invisible people unite!

At least that's how it seems when it comes to the mortgage "crisis." Responsible people who did not gamble with their life savings and chose to wait for the inevitable slowdown of the housing market to consider buying are really, and I mean REALLY, getting thrown under the bus in all this bailout rescue crap that keeps getting bantered about. Not that I haven't mentioned that before, but hey, somebody has to say it. It's not like many others are. Oh well, I guess my "American Dream" just isn't worth considering. That's life in today's "What's responsibility?" society.

At least there is one nationally syndicated columnist who sees this bullbleep for what it is, and -- gasp! -- is willing to call it out! I had grown tired of Michelle Malkin's constant cheerleading and bombthrowing on behalf of what passes for the "conservative" mainstream these days, but anymore I have to stop by her page often just for a reminder that there is some sense somewhere in the journalistic ranks when it comes to basic economics and personal responsibility. (Between her takes on that and immigration, she's quickly earning back a lot of my respect.) But how bad is it when she's the ONLY one who says anything about what is very obviously a sham? I can't describe how much the American public and the talking heads disappoint me these days.

Anyway, she posted some letters she's received recently from folks who share common sentiments about this victimhood crap being parroted, and snippets are worth copying here...

I was very tempted a couple years ago to use an ARM to buy a house for myself, especially after hearing the majority of my friends advocating how cheap it was. After doing some research, I realized that I wouldn’t be able to afford the potential rate increases. So, I am still in an apartment, waiting to save up some more for my future house. I’m trying to figure out why people that make just as much as I do will be able to keep houses they can’t afford, while I will get to stay in an apartment, for the simple reason that I did my due diligence. And I’m not even going to bring up the fact that it looks like my tax money will go to helping them out even more. Once again, responsible people are punished by the government.

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I am a real estate developer on the Gulf Coast. The real estate speculation and insanity from late 2004 through the beginning of 2006 is now adversely affecting me and those in the ‘subprime crisis’. I don’t want the government’s help, and I don’t want the government bailing out people who either used their home as a credit card or bought more house than they knew they could afford. Government assistance would certainly keep more people buying lots and houses. However, the party is over for now, and it is time to pay the bar tab and the caterer. There comes a time when everyone, including the government, needs to come home from vacation, get to work, and pay their bills.

Investors that bought and hold the subprime and adjustable mortgages don’t want to own several hundred thousand foreclosed houses. They will renegotiate with the mortgagors to get to terms that allow the homeowner to continue to pay the note. Mortgage holders aren’t going to do anything if they think the government is going to pay the note. Let free markets work.

Homebuilders and developers alike need to get realistic with the value of property. We all knew it was ridiculous a couple of years ago. Some homebuyers paid too much for their house. It will work its way out and the values will come back up. They need to sit tight, and if possible, pay a little extra on the mortgage. Some people refinanced and used their home as a credit card. It is time to pay the bill. It is that simple.

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We are the ones who will have more pricey mortgages because the lenders will transfer the cost of revising the terms of these loans, after the fact and through government coercion, to us.

We’re the ones who have to sit back and wait for housing prices to fall, while our government, looking to protect only the home owners, keeps prices artifically high with bailout programs and artifically low interest rates.

What about programs to help out renters who didn’t make any money in this bubble, because we were responsible? What about government intervention to lower the still-high housing prices so we aren’t locked out of the market? A natural correction in the housing market is in order, but the government seems hell bent to prevent it from taking place. In the meantime, we are priced out of the market because we aren’t willing to get in over our heads financially (unlike some of these revered home owners).

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I am a loan originator in Upstate NY and am increasingly frustrated with the lack of understanding of what has happened in the mortgage industry. For sure, there are many loan brokers and bankers who carry a share of the blame, but the biggest problem are the people who wanted to purchase a home that they really couldn’t afford and relied on creative financing. If you could see the endless amount of disclosures and paperwork that a borrower is required to sign and both the mortgage application process and at closing, it is laughable to think that, as Senator Obama suggests, these people had no understanding of what they were entering into.

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As an agent I found it incredibly discouraging to lose business and money pointing out the downside risks to some borrowers who used any gimmick they could including outright fraud to buy that big house. A word of caution on my part was all it took to send them to competitors eager to push them toward higher risk. Nobody was minding the store. And the industry was increasingly relying on drive by appraisals by agents and shunning the more expensive full appraisals.

It is extremely frustrating to think that the market will now be distorted to make the rest of us pay for the greed and foolishness of others. And the damage won’t just be for the short term. If people think the government will bail them out of high risk purchases, what will that do to discourage high risk buying in the future? And who is going to want to lend money if the govt unilaterally decides you can’t collect it? Some of the proposals out there are downright frightening to investors.

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Instead of bailing out these lenders and borrowers, we should be looking at throwing some people in jail for fraud. They way these loans were approved, as well as the intentional deception when providing stated income and assets was literally criminal. Twenty years ago people were prosecuted for this type of activity and quite a few served time.

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hmmm, anyone think we could get cars covered in this bailout?? I always wanted a 69 cobra

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I’m sorry, but you and your readers still don’t get it! We have a really important program under way. We are saving the future for ourselves, by creating a completely dependent underclass. Our program consists of two equally important elements. One is rewarding those who are greedy, don’t think, and come to us for handouts and bailouts. The other is punishing those who don’t follow our directions. We really can’t tolerate people who think, show restraint, and plan to take care of themselves. We must punish them! After all, they could threaten our future!

That last one is pretty slick, eh? A bit of truth to that, maybe? Overall, it's always reassuring to see that there are others with the same frustrations I have and I'm not all alone out here.