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UNIT 11: “The Great Recession”
• Unit Background/Author Perspective
• Module 55: Mortgage Backed Securities and Root Causes of the Great Recession
• Module 56: The Mortgage Meltdown – Big Investors
• Module 57: “Outsourcing Yourself”
• Module 58: The Making Home Affordable Program
• Module 59: “Strategic Defaults” and Foreclosures
Unit Background/Author Perspective
No business textbook published in early 2011 would be complete without a look at the
current economy. A number of modules in other sections of this book give some attention to the
recession, but this unit addresses it exclusively. Many players share some blame for causing the
economy to take a nosedive, starting in 2008. The first two modules look at several of them.
One of the modules looks at a very expensive government program that was passed to try to
decrease the recession's negative impact on American families. The remaining modules present
difficult choices that many people face as their income falls and they struggle to make ends meet.
Unit Core Ethical Issues
• Although complicated investments are not inherently harmful, they did have the
effect of spreading the damage of the collapse in the housing market far and
wide.
• When the housing market collapsed, losses were often dramatic. Who is to
blame: companies which offered complex real estate investments, ratings
agencies, or investors who failed to recognize an investment that was “too good
to be true”?
• The recession has causes millions of people to rethink many basic parts of their
lives, including the place where they live. Is there anything wrong with leaving a
community in search of a more favorable economic environment?
• One of the Obama administration's early programs established a substantial
government fund and policies for aiding struggling homeowners make mortgage
payments. This module looks at the role of government in addressing a
sputtering economy.
• Some homeowners are playing a game of “chicken” with their lenders, and are
skipping mortgage payments in favor of paying off credit cards and other bills. Is
this practice reasonable? Is it ethical?
