Vol. 31 No. 2 - Summer 2003

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Banking on Misery

• Front Porch: Letter From the Editor

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• Southern News Roundup

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• Armed for Armageddon

  Under cover of the war on terror, the Bush Administration plans to turn South Carolina into the production site for a new generation of nuclear weapons—and a new arms race. By Becci Robbins

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• Introduction: The New Loan Sharks

  By Michael Hudson

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• PART I. Banking on Misery: Citigroup, Wall Street, and the Fleecing of the South

  Millions of Southerners have been ensnared by "subprime" lenders who target consumers made vulnerable by discrimination and financial need. By Michael Hudson

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• PART II. The Poverty Industry

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• Perpetual Debt, Predatory Plastic

  From the company store to the world of late fees and overlimit penalties, credit cards go predatory. By Robert D. Manning

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• From Pawnshops to "Financial Supermarkets"

  Fringe banking gains a foothold in the mainstream. By Mary Kane

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• Simple Courtesy

  Banks have discovered overdraft fees to be fertile ground for innovations in profit-making. By Taylor Loyal

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• PART III. Fighting Back

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• Journey for Justice

  Citigroup shareholders confront an unfamiliar sight: the orange t-shirts of a borrowers' group determined to get fair treatment. By Michael Hudson

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• Battling the Odds

  Consumer advocates fight for a voice in Alabama's legislature. By Bill Barrow

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• "You Can't Pass It On if It Belongs to Someone Else"

  A South Carolina woman speaks out against the people who took her family's home. By Kenneth A. Harris

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• Predatory Lending and the Law

  How predatory lending can be attacked through legislative reform. By Keith Ernst

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• Seven Signs of Predatory Lending

  How to know you're being cheated.

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• Resources for the Fight Against Predatory Lending

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• Review

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