Why does the bailout penalize financially responsble people?

Ok, another post about how pissed I am.

First I hear about a great thing. "They" have a plan to lower mortgage rates. A plan that allows for a 4.5% or even a potential 2.5% interest rate. Finally something in this mess that helps me out directly and sounds like it will end up helping everyone in a bad mortgage as well.

This is sweet!

Then I read that "They" are talking about limiting the plan to new purchases, not refinances.

This is not sweet. It actually sucks.

It means that everyone who did their part in destroying the economy and purchased a home that was too expensive, which they could not afford *and* lost it through a short sale in the financial turmoil has a better chance than me of getting a great rate on a new mortgage. It's possible that even people who were foreclosed on might have a better chance.

So I'm pissed.

Because I did everything "right", because I paid my bills and only purchased what I could afford, I have no chance at all of getting that rate.

Since I am all paid up and fiscally responsible, I won't have the same chances for mortgage rates that someone else has. Because I can pay my bills, I'm screwed. I'll continue to pay higher rates and be treated like a second class citizen. And you know what else? With rates that cheap on new homes, people will realize the best deals are on the empty McMansions that are suddenly affordable. As a result the property value on my "vintage" small home will likely drop.

Ughhh...

Seriously, this is a really stupid plan. It creates more incentive than anything else for people to "trade up" and put their house on the market so they can buy a new house. Isn't "flipping" what got us into this mess?

Hell, if this plan goes into effect as the rumors describe it, I might try and trade up.

Sarcasm on:

Hey... Hold on a minute. Maybe I could "sell" my house to my girlfriend. I could even set the price higher in the sale and pull out some "equity" so that I can join the party (I'm always late to parties) An extra hundred grand for the market where it's at right now might allow me to pay for the house outright in a year or two. What a great speculative opportunity.

Who knows... At that rate, I could buy another house or two for "investment" purposes.

As John Lovitz once said, "Yeah, that's the ticket!"

Sarcasm off