The "credit crunch" & stupid people
Know what bugs me? Stupid people.
We really don't get time to watch the news as we work late into the night, and I'm about a year behind in reading my periodicals like Muzzleloader Magazine, so having an hour each night to read the newspaper is out too. When I read news, it is online, read in the morning as I wake up and filter out my junk email.
What dominates the online news these days seems to be the so-called "credit crunch" and the "sub prime loan" fiasco.
It seems like everyone is whining about not being able to make ends meet and that "middle class" families are being targeted by "predatory lenders". I claim BS!
When I was a kid, "middle class" families in my neighborhood didn't buy overpriced houses or all have high-end SUVs. They rented houses, maybe had one new car and if there was a second car, it was a used one. Me, I came from a very poor family that not only didn't have a car, we didn't even have a phone.
Nowadays, EVERYBODY seems to have a new car, and not a stripped down model at that. EVERYBODY has a cell phone, a computer, flat screen TVs etc etc. The expectations of "middle class" have changed, and thus the costs.
It used to be that you'd save up money for years to make a downpayment on a house. 20% was the norm. You'd have to do some financial planning to be able to make a purchase like a house, and even then, you'd get a house you could afford, not some overpriced McMansion in a pretentious subdivision. Maybe I'm just a cranky old fart, but when did we stop using common sense? It seems like people expect to be able to not plan ahead, not save up for a downpayment, buy a house way beyond their means just because they qualified for a loan to do it, and when push comes to shove and they cant' really afford it, blame the banks, the government, China, Walmart, the education system, anyone but where the real responsibility lies: THEMSELVES!
A couple of weeks ago there was a series of articles on MSN describing how the middle class is being squeezed. One of the articles described a young family that was whining because they had a no money left over after making car payments on their $40k SUV and mortgage payments on their $400k house in an upscale neighborhood. It really irked me. Of course, they justifed all of their stupid financial moves. Since one of thme had a 10 mile commute to work, they "needed" the SUV because they needed a reliable car. I guess a less glamorous car that gets better gas mileage and costs about 1/3 of the SUV wouldn't be reliable? They "needed" to live in the upscale neighborhood because one of thme had grown up in the vicinity and had family nearby. I guess it is unreasonable to drive a few minute more to visit your older, established family members and live in a house you can actually afford.
Whose fault was the families dillemma? Everyone's! They said it was the bank's fault for giving them the loan with and adjustable rate that went up after two years (can't expect a consumer to actually READ the terms of the loan before signing it, right?). They said it was the housing market's fault for prices being so high on houses (actually it is market driven, if people weren't willing to pay $400k for a shoddily built McMansion, they would cost about 1/3 what they do). They said it was Walmart's fault for outsourcing jobs to China (of course, they still shop there for all of their "must-have" electronic crap that they don't really need).
Not once did they they concede that perhaps a family of four that "only" makes about $70k per year should perhaps be a little smarter with their money. Buy a cheaper car, live in a less prestigeous house, THINK a little before siging a loan document etc. ...it all just seems like good old fashioned common sense to me.
What happened to "starter houses" where you'd buy a fixer-upper at auction, put some sweat equity into it, and move up to a nicer house when your income reached the appropriate level? What happened to economy cars or stripped down models? It seems like people feel the need to live beyond their means for image reasons, but aren't willing to make the sacrifices need to attain their goals.
How does this affect our society as a whole? When the dumb people who overpaid for overpriced houses and signed dumb mortgage agreements default on their loans, the banks fail. When the banks fail, the Federal Reserve steps in and bails out the banks by simply printing more money! More money means inflation because the dollar is worth less. A dollar that is worth less costs every single one of us in a big way because it is like a cut in pay...and it all started with stupid people living beyond their means.
We really don't get time to watch the news as we work late into the night, and I'm about a year behind in reading my periodicals like Muzzleloader Magazine, so having an hour each night to read the newspaper is out too. When I read news, it is online, read in the morning as I wake up and filter out my junk email.
What dominates the online news these days seems to be the so-called "credit crunch" and the "sub prime loan" fiasco.
It seems like everyone is whining about not being able to make ends meet and that "middle class" families are being targeted by "predatory lenders". I claim BS!
When I was a kid, "middle class" families in my neighborhood didn't buy overpriced houses or all have high-end SUVs. They rented houses, maybe had one new car and if there was a second car, it was a used one. Me, I came from a very poor family that not only didn't have a car, we didn't even have a phone.
Nowadays, EVERYBODY seems to have a new car, and not a stripped down model at that. EVERYBODY has a cell phone, a computer, flat screen TVs etc etc. The expectations of "middle class" have changed, and thus the costs.
It used to be that you'd save up money for years to make a downpayment on a house. 20% was the norm. You'd have to do some financial planning to be able to make a purchase like a house, and even then, you'd get a house you could afford, not some overpriced McMansion in a pretentious subdivision. Maybe I'm just a cranky old fart, but when did we stop using common sense? It seems like people expect to be able to not plan ahead, not save up for a downpayment, buy a house way beyond their means just because they qualified for a loan to do it, and when push comes to shove and they cant' really afford it, blame the banks, the government, China, Walmart, the education system, anyone but where the real responsibility lies: THEMSELVES!
A couple of weeks ago there was a series of articles on MSN describing how the middle class is being squeezed. One of the articles described a young family that was whining because they had a no money left over after making car payments on their $40k SUV and mortgage payments on their $400k house in an upscale neighborhood. It really irked me. Of course, they justifed all of their stupid financial moves. Since one of thme had a 10 mile commute to work, they "needed" the SUV because they needed a reliable car. I guess a less glamorous car that gets better gas mileage and costs about 1/3 of the SUV wouldn't be reliable? They "needed" to live in the upscale neighborhood because one of thme had grown up in the vicinity and had family nearby. I guess it is unreasonable to drive a few minute more to visit your older, established family members and live in a house you can actually afford.
Whose fault was the families dillemma? Everyone's! They said it was the bank's fault for giving them the loan with and adjustable rate that went up after two years (can't expect a consumer to actually READ the terms of the loan before signing it, right?). They said it was the housing market's fault for prices being so high on houses (actually it is market driven, if people weren't willing to pay $400k for a shoddily built McMansion, they would cost about 1/3 what they do). They said it was Walmart's fault for outsourcing jobs to China (of course, they still shop there for all of their "must-have" electronic crap that they don't really need).
Not once did they they concede that perhaps a family of four that "only" makes about $70k per year should perhaps be a little smarter with their money. Buy a cheaper car, live in a less prestigeous house, THINK a little before siging a loan document etc. ...it all just seems like good old fashioned common sense to me.
What happened to "starter houses" where you'd buy a fixer-upper at auction, put some sweat equity into it, and move up to a nicer house when your income reached the appropriate level? What happened to economy cars or stripped down models? It seems like people feel the need to live beyond their means for image reasons, but aren't willing to make the sacrifices need to attain their goals.
How does this affect our society as a whole? When the dumb people who overpaid for overpriced houses and signed dumb mortgage agreements default on their loans, the banks fail. When the banks fail, the Federal Reserve steps in and bails out the banks by simply printing more money! More money means inflation because the dollar is worth less. A dollar that is worth less costs every single one of us in a big way because it is like a cut in pay...and it all started with stupid people living beyond their means.
posted by MVTCoPete | 11:58 AM
1 Comments:
Pete,
You hit the nail on the head.
Living here in Ohio we see the same thing.Case and point,I pulled up to the gas pump last evening and here is this fellow with a $50.000 Hummer on his cell phone
filling up at BP.It probably cost
him over a $100.00 to fill that tank.My wife and I always say "live within your means"!Spend time with your children,one on one
not buying expensive toys,flat screen computers,etc.Again,that was the best blog yet that you have posted.Take care and have a nice holiday.Ernie.
o
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