Reply #6: Please recognize that the majority of paper there [View All]

was written before those "reforms" and that the poor people who bought houses have a much better repayment history than the upper middle class types with trophy houses, even if they could afford those trophy houses.

The problem wasn't the liberalization of the rules that allowed people of more modest means into the market. The problem was the collapse of the funny paper industry fueling Indy Mac that caused a chain reaction throughout the financial industry and resulted in high unemployment.

I benefited from that liberalization, putting 17% down instead of 20% when I bought so that I'd have a cash reserve cushion. I also paid the place off in 10 years. Poor folks putting 10% down weren't the problem. Poor folks who got thrown out of work after rich folks defaulted because they were under water were.

Blaming this mess on the working class or on Freddie and Fannie is short sighted and inaccurate. I realize this is the drumbeat of the mass media, but the mass media are frequently wrong and are so in this case.