Detroit Michigan, Land of Firsts

Yesterday it was first in the misery index. Today it's first in foreclosures. Isn't that great?

Some 4.9 percent of the households in the Detroit metro area were in some stage of foreclosure in 2007 -- 4.8 times the national average, according to the study being released Wednesday by mortgage research company RealtyTrac Inc.

Michigan has been in a protracted economic downturn and has led the nation in unemployment, a combination that has caused many homeowners to fall behind on mortgage payments.

We're also a serious contender for winner on the crime front (New Orleans just doesn't have the staying power). Thank goodness we have a liberal governor to make things better for us.

Dear President Bush: No More Bailouts

Don't you just love it when people about to reap the rewards of poor judgment get bailed out by politicians at the cost of those who act more responsibly? Of course, that's the essence of the game in Washington, and it's no different with Bush's proposed interest rate freeze for the two million idiots who took out an adjustable rate mortgage that will be beyond their means to pay after it "adjusts."

Talk about rewarding stupidity! "Oh, I can afford a $300,000 home because the interest rate is only 3%! Because I can always refinance later." That's like building your home on a flood plain, and then expecting the insurance company to cover the cost of your bad judgment. It won't happen.

So Bush freezes the interest rate to save their homes. At whose cost? The investors in the lending companies. More simply, Bush proposes to transfer wealth from the business owners to the homeowners, just so families don't have to move into an apartment due to their own moronic decisions. Yeah, that sounds fair.