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THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, January 13, 2011 SOWELL from 7


afford, or who borrowed against the equity in their homes, and now find that what they owe is more than the home is worth. If anyone is especially deserving, it is those who had the common sense to avoid taking on bigger financial obligations than they could handle, but who are now expected to pay as taxpayers for other people’s irresponsibility. No doubt some people


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who are facing foreclo- sures might have been able to continue making their mortgage payments if they had not lost their jobs. But since when were we all guaranteed never to lose our jobs? People used to put money aside “for a rainy day.” But now people who have spent like there are no rainy days are supposed to have the taxpayers pay to give them an umbrella. What about the people


who saved and put their money in a bank? Those who blithely say that the banks ought to modify the mortgage terms to accom- modate people who are behind in making their monthly payments forget that, however “rich” a bank may be, most of its money actually belongs to


vast numbers of deposi- tors, most of whom are not rich. Those depositors de-


serve to get the best re- turn on their money that supply and demand can offer. Why should people who save be sacrificed for the benefit of those who spent more than they could afford? Why are politicians so focused on one set of peo- ple, at the expense of other people? Because “saving” one set of people increas- es the chances of getting those people’s votes. Let- ting supply and demand determine what happens in the housing market gets nobody’s votes. If current occupants are


put out of their homes and the prices come down to a level where others can af- ford to buy those homes, nobody will give politi- cians credit-- or, more to the point, their votes. Nor should they. Rescuing particular peo-


ple at the expense of other people-- whether the oth- ers are taxpayers, savers or prospective home buy- ers-- produces votes. It


also produces dependency on government, which is good for politicians, but bad for society. That is why politicians


give what Adam Smith called “a most unneces- sary attention” to things that would sort them- selves out better and fast- er without heavy-handed government intervention. Why do the media fall in


with this arbitrary focus on particular people who are having trouble holding on to homes they cannot afford? Partly because it makes a good story and partly because too many people in the media sim- ply go with the politicians’ talking points. That is a lot easier than thinking. But the rest of us have


no excuse for not think- ing-- or for letting our- selves be stampeded by rhetoric about “saving” the housing market.


Thomas Sowell is a se-


nior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford Uni- versi ty, Stanford, CA 94305. His Web site is www.tsowell.com.


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