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ORIGINAL: Vendaval


"Mortgage aid plan sparks hope and resentment"
 
By Andrea Hopkins

Fri Nov 30, 6:34 PM ET

" CINCINNATI (Reuters) - A plan to freeze mortgage rates for troubled homeowners may help ease the U.S. housing crisis, but for wiser borrowers and those who have already lost their homes to foreclosure, such a plan seems unfair.

"It's people's own fault that they didn't pay attention to what was going on," said Cincinnati high school teacher Peter Parker, 32, who cautiously borrowed more than $400,000 in the last two years to buy two investment properties.

"It's not the government's job to bail them out."

The Treasury Department is finalizing a plan with mortgage industry leaders that will hold interest payments steady for many subprime borrowers facing higher interest rates and possible foreclosure.

While the details are not yet known, the prospect of a plan to rescue hundreds of thousands of homeowners from a deepening mortgage crisis has quickly won both fans and critics, including those who say a bailout sets a bad example for irresponsible banks and borrowers.

"The government is punishing people who were more responsible in the way they took out mortgages," said Peter Schiff, president of Euro Pacific Capital in Connecticut. "Of course they're going to be pissed."

Schiff also wonders how the government will pay for the bailout -- and said the looming November 2008 presidential election was likely behind its timing.

"They're trying to keep the you-know-what from hitting the fan until after the election," he said. "The rhetoric is 'We've got to help homeowners,' but the reality is it's designed to help the fat cats, Wall Street. It's bailing out the lenders." "

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071130/us_nm/usa_housing_hazard_dc;_ylt=Avtus94zMkCN1OYmw7GBwGZH2ocA

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ORIGINAL: HaveRopeWillBind
Better to fund affordable rental units and help with their moves. Oh yeah, that only helps the little people, not the banking fat cats. What was I thinking?

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ORIGINAL: Mercnbeth

Personal or corporate, you want your tax dollars used to fund a bailout?

Are you all homeowners? Homeowners, are you all past due in your payments? Were you all "forced" under duress to commit to houses and corresponding mortgages that you couldn't afford? Are you delusional about your financial capabilities or just stupid?

People fail because that was the most likely consequence of their own actions. They made commitment and plans that had a 1% chance of success and never considered the consequences of the other 99%, or most likely result. Now they want your dollars to bail them out. They want dollars from the people who are renting, or bought a house within their means. They want tax dollars from people who made a decision on the 99% side of probability. I say - let them fail!

Failure is a good tool for learning. The expectation of having a someone come to their rescue generated the growing desire to create a 'nanny state'. Making a mistake should result in consequences. The childish pointing to others being bailed out by the government has created an environment of entitlement. Hard work has been replaced by the expectation of getting something for nothing. Trained at a young age when every participant gets a trophy, where no child left behind means that the whole class works at the slowest pace. The social engineers would say everyone finished first. To me it looks like everyone finished last. The lesson was learned though. Why try, why work, why worry; they'll always be someone, some entity, some bureaucracy there providing the safety net.

Now this generation of homeowners wants and expects others to foot the bill for their failure. In an election year, I'm sure they'll get their programs; insuring the re-election of the political status quo. If you support these programs and the politicians running over each other to pass legislation; try not to be hypocritical and condemn them the next time some corporation gets a similar bailout. It is what you, the electorate, obviously want. A mommy/daddy that when the child 'strikes out', wipes their tears, pats them on the head, and says "here's your trophy for a nice swing!"

 Standing Ovation!  Bravo!

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ORIGINAL: DesFIP

Affordable housing is essential. Without a home, you can't get a job because you need an address.

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ORIGINAL: DesFIP

Affordable housing is essential. Without a home, you can't get a job because you need an address.