We don’t need more handouts

Here’s a quick list of things this country doesn’t need more of ‘ poisonous snakes, high-calorie snacks, and government handouts.

Since I’m not interested in writing about reptiles or candy bars, I’ll focus my attention on the Government Handout Program of the Week. Today, our topic is a proposed $3 to $10 billion federal program for homeowners who can’t pay their mortgages.

Like most welfare programs, this housing handout is a program I do not support. At all.

However, the Bush administration and all three major presidential contenders all support varying degrees of this federal aid program. I don’t like any version.

Here’s the way I see it. About five years ago everybody seemed to be buying a ridiculously expensive home. It was a craze that swept through not only Middle Tennessee, but the entire nation as people suddenly had the urge to abandon comfortable 1,700-square-foot houses in favor of 3,100-square-foot monstrosities.

Middle-class families suddenly believed they could live like kings, not because they could afford it, but because they felt they were entitled to it. Forget the math and forget solid logic. Forget the fact their bills would be more than what they earned. They wanted a big house.

Now they can’t pay their mortgage. And they expect me and the other responsible taxpayers of this great nation to bail them out.

Said Sen. John McCain, the expected GOP presidential candidate, ‘There is nothing more important than keeping alive the American dream to own your home. And priority No. 1 is to keep well-meaning, deserving homeowners who are facing foreclosure in their homes.’

Owning a comfortable home is one thing. Owning a palace is another.

I say let the market forces play out and let people learn their lesson. If that means families have to lose their mansions and downsize to a meager three-bedroom, two-bath home, it won’t bother me. If that means some lending institutions have to take it on the chin for using poor judgment in their loan practices, maybe those institutions will enact better business practices in the future.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has called for a $30 billion package to save homeowners. Where is that money going to come from?

I worry many Americans no longer understand fiscal responsibility. And a government bailout program isn’t going to hammer home the point. It’s only going to perpetuate the thought that there will always be someone there to pick up the pieces.

It’s sort of like our solution to the recession. The government will begin mailing out $600 rebate checks to taxpayers next month. We have been instructed not to save this money, but to capriciously spend it as quickly as possible in order to stimulate the economy, which is largely driven by consumer spending.

But foolish consumer spending is exactly what has gotten us into this mess. Instead of saving up for a new TV, we’ve put it on credit. Instead of waiting to buy a new lawnmower until we can afford it, we whip out the card.

The solution to this mess, so our fearless leaders tell us, is not to pay off our debts like responsible citizens, but to spend more money. By that logic, the solution to America’s obesity problem is to eat cake for breakfast.

As much as it may hurt the economy, myself included, people need to learn some financial sense. A government handout only rewards people for making poor decisions.

James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].