Growing up means accepting responsibility for your actions and attempting to make wise decisions as much as possible. Peter Pan rejected this; he didn’t want to grow up and lose the carefree, irresponsible days of youth.
Too often, it appears that America today has accepted the mantle of a Peter Pan society. Adults choose poorly, or do little investigating prior to actions – and then expect the government to save them, over and over and over. The worst of it? The government does seem to step up to the plate, again and again.
When people are rewarded for bad behavior and never need to face the consequences of irresponsibility, do they then learn that these activities should not be repeated? I think not.
Professor Mankiw examines the upcoming mortgage bailout. Although Larry Summers is a very smart guy, I’m with Dick Armey on this one.
Americans who work hard, pay taxes and play by the rules can’t seem to get fair representation in Washington, D.C., these days. In the current debate over a government bailout of speculators, irresponsible banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the responsible majority has once again been pushed aside in a legislative rush to “do something.”
This should have been a perfect opportunity for Republicans, struggling to regain some standing with the American people, to rise united and demand real accountability and reform.
Actions by Fannie and Freddie management and their regulators this year precipitated the current crisis. Under pressure from the Democrat-controlled Congress, the Bush administration lifted Fannie and Freddie’s portfolio caps in February and reduced their capital reserve requirements in March. In this year’s stimulus bill, Congress went further and nearly doubled the size of the loans that Fannie and Freddie can purchase or guarantee.
As a result of this reckless expansion, the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) now touch nearly 70% of all new mortgages. At the same time, they are insolvent by most measures. The ostensible purpose of Fannie and Freddie is to provide liquidity to America’s housing markets. In practice, they are the source of systemic risk and instability in a time of need.
I’m a Realtor. Passing bills to “bail out” the mortgage industry may well help me out a great deal – short term. But, I always try to have the “long view.” And, long term, putting bandaids on large wounds will only make facing the deep difficulties later more complex and significant.
Neither party is stepping up to the plate to honestly face our people and tell them that we cannot party forever like drunken teenagers. Very few of our leaders are willing to set examples with “tough love.” As long as we continue in this manner, we will leave one enormous mess for the next generations to clean up.
Where is Wendy when we need her?
