No Bail-Out on 8th Street

This week's discussion of the bail-out has provoked many a discussion at work, home, with friends...it seems we're all confused, intrigued, and concerned about what is happening with our economy. And then, of course, there's the debate between who is the bail-out really looking out for--Main Street or Wall Street--as if the two were not intimately interconnected.

But one thing that has gotten my goat is the need to bail out the many Americans who have taken out mortgages that they could not afford, in good or bad financial times. Adam and I have typed our annual joint income into Chase's mortgage calculator many times in the past few years, and we have realized repeatedly that even if some miracle occurred and we were able to get a significant amount of money down, that we could not afford a mortgage with our other expenses of college loans and daycare. Impossible. We have resolved that we will rent until the loans are paid the the babe(s) are in public school. That'll be at least 6-7 more years! Then we'll see...

Why is that a difficult concept to grasp?

I understand the desire to own. Renting sucks. Especially when you're our age and you really want your home to reflect your life and your want to put down stable roots for your kids. Damn it, I'm a cancer--I nest with vigor 24/7. Renting irks me. But what choice to we have?