[lbo-talk] Obama defends Republic workers

[John Thornton]

Nick Robinson wrote:
> 2005 to mid 2006 was $300,000 and higher. Now it's down to $150,000. Lots of
> people were/are paying mortgage payments on a house that has depreciated in
> value so rapidly that even if they could afford to continue payment, it
> makes sense just to let it slide into foreclosure and start over.
>
> On Mon, Dec 8, 2008 at 9:15 AM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>   
>> Because it feels like pouring money down a rathole - why not walk away and
>> just rent? Also, no doubt many buyers stretched because they thought they
>> were buying an appreciating asset that they could either flip or refinance.
>> Now they can do neither, and with the job market sinking, the whole
>> situation looks untenable.

I don't get this logic.
It is way expensive to walk away from a house.
You'll not only get shit on your credit report but also a huge tax bill.
If you can afford to make the payments walking away is the shittiest 
option on the table.
I strongly disagree that letting it slide into foreclosure makes any 
sense if you have the option of making the payments.
Can someone here point to any statistics that show large numbers of 
people who can afford to make their mortgage payments are walking away 
for the above reason?

John Thornton