Mortgage Madness

There appear to be a few common denominators in the current news coverage of the mortgage mess.
* Everyone speaks in jargon -- analysts, pols and journalists alike.
* Few people frame any of the issues in terms of common sense, although a few people speak of "fundamentals" as a sort of quasi-common sense.
* Fewer people speak in terms of character -- as in the need for American investors and consumers to show character in their commitments, or the need for the American investor to show a commitment to his craft that isn't based entirely on the government's ability to puff up his mood, or the need for the American consumer to tighten his belt and pledge to come back tomorrow as a stronger and wiser person.

If you read the current narratives of Wall Street and Main Street, you would have no idea that America has been built on individual initiative, self-reliance, a pioneering spirit, and a commitment to do well for oneself while also doing well for others. Rather, you would suspect that we are consumer addicts with a sense of entitlement to the things we seek to buy. Does anyone really think government can help us here with minor tinkering or major posturing?