more than $400 million last year, MDC awarded Mizel and President David Mandarich bonuses of $2 million.

MDC officials did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.

MDC last year also paid $25 million for a Dassault Falcon 2000EX aircraft, saying that for "safety, security, convenience, comfort and efficiency" it is in the "best interests of the company" for Mizel and Mandarich to use the aircraft when it is not being used in the ordinary course of business.

scanlon@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2897

Comments

  • April 29, 2008

    9:47 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    smoofy writes:

    Please note that this is a $25 Billion (as in "B", as in $25,000,000,000) bailout that homebuilders want, not a $25 million one. I'm not sure if the protestor was misheard by the reporter or there was an editing error but that number should be corrected in this article. This bailout is another case of "Privatize the gains, socialize the losses" and should be fought tooth and nail.

  • April 29, 2008

    10:04 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    WarrenJimmyBuffett writes:

    Why is the union is protesting the bailout anyway? Just out of spite?

    The is a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black. I'm quite certain that many union workers greedily bought too much house or multiple houses with no-money down ARMs, so they could get rich off real estate. The homebuilders were greedy, but, so was most everyone else.

    There should be no bailout, but the union shouldn't make it their cause either. Their motives are transparent and childish.

  • April 29, 2008

    10:20 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    bookwerm writes:

    WarrenJimmyBuffet, you are full of goop.. you have NO evidence these Union Workers "greedily bought too much house or multiple houses with no-money down ARMs, so they could get rich off real estate". If you were to replace "Union workers" with Blacks, Hispanics, etc. your racism and classism would be more evident to all .. but I can see thru your sick statements to the rotted black core of a failed human that you are. These folks have every right to protest, they are totally right.. and no I am NOT in a union.. instead, I am a rocket scientist who can see you for the sick failure of a human that you are. Think better, think more deeply and stop being a nit.

  • April 29, 2008

    11:58 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    WarrenJimmyBuffett writes:

    bookwerm,
    You are right. I'm sure you are right. I'm sure no Union members bought too much home or multiple homes with ARMs. They would never do such things. They should protest the bailout. And they should protest global warming. And they should protest cigarrette companies. And they should protest poor officiating in minor league baseball games. And restaurants that serve bad sushi. And everything else. Thank you for the enlightenment. You are great.

  • April 29, 2008

    noon

    Suggest removal

    d1234 writes:

    While I am sympathetic to the plight of someone losing their home, why don't I see anywhere that maybe some of these homeowners bought more home than they could afford? Just because a lender tells me I qualify for some amount doesn't mean I should buy it. It seems as though those who bought shoulder none of the blame for their loss. I realize that there are predatory lenders out there but did they really hold a gun to the buyers head to get them to sign? I think that we need a reality check here. What kind of delusional person who makes 60k per year believes that they can afford a $400,000 house?

  • April 29, 2008

    12:20 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    dilligaf writes:

    Bailout= Corporate welfare

  • April 29, 2008

    2:07 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Heidi writes:

    Hey, I lost money in the stockmarket! Anyone care to bail me out???

  • April 29, 2008

    2:10 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Dick_Tater writes:

    "Men are pigs"

    Darn feminists

  • April 29, 2008

    2:13 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Heidi writes:

    Why would one automatically assume that the pigs are men? And Dick, this was a man who wrote the article ;)

  • April 29, 2008

    3:41 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    lencho_elias writes:

    Republicans are against "wasteful government spending" when its aid to poor, uneducated masses(unfortunately the majority of the people). But replace welfare with billion dollar aid packages and trillion dollar war budgets and the republicans are happy lettin money fly.

    What ever happened to 'for the people, by the people'??

    $$25Million on a jet, while thousands of families are losing homes

    $$Trillion$$ on war while thousands of families are losing homes

    Seems like the same mentality to me..

  • April 29, 2008

    3:58 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    4gColoNative writes:

    I like that the Rocky tries to be clever in their headlines. Sometimes they ARE clever. Though today they're on a lame streak ("Nuggets go ka-broom" ... "Spammer sent to slammer")

    Liked the "Privatize the gains, socialize the losses" comment ... so very true. Think Halliburton and the troops.