Our society has shifted. The shift is not small. Rather the shift is large and out of control, A new way of thinking is imbued in the way we as a people analyze and perceive facts. We have shed our anthropomorphic selves and have become lemmings; afraid to take the lead; finding comfort in just following. We follow because the rules say it is what we must do. Like those tracks that lead the train to its destination, we know the rules will likewise lead us there.
Original thought is the exception rather than the rule. “We the people” have taken on a less intensive meaning, as all of us look over our shoulder for guidance in everything that we do. Is it not a wonder why we as a country need hundreds of thousands laws on the books? Do we need regulators to inform us what is right in all aspects of our lives? Silence is deafening and silence signals that we like what you the regulator/lawmaker are doing. The life of a regulator/lawmaker like the life of a malaria infected mosquito, while not intending to cause problems is all that each does.
We are “bubble wrapping” older Americans in layers of protection because it has been determined (by someone) that every older American needs protection from themselves and from others. Therefore, Congress and regulators have passed and will continue to pass laws and rules that must be followed or the senior cannot continue to play the game of life. Unbridled rulemaking power not only drastically changes the game, it also takes the fun and pleasure out of the game of life.
The concepts of “sensible boundaries” and “making mistakes” are mutually exclusive. Only a government exercising intractable power and believing in its own omniscience would have the audacity to substitute its views for those that were born with a brain, while telling older Americans that mistakes are not permitted. Freedom to think and freedom to act is what made this country great. Yet everywhere we turn, we see that freedom is limited by allegiance to rules and laws rather than to a zeitgeist made up of commonsense. Is it a disaster if one makes a wrong decision? Is it a crime if one should have “turned left” when turning right was the way to go?
Regulators will say that seniors have rights. Yes, would that include the right to make their own decisions? As a society we have expanded rights to include everything imaginable. These rights have been codified in our laws. The due process concept is ubiquitous. The difference between public rights (state action) and private rights have been blurred by the courts. The stupidity, the overreaching, the refusal to balance different competing interests must stop. YOU CAN NOT STRENGTHEN THE WEAK BY WEAKENING THE STRONG. Abraham Lincoln said this over 150 years ago. This comment certainly applies today.
For 20 years this industry has been strong. It has even set more stringent policy than HUD required. Now you want to make the industry weak. As it weakens, it will wither and die. This will be the result of countless feckless policy decisions. Then there will be nothing to regulate and nothing to protect HECM reverse mortgage borrowers from. It is high time that those in the industry rise up with one strident voice and declaim that every encounter our industry has with an eligible reverse mortgage borrower must be perfect. And because it cannot be perfect is not a reason to control every minute activity.
As long as individuals are involved there will always be the human interaction complexity syndrome. You the Congress passed the SAFE Act. Before new redundant and costly rules and regulations are created just a few words of advice: Place a moratorium on new laws and rules while the SAFE Act takes affect or 2. Listen to the best and the brightest who serve on the frontlines in the industry. Let them help you create reasonable and sensible approaches to perceived problems. I end with a great words of wisdom from Winston Churchill. COURAGE IS WHAT IT TAKES TO STAND UP AND SPEAK; COURAGE IS ALSO WHAT IT TAKES TO SIT DOWN AND LISTEN.
