Utah Savage: The Credit Crisis Made Visual

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Credit Crisis Made Visual

Thanks to Tengrain for posting this at Mock Paper Scissors.

9 comments:

Linda-Sama said...: quite honestly, I'm having second thoughts about these bailouts.

I know it's not politically correct to say this out loud, but frankly, I don't want one freakin' dime of my money going to bail someone out who shouldn't have bought the house they're in and then found out they can't afford it. I don't want one dime of my money bailing somebody out who maxes out their credit cards without a thought to how they're going to pay the bill. too bad about them.

I was raised by old people who lived through the '20s and Depression and never had one credit card. yeah, yeah, I know times are different now, but I pay my credit card bills off every month. I don't buy shit I don't need and then can't pay for it. I don't buy houses I can't afford. I live within my means. and when I hear people where I live in white bread suburbia living in half million dollar houses (believe me, my house is NOT worth that much) and driving Hummers whining about how bad it is now, it makes me want to vomit.

I'm not saying people aren't in dire financial straits, of course they are. I lost over $30,000 in my retirement funds last year and when you only have $75,000, that's a lot. But I don't like this mass bailout of (some) people who caused their own financial problems. It wasn't the government and it wasn't Wall St. who caused their personal financial problems -- people need to take responsibility for what they got own selves into (like I said, some people.)

I don't hear about any govt. bailouts for yoga teachers -- I MADE LESS THAN $20,000 LAST YEAR, yet the people who are crying about how how they can't afford private yoga drive better cars and live in bigger houses than I do.

I also believe this country is going to have another Depression. Things will have to get a lot worse before people wake the fuck up.

rant over.; February 24, 2009 at 11:06 AM
The Crow said...: God bless a milk cow, how enlightening and depressing at the same time!

Makes me grateful my house has no mortgage; very grateful.; February 24, 2009 at 11:32 AM
Utah Savage said...: Great rant Linda. I'm of the "There but the the grace of god go I" school of thought. I own a house. I don't have enough income to get a loan on my house. A lucky break for me, since I need a loan to make repairs. The house is in constant need of attention/repairs/clogged pipes/squirrells in the attic type problems and then there are the taxes. I went bankrupt caring for my mother and going good and batshit crazy. My medical bills were astronomical and so was my health insurance. When I hit the wall I was bankrupt and unable to work. My story is not so rare. I was, before I realized how dire were my circumstances, buying food with credit cards. Shit happens to people that is not with in their ability to control. All the good planning in the world won't save them from one small catastrophe or another that starts the ball rolling. A sick child and none of your three jobs offers health care. A parent with Alzheimer's and no one to help you? Life is brutal for many without this economic freefall.

People with equity in a house that was worth a great deal two or three years ago were sold a load of bullshit about refinancing to take advantage of DEALS that were pushed by brokers and then sold and bundled and sold again and so on. No regulation at all. All free market gone amuck. We hire people to read the fine print we can't understand to advise us. Remember, "The fundamentals of the economy are sound?" And Phil Graham saying "We're a nation of whiners?"; February 24, 2009 at 12:06 PM
Linda-Sama said...: "Shit happens to people that is not with in their ability to control"

I get all that. In fact, there is nothing we can control. Nothing. The delusion is that we think we can control things and what creates our suffering (well, one thing) is thinking we can control anything. The only thing we can control is our reactions to our circumstances but most people can't even control that.

And I get it that people are losing their jobs, can't pay their mortgages, etc. etc. and before anyone tells me that I don't get it, back in the day I was on food stamps and even stole food a time or two when my lazy ass ex didn't feel like working -- and no, I didn't give him any. I know what govt. cheese tastes like. And I couldn't get welfare because I had $100 in my checking account -- that was too much.

So my rant is exactly what I said. I don't want one nickel of my money going to people who think "hey, I'm not gonna pay my mortgage anymore because the govt. is gonna bail me out." I'm not talking about the people living on the streets because they had to choose between paying a med. bill or a mortgage.

My good friend is a psych nurse for the City of San Francisco. She's the one the mayor calls to round up the homeless when a big shot is making a public speech on the street. She's in the trenches with the homeless and the mentally ill everyday. THOSE are the people who need bailouts, not someone who couldn't afford the house that they shouldn't have bought in the first place.; February 24, 2009 at 2:32 PM
Utah Savage said...: Agreed my dear sister friend.; February 24, 2009 at 3:01 PM
Ghost Dansing said...: that was a really interesting video...; February 24, 2009 at 5:21 PM
jmsjoin said...: I really do not think anyone should be bailed out. The average American who needs the help will not get it so let the chips fall where they may!

I have said it for years now but this the second Greatest depression set up by Greenspan under Bush is just beginning and the only thing the bailouts will do is further the bankrupting of America.

Bush staving this off until he was out and the timing of all this is no coincidence!; February 24, 2009 at 5:30 PM
Anonymous said...: on Wulfshead Brangie post:

Oh Brangie are okay, but you gotta ride these celebs hard or they get swelled heads.

Is the Wulfshead anything like Harry's Bar?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxUWM5AhLiY; February 24, 2009 at 5:43 PM
Utah Savage said...: Wulfshead is a bit like Harry's Bar. I hope you didn't mind my taking you there. But I wanted you to know I keep up on these things and appreciate the importance of your post.; February 24, 2009 at 6:19 PM