This document is based on the sub-prime crisis in the USA in 2007-8. The paper studies the ins and outs of the sub-prime crisis, and whether it could be called such or not. According to this paper, this was not just a crisis of numbers. It was a deeply personal and community crisis as well. The United States prides itself on being a nation of homeowners, with more than two-thirds of Americans owning their own homes before this crisis hit. Home equity composes the largest percentage of most families’ assets, and now much of that was wiped away. One of every five homeowners with mortgages now owns a home that is worth less than the principal balance. Foreclosures were up 81% in 2008 and 225% since 2006. There were 3.1 million foreclosure filings in 2008—nearly two percent of American households– and a similar number is expected in 2009.4 In certain areas, it is even worse. Nearly seven percent of Nevada homeowners received a foreclosure notice in 2008.