The AMT has long been called the Blue State Tax because it tends to hit hardest those who live in high-tax, high-cost-of-living states - states, in other words, which are almost monolithically Democrat controlled (think California, New York, Massashusetts - and you'll get the idea).
Well, with a big h/t to the lovely and talented MM, it would appear that a Blue State Bailout - in the form of "reform" of the mortgage industry and foreclosure "assistance" - may very well be in the works.
So let me get this straight - a bunch of libs have managed to get themselves upside-down on their mortgages for a wide variety of reasons starting with trading up to houses they didn't need and ending with compelling through law the granting of mortgages to people who had no business qualifying for mortgages and now it becomes the burden of Red America to bail them out?
Now, let's savor the irony of this being written by yours truly - a refugee trapped in the bluest state in Blue America. You know why I can write this? Beacuse I'm not upside down on my mortgage, I'm ahead on both of my car payments (on my Beautiful People approved Priui, no less), I have no (as in zero, zip, zilch, nada) credit card debt, and I have appropraite levels of retirement and emergency savings stashed away.
Wanna know why?
Because the DocJ family practices a little thing known as "Living Within One's Means", something that a great many limo libs never learned - and won't have to learn, so long as Big Brother Sammy is there to bail them out.
Bailing people out of their mortgage binds is the best way to ensure that more people get in over their heads.
I wish government would quit meddling in the economy. My personal rule is to assume stupidity before malice, but this is challenging. They say they're trying to help, but they can't be so stupid as not to see they're making things worse.
Can they?
Or maybe I need to embrace the healing power of 'and'.