I acknowledge that there are valid points to be made on both sides of this argument.

But I am ticked off by people pretending that there isn’t often a selfish motive when arguments are made that it’s OK to walk away from repaying your debts. Let’s face it, not many of us think of ourselves as investors who loaned large amounts of our own personal money to people overpaying for homes, and might lose a $1 of our own money for each $1 that’s not repaid. But lots of us are, or plan to be, homeowners. As homeowners, it would be nice if we could avoid repaying our mortgage, and feel no pangs of conscience or the pain of social opprobrium. We may never have done it, and we may not have an opportunity to do it now, but we wouldn’t mind having the option to do it in the future. “It’s OK if I steal a little, isn’t it”. My answer is No.