Many people want to blame the past or present government administration for the current mortgage crisis.
Whatever happened to personal responsibility? It was only a few decades ago that our parents and grandparents held "mortgage burning parties.
" These were hard-working people who paid on their home mortgage for years until the home was finally paid off, and then they held a celebration with friends and family to burn the original mortgage papers.
What fun! How exciting for them to know their mortgage payments were over, and that they owned their home free-and-clear.
Do you know anyone today with a paid-for house? Not me.
Because of the snare of easy credit and "have it now", most people are locked in the never-ending cycle of payments.
Refinancing allowed them to payoff their tapped-out credit cards and high-rate auto loans, but now those same credit cards are tapped out again, the auto loans are higher than ever, and the mortgage payments now include credit cards and auto loans from years ago.
What is interesting to me is that these same people who tapped out their credit cards and refinanced their mortgages with crazy loans, all blame the government.
The government didn't make you sign the papers.
The government didn't make you choose an option arm loan or an adjustable rate loan.
Yet now the government is expected to "bail" these distressed homeowners out of trouble and allow them to remain in their houses.
It's not fair to those of us who took personal responsibility and chose a sensible, fixed rate mortgage.
It's unfair to those of us who chose an inexpensive home so that if, heaven-forbid, we lost our jobs and had to work at McDonald's, we could still manage to pay our mortgage payments.
So where do we go from here? Homeowners need to be willing to accept personal responsibility.
If you're having trouble making your mortgage payments, find ways to make additional money.
If you cannot afford your home, sell it, at short sale if necessary.
Why make taxpayers responsible for your mistakes? This is like asking your friends and neighbors to pay for your bad judgment.
Is that fair? Is it kind? Is it right? Remember our parents and grandparents.
When they were hit with adversity, they dug down deep and came up with new ways to make things work.
Dad took a second job.
Grandma took in washing.
They rented out rooms to friends or family to share expenses.
They found a way, and they were proud of the fact that they could do so personally, without asking for government help (actually, to ask for help from the government was considered shameful.
What happened to that attitude?) Americans used to be know for having a tenacious approach to problems.
When Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, one Japanese admiral noted that he was afraid this action "awakened a sleeping giant.
" America used to be known as the home of the brave, but now it's becoming the home of the whiners and the entitled.