[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emilylynn And what about the costs to society--intangible, but nonetheless real--of a governmental policy that changes the rules midstream and that penalizes the honest, hardworking folks who worked to pay off their modest $150,000 home while their neighbors bought into a $500,000 McMansion and refinanced it five times to pay for expensive automobiles and big-screen TVs? When a government loses the confidence of those of its citizens who have played by the rules, it has lost its entire foundation.

Why is it a zero sum game?

I have always made the payments on my modest mortgage. I have refinanced four times and never taken a penny out (I have reduced the rate and pulled in the term). As far as mortgage debt goes, I am the soul of rectitude -- the responsible, hard working borrower. If anyone deserves to be annoyed about the McMansion inhabiting morons (there are many of them around here), it is me. But, aside from the schadenfreude value, there is absolutely no benefit to me from my neighbor's misery.

In fact, as far as I can see, it doesn't hurt me one bit if those neighbors who can't make their mortgage payments are allowed to restructure their loans and stay in their homes. While I am certain that if they are foreclosed, it will harm the value of my house. And as an investor (like the majority on this board), I am much better off with a continued robust economy that is not destroyed by massive foreclosures.

Did my neighbors live it up while I remained sober and responsible? Yes. But would I want to trade places, even with the prospect of restructuring? Not for an instant.