An important article to read about another example of the fading rule of law in America

Summary: An important article at Harper’s, one every American should read, about the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), created in 1995 by the banks to circumvent property and mortgage laws in the US.

“What’s happened is that, almost overnight, we’ve switched from democracy in real-property recording to oligarchy in real-property recording. There was no court case behind this, no statute from Congress or the state legislatures. It was accomplished in a private corporate decision. The banks just did it.”

— Christopher Peterson (Prof Law, U Utah)

“Stop Payment! – A Homeowners’ Revolt Against the Banks“, Christopher Ketcham, Harper’s, January 2012 — Open PDF’s are online at Scribd (until it’s taken down). Hat tip to Barry Ritholtz.

Other posts about the housing bubble