abc gum.

To blame the lenders for making bad loans is only a quarter correct. Don't sign a contract for an outrageous loan if you cannot afford it. If being able to pay for a loan is contengent upon some grandious future event that may or may not happen, don't do it (i.e., like selling your home in 3 years for twice what you paid for it). We the people need to take responsibility for our actions and stop pushing blame on others.

I can only imagine my daughter doing exactly the same thing.

Very clever and cute story. Unfortunately all too true!

No, terrible analogy! If "you go in knowing what you need", how can you blame the lender for your foolish decision to get a loan you know you DON'T need? Sure, there are some unscrupulous lenders. But unless they're putting a gun to your head and forcing you to sign the papers, ultimately, it's your decision to get a loan. What we need more of is financial education, and earlier in life, so we have more consumers who can actually know what they're signing up for when taking out a loan.

The real culprit here is the government guaranteed loan. With the government guarantee the lender can make a loan to anyone of any circumstance with perfect confidence of making a profit.

The really great super money maker for the lender is the reverse mortgage. It is great for the old folks and great for the lender also.

Perfect letter. Thanks!

I love the perfect people who have posted with all their pomp and circumstance.

Wow, you've never been enticed for something a little better? How wonderful of you to be so perfect in all your business decisions....However, I'm sure if we looked closely enough, you've done the same thing.

If you want the gum, don't trade it for the ice cream. This wasn't a story of the restaurant not giving you what you want, it's a story of the child not knowing what she wanted.

Is this story supposed to be saying that we need to treat adults like children?

Excellent illustration. To those who don't agree, just remember life in this new century is loaded with tricks and traps. One may start of knowing what the goal should be, but clever marketing is designed to catch you off guard or mislead until you get stuck to the damn fly-paper and can't get loose in time.

Sound familiar, anyone?

I can see why there is a sub-prime mortage problem. Many of you are not seeing what the real story in this letter to the editor is. Even the writer dosen't see it.

The little girl bought a gum ball for twenty-five cents and then exchanged it for an ice cream cone, which I am sure was worth more than the gum ball. After eating the ice cream she wanted the gum ball as well. She wanted more than she paid for. Kind of like wanting her cake as well as eating it to.

The mortgage problems in this country are because too many people wanted the same thing. They wanted their cake and eat it too. They wanted more than they paid for. Almost every con job I have every heard of works on an indivudual's greed, something for nothing.

But of course the government can bail us out of our greed and carlessness. Why should we hold anybody responsible for their actions? Why would we want to do that?