I wish I had written this:”Eliminating failure is the surest way to kill success.”Note to my mortgage-holder – As long as you’re thinking about cutting principal amounts, I’d like the principal on my mortgage cut in half, please….  Both types of modification involve a concession of payments, are susceptible to additional pressures to write down again, and result in the same payments to the lender if the mortgage pays to maturity….  Maybe I’ll start ordering the fancy coffees rather than brewing my own, or perhaps go buy a new expensive car and then ask for the principal to be “written down” as soon as I drive it off the lot.  Apparently I’ve spouted the ethical and contractual obligations that borrowers have to repay their obligations for too long. More at Behind the Mortgage, the WSJ and make sure to read the comments at CR.Honor and personal responsibility should have a place in our society.

Read More