Losing a home is very traumatic, it puts a strain on the entire family, the man of the house beats himself up over it, the marriage becomes strained, the kids don’t understand why they have to move, relatives become a safety net, etc. It’s sad.

Families that lose their home have a very tough time, often there is no one there to bail them out and pay their mortgage for them. They might receive help from relatives to get back on their feet but that is it. They file bankruptcy or don’t and go into years of debt; they become renters until they can start saving the necessary funds to finally buy a home again. There is no government bail out to save the day.

This morning prior to leaving for work I heard that the US Senate was going to debate the validity of the “Emergency Foreclosure Rescue Bill.” Sounds like a good thing, no one wants to see an old couple on a fixed income, the family of a disabled US veteran or someone out of work due to no fault of their own tossed out of their home.

No one wants to see that or any other undeserving scenario of someone losing a home, my heart goes out to anyone going through it. Though it was many years ago, I can say been there, done that.

The idea of a rescue bill sounds great until you consider the following; the “Emergency Foreclosure Rescue Bill” represents at least 10% of the entire 3.1 Trillion dollar government budget, in total the bill represents almost as much money as we have spent in Iraq the last 4 years. However, it is important to note the bill is not in the 2008 budget, it is extra spending not originally budgeted for.

At least with Iraq I understand why we are there, we went in to search for WMD, to fight Islamic Jihadist’s on their own turf, to free Shiite’s, Sunni’s and Christians from a Bathist tyrant, to provide a buffer between Iran and Israel, etc. Whether anyone agrees with the war in Iraq on or not, now that the troops are over there, most reasonable people understand supporting the troops and budgeting for it.

But the mortgage foreclosure bail out, I don’t get it.

Are we supposed to bail out people like California Congresswoman Laura Richardson who was approved for a $535,000.00 home loan to buy a second home in Sacramento while already owning a home in Long Beach valued at $474,000.00 while her yearly income was $169,000.00 and she owed $8,000.00 in property taxes. Richardson’s second home was eventually put up for auction but I still want to know, why are we being asked to bail out people like Congresswoman Richardson when she should never have received approval for a loan in the first place, the concept is ridiculous.

Why are we being asked to bail out the mortgage loans of young people who never really had the credit history and cash down payment needed to get a home loan that was truly structured to meet their income level, why are we being asked to bail out amateur business people who over-purchased flip houses and could not afford the carrying costs when their investments did not sell, why are we being asked to bail out people who never had a home inspection prior to purchase, never spoke with an attorney prior to purchase, never reviewed the truth in lending laws or who under-insured their homes and are now having buyer’s remorse due to some issue with the home, and last but not least, why are we being asked to bail out unscrupulous mortgage lenders who “double teamed” home buyers by convincing borrowers that two loans was better than one and both of them were full of ridiculous hidden interest rates and penalties… bailing any of those people out, be they borrower or lender doesn’t pass the smell test.

Why are we preparing to bail them out... because many current and former legislators are wallet deep in the middle of the mortgage mess that is why. Many of them like former Presidential candidate, Democrat Senator Christopher Dodd, who is also chairman of the Banking Committee, and Democrat Senator Kent Conrad, who is also chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through “V.I.P.” sweetheart deals.

Others deep in the mortgage mess include former U.N. Ambassador and Assistant Secretary of State under Bill Clinton, Richard Holbrooke, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under George W. Bush, Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services under Bill Clinton, Donna Shalala, and Jim Johnson a long time Democrat Washington insider who was Walter Mondale’s campaign Manager, a member of John Kerry’s Vice Presidential selection committee and was appointed to help lead Barack Obama’s Vice Presidential selection committee until he recently resigned.

Each of them received “V.I.P” sweetheart deals from big mortgage lenders, and still more have enjoyed all expenses paid junkets with lobbyists, received campaign contributions from mortgage lenders who are in trouble, or are bleeding heart liberals that believe using our hard earned tax dollars as “income redistribution” is the “fair” way to rescue borrowers and lenders from mortgage loan defaults.

I wished life were fair. If I had my “druthers” I would settle for my current 3/2/2 home being paid for, being debt free, having six to twelve months worth of expenses in the bank and a few hundred thousand in a retirement account when I turn 65.

Right now I would settle for a few less legislators using Marxist “income redistribution” policies to give our hard earned tax dollars to their buddies in the mortgage business, their former legislative colleagues who are now lobbyists, or their constituents who are in debt up to their eye balls by their own hand.

I wished no one ever lost their home, as I said earlier the experience is very traumatic but it is a risk that all home buyers and all mortgage lenders take. For the most desperate cases there are already arbitration and other legal and financial remedies available to the borrower and the lender, there is no reason for this bill to be in debate at this time.

The mortgage situation is bad enough without the corrupt, the liberal, the brain dead and the dumb in Washington coming together from all four corners to “fix” another problem that the free market can settle on its own.

Heck, if we weren’t all paying $4.25 a gallon for gas and milk maybe more people could pay their mortgage on time.

If legislators really wanted to help “fix” the mortgage loan problem they can start by helping Americans keep more of our hard earned money and lower our taxes so we can save, invest and spend more and stimulate the economy.