Somehow, I think our roles are reversed in this conversation - like I'm a liberal (arguing for leniency) and you're a conservative (taking the tough, heartless stance) - lol. We can't stop people from making mistakes - we can hope that they learn from their mistakes - but it's a consequence of the freedoms we enjoy - the freedom to fail. I remember one of my son's speech therapist - had a PHD in speech therapy - made good money but for the life of her, just couldn't handle her finances - late bill payments/penalties, checking acct overdrafts, stressed out and obviously, it wasn't because she was stupid - just poor decisions.
I'd like to comment on your earlier comment that I "complain about poor people sponging." As I've mentioned before regarding Obamacare, I don't blame the people who enroll, get physicals/labs/procedures done and then drop - I blame the politicians who write and pass these laws. Same with welfare - there should be some mechanism for limited time on welfare and training/education to get people off welfare. Welfare should be for people who fall on rough times - a temporary thing - not for a lifetime. For both ACA and welfare, I don't blame people for acting in their own self-interest - it's the poorly written laws/rules that allow people to take advantage of the system.
No, I don't think everyone should own a home - you should only buy one if you can afford it - and we're back to the poor laws/rules again that allowed them to qualify for those mortgages.