Why does the government feel compelled to bail out morons?

Today's Boston Globe reports that the MA state government has instituted a program to help people who took out risky mortgages obtain new funding at more favorable terms.

"Massachusetts officials today are expected to unveil a $250 million fund to help delinquent borrowers of subprime mortgages refinance into more affordable loans to prevent them from losing their homes to foreclosure... The program will allow only those subprime mortgage borrowers who are 60 or fewer days behind on their monthly payments to refinance into 30-year loans at fixed rates of about 7.75 percent. The money should be enough to refinance loans for about 1,000 delinquent borrowers statewide."

I'm sorry, but why should our tax dollars go to bail out people who didn't do their homework, and signed up for something they can't pay for? I don't know about you, but before I bought my latest house, I carefully considered my savings, my current and future income, tax implications, the fact that prices have stopped rising, and how much I could afford to realistically pay each month. As a result, I conservatively bought a less expensive home than I was pre-qualified for (by about $200k). And now we have to pay because some people didn't realize that they couldn't pay their bills? Why is this anyone's problem execpt the people who did it? If this program is going to exist at all, it should only apply to those people whose income is substantially lower, involuntarily, now than it was when they received their mortgage approval - perhaps due to layoff, severe illness, etc. It would be a shame for someone in that situation to lose their home. But for everyone else, 'buyer beware' applies - if you made a bad decision, you need to pay the price. The government shouldn't be there as a safety net for stupidity.

To make this even worse, the Patrick administration is trying to shift the blame for a rise in foreclosures on the lenders, rather than the customers. According to the article, "Perhaps the most disputed element of the Massachusetts plan is state officials' insistence on forcing lenders to accept losses on loans when the value of the properties has dropped since the loans were first made, which is common in the current real estate downturn." Why is it that people cannot be held accountable for their own actions anymore, and others, in this case the lenders, need to be held up as scapegoats for peoples' inability to make rational decisions. If you take away the safety net, people will be more careful before jumping - and if some fall, that's just evolution in action. Over time, this type of behavior is self correcting. If the net is in place, people will continue to jump in, as they realize their actions will have limited consequences.

Also, this type of anti-business stance is unacceptable from our government - we want to make MA a good place to do business, not a place businesses are scared to call home. Unless these lenders have been convicted - not just accused - of deceptive or unfair business practices, they should not be penalized if someone chooses to willingly and legally purchase their product.