Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Simple question

I just heard Forbes columnist Rich Karlgaard on "Fox & Friends" say, "We need to keep people in their homes." Simple question: Why?

We got into this crisis because of lax lending standards -- ACORN was pushing banks to count food stamps as income for lending purposes -- which means that there are a lot of people living in houses they can't afford. How is it fair to people who've lived within their means to prop up deadbeats who took on mortgages they couldn't afford?

We moved to DC, sold our home in Georgia, and have spent more than a decade renting simply because we couldn't afford to buy a home in the overheated DC housing market. Now that the market is finally cooling off, why should the government punish me for my prudence by artificially propping up the housing market, thereby keeping me from snapping up a bargain?

UPDATE: Jimmie at Sundries Shack has more thoughts.

3 comments:

  1. Because, if people are not beholden to the government, then who will build Pharoah's pyramid (schemes)?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Because for many there was NO DOWN PAYMENT, lots of folks "in their houses" are simply glorified renters with built in equity that they leveraged to expand their indebtedness. Some who lose homes also lose their downpayment, which IS a loss and a pity. I can't see, however, how those without any skin in the game are losing squat. In fact, many have gained cars, big screen tv's, and new wardrobes (based on their zero-down home equity) that, even if ejected from the property, they can just cart over to another rental. All in all, it seems like a net gain and I am just darn dead empty of empathy.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm still renting... and feeling more and more like a chump.

    ReplyDelete