If all goes according to plan, president Bush will sign the “Screw Responsible Americans Act” into law today.
Of course, that’s not what they’re calling the housing bailout bill, but who’s kidding whom? The people who pay their mortgages on time, those who were not seduced by the siren song over-priced “affordable” houses, and those who were waiting for a market correction in order to purchase are all getting screwed in order to “save the system.”
What system is that? The one where profits go to individuals and losses are fobbed off on the taxpayers? The one where greed, stupidity and criminal behavior are rewarded? The one where people who pay as they go, who save for a rainy day and who resist the “instant gratification” mentality that afflicts their fellow Americans pick up the tab?
No doubt many reading this will view such an attitude as “unsympathetic.” Absolutely correct! No sympathy is forthcoming from this quarter for those Americans on both sides of this debacle for one simple reason: when you subsidize irresponsible behavior, you get more of it.
This is the most affluent culture in the history of man, and it still isn’t enough for far too many Americans. Buying superfluous crap, maxing out credit cards and careening from one financial crisis to another has become standard operating procedure for those who believe “the good life” is a Constitutional right.
What about the next time? You don’t seriously believe this is the last time the boneheads will get a bailout, do you? Last month, in the midst of an economic slowdown, people were camping out. Lost their homes? Nope.
Waiting in line to get Apple’s latest version of an iPhone–doubtlessly whether they could afford one or not.
I’m already paying off my own mortgage. As of today, I’ll also being paying off someone else’s. A lot of other “someone elses.”
Pardon me ever so much if my anger makes you uncomfortable. Maybe you’d feel the same way if your attempt to live a responsible life was officially ridiculed by an act of Congress.
atahlert@comcast.net
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