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Government likely created mess and must now undo it

In print: Friday, November 28, 2008

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Re: Bankers' greed created mess | Nov. 12 guest column; Financial crisis is government's fault | Nov. 10 guest column

Government must clean up own mess

As is normal in such debates, there is truth in both interpretations of the current situation.

Certainly there was an element of greed on the part of some bankers who saw the necessity to protect their own positions when forced by legislation to make what previously would have been unsound loans and in doing so found a means of making even more profit by packaging these mortgages on a national and international base.

However, the fact remains that had the government in its wisdom not enacted the Community Reinvestment Act, with bullying and punitive penalties provided therein for banks that did not comply, the crisis may never have arisen and the basic tenets of banking laid down a couple of hundred years ago would still lend protection to banks and customers alike, not to mention national economies.

It has been argued to me that the bailout should never even have been considered on the grounds that government has no business interfering in commerce. But if that view is taken to its logical conclusion, then the Community Reinvestment Act should never have been enacted.

It was, and we are now reaping the benefits. It is incumbent upon the government to at least try to undo the mess, and if at the end of it all it can be proved that certain individuals gained illegally from the debacle, then they should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

M.J. Aston, Spring Hill

God bless this postal carrier

May I tell you of a real guardian angel? My Postal Service woman was delivering the mail and saw me trying to get my husband to stand up. He had fallen on the front porch. I was of little help as I just came out of the hospital and was still weak.

God bless Debbie Brown. She came to our rescue without asking and helped me get him into the house. Now isn't that quite a gift from our local postmaster? Having people who really care?

Eleanore Fraser, Holiday

What's the word for it? Accuracy

Okay, maybe my memory is just rose-colored, but upon reading the Pasco Times (a bit belated) on my return to Florida, I had to wonder: Did they fire the old editorial staff and replace it with one that missed English class?

I first noticed the headline "Who is filing for foreclosure?" Naturally, I thought this story was about banks and mortgage companies, but no, it is about people who are losing their homes to foreclosure. You see, the holder of the mortgage is the one who files; the homeowners, investors, tenants and other associated parties are served. Anyone even mildly familiar with the process knows that homeowners don't file, but let's assume that was simply a new headline writer who was as yet uneducated.

Then inside, there is an editorial that discusses the "second tenant" of a document — presumably the extremely thin tenant who moved in after the first tenant realized that living in a document was a tight squeeze. Hopefully, the tenets of the first tenant's lease did not include a penalty for early termination.

Okay, we all make mistakes, but that's two in the first two pages. I know times are tough in the business, but since the Times often bills itself as one of the country's best newspapers, a little more quality control might help retain that standing!

Brent Yaciw, Wesley Chapel