I thought this was helpful for understanding the reasoning behind the legislation:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec08/housingvote_07-24.html
I noticed a lot of the comments against this plan appear to center on the idea that the government bailing out these homeowners is a wasteful and unnecessary giveway.
Well, each economic cycle the private sector runs amok and the government has to come to the rescue to keep the system on an even keel. If these actions aren't taken, the economic damage could well end up being much worse and have lasting affects that take much longer to absorb, with a corresponding greater negative impact on economic growth.
Based on everything Iâve observed about the present housing market, i'd say something most certainly needs to be done to blunt the severity of the correction. One way or another, the effects of the damaged housing market impacts us all and so we all have a stake in getting things sorted out sensibly so confidence can return and growth can resume unfettered.
No legislation is perfect. I think the lawmakers involved made sensible choices to help at least some homeowners stay in their homes. It will cost the taxpayers some money but will also benefit the economy in the long run by helping to stabilize the real estate market and thus improve tax revenues. So much of this is psychological. Investors need to feel confident in the stability and robustness of the markets and one of the chief ways this is established is through the backing of the government.
If the Fed, congress and the administration hadn't been so active in dealing with the problems of the economy during this down period, we very likely would be headed for a severe recession or depression which wouldnât do any of us any good except perhaps for a few well positioned speculators (see Jim Rogers). And it would all be because of investor panic. The government is the only one who can take steps to stop investor panic from doing terrible and needless damage.
None of this would be necessary if all those private companies hadnât been pushing products that were clearly unsustainable over the long term and not at all in the best interest of the borrower. There is plenty of blame to go around. We are where we are. People love to blame politicians and the government for all of societyâs ills. The truth is politicians are simply reflections of the greed and self-centeredness of their constituents. You want to blame someone for how screwed up things are? First, go look in the mirror.