Replies

I love Charlie, but from my understanding of the problem it is not so much greed as entitlement that got us here. Americans believe that the home ownership should be for everyone, but fail to understand that not everyone has the capability to handle that responsibility.

The Democrats demanded loans for low income folks via the Community Reinvestment Act as an entitlement. These loans were made to un-credit worthy people with no verification of income or assets, no down payment, and little consideration of the applicant's ability to make payments. In fact, in 1995, the Feds "streamlined” the regulatory requirements for CRA loans telling banks that participation in a credit-counseling program, many of which are federally funded, could be used as “proof” of a low-income applicant’s ability to make his mortgage payments. In other words, federal bank regulators required banks to make bad loans based on nonexistent credit standards. When the Republicans tried to pass reform in 2005, it was seen as racist.

Many of the folks who signed on to these mortgages, coming from a low income area, are uneducated...although it is mostly by their own lack of willingness to learn as many have risen above poverty by applying themselves...to the point that they did not understand the mortage document they were signing and could not afford a lawyer to explain it to them. Now that they have failed to reach the expectations made of them, they are once again claiming victim status and expecting the Government to bail them out.