I've learned in life to never say never. I never thought I'd be spouting politics on the Internet for all to see. I never thought I'd buy one of those tiny toy dogs since I have five manly boys in my family. I never thought I'd live in the desert, but guess who's moving to Las Vegas? Yep, it's true. I'm leaving paradise and moving to the desert right in the middle of the summer. Great plan, eh?

When my twin sister married a man who was born and raised in Sin City my husband and I felt sorry for her, knowing that she'd probably be surrounded by tumbleweeds for the rest of her life. My husband laughed and said "Vegas looks just like San Diego... after a nuclear holocaust!" Guess who's laughing now.

The recent housing crisis has hit my family particularly hard. My husband owns a real estate appraisal company and both of us are also Realtors. Because the real estate market is somewhat cyclical, we have lived through a roller coaster existence of feast or famine our entire married life together. The feasting cycles were awesome, but the famine times stunk. 

As mortgage rates continue to climb and home values continue to fall, our livelihood has taken a hit. Add rising gas and food costs, braces on the kids, and our second son joining his older brother in college this fall and we've just joined the "People Who Adore San Diego But Can't Afford To Live Here Anymore" club.

A mortgage aid plan that had broad bipartisan support stalled in the Senate recently in a dispute over taxes. According to news reports, the foreclosure rescue plan would have let the Federal Housing Administration back $300 billion in new, cheaper home loans for an estimated 400,000 distressed borrowers who otherwise would be considered too financially risky to qualify for government-insured, fixed-rate loans.  

Unfortunately, while thousands of houses fall into foreclosure, Congress is on holiday for over a week with the matter unresolved. 

This rescue plan is an interesting idea that could possibly help the housing slump, but does it send the right message to Americans about being accountable for their own bad decisions? Why should taxpayers bail out these borrowers who bought more house than they could afford? If they signed up for an adjustable rate, then shouldn't they have known the risks? People generally like the sound of a government bailout, but I guess they forget that the money is coming out of our own pockets.

While celebrating Independence Day, some Americans are feeling quite dependent on the government to solve their problems.

Talking heads disagree about whether or not this bill is a good idea for our country. So what else is new? In a CNBC article, Art Laffer, former Reagan economic advisor says "This bill is a terrible misallocation of resources. Taxpayers have done nothing whatsoever to deserve to foot the bill for bad loans undertaken by others." 

With an opposing view, Robert Reich, former labor secretary, says "The price tag is small relative to what the nation will be paying if we don't help troubled homeowners - hundreds of thousands of empty houses that reduce housing values around them, further erosion of credit markets, and a prolonged recession." 

Some financial experts, like Dick Armey, worry that the ideas Congress is currently considering will make the problem worse by reducing available credit or by rewarding irresponsible behavior by lenders and borrowers.  

Is government intervention in the economy good? First Wall Street, now housing? What do YOU think?

It's ironic that my husband's income has been negatively affected by doing exactly what could have prevented this problem in the first place. He's an honest appraiser who actually tells his clients, mortgage companies, what a house is worth... not what the mortgage company wants it to be worth in order to make the deal. He's lost clients over the years because he wouldn't play the value game. Now we're in the position that we have to sell our own home and take on new jobs out of state. I never thought we'd sell our great house for so little, but I should have known to never say never. We're so sad to be leaving America's Finest City.   

As far as "Citizen Voices" goes, it's been an honor to share this little corner of cyberspace with other San Diegans who love this city and country and are stepping out of their comfort zone to try to make it even better. We may disagree on issues, but freedom of speech is one of the things that make America great. How can we learn anything if we only surround ourselves by people who are exactly like us? There is much we can learn from one another. We may not change each other's minds, but the dialogue is still valuable. 

The answers to America's problems are to be found in the people of America. The signers of the Declaration of Independence put "WE the people" at the top of the document to remind us who would shape the nation's destiny. America has plenty of problems, but it's still the greatest country on earth. May all of you be happy, healthy, prosperous and never see tumbleweed on your street.

- Citizen Voices blogger Trina Boice is an author and mother of four who lives in Carlsbad.