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“Losers” and the Sub‐Prime Mortgage Crisis

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  • Andrew R Cline

Abstract

Until early 2009, “loser” was a sympathetic term identifying victims of the 2008‐2009 recession. That use shifted to a derogatory label for people who benefit from government largesse — sub‐prime mortgage borrowers — at the expense of “honest” and “hardworking” Americans. Labels “transform and magnify” behavior into a character failing. Gans (1995) sees a “war of words” in American culture that uses pejorative labels “that stereotype, stigmatize, and harass the poor by questioning their morality and their values.” This essay examines the case of CNBC reporter Rick Santelli's use of “loser” as a pejorative label and the influence of that use on media punditry about the mortgage crisis of 2008‐2009.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew R Cline, 2009. "“Losers” and the Sub‐Prime Mortgage Crisis," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 1(2), pages 1-10, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:povpop:v:1:y:2009:i:2:p:1-10
    DOI: 10.2202/1944-2858.1027
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