The Government's Bailout Bill and the True Face of the Foreclosure Crisis

As Congress squabbles over the Bailout Bill, my mind turns to Carlene Balderama, and all those like her who are facing the crumbling of their American Dream. Mrs. Balderama put a shotgun to her head on the afternoon of the foreclosure auction that would have taken her home from her. She found death preferable to having to stand by and watch while the "get-rich-quick in real estate" speculators that contributed greatly to this crisis picked at the carcass of her life.

We will never know how she got into trouble but we do know that in the end, no one gave a damn enough to help her out of it. To the bank, the dissolution of her dreams was just a set of numbers in the wrong ledger column. To the people looking to turn a quick buck on her misfortune, the destruction of her life was a potential income stream. To our Government, she was just another loser dragging on the system; low hanging fruit to pare away, if they saw her at all.

Where is the help for people like Carlene Balderama? Why is our Government willing to put so much money into saving the institutions that profited so much from people like her and then left them to die? Why is CEO compensation an issue? These men have lived high on the hog for more than a decade so they should all have pretty substantial savings today. Their "parachutes" are the color of platinum. What more do they need?

Instead of funneling money directly into the various entities that the Government is so worried about, why not divide that money up among the families facing foreclosure and allow them to catch up on their mortgages. Many only need that much assistance and they can then maintain their payments after that. If they can't maintain their payments then they will now have some time to sell their homes in a more appropriate way. By doing this, the banks will become solvent again because mortgages will be up-to-date and homes could return to being sold at a level commensurate with their value. The economy will be saved and the American Dream will once again taste like apple pie instead of the Dust Bowl it has become.

How will the money be dispensed? That part is easy. All the President and Congress would have to do is open the local newspaper to the legal section, turn to the foreclosure notices and start writing checks. But that is too obvious, isn't it?

Carlene Balderama was not alone and unfortunately, her fate will not be all that unusual. This is the true face of the foreclosure crisis; a desperate woman with a shotgun to her head. Do you see her now?