by Denise Lehr

Created on: October 23, 2008   Last Updated: October 27, 2008

I personally believe that the government assumes the greatest blame in this situation. Why? Because they are constantly intruding into our lives, now more than ever. Yet the spending of the politicians has been out of control for a very long time with no one safeguarding our tax dollars. There is no oversight where govenment spending is concerned.

I can remember working for a federal agency and the theory was come budget time that all dollars must be spent in order to receive the same budget the next year. Money was tossed around without regard. Personnel sent to seminars that really had nothing to do with their particular positions.

Office chairs for $400 were purchased. I can certainly remember this vividly because at the time I was a single parent and struggling just to make ends meet and the anger I felt was deeply rooted.

Too litle oversight, much like in the Katrina disaster. FEMA could have purchased every one of those victims a home with a lot less money but instead chose to pay enormous hotel bills, temporary housing costs, etc,

So, yes I believe had more restrictions been initiated for HUD and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac alot of this could have been avoided.

I was also in banking for most of my career until illness forced me to go on disability. I was a loan closer. I can not tell you the amount of people that would come in to sign loan papers, who had no idea what they were signing because they never took the time to even read the paperwork. I am sure that I could have included a clause which gave me rights to their first born child and they would have had no clue. The blind trust placed in corporations such as the banking industry is amazing to me. Too many people just assume that everything was ok because the bank knew what they were doing. But unfortunately, those same people weren't aware of what the bank was doing to them.

I heard an appropriate quote, that I think aptly addresses this issue. Stupidty is no excuse.

The other culprit in all of this are the people who were allowed to sell the so called "insurance" on these loans. They saw a valuable tool in boosting their profits, much like the automobile insurance industry-only so many car wrecks are going to occur, the rest is just gravy. Unfortunately, these companies weren't as fortunate as the insurance industry.

So is there a lesson to be learned in all of this, yes. So for many homeowners and investors it has been a costly one. If it sounds too good to be true then it is!

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