There’s a new site called Stop the Mortgage Bailout that aims to draw attention to the anti-bailout cause and educate people about what a bailout would really mean.
From the site:
A bailout is morally irresponsible because it encourages irresponsible and irrational behavior. Here is a short list of the many “moral hazards” that a bailout enables:
- A bailout sends the a wrong message about personal responsibility.
- A bailout tells responsible Americans that they are suckers.
- A bailout allows banks, mortgage brokers, speculators, and refinancers to benefit from their abuse of the system.
- A bailout will force Americans who acted responsibly to pay for those who did not.
A bailout is also fiscally irresponsible:
- A bailout props up over-inflated housing prices.
- A bailout creates perverse incentives.
- A bailout shifts the risks of falling market prices from financially secure banks to the American taxpayer.
- A bailout is contrary to the free market principles upon which our economy is based.
The primary purpose of the site appears to simply be to raise awareness, but they also strongly encourage readers to take action by contacting your Representatives and Senators. I’ve made it clear before how I feel about government bailouts, so I definitely support what they’re trying to do here.
Go check it out, and encourage those you know to read it and realize just how irresponsible a bailout would be.
[Update:] How timely. Here are a couple bailout stories from the Associated Press that popped up just today in my inbox:
Bill helps business more than borrowers
A measure billed as boosting the slumping housing market showers money-losing businesses with $25 billion in tax relief in the next few years but offers just $3 billion to homeowners.
The estimates released Thursday by the Joint Tax Committee, which explores for lawmakers the effects on the Treasury of tax legislation, lend credence to accusations that the measure helps businesses like home builders while doing little to help millions of families threatened with foreclosure.
Again, for the record, I’m equally opposed to bailing out businesses or individual borrowers. Neither one is acceptable.
Oregon, Washington could get millions in mortgage help
A bill in the U.S. Senate could send $122 million to Oregon and $210 to Washington state to boost demand for housing and help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
The money is part of a $10 billion mortgage revenue bond program for state and local housing agencies.
Yes that’s just what we need to do, artificially boost demand. Yikes. Give me a break. It’s not immediately clear to me whether these two stories are referring to the same or different bills.