Extreme stupidity: No tears for latest “victims” of foreclosure
I’ll get to the extreme stupidity of the “victims” of the “Extreme Makeover” home foreclosure in just a moment.
But first, a reminder: If you go through my entire archive of subprime crisis posts over the past year– starting with this one from last August blasting Hillary’s socialist housing bailout plan and continuing through this post in December on a supposed subprime sob story involving an unemployed couple $600,000 in debt and looking for a housing bailout to this post in January on irresponsible borrowers walking away from their mortgages and this one on the need for a “Suck It Up” candidate, to this one on outraged readers sick of the moochers riding the bailout bandwagon to this one in April on irresponsible borrowers trashing their homes, leaving their pets behind, and setting their houses on fire– you’ll note a prominent and recurring theme.
A theme that most media coverage refuses to spotlight.
A theme that only a few rare politicians in Washington dare to raise.
The theme is that the subprime crisis isn’t merely the result of “predatory lenders,” but of countless predatory borrowers and reckless homeowners as well who bought more home than they could afford and binged on home equity loans–and now expect responsible renters and conscientious borrowers to cover their asses and assets.
Enter Milton and and Patricia Harper and their three children, the Atlanta-area beneficiaries of a massive home giveaway on ABC’s popular Extreme Makeover TV show three years ago. (Tour their home here.) The four-bedroom, three-garage home–the largest project of the Extreme Makeover team to date– is now in foreclosure. After accepting a quarter-million in charitable contributions from homebuilder Beezer Homes’ employees and company partners, moving into a free home that cost upwards of $450,000, enjoying an all-expenses-paid trip to Disneyland while the house was being built, and also raking in enough money from the show to cover taxes on the house for 25 years, the Harper family turned around and put their custom-made dream mansion up as collateral for a $450,000 loan that purportedly went to fund the Harpers’ failed construction business.
Now: Tell me where in any of the bipartisan housing bills that Washington has passed there is protection of my tax dollars from going to bail out people like these? Where?
The Associated Press is casting the Harpers and their soon-to-be foreclosed home as “victims.”
No, you ninnies.
People who scrimped and saved and acted responsibly are the victims. People who will be forced to fork over their money to prevent foreclosures on homes owned by squanderers like the Harpers are the victims.
People who are protected from the consequences of their actions are beneficiaries.
People who have to pay for the consequences of the bad decisions of others are victims.
Got it?
***
Michael Graham tears into the sob-story coverage of people who have no one but themselves to blame for their predicaments.
The commenters at L.A. Land tear into the Extreme Makeover debacle. A sample:
That is the epitome of a dumb-ass.
Free Home, Free Taxes and they lose it through a cash out refi.
Had to be bigshots.
Had to start a business
They were already set.
Maybe they should have just gotten regular jobs and they would be doing just fine now.
Sorry…no sympathy.Posted by: E | July 29, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Peter Viles wrote:
“How do you lose a house that someone gave you as a gift on national television?”
They didn’t “lose” it. They sold it to the bank for a tidy profit.
But wait, there’s more!
“The family returned to a new home, plus contributions worth about $200,000.”
So they’re up by about six-fiddy, and this is considered a loss. God Bless America!Posted by: TakeFive | July 29, 2008 at 11:35 AM
I have a feeling more of those Extreme Home Makeovers will make their way onto foreclosure. I can’t feel sorry for them for messing this up.
Posted by: Jackie Romulo | July 29, 2008 at 11:40 AM
A gift like the house they received is to be cherished and passed down to future generations. The honorable thing for this family to do for the trouble that all the people went through to give them this house would be to help other families that are deserving of home makeovers.
Posted by: CT | July 29, 2008 at 11:49 AM
…
To me, one of three things may have happened with the Harper family. (1) They simply got greedy and made a bad investment. (2) The family may have been the target of con men. And (3), losing that money in a failed start-up business may just be a front for the family to cash in on the value of the home.
This is the exact reason I never watched this show. We can give valuable gifts to stupid and greedy people but no one even considers giving that money spent on building that home to a dozen homeless shelters or cancer reaserch…..
We have people dying in the streets and this Harper family just cashes in on a $450,000 gift for themselves.
Posted by: landry | July 29, 2008 at 01:18 PM
The Harper family is a poster family for the poor-decision-making that fueled the subprime crisis. They have no one to blame but themselves. Shed no tears.
See what others have said
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Trackbacks
- Political Party Poop
- President Bush Signs New Housing Rescue, Bill But Why? | Real Estate Radio USA
- Six Meat Buffet » Bush Signs Latest Freedom From Personal Responsibility Legislation
- Bush Signs Blank Check for Costly Mortgage Bailout | OpenMarket.org
- Michelle Malkin » Weasel act of the day
- Dave Lucas' Notes » Extreme Foreclosure (YOU Paid For It!)
- My money being taken to bail out people like this!!! | The TIW Blog
- The Rude News » Blog Archive » Extreme Workover - Tax Addition
- Michelle Malkin » Foreclosure sob story of the morning
- Michelle Malkin » Another Extreme Makeover foreclosure
- Home of the #1 Rabble-Rouser » Blog Archive » Stupid Is as Stupid Does …
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One of the comments from Michelle’s post talks about how money like this could go to cancer research.
I’ve done cancer research and, believe me, there is plenty of money there. Why? Because all of the biotech companies in the world are working like crazy to come up with vaccines, diagnoses, treatments, palliatives, and even cures… for profit, and for ethics.
Yes, most biotech companies really believe in what they do. They really are trying to alleviate the world’s pain. Good people.
BUT, they are also working to make money. Everyone here understands that. It’s called the profit motive.
So with these two things in mind, the biotechs invest billions, with a “b,” each and every year.
The idiots from the MSM and the loonie left are living in a dream world. There is something wrong with them – some form of self loathing, or perhaps a realization that they don’t have what it takes to make it when the playing field is level.
But, time and again, we all see how a free market – regulated only enough to keep it fair and free – is the best solution to almost any social problem.
That includes health care, and cancer research. These loons who want to nationalize healthcare will, quite literally, kill the goose that has laid golden eggs (cures, vaccines, etc.) for almost 100 years.
Fools.
On July 30th, 2008 at 2:03 pm, emjem24 said:
Perhaps, when folks (like the Harpers) stop living large and start acting like grownups then reality will set in and make them realize how lucky they were (if they haven’t already done so). There’s just no personal accountability or responsibility… that’s for chumps like you, I, and our families, huh, 30?
Wow. You think the reason they were on the show is because they weren’t that good with money to begin with. Stupid.
I think bailing people out is the stupidiest thing we can do.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. It starts at home.
Maybe I’m understanding this wrong but the people at Extreme Home Makeovers seem to think in some way this is partly their fault and its not.
They go around doing good things and thats what they should take out of it.
People make mistakes albeit some are unbelievably bad mistakes.
The show people have to believe that not all mistakes are fixable.
The market works, if you leave it alone!
Housing prices will fall, credit will open up and houses will sell.
Thats the problem with the price of oil, the Democrats fixed it!
You pay for what you get.
Even if it was given to you for free.
Those folks at the show are not to blame, nor are the people who tried to help these idiots.
the people they gave the house to are to blame for this.
I’m surprised though, that the show’s legal department doesn’t have it in contract that this kind of thing would not be allowed, and that they had to keep the house (allowed out of it under certain conditions and special circumstances) for a certain amount of time and couldnt borrow against it.
Let’s not forget that this great country was built by people taking business risks that sometimes pay off and sometimes don’t. That’s capitalism and economic freedom. Yes, these people are not victims, but unless they were engaged in some scheme there is no reason to villify them or consider them stupid either. As far as we know they gambled on building their own business and lost. It was certainly their choice and their risk, and we should bot pay for it, but it is still unfortunate.
The American Dream is not a guarantee. We the taxpayers are the fools for allowing bailout after bailout. When are we ever going to learn, every time there is government bailout it is abused by those who know how to work the system and take advantage of good intentions. Irresponsible people should be allowed to fail.
As the wife of a retired banker, this absolutely disgusts me! As usual, the left castigates the “capitalists”, i.e., bankers, and at the same time paints ordinary Americans as “victims”…in this case those who expect something for nothing!
just freaking great , now with the gov bailing these idiots out . How am i going to be able to buy up their forclosed homes for far under the market value.
If they are willing to put they house on the line and cant cover it , then I am more then willing to buy it from the bank for far less then it was originally listed.
thanks alot congress you just screwed me once again
If they were successful, they couldn’t blame WHITEY for everything. Self-fulfilling prophesy.
Factoid from Oprah this afternoon: 70% of those who get a windfall payment blow it in a few years.
The upside of this story is that the home might now go to a decent family that will appreciate and keep this nice home.
If these miscreants don’t trash it on the way out.
I sure as hell would not spit on such an incredible gift. I would most assuredly have kept it. (hint hint, hint to anyone who is looking to give a house away to a disabled fireman and his daughters.)
Its ludicrous to think that the fed should bail out a bad judgment purchase or a bad business loan just because there are “so many”. However, I think some of you folks may be giving yourselves dithering emotional and mental wedgies for naught. Although it shouldn’t even be available, anyone can apply for the help but remember, not everyone will qualify. There will be some of those bugs that fall off the grill and be left mired in the oil spot on the driveway whining and crying because the government “…let me down again”.
What will be interesting to see is if our favorite deadbeat Donk from Long Beach, CA will apply and get the help on her abandoned properties around the state.
Typical. Nothing surprises me anymore!
I resigned as a teacher to homeschool my two boys. We live in a modest home, I clip coupons, and pray daily that my husband isn’t laid-off by the airline industry.
These people make me sick.
GROW A BRAIN AND A BACKBONE!!!
I keep seeing on CNN what they are calling “homeowner help”
I’m a homeowner and make too much to qualify for my “stimulus” check.
where is my help? will there be a stimulus or bail out package when I can no longer make my mortgage payments due to over taxing?
when all the job growth in this country is coming from government…how will we continue to feed the monster? There are only a finite number of taxpayers and that number is getting smaller and smaller.
it is really depressing to see what is happening to our once great country
LGM…gas like food is non-negotiable completely consumable commodity with high short-term value (utility), but has no long-term value to the consumer once the fuel/food is used.
A home is an investment in which for most people the going concern is its upkeep and improvement so that if need be it can be resold for a profit. Buying a home is a long-term investment even if you were able to pay for it all with cash. The people responsible for this credit mess have squandered their investment opportunities with bad decisions, and have the gall to expect to be bailed out.
Moreover financial firms have also been responsible along with their cooperative political elites in both parties for allowing either no regulation or deregulation to prevent this from happening, while benefitting from their cozy relationships with lenders…such as Barack Obama, Jamie Gorelick,and yes Republicans, to be fair.
rightwingmom said (#112):
Thanks for asking for body parts that have something to do with running the country.
(i.e., not “grow a pair”. Those who write that should stop complaining that leftist blogs are vulgar.)
Even better….build your home yourself with money you have saved. NO MORTGAGE, NO LABOR & life is sweet.
“A fool and his money are soon parted.” I guess the same can be said about a fool and his house.
nlebou – My brother-in-law just did that. Paid his 30 year mortgage in 15 years, while having a stay-at-home wife and 4 kids in private school. Trust me, his salary is modest. Priorities!!!
My husband built our home himself with the help of his father and 2 brothers. He lived in a travel trailer while building it and NEVER had a mortgage. Our home is not big but it is very nice and very low maintenance. As a result we are in very good shape for retirement. We are able to contribute to our grandbabies education and we take several short fishing trips throughout the year with our paid for 23ft Allison fishing boat.
I see lgm has managed to weight in with three ignorant comments on one thread.
Has anyone been keeping track, is this a record?
It is usually just a good start
We need to bring back debtors’ prison.
The media not covering irresponsible borrowers is like them not covering those who abuse the welfare system or food stamps or medicaid. You never see such a report. It would go completely counter to their sympathies. Forget about objective reporting.
I should probably read their whole story before commenting but starting a business is a more noble use of equity than what most people use it on. They never should have taken that much out though, sadly too many don’t bother to keep back enough to live on for several months like they should. Does anyone have a link that explains why their construction business failed? I’m assuming the economy and housing market are the reasons. I’ve seen many contractors take a hit in the last year alone.
burning through $650,000 in 3 years sounds like $215,000 of high living per year.