Subprime Loan Crisis Ramifications & Consequences

Professor Jonathan Simon, UC at Berkeley, on his blog, here, says that it was only a matter of time before the rippling "subprime" loan crises became a story of crime. He points out the preferred story by some media is the street crimes by some poor people and minorities instead of the "suite" crimes by the educated professionals and he cites a story by MSNBC in his blog.

This is an interesting story and I wonder what effect this may have in picking a jury. Will the potential juror's see the subprime loan scandal as the story of crimes by minorities and poor on foreclosed homes or as the story of swindles and con-games and fraud by educated professionals or as a little bit of both? Vacant, abandoned houses and decaying neighborhoods become labeled crime neighborhoods or high crime areas as the middle class move out and the unemployed and poor move in. Eventually, maybe, some neighborhoods turn around after some new investors buy the properties and rehabilitate them, sometimes. At other times, urban renewal goes through and demolishes the old neighborhood.

Interesting ideas. What other effects of the subprime loan crises can we expect? Loans may dry-up, investors flee, increased governmental over-sight, decline in new housing market, higher interest rates, etc. ? Or, maybe, fewer defaults, fewer bad loans, less foreclosures, less mortgage fraud? There is going to be a period of "adjustment" as the market adapts to the new environment. Things usually do get better.