This housing/credit mess

... did not just happen out of the blue overnight. A lot of people and institutions share the fault - too easy credit, lax lending practices, borrowers who bit off more than they could chew. That's why there was such a housing boom over the last decade or so, and the part of it that was artificial has now come home to roost. That's why you might look around your own neighborhood and not find any of your neighbors affected (unless they need to sell). That's why the American taxpayer should not have to shoulder the burden of loose credit when 95%+ of us acted responsibly.
CNN Money has an interesting article written by a former subprime lender. One is his main points is that lenders did not even check to see if an applicant could even afford the loan payments!
I hate to see anyone put out of their home, but if all parties had acted responsibly, many of those who are defaulting would not have been in the house in the first place! And now you and me - who still diligently pay our own way - are bailing them out. I don't think that's fair, and it's another waste of our tax dollars.

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