There's a piece of me that feels like a patsy for having bought an affordable little house with a conventional thirty year fixed mortgage and 20% down. As I read about the crumbling of the country's financial infrastructure, I get pissed off. I did the right thing, so why do I have to pay for everyone else's mistakes?
But forget me, that's just selfish.
I've come across a couple of interesting posts on Daily Kos recently. The first is a sober and methodical look at the historical underpinnings of the current crisis, including John McCain's involvement at various times along the way. It's worth a read.
The second is about a firebrand Congresswoman from Ohio, who spoke out on the floor of the house the other night. She was spot-on, concise and pointed. There's video imbedded in that post, so read and/or watch.
The best thing about this financial crisis? I'm beginning to think that it's the straw to break the back of the Republican camel.
God, I hope so!! And, yeah, where's my pat on the back for being UNSTUPID and living within my means? Not that I should have one but I also "bought" a house with a 30-yr fixed rated mortgage and 22% down. Those balloon loans seemed....hmmm...a little risky.
ReplyDeleteYou said it, and you said it again.
ReplyDeleteI'm furious.
Ack! You beat me to the title for today's post! I had to find another!
ReplyDeleteFurious doesn't begin to capture it. Sick, I am sick over it.
Unfortunately, they won't own their mess.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of times it is frustrating for people who are doing the right thing watching people who are not doing the right things get ahead or at the very least avoiding the consequences of their actions.
ReplyDeleteamen. i agree. i hope it's the tipping point we need to get this election done and over and moving in the right direction. if that is one outcome, then fine.
ReplyDeletethe rest is total shit.
First paragraph: Word.
ReplyDeleteAs for the last, unfortunately, I am pessimistic.
Dear World:
ReplyDeleteThe light at the end of the tunnel has now been turned off.
Love,
The politicians
You said exactly everything I'm thinking.
ReplyDeleteAmen sister.
ReplyDeletePlease excuse what's probably going to turn into a tirade, but unless I'm missing a whole layer of sarcasm I don't think I like your tone.
ReplyDeleteThe people who bought houses beyond their means aren't getting a free ride of any kind. I work for an organization that counsels people in mortgage trouble, and in most cases all we can do is make sure they know their rights in the foreclosure process. The folks you're comparing yourself to aren't getting "bailed out" in any sense.
You (we) are paying for mistakes, all right, but I'd say they're primarily the mistakes of the greedy and/or unthinking and/or frenzied folks in the mortgage industry, who often sold mortgages they knew were bad without disclosing everything as they should, and often took advantage of people who weren't savvy enough to know what to ask and how to evaluate what they were getting into.
The lust for home ownership in this country is irrational and powerful, and for many people who couldn't afford to do the "right thing" and didn't have the education or financial experience to know how to spot a bad deal, all those loan offers were too good to pass up.
I am really bothered by the self-righteousness in both your post and many of the comments. Yes, it is right to live within your means, and good for you for doing that. But if you're able to put together a 20% down payment in any market, let alone in a really booming, overpriced urban area, then you're more than prudent, you're also lucky. And if you were able to understand the terms of your loan and find your way through that whole process without getting duped, then you're probably also riding on the shoulders of family or community members who've been well off enough to participate in the "American dream" of home ownership before you.
I'm not saying nobody who got a bad loan made a bad decision, but my God, aren't they paying for it enough by losing their homes? And I'm not denying that you've made really good decisions ... but look at all the luck and position and privilege that went into where you are now. There's a lot in there that you can't take credit or lay blame for.
Other than that ... thanks for the great news links. And I hope you're right about the camel.
i really really hope you are right. the big silver lining...
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely losing my mind over this "suspend the campaign" NONSENSE. LOSING it.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that last paragraph.
ReplyDeletewhen I saw today that mcCain is "suspending his campaign" because of the crisis, i just laughed. Suspending his campaign clearly isn't going to solve the crisis, and everyone will see it for what it is... a ploy to get out of the debate and keep Palin cloistered for longer.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm pissed off that Obama is going to inherit this mess
oooh.. just read the first article and I lived in CA during the rolling blackouts, and remember how FURIOUS we were all along, and we knew that it was a scam from the beginning. And that THIS new problem is tied into the SAME CRAP. Well, I'm fuming now.
ReplyDeleteThe good thing about all of us who did the unstupid thing is we are not in a panic. Yep, our net worth did take a bit of a dive but I'm not fretting over debt or how we are going to make it to the next paycheck.
ReplyDeleteWe are still buying when we have the cash to pay in full and putting money in saving with every paycheck just like before when everyone who lived beyond their means thought we were weird. As Dave Ramsey says "I like being weird."
I read that same Daily Kos article and was absolutely fascinated. My own thoughts on the issue? Well, they're kind of complicated....
ReplyDeleteas for Caro--no we are paying for it.
ReplyDeletemy comment is this--this may be one of the few times in history that The Daily Kos and Newt Gingrich are not so far apart?
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,426221,00.html
For those who try to be responsible, all the irresponsibility across the whole spectrum is irritating.
ReplyDeleteIt is a cultural thing. Live for today, you know.
I hope so!!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, my. We can only hope.
ReplyDeleteWhen Bush beat Gore, and then the R's had control of both houses of congress, I was crestfallen and afraid (of what? Oh, I don't know, something like NOW maybe?). My husb said, "don't worry. they can't stay in power longer than 8 years. they blow it everytime" I am hoping (for maybe the second time in our marriage..haha) that he is right.
ReplyDeleteI hope so.
ReplyDeleteI'm very curious as to how the whole economy thing is being handled down there. My mother in law is in Ohio and she is completely pissed there's going to be a bail-out but what we're hearing up here is that there will be a worldwide recession that could bleed into a depression quickly if there is no bail-out. That there's serious folks. Pissed off, yes. And I'm all for kicking the Republicans in the ass (just for fun) but I do think there is a bigger and more pervasive force at work here. An out of control and out of check consumerism that had its roots in governments even before old monkey man himself. I'm just saying...it's a little scary from my porch.
ReplyDelete