That’s the message President Obama is sending to those who have saved their money and waited on the sidelines to buy a house. One intended effect of his mortgage bailout plan is to support housing prices and the unintended effect of this is to make it harder for those who want to buy homes. I pointed this out to Fox News reporter Gary Gentile. Here’s the relevant passage:

While the plan may help many who most need assistance, there may be some unforeseen consequences, warned David R. Henderson, a research fellow at the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Bailing out homeowners who would otherwise be forced to find more affordable housing could hurt people who are ready to buy homes at rock-bottom prices, he said.

“All those people who have been saving their money, waiting on the sidelines, are being penalized,” Henderson said. “The government is taking away this opportunity.”