Like a phoenix released to spread it wings, ACORN founder and former chief organizer Wade Rathke has been letting it all hang out on his lively, but troubling blog.
He recently attacked no-nonsense Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, lamented the continuing questions regarding ACORN/SEIU involvement in the 2010 census, and even went after me on one occasion.
Now he’s attacking the concept of personal responsibility, something our society is sorely lacking. He’s encouraging homeowners who are falling behind on their mortgage payments to simply walk away from their homes, as if the money still owed is neither their problem nor their concern.
At least his message is consistent, because Rathke has always been the Johnny Appleseed of bad advice when it comes to housing.
ACORN, under his command, played a huge role in creating the mortgage crisis by pressuring the federal government and financial institutions to grant mortgages to people who clearly couldn’t afford them.
Then he pressed the Obama administration to bail out homeowners who, for too long, were living dangerously beyond their means. He wanted us to believe that mortgage companies somehow duped lower-income people into mortgages that were unaffordable. Why in the world would a company want to sell something it knew it would never be paid for?
In any case, Rathke has obviously arrived at the realization that the taxpayers are not coming to the rescue, so he’s offered a new solution – “Abandon ship!”
I’m now convinced the only way to protect citizen wealth for working families and force the issue to a real resolution, is for underwater homeowners to acknowledge the reality that they are only paying high rent with huge anxiety, and to walk away from these mortgages. This is good for their family, and as bad as it is for the community, and this has been the hangup for me, it may finally force the government and banks to do the right thing. (emphasis added)
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Walk away, brothers and sisters – it’s time to abandon this ship! If a family is worried about damage to credit, just rent for what you can afford and SAVE some money.
Where was your organization a few years ago, Wade, when so many people were foolishly buying homes they couldn’t afford? Instead of spending your time shaking down the big, bad banks for ACORN contributions, perhaps you should have been offering sound, honest advice to families that were about to make really bad financial decisions.
Instead his 11th hour solution is for the homeowners to walk away, avoid their financial responsibilities, and leave the taxpayers holding the bag. We can be sure the government will hold us financially responsible for those who refuse to be responsible for themselves.
Thanks, Wade. Take a vacation from the blog, will you?