SEN. WARREN: I'm not a person of color. And I haven't lived your life or experienced anything like the subtle prejudice, or more overt harm, that you may have experienced just because of the color of your skin. Rules matter, and our government-not just individuals within the government, but the government itself-has systematically discriminated against Black people in this country. Ultimately subprime mortgages spread far beyond communities of color, and it eventually wrecked our economy.
During the crash of 2008, millions of people-black, white, Latino and Asian-lost their homes. Millions lost their jobs. Millions lost their savings-millions, tens of millions, but not the people at the top. The bank CEOs just kept raking in the money.Two sets of rules: one for the wealthy and the well-connected. And one for everybody else. Two sets of rules: one for white families. And one for everybody else.That's how a rigged system works. And that's what we need to change.