Another side to the foreclosure story

Reader Chris Lemmon of Milford makes an excellent point regarding the home foreclosure crisis, subject of many recent Enquirer articles such as Sunday's Data Center report on A1, Forum and editorial: While the focus of the blame has been on "predatory lenders," complex loan deals and a tough economy, sometimes the families themselves bear responsibility for their plight by "falling into the consumerism trap" – borrowing money to fill their houses with the latest gadgets and enjoying a lifestyle they really can’t afford. Lemmon writes that homeowners have a duty to learn about their finances and act responsibly.

"There are three sides to every story -- the borrower's side, the lender's side, and the truth. I would bet that if you keep digging, you would find some of the borrowers were just plain greedy when choosing to purchase a home they couldn’t afford three years ago and certainly would never have been able to afford when the interest rates were raised," she writes.

While some homebuyers were uninformed, misled or just plain defrauded on the terms of their mortgages, it's a good bet that others simply chose to ignore those terms. In general, our society has all but discarded the notion of saving and spending wisely -- the "consumerism trap." As with most financial and social issues, there is -- or should be -- a strong dose of personal responsibility involved. We deny that need at our collective peril.