Scoop’s Views

There’s no much in terms of John McCain that I like, especially his position on immigration. Earlier this week, though, when he was giving one of his campaign’s “straight talk” speeches about home loans and the mortgage crisis, he did score a point or two with me.

While discussion the mortgage crisis, he defended the bailout of Bear Stearns, saying it was needed — that it was vital for the preservation of the American economy. That didn’t sit well with me.

Yes, while something had to be done to help Bear Stearns, as McCain said, for the economy, it was not the Federal Reserve, a private organization not associated with the government, though many people believe otherwise. The only reason the Federal Reserve should have jumped into the mess was if it felt guilty over sitting back, smiling as companies reported record earnings, and then, when the dirt hit the fan, it was time to jump and try to fix the mess in one giant leap. Boing. Nope, that’s not a solution.

Back in the days — for over five years — when mortgage lenders basically gave a loan to anyone wanting to buy a home, did the Federal Reserve look over the shoulders of Bear Stearns and other financial institutions? No, because the “numbers” looked good, albeit only on paper. It’s now being learned that many of the bad mortgages — those to people who never should have been given a mortgage for the simple, no, the basic reason that they did not qualify for a mortgage — were never really recorded in a manner that anyone looking over the cooked books would see anything wrong. No one spotted signs of an impending disaster, at least that’s what they are all saying now.

Who’s to blame in this mess? Everyone. The people who decided they wanted to buy a home, yet knowing they could not afford the mortgage. Yes, they were told, “We will let you pay this low payment, but in five years or so, you’ll need to pay this amount.” That’s when people should have said, “Whoa, Nellie! Stop right there. I can’t pay that!” But, as time has shown repeatedly throughout history, people are irresponsible many times, and when they want something, the details don’t matter.

McCain scored a point with me when he said that no emergency bailout should be made to the people who obtained these mortgages. His opponents, though, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have made comments in the recent past that some kind of “help” ought be made available to the people with these mortgages. My question to Clinton and Obama would be: “Why? Are you looking at rewarding bad and irresponsible behavior?”

The only real thing that McCain said — the only logical and responsible thing — was to let the market do the work, not the government. That’s a voice of reason. Most everything else he says, though, is rubbish.

If people who bought homes — well, supposedly bought homes — with these sham mortgages get help from the government to pay part of the mortgage, I want to know what all the honest people in America are going to get for being responsible and paying their mortgage or rent every month, on-time. If people who are fiscally irresponsible get help paying for their mortgage — something they do not deserve — then people who are paying, and sometimes on a tight budget, ought get some kind of reward, as well. Maybe something like one-half of each month’s mortgage payment paid from the salaries of all the elected federal officials.

While the candidates are looking for ways to divert attention from the continuing and ever-darkening, though looming clouds over Wall Street and the mortgage and lending sectors, leadership is needed in this nation. A leader to help guide this country out of an impending depression. A leader to help guide this country out of a health care crisis.

Where’s retired U.S. Army General Colin Powell when you need him? Right now would be a good time to do a call-to-arms to pull him into the 2008 Presidential race. I can see Powell, along with either retired U.S. Army General and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Henry Hugh Shelton or retired Marine Marine General Peter Pace, as running mates. Put Powell, along with either of those men, and this nation will be in ship shape in now time. Foreign countries will again respect the United States or fear us, as the leaders of those nations would know that the people in charge would mean what they say and say what they mean. Forget the political B.S.

In fact, Powell resigned as U.S. Secretary of State because he would not pay lip service to President George W. Bush any longer, all over Iraq and the lies leading up to the current conflict. How different is that from the person currently serving as president, who, the day after the Bear Stearns crisis was announced, said the U.S. economy is doing fine? Yep, Powell would set the record straight.

Related entries:

1. Home ownership is for those who can afford it
2. Seeing things from another perspective