Manns Medium

There are many residents who would love to see their city grow and become a more productive and rewarding place to live.  Some used to even advertise how great their city or state was on their license plates but this seems not to be the case anymore whether it is a lack of vision by those in leadership or the unwillingness to try something new since change seems to frighten so many.  Now it should be as plain as the nose on our faces that with each passing day, things change and if we are to ever stay atop what is happening around us at any given time, we too must be willing to change.  We are all quite aware that doing the same thing the exact same way expecting change is the real true definition of insanity and if we are willing to accept that premises then why are we surprised what is accepted as normal these days? Back in the day, homeownership was proof of valid income, a six hundred credit score and a willingness to clean up anything that made loan approval boa...

Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote an article for ProPublica titled “Housing Enforcement Group Sues M&T Bank for Discrimination” and reports within it that “The unusual lawsuit draws on secret videotapes and recordings to argue that the bank’s loan officers discriminated against blacks, Latinos and Asians who applied for mortgages.  One of the nation's largest banks discriminates against black, Latino and Asian homebuyers by offering lesser qualified white borrowers higher loan amounts and using hidden racial criteria in one of its loan programs, according to a lawsuit filed this week in federal court in Manhattan. The suit also accuses the bank of steering homebuyers to certain neighborhoods based on their race or ethnicity.  The lawsuit claims that M&T Bank violated the landmark Fair Housing Act, a 1968 law that sought to end discriminatory lending practices and limit the historic segregation of many of the country's cities. The suit was filed by the Fair Housing Justice Cen...