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Is there a solution to the foreclosure mess that's destroying communities?
Across the country, cities are in crisis because of the fallout
from the mortgage mess - property taxes are way down and abandoned
homes are bringing down property values, inviting crime and
draining government coffers. Neighborhoods are being destroyed.
Yet, the federal bailout money is not going directly to desperate
communities and homeowners, but to local and national banks.
NOW investigates the innovative way some cities are fighting back.
The city of Memphis, Tennessee, is suing major national lenders and
banks for deceptive and discriminatory lending practices in an
effort to recoup the cost of the financial mess. Other cities using
this legal tactic include Baltimore, Cleveland, Buffalo, Birmingham
and San Diego. With desperation climbing alongside debt, can the
strategy help these blighted parts of America?