Whose side are you on?
Being a resident of Main Street, I tend to lean in that direction.
Being a realtor whose business is negatively affected by the poor circumstances of those on Main Street, I am even more drawn in that direction.
When the market first began to falter and the first few foreclosures started to pop up, I was really upset with the attitude that those in default were "getting what they deserved." I don't think anyone deserves to lose their house. Without question a child is entitled to a stable home. Bigger and worse mistakes are made everyday with less severe consequence.
Yes people refinanced. For some it was for fun, toys, and excess, but for some it was out of necessity. People died. People lost loved ones. Sometimes it was the "bread winner" who went on to a better place leaving behind a mortgage to someone who did not know how to handle it. Sometimes the loss left survivors unable to cope and they simply let things go. Even if they snapped out of their grief in a month or two, it was still too late to catch up. Maybe those people were weak or ill prepared. Does that make them deserve to be homeless? Even the folks who refinanced for fun or bought over their heads... let's not forget there was likely a calming figure sitting across the table from them, telling them they could do it, as they handed them the pen and contract. Don't act like it didn't happen.
Have we already forgotten how many people have lost their jobs in recent years? Do they DESERVE what they got? No. And shame on the other Main Street residents in the beginning who celebrated and lectured the demise of their neighbors.
Very early on I worried and wondered aloud and I commented to those Main Street residents who passed judgment and hard balled their neighbors, "Won't these low prices and foreclosures affect the value of your own residence?"
So here we are, a few years into the mess. There are no longer just a few "irresponsible" folks on Main Street for us to point fingers at. All of Main Street is in trouble. Even those who didn't refinance or buy over their heads are in trouble. All of our homes have dropped significantly in value. Our jobs are affected. Just to make things that much worse, we're suffering at the gas pumps and the grocery counter.
The Wall Street situation is disgusting. The moves there are made out of greed. Everyone in that industry has hurt someone on their way up to their golden palace and not looked back. That is their "rep". But it is what it is. It is nothing new. And although it is mind boggling that we are facing their bail out, it should not be surprising.
From my vantage point Main Street was its own worst enemy, but not for the reasons of spending irresponsibly, rather for turning on each other at a time when we may have been able to make a difference. NOW everyone on Main Street is about "community" and helping each other. Where was that spirit a few years ago?
Who deserves to be bailed out and who deserves to fall? I don't know. I am inclined to give my sympathy vote to Main Street, but that doesn't mean that the "good guy" / "bad guy" roles are clearly defined. At least Wall Street doesn't pretend to be nice and "neighborly" while cashing in on your misfortune.
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