Monday, September 08, 2008
Fannie my Fanny
Well, this is a pisser. We recently bought a house. A nice, attractive small house. Relatively small anyway - 1400 sq. ft. We spent a few months looking at houses ranging from under 1000 to over 3300 sq. ft. And you know what? We could've gotten a mortgage to buy any of them. Actually the 3300 sq. ft. house was pretty cool. Two stories, full basement, monster master bathroom, most all hardwood floors with natural wood trim for doors and windows. Two and a half car garage. The works.
But you know what? While we could've bought it, I wasn't too sure we could have afforded it - or the others in that size range. We looked at another that was over 2500 sq. ft with huge cathedral ceilings for about the half the house. And while my wife really loved them, we decided to aim a little lower and get something that not only we could afford to buy, but that we could afford to keep.
And now the government has decided to bail out a couple of mortgage firms that have lent themselves into penury. And since the government is the people, guess who pays? Yep, us - you and me. So for all those folks out there who bought beyond their means using money they didn't have - you and me are going to have to give them our tax bucks to bail them out. Tax money that could've been used for education, for building new mass transit, for fixing our crumbling roads and bridges is now going to go to pay off people who over spent their means. Yes, there are some who are in default because of stuff beyond their control - losing a job, medical costs, etc. but there are also those who just got greedy.
If a person can qualify for a $400,000 mortgage - why not spend $400,000? How about spending what you can afford? Pass on the second new SUV, the new furniture and the 60" TV and save some money for a rainy day.
Labels: government, gripes
