Governor O’Malley was on Capitol Hill yesterday, in support of federal help for the housing crisis.

After passing state legislation last week to protect homeowners from mortgage fraud and short foreclosure timetables, O’Malley is looking even higher.  His testimony called for federal bailouts for homeowners facing foreclosure, as well as a $10 billion grant for city and state governments to purchase vacant properties (something Baltimore must have its eye on).

Now, I am a renter by nature. Some people may say I’m throwing money away, but there’s a permanency to owning property that doesn’t yet agree with me.  So I may not fully appreciate what is happening with mortgages and foreclosures, however:

Do the homeowners who would benefit from this federal bailout really deserve the money? Most of them are facing foreclosure likely due to their own lapse in judgment, as I see it.  They probably signed risky subprime mortgages, often without proper knowledge of the terms or the ability to make their payments after housing prices started falling.  Should taxpayers (especially ones who knew better than to buy a house they couldn’t afford) be the ones to fix that?

If I buy a luxury car and can’t make payments, can I ask for help when the repo man is coming? Even better, what about my student loans — especially the private ones I needed to cover the tuition beyond the limits of federal loans? As the interest rates creep up, those monthly payments become ridiculously unaffordable. And also become a main motivator for enrolling in grad school (for a deferment, not a degree).

In O’Malley’s testimony, he said, “To lose thousands [of homes] is a threat to the growth and vitality of the American middle class.”  Roll with that for a minute.

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