Recently, I worked in the mortgage industry for a couple of years. During that period I watched soaring growth in the "Sub-prime" section of the industry, although the company that I worked for did not offer such products.

Today I watch leaders of the Treasury and Federal Reserve urge a "bailout" for those companies who succumbed to the siren song of the "Sub-prime" market, who accepted "bundles" of these high-risk loans and then used these loans as a basis to create "securities", assets that diminished at breakneck speed as the housing market tumbled.

There is plenty of blame to pass around.

Yes, there were undoubtedly predatory lending practices by unscrupulous mortgage brokers and lenders who did not thoroughly advise buyers of the dangers involved in products that produced unattainable monthly payments in a relatively short time after low initial costs.

And indeed there were borrowers with limited assets that they knew would never enable them to meet the escalating costs of future payments and are now simply walking away from their debts.

Of course there were eager politicians eager to pressure lending and financial institutions to provide mortgages for risky applicants under the doctrine of "fairness" and "everyone is entitled to have their own home" and to threaten penalties for businesses who did not agree to subsidize their pandering to some voting groups.

If one does some research, political cause and effect can be traced back for more than a decade and through several administrations. Christopher Dodd and Barney Frank, respective leaders of the Senate and House Banking Committees, have done little to head off this collapse, refusing time and again to pursue efforts brought before them to increase regulatory oversight. Other members of the House and Senate have received major campaign contributions from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other financial institutions on a regular basis for many years.

Does this indicate widespread corruption? I believe so. And a notable tendency by all parties in Washington to avoid making the necessary changes to financial policies that continued on the path toward disaster.

Over 90% of mortgage holders make their payments on time. Should these responsible taxpayers be the ones to pay for the greedy mistakes made by politicians, some financial institutions, lenders and irresponsible buyers?

Personally, I view with deep suspicion and distrust the current proposed solution backed by those same politicians and bureaucrats whose actions have mired us in this mess. Corrective legislation should not be rushed through, but instead reviewed carefully with close attention paid to ensure that businesses and individuals who have greatly profited from this gross mismanagement will not receive additional largess.

I am definitely not in favor of this kneejerk buyout plan. To give upwards of $700 billion to a system that created this abomination is the height of folly. To correct the problem will require thought and planning # and probably some form of Federal (our tax dollars) support. Remember this in November.

I plan to check the Congressional voting record of those running for Federal office this election to determine their involvement, if any, in this charade.

We need leadership and fiscal responsibility in Washington, not pandering and uncontrolled spending in an attempt to cover up greed and corruption on a mass scale.

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