Good lord, what ignorant drivel:
LIKE MOST other politicians, President Bush basically ignored the subprime crisis while it was incubating. Last week, though, he unveiled a proposed fix -- and not a moment too soon. A month from now, $50 billion worth of adjustable rate mortgages will "reset" from the low interest rates at which they originated in October 2005 to much higher rates that will be due for the next 28 years. Hundreds of thousands of people are about to be hit with 30 to 40 percent increases in their monthly payments. Since house prices are falling and October's resets are just the first of many, a long wave of foreclosures seems inevitable.
The U.S. economy is going to take a hit, though no one can say when or how big. Government's challenge is to limit the damage -- especially to low- and moderate-income borrowers -- without protecting lenders and investors from the consequences of their own bad business decisions.
There are two parties in any voluntary transaction. Each party is responsible for knowing the risks being taken and the potential consequences. Each is entitled to the reward if taking the risk pays off, and neither is more entitled to being bailed out if the bargain was a bad one.
