More "Stuck On Stupid"

The longer I live, the more it amazes me that some people can be so incredibly naive.

You know about the increasing foreclosure rate - people losing their homes in greater numbers. And there are people who believe that the government should step in and, using tax money, help bail those "poor people" out of the mess they are in.

On the surface, that almost sounds commendable. Until you realize the truth.

1) Most of the increase in foreclosures is due to greedy people wanting more home than they could afford, so they jumped into the sub-prime mess with both feet. Greedy lenders took advantage of greedy buyers. Remember this - you can't con and honest person. The lenders conned those buyers, but were only able to do so because the buyers, themselves, were greedy.

2) It is unconstitutional for the government to do bail-outs of this sort. The Constitution specifically states that the feds can tax ONLY for the GENERAL welfare and the national defense. Bailing out stupid, greedy people is not general welfare - it is individual welfare.

3) The taxes that would be used would come from people who lived more modestly, and own modest homes they can afford.

Now, to bail out those people would open the door to massive abuses. Greedy people could then buy Rolls Royces and Mercedes and, when they cannot meet the payments, ask Chevy and Ford owners to pay off their auto loans for them. Or send their spoiled kids to private schools, and when they fall behind on tuition, they make you pay the tuition for them, while YOUR kids are stuck in public schools.

Why should a person who drives a Chevy have to pay the payments for some greedy jerk's Mercedes, tuition or home?

Why should someone renting an apartment or living in a mobile home have to pay the mortgage payments of people who bought million dollar homes they could not afford?

One woman on AOL complained that she bought a $400,000 home 24 years ago, and is now losing it to foreclosure. I say, "Too bad!" First, no one forced her to buy a $400k home at a time when the average home only cost $150k. Second, if she has had it 24 years, it's almost paid for, and she can easily sell and walk away with enough $$$ to pay cash for a modest home. And if she kept borrowing against her home so she has no equity, that was her choice - she already spent the money of the high life. Third, she lived in a $400k home for 24 years, while 95% of all other Americans will never even get to see the inside of such a home. So, I cannot feel sorry for her.

Why should the little guys pay to keep her in her home? She overbought, on purpose. She tapped the equity and probably spent the money on fancy cars and European vacations. She lived the high life for a quarter century, and never planned for tougher times. She drove a Mercedes while you drove a Ford. She ate steak while you ate hot dogs. She lived in luxury while you struggled. And now she wants you to bail her out.

I say, NO WAY! As I pointed out in an earlier post, every action we take has consequences, and we need to be responsible for the actions we take, and accept the consequences.

People who think they deserve to have their cake and eat it, too, should get a good, swift kick in the butt! And people who believe it is "compassionate" to bail them out are naive, foolish and should stand in line for that kick in the butt.