In analyzing the subprime mess I think that it is important to look beyond all the statistics, beyond the politicians&39; babble, beyond the finger-pointing as to who is at fault.  We should not lose sight of the fact that it comes down to individual families getting the boot from their homes.

Where the rubber meets the road it means children moving to another school district and having to make new friends.  It means dislocation, added commute time, money invested in improvements that can&39;t be recouped, and the psychological pain of humiliation at having suffered a financial defeat. 

Here are some stories I know about.

A family thought that they would never be able to own a home. With a low teaser rate, they got into the home but due to a greedy agent, it&39;s more expensive than they can reasonably afford. Now the payment is about to jump.  So what are they doing? They are doing just what their parents and grand-parents did to ratchet themselves up the ladder. They are working harder and have gotten second jobs. 

Another family with poor credit was able to get into a home because of lax lending standards. Before their loan adjusted they were supposed to use that two year period to adopt more disciplined financial habits, like paying down debt and paying bills on time.  Yet here they are, two years later and their scores are still under 600 and they are stuck with a lousy loan.  Another family in a similar situation boosted their scores and were able to refinance into a good loan.

A fourth family has owned their home for years but became serial refinance artists who got a new loan every year. Each time they converted some of the equity in their home until they now own more than the house is worth. The loan is resetting and, although they have $50,000 in stripped equity sitting in the bank from the last refinance, they will probably walk away.

And then there was the gal who called me last week. She lost her job last spring when her industry contracted. The employment outlook is grim so she needs to find a new career. In the meantime, with no income she hasn&39;t made her mortgage payments and is headed for foreclosure. Her house is now worth a good bit less than the loan balance so she can&39;t sell it. Frankly, I don&39;t think that there is much she can do.

As discouraging as this is, do you know what she told me? 

"One thing I love about America is that you always get a second chance.  It&39;s only a house.  I&39;m sure we&39;ll be homeowners again in the future."