Like them or not, I understand some government bailouts were needed during and after the Great Recession. With the country at risk of economic disaster, federal action beyond what otherwise would be acceptable is understandable.
But the government's latest foray into problem solving -- encouraging lenders to reduce the value of home loans held by borrowers who are in modification programs to make their mortgages affordable -- isn't settling too well.
The federal effort to help troubled homeowners announced last week by the Obama administration is an expansion of previous programs initiated during the recession when the housing bubble burst and slowdowns raised unemployment, creating a nightmare for millions.
Let me be clear that I empathize with anyone suffering economic despair. Most everybody suffered damage in the recession. Many of us still are trying to fight our way back to some sense of normalcy.
Mortgage holders are not alone in their suffering -- others just got it differently.
Just because mortgage payments haven't been made on time does not mean troubled homeowners have suffered any worse economic fate than others. Yet the government is going to use its clout and resources to encourage banks to reduce the amount of debt those homeowners signed for in legal, binding contracts.
How is that fair to the rest of us?
Over the course of the past year, my mortgage payments have been made on time, but I also had to scrimp and work twice as hard to retire another debt that got bigger during the economic downturn.
Uncle Sam did not step in and relieve my debt load and the debt load of millions of other Americans that seemed to grow larger in the recession. People sign legal contracts for lending, and both parties have to adhere to the agreements.
If they don't, there are well-established remedies -- foreclosure, bankruptcy or settlement between the parties, without government interference. These are the driving factors of a capitalistic economy, as America is supposed to be. Transactions involve risk, and circumstances such as a recession heighten risk.
For those of us who suffer, it can be painful. But it's no less painful watching the government that represents all people give assistance to just some of them.