I heard on the radio today how the mortgage crisis is worsening. In fact, the statistic is on average, one foreclosure occurs every 16 seconds in this country. With that being the case, another home was foreclosed on by the time you finished reading these first three sentences.

As shocking as this number is, my fear is that we brought this upon ourselves. Two years ago it seemed as if money was being handed out on the street corners. Now we see the effect of living on the brink of what we can afford. I spoke with Congressman Don Manzullo last year and he related testimony he heard on the Hill from mortgage experts. He related the most shocking information from the briefing which was that the largest number of foreclosures were not on mortgages with adjustable rates which had just increased but rather on mortgages that never had a single payment made on them.

We must not forget this lesson. Living in debt is not beneficial for us as individuals and certainly not for Government at large. A concerted effort needs to be made to elect representation on the state, local, and federal level who appreciate the need for ballanced budgets and living within our means. Politicians should set the example.