A remarkable study in the self-absorption so common on the left has been published by blogger and author Alisa Valdez-Rodriguez, who bought a nice home in Scottsdale, AZ  that is now worth less than she owes on her mortgage. It is a textbook example of someone walking out on her mortgage because she wants to move and doesn't like the price she can get for her house right at that moment in that market.

The conservatives will try to tell you this crisis is only impacting irresponsible homeowners, who got into mortgages they could not handle. Wrong! If you own a house in any of the areas hit hardest by this thing, you are wasting money if you continue to pay for a worthless property. Many of us realize this, and we are walking away, mailing in the keys, saying "thanks but no thanks for this bridge to nowhere."

It was not easy to come to terms with this, to realize I would never recover that money. But once I did come to terms with it, I felt free, in charge of my own destiny and wallet. I was ready to walk away from the house, to propose a deed in lieu, or to foreclose if needed. [....]

After all, the bank loaned me $450,000 - and will end up making $600,000 on the deal, from my down payment, a year-plus of on-time mortgage payments, and the home sale for $405,000. But I will still be penalized. Make sense to you? Me neither. But oh f****ng well. The system is broken, and no one but Barney Frank seems to give a s**t about people like me.

So, think about this. I played by the rules. The banks did not. And, here I am, not only losing a massive amount of money, but being punished on my credit report for a housing transaction that, in the end, makes money for the lender. Twice. Because the lender will not only get my money, and the new owner's money, but also a bailout from the Federal government