Guess you never heard of “contract law”, huh?
It may be news to you, but people DO have a legal obligation to uphold their end of a contract.
So, yes - given that people have a legal obligation to uphold their end of a contract, deadbeat borrowers are *also* lawbreakers.
And, I guess you can't comprehend the simple difference between "contract law" and "criminal law"?
So failure to uphold a contract is a crime? Do you really think someone that has been frugal and played by the rules all their life, and then comes under financial hard times (like getting laid off from their job, something that is pretty common lately) and has trouble paying their mortage (because they can't find another job in this economy) is a criminal!!!! Should the government have the authority to fine that individual or even throw them into prison for failure to uphold a PRIVATE contract between two individuals?
Failure to fulfill a contract is not a crime, it is a civil tort (in case you didn't notice, civil courts ARE legal courts, but not criminal courts). Breaking a legal contract IS NOT the same as breaking a criminal law.
You cannot lump everyone that is failing to pay their mortgages into the same group (people commiting fraud). Individuals that cannot pay their mortgages, because they fell on hard times (and there are plenty out there in this economy) are not criminals nor are they committing any type of fraud.