Who Is To Blame?

The members of the media have many theories as to who is to be blamed for the mortgage crisis that has crippled our economy. Conservatives want to blame the Democratic members of Congress for encouraging lending institutions to make loans to people who couldn’t afford them, so that more people could be homeowners. Liberals want to blame President Bush and his Republican administration, oddly enough, for the same reason. Both groups agree that the mortgage companies and Wall Street bankers must share the blame.

However, I suggest that most of the blame should probably fall on those who applied for those loans, which were approved even though they shouldn’t have been. Whether they were approved on the basis of fraudulent information, insufficient information, or lack of proof, the soon-to-be homeowners used poor judgment in determining what they could afford. They signed the papers, and they accepted the responsibility for paying back the loan. If they signed something that they didn’t understand, then they’re still to blame for not asking for clarification.

“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Matthew 5:33-37

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?”  Matthew 16:10-12

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