In Denver, the local government gave illegal migrants two months of free stays in residential shelters. In Chicago, they gave the migrants beds in school facilities and fire stations. In New York City they converted entire new hotels into migrant housing. California took one look at those situations and said, "Hold our beer." The state already had a program in place for citizens called the California Dream for All Shared Appreciation Loans program. It was designed to give people a chance to own their own home while putting no money down through a series of "loans" that may or may not need to be paid back. But if AB 1840 is signed into law (it's already passed in the Assembly and now faces a floor vote in the state Senate), that benefit will be passed on to all of the illegal migrants in the state. This will, in effect, translate to all of them being given a free house since they won't be obligated to repay the "loans." (Just the News)

The California Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a bill to allow undocumented immigrants to make use of the state’s zero down, no payment home “loan” program, an expansion the legislature says would create “significant cost pressures.”

“The social and economic benefits of homeownership should be available to everyone. As such, the California Dream for All Program should be available to all,” wrote bill author Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno. “When undocumented individuals are excluded from such programs, they miss out on a crucial method of securing financial security and personal stability for themselves and their families.”

AB 1840, which already passed the Assembly and now faces a floor vote in the Senate, would prevent the state’s California Dream for All Shared Appreciation Loans program from denying individuals on the basis of their immigration status.

I don't know about you, but the first question that came to my mind when I read about this scheme was how all of the current, legal homeowners in the state might feel about it. What about all of the people who had to scrimp and save for years to come up with a down payment on a home in the state with some of the most expensive housing in the country? I'm fairly sure that nobody offered them a "loan" worth 20% of the home's value and told them that wouldn't need to make any payments against that loan.

That 20% figure deserves a bit more scrutiny as well. These supposed loans will cover the typical down payment on a house. That still leaves 80% of the value of the house to repay to whichever banking institution is financing the transaction. Most of these migrants don't even qualify for work permits, though I'm sure California has already figured out a way to ignore the labor laws as well. What if the migrants can't land a job and are unable to make any mortgage payments after the down payment gives them the keys to the front door? How long will the lenders be expected to ignore the situation and simply let the migrants live in their new homes on the public dime?

This move is quite reminiscent of Joe Biden's endless efforts to cancel out student loan debt in spite of the Supreme Court's feelings on the matter. Countless people have taken out home loans just as millions have taken on student debt if they wanted a college degree. Nearly everyone who wasn't born with a silver spoon in their mouth takes on some sort of debt, particularly early in their adult life. Suddenly, someone from the government swoops in and says, "Don't worry. You won't have to worry about your particular form of debt. We will generously make your neighbors pay for it instead." 

They don't do this for everyone, of course. Only select groups that are viewed as being politically useful to those in power. For home loans, it's the illegal migrants. For student loans, it's younger people with college degrees. Everyone else with other types of debt can simply go pound sand. You don't hold any political currency they are interested in. All of the people who took on debt of either sort in good faith and paid it off will not be getting a refund. How much more of this are people willing to tolerate? I am fervently hoping that the answer is "not much more." I know that I'm sick and tired of it. And yes, my wife and I are two of those idiots who foolishly paid off all of our loans, our mortgage, our credit cards, and everything else. The federal government never gave us a dime to do it, either.