Don't think this is what WE had in mind...

[GBBob]

Originally Posted by Danzig

what i keep wondering, is what interest does the govt have in ramming home ownership down peoples' throats? they turned it from being a dream to being a necessity. if everyone thinks back to what got our current financial mess started, it was housing and the huge loan mess.

I'm not sure it's the govt who rammed this dream down anyone's throats. Any basic financial book you read, any article directed at 20 somethings out of college just starting out...home ownership is at the core of basically every financial planner's outline for developing a solid financial base. What would have happened if the Govt tried to step in and regulate and restrict mortgages 5 years ago? The screams from the right about Socialism and limited Govt would be as loud as they are today. Everyone wants regulation until it is them being told they can't get a mortgage.

Now if you want to include the IRS allowing interest deductions on mortgages vs limited financial allowances for renters..then yes, that could be construed as the Govt favoring Home Owners.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by GBBob

I'm not sure it's the govt who rammed this dream down anyone's throats. Any basic financial book you read, any article directed at 20 somethings out of college just starting out...home ownership is at the core of basically every financial planner's outline for developing a solid financial base. What would have happened if the Govt tried to step in and regulate and restrict mortgages 5 years ago? The screams from the right about Socialism and limited Govt would be as loud as they are today. Everyone wants regulation until it is them being told they can't get a mortgage.

Now if you want to include the IRS allowing interest deductions on mortgages vs limited financial allowances for renters..then yes, that could be construed as the Govt favoring Home Owners.

but not everyone has the wherewithal to buy a home-and i think the govt really put their weight behind making home ownership available to those who just can't afford it. and may never be able to afford it. when all the defaults began because of ARM's going up (and everyone who had one had to expect that to happen!) it flooded the market, driving down housing values because of too much supply, not enough demand. so then you had folks who had gotten equity lines and second mortgages who suddenly realized their investment wasn't much of one-so they defaulted as well...so everything spirals down, and here we are.

[GBBob]

Originally Posted by Danzig

but not everyone has the wherewithal to buy a home-and i think the govt really put their weight behind making home ownership available to those who just can't afford it. and may never be able to afford it. when all the defaults began because of ARM's going up (and everyone who had one had to expect that to happen!) it flooded the market, driving down housing values because of too much supply, not enough demand. so then you had folks who had gotten equity lines and second mortgages who suddenly realized their investment wasn't much of one-so they defaulted as well...so everything spirals down, and here we are.

The Govt didn't approve the loans and the Govt didn't turn people into idiots applying for a loan without sufficient income. In my mind there are three groups at fault...and that's pretty much a consensus from reading above posts..

1) Citizens/selfish suck holes/idiots who have no self responsibility and applied for credit they had no right to get.

2) The selfish suck hole banks and instistutions that marketed these loans and then sold them deceptivally to selfish/suck hole banks who didn't do their research.

3) Regulators..aka, yes...the "Government" who didn't nip this in the bud.

It was a perfect storm..where we are today doesn't happen if any one of the three doesn't exist.