It’s difficult to overstate my hatred for the prosperity “gospel” and my disgust for Joel Osteen, who propagates it, and a pathetic, watered down version of Christianity that even Larry King – a Jew – had no problem punching large theological holes in. But suggesting that Osteen and the other prosperity hacks had much to do with causing the housing crisis is way, way over the top.
The media seems desperate to excuse Barney Frank and other Congressional Democrats for their atrocious judgment in manipulating financial rules and regulations in the interest of “justice.” That is to say, ensuring that people who were in no way ready to own a home could borrow money to buy one. This is the core problem of outcome-based thinking as opposed to opportunity-based thinking. Even when you temporarily achieve equity in outcomes, it is not sustainable because you’ve put people in a position they have not earned, and subsequently are not ready to manage. A good example is the Harper family from Extreme Home Makeovers. They were outright given a beautiful, luxuriously furnished home along with the money to pay the taxes on it for 25 years. They promptly cashed it out, taking out a mortgage for a construction business. And with that gamble, lost it all.
We all would prefer to be George Bailey, but the truth is that Mr. Potter made some good points, too.
