We don’t allow minors to drink alcohol; we don’t allow 12-year-olds to drive; and most drugs require a prescription from a doctor. So why do we allow our financial systems to dispense 125 percent mortgages? Are they any less dangerous to our nation’s health?
The home is the linchpin of our nation’s wealth and the center of our family values. At the end of World War II, our government subsidized low-interest loans to facilitate the largest building boom of single-family homes in history. That simple action built the biggest and strongest middle-class the world has ever seen.
Now our government must act again. Certain financial institutions in the United States are marketing and selling mortgages that exceed the value of the collateral in the home. These loans are hyped as the “125 Percent Mortgage.” This is a recipe for fiscal failure. It should not be allowed because it will inevitably lead to higher foreclosure rates and intolerable strains on families from coast to coast.
If we keep high explosives and automatic weapons away from our citizens, if we ban dangerous drugs that ruin lives, if we require that child-care centers be licensed, then why on Earth would we allow companies to exploit the fiscal weaknesses of Americans?
A nation that “feeds” upon its weakest citizens isn’t a nation at all. It is a predator.
