Obama And The Housing Crisis

President Barack Obama today announced what his administration will be doing to stem the foreclosure wave that's threatening to wipe out the American real estate market. You can read the entirety of his speech here, but it was part of his closing remarks that really struck a chord with me:

"Our housing crisis was born of eroding home values, but it was also an erosion of our common values, and in some case, common sense. It was brought about by big banks that traded in risky mortgages in return for profits that were literally too good to be true; by lenders who knowingly took advantage of homebuyers; by homebuyers who knowingly borrowed too much from lenders; by speculators who gambled on ever-rising prices; and by leaders in our nation's capital who failed to act amidst a deepening crisis. (Applause.)

So solving this crisis will require more than resources; it will require all of us to step back and take responsibility. Government has to take responsibility for setting rules of the road that are fair and fairly enforced. Banks and lenders must be held accountable for ending the practices that got us into this crisis in the first place. And each of us, as individuals, have to take responsibility for their own actions. That means all of us have to learn to live within our means again and not assume that -- (applause) -- and not assume that housing prices are going to go up 20, 30, 40 percent every year."

What a change from his predecessor, who seemingly could only strut around in a show of bravado, no matter how bad things might get. Bush talked in terms of "evil doers" who should "bring it on" in his response to the events of September 11th, and encouraged his fellow citizens to show their patriotism by going shopping! By contrast, Obama calls everyone to account, pointing out the irresponsible behaviour that led to this crisis and imploring everyone "to live within our means again." It's like we've moved from a sitcom aimed at kids into a drama written for adults.