Bloomberg blames Congress for housing troubles, not banks

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently said that the American public should not hold banks accountable for the mortgage crisis, but rather point the finger at Congress. Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch does not agree with Bloomberg and is calling for criminal prosecutions of corporate executives in the financial industry.

In a recent panel discussion over the Occupy Wall Street protests, the current and former mayor debated the issue. The New York Times reported that while Bloomberg finds no reason to waste time blaming people, Koch feels there should be repercussions for the wrongdoings committed by the banking industry.

According to Bloomberg, Congress forced banks to give mortgages to questionable borrowers and pushed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make imprudent loans. Koch, however, is concerned that if the perpetrators of the mortgage crisis do not get punished, there is nothing to prevent a similar situation, the news source reported.

The Huffington Post reported that Senator Harry Reid, Democrat from Nevada, agreed with Bloomberg, arguing that a specific group of Washington policymakers are to blame for the housing crisis and current economic standstill. Reid said the Republican party is only working for the top 1 percent in the country, not on initiatives to help create stability across the classes.

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