Dear Fairy God Mother, Please Help

Dear Fairy God Mother,

We can really use your help.
Many of my friends and I have purchased homes in order to raise a family and become part of the community. We purchased homes we could afford and work hard to make our mortgage payments. We’ve cut back on our cable TV service, our cell phone service, our social activities and spending so that we can continue to keep our written obligation to make our mortgage payments.

We do not decide whether or not to make these payments based on the value of the property. We took on a responsibility when we purchased these homes and are living up to the loan agreements we signed. It is not always easy, but that’s the way life is. It is not always easy.

We understand that there are government programs to help those that do not feel the same way we do. We also hear that there may be more government programs coming for these people. These people are getting help because they over extended themselves. They purchased homes they could not afford; took out home equity loans on existing houses or thought they could make money by “flipping” a home purchase. The government says that they are victims of Wall Street and Big Banks. They did not do anything to be ashamed of.

Many of my friends and I have made stock and mutual fund investments that are now below the price which we paid. Some of the values are even below the margin loan balance on those assets. This is where you come in, Fairy God Mother; how can we get public assistance for investments that we have made that are “under water”? It must have been the fault of Wall Street or someone else, other than us that caused this problem. Why should we be held accountable for investments that we made, when it must have been someone else’s fault?

Please Fairy God Mother send us some of that cash so that we can be made whole.
We’ve learned our lesson and we won’t do it again; at least not until the next opportunity comes along.

Yours truly,
Another Middle Class American who pays his bills and evidently other people’s bills as well.