Military suffering during foreclosure crisis
People like to complain that homeowners losing their residences to foreclosure don’t deserve any bailouts. They argue that many foreclosure victims put themselves in trouble by stretching themselves financially to get into the biggest, most expensive house they could find.
And, yes, that has happened. With mortgage lenders giving borrowers adjustable-rate loans with initial interest rates that are artificially low, many homeowners did get greedy and purchased homes way out of their price range.
But many, many victims of foreclosure did nothing wrong. They purchased homes that fit within their budgets. They dutifully made their payments. Then something happened: They lost their jobs. They got sick. They got divorced. Those monthly mortgage payments weren’t so easy to make.
Then there are members of the military. In this country, we talk a lot about how much we respect and admire the men and women in our Armed Forces. But sometimes I wonder. Watch this video from CNNMoney. It’s a sobering account of the struggles military personnel on long stints face to keep their homes. Many of them are now facing foreclosure.
After watching, answer this question: What about these victims of foreclosure, do they, at least, deserve some help from our federal government?
All active duty military personnel should be exempted from foreclosure proceedings, at least during their period of enlistment. Activated national guard personnel should especially be protected. Such a program might encourage military participation, but more importantly, it’s only fair.
The bottom line here is that we have servicemen that are proudly serving this country and families sacrificing so that that member can serve. They integrated into the communities that they were assigned; they purchased modest homes not to flip them and make money but for them to have the security of owning the property they are leaving their families in when they deployed. They followed all the rules. The military is ordering moves of Servicemembers around the country to where they are needed which is not a request (there is a reason they are called Military Orders) and they do not have the option of just resigning to avoid the move. The congress has approved $700 Billion to bailout our fancy-math Wall Street establishments, Auto Industry and Insurance firms; shouldn’t we direct a miniscule portion of this to assist our Servicemembers families through this time. We can act now or wait two years and wonder why a half of our Sailors, Marines, Soldiers & Airmen have a foreclosure and/or a bankruptcy on their records and are having their security clearances revoked.
These Warriors are proud and are used to making it happen on a small budget. They move when and where they are told, all over the world, uprooting their families and starting over in a new city. They are not looking for a handout and want to pay their obligations but need some help right now to get them through this unprecedented housing crisis.