Lately, whenever I pickup a newspaper or magazine or watch a TV news show, there is a story regarding the implosion of the “sub-prime” mortgage market. According to the media, the rate of mortgage delinquency is exploding…people are being forced from their homes. And, all of this is caused by so-called predatory lending.

Well, I guess I would like to know how true that really is. How many of the countless people who had interest-only mortgages, which have now become fixed at higher interest rates, actually face foreclosure. Is it one in a hundred or one in a thousand or one in a million? The full statistics are not given by the news sources.

And, who is a sub-prime borrower? Is it someone who has been taken advantage by the lender? Or is it someone who has been given an opportunity to purchase his/her own home but who wouldn’t have been able to do so otherwise? Even if 10% of the borrowers who are classified as sub-prime actually default, does that mean the other 90% were given an opportunity that they would not have otherwise had?

The press shows examples of a person who is likely to lose his/her home; and, yes, it is devastating. The reader/viewer cannot help but feel sorry for that person. But how about the countless people who have taken advantage of the opportunity and have found a way to continue to make the required payments. They may continue to struggle, but history has proven if they can hold onto their homes for about five years, they will have accumulated equity.

It would be a travesty if our politicians and government regulators begin to outlaw the very policies that have allowed so many economically disadvantaged people to participate in home ownership. If the lenders have dealt with the borrowers honestly in stating the terms of the loan, then why is it predatory? Before signing the documents, every borrower has the ability to see an attorney.

What we, as a society, should not do is begin to dictate who should be able to borrow money. Just because the borrower happens not to be from the middle class does not mean that he/she is incapable of deciding whether something is advantageous. The government’s role should be to make sure that there are no dishonest practices by the lender, but not whether the lender should make the loan. Disclosure is the important fact.

Everyone deserves to be treated equally in the market place, even the poor or the first-time buyer. The best way for most people to accumulate wealth is home ownership. Let’s not preclude someone from having the opportunity to own a home. Just because the loan is “sub-prime,” the borrower may well not be.