BY KENNY BELFORD

A large part of the lingering recession was caused by the collapse of the housing market. As I frequent a number of political message board sites it’s common to find wingnuts posting comments railing away about the poor people that got into a mortgage they can’t afford, causing this mess.

They love to blame poor people for a variety of issues. I suppose it helps them justify turning their back on those in need. Sort of some kind of punishment thing for the crime of being poor. I don’t understand that twisted logic, but I’ve always been closer to the Mensa crowd, than the tinfoil hat teabagger set. That’s probably why I’m a Democrat, but anyway, back to the topic.

Facts never seem to matter much to wingnuts, unless they just made them up to support their uninformed views. That’s the case about the mortgage problem. It’s not the poor folks in over their head, and it’s not the middle class overextending themselves creating the continuance of the problem. It’s the wealthy that are sinking the market.

In a story just released, the New York Times researched this issue and discovered some very revealing facts. For the benefit of the wingnuts, that means some truth about the issue. A portion of their report states:

– “Whether it is their residence, a second home or a house bought as an investment, the rich have stopped paying the mortgage at a rate that greatly exceeds the rest of the population.”

– “More than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars is seriously delinquent, according to data compiled for The New York Times by the real estate analytics firm CoreLogic.”

– “By contrast, homeowners with less lavish housing are much more likely to keep writing checks to their lender. About one in 12 mortgages below the million-dollar mark is delinquent.”

It’s no wonder the wealthy want Republicans to return to power. They need more tax cuts like George W. Bush gave them, so the poor and middle class can give them more government welfare enabling them to keep their mansions.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38158763/ns/business-real_estate

– Kenny Belford lives in Tulsa, OK and is a regular contributor to The Oklahoma Observer