Not taxpayers' duty

Prior to Barack Obama's election as president, a widely circulated video showed one of his supporters rejoicing that she would no longer have to worry about paying her mortgage if Obama were elected. It seemed, at the time, a naive thing to say. After all, presidents can't just snap their fingers and make mortgage payments disappear.

Or can they?

The Times Free Press reported recently on a multi-state program, announced by Obama in 2010, that is actually paying the mortgages of people who have lost jobs or otherwise had a big drop in income. Recipients of the federal money can use it to catch up on delinquent payments and to make future payments for up to 18 months. In Tennessee, $217 million is being spent.

We sympathize with anyone facing foreclosure, because of a job loss or anything else. But it is unjust to force other Americans to pay their mortgages. It's also unconstitutional.

Obama hasn't made mortgage costs disappear. He has only shuffled them onto people other than those who took out the mortgages. Such a shell game is not fitting in the United States of America.

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