After years of living high off the subprime-lending hog at Ameriquest, Gov. Deval Patrick now seeks his penance by punishing any business foolish enough to loan money to poor people.

n yet another arm-twisting meeting with the mortgage industry yesterday, Patrick reportedly proposed putting lenders on the hook for relocating customers who default on home loans. Banks and mortgage companies would be forced to pay up to $5,000 in rent, moving and other relocation costs when they foreclose.

All because somebody owed them money and didn’t pay it back.

Patrick defends his attack on these businesses by claiming “too many of our residents were put into loans they couldn’t afford.”