NO Forclosure Bail Out

I do not think the government should consider a massive bail out for homeowners that purchased homes that they could not afford, and are now in jeopardy of forclosure. As a homeowner that has purchased three homes, I can positively say that there are lenders who try and confuse you with the contracts, but that is no excuse. Purchasing a home is the biggest investment you will ever make, and it is your responsibility to read the contract entirely. It is your signature on the loan agreement, and by signing that document, you are approving of the terms listed in the contract. Most of the buyers that are in trouble are the ones who have ARMS (Adjustable Rate Mortgages). Now I don’t know about you, but if the word adjustable is in the title of the loan your about to sign on then shouldn’t that tip you off that at some point it might just do that…. ADJUST. Most individuals that purchased a home using an ARM loan, intended to sell before the ARM expired hoping the home value would go up tremendously, which in turn would make them a significiant amount of money. That was a high risk investment that went bad. Now I’m not saying the banks are free of any wrongdoing, and I do believe the government should step in to review mortage loan procedures, but an individual must be held accountable for their own decisions. If the government bails these people out who is going to pay for it? The taxpayers who didn’t sign on to an ARM loan with a Balloon payment. I purchased my first home when I was 24 and was offered 2 choices. I could buy a more expensive house with and adjustable rate or a house I could afford with a 30 year fixed rate. I chose to buy within my price range. If I could figure it out at 24 then I have very little sympathy for those in trouble now. The reality of the situation is that a lot of Americans play a dangerous game of keeping up with the Jones’, and with the help of credit and ARM loans it is possible to have that facade. The government should not use taxpayers money to bail out people who don't have the common sense to not live beyond their means.

Democrats Fear an Ugly End;

This blog is in reference to an article out of the L.A. Times. This article states that the Democratic Party fears an ugly end to this primary race. In my opinion their fear is a genuine one. With Obama and Clinton being so close neither one appears to be showing any signs of backing down. There has been talk of a joint ticket in which Clinton already feels she deserves the top spot. To me it’s unclear why with her still losing the delegate race. Never the less Obama didn’t rule it out, but feels it is premature to be discussing such plans. I feel the longer this rival continues and the more they campaign against each other, the less likely this dream ticket is to be. The more I see them tear one another down the more I doubt that they would make a good team in the White House. I feel this close race is a media dream. The networks couldn’t be happier as their ratings soar. Another group enjoying this democratic battle is the republicans. While the democratic candidates are likely to spend weeks continuing to duke it out, McCain can turn his sights on November. If in the end the dems don’t join forces, half the democrats (who have demonstrated record voter turnout across the country) will likely have grown so much dislike for the opposing candidate they won’t even vote in support of their party. Of course that is just a speculation, but a risk none the less. I believe by neither candidate stepping down in support of their party they are only hurting themselves. It would have been a much more intelligent strategy to join a dream ticket prior to all these highly publicized debates, in which they have repeatedly tried to discredit each other. If they had followed such a strategy it is likely would have been an unstoppable force. Now, to me at least, if they do join together it will seem like a phony union was formed to avoid public defeat. By waiting so long I fear they have turned their dream ticket into a nightmare.
Jason Lundin
For More Information Please See:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-na-delegates6mar06,1,505167.story?ctrack=1&cset=true