Another Baaaaaaad Idea....

I've heard the buzz in the news. The government is looking into ways to help homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than what their homes are worth. Awwww... isn't that nice? Um.. nope, not really. The government has no business meddling. The bail-outs, the weird tax cuts/hikes, where does our government get the right to interfere in the natural cycle of things? America is a free-market system. Well, mostly... but with the government regulating, taxing, appropriating and generally sticking fingers in everybody's pie, the free enterprise system is becoming a very narrow road, and difficult to travel.

Whoops, back to the real estate thingy. So, Mr. John Q. Public bought a house at its current fair market value, and took out a loan to pay for said house. Fast forward n-amount of time, and the property has depreciated, now he owes more than the property is worth. DUH! This happens all the time. It has happened since the beginning of property ownership and it will continue long after past, present and future administrations become nothing more than dusty volumes in a basement storage room. When I bought a car and took out a loan for it, I drove the thing away and enjoyed using it, owning it, caring for it, polishing it. I even made a few improvements and repairs here and there. Still, its value fell and I owe more on the car than it's actually worth. Should I go crying to the government to help me out? Oh, silly me, it's not their problem, is it? And what happens when the market swings upward again? If Big Brother did help out, would Mr. H be obligated to repay the lost revenues to the government -- or the bank? After all, it is the bank's assets and income we're really worried about here. John Q is merely a funnel for the money. We don't want to clog him up, eh?

It's not the government's job to interfere with the natural progression of economics. And yes, I said "natural". Any current economic situation is the natural result of previous economic trends and actions. We must allow businesses to fail or succeed on their own. No, it's not comfortable, but it's the only way we Americans will be shown for who we are. We can show that we will support each other and get through the hard times and work even harder to bring back the good times. Let the cycle work itself out and we'll enjoy a stronger future economy for it. Keep bailing it out and we'll all suffer the sudden collapse which bailouts serve only to delay. If a business fails, it fails.

Our government has overreached its job description. What is that? Look in the Constitution. We are not guaranteed prosperous lives. If we continue to lean on the government for our daily bread, we become helpless sheep, dependent on elected shepherds who will show us what to eat, what to drive, where to sleep, and they will continue to shear us for every bit of warmth we can offer them.

C'mon sleepy sheep.... it's time to wake up and stand on your own. Money can't buy you character. But character can earn you a stable life with everything you need.