More like HOA's are a way to privatize many of the functions of local government, even allowing them to make rules (through contract law) that would be unconstitutional or unpassable in real government. The private police force in Robocop doesn't seem so far-fetched anymore.

There have been a few stories on NPR about HOA's that have been foreclosing on people for being a few hundred dollars behind on their HOA dues.

HOA's have a lot more power than they should, and there's been some push lately to create laws to reduce their power, but that's a pretty recent thing, and probably triggered by some HOA's getting desperate for money and becoming abusive.

They're capitalizing on the fact that we're trained to believe that our credit ratings are hugely important, and foreclosures trash them. With rental rates being as low as they are though, it's hard to see why I should tolerate this extortionist practice. If I can rile up some of the other owners to stand up to the management (not likely, I think they're largely sheep except for the one who's short-selling) I can probably put a stop to this, but otherwise, there's not much I can do other than stop paying my mortgage, let the HOA foreclose, and save raftloads of money by finding a place with relatively inexpensive rent.