I know I've been away for a little while; it's been a hectic few weeks. And I know most of you who read this site do so because it's fun to laugh at me being an idiot. I do it rather well. But I have to go serious on you for a few minutes.
I feel a serious pain in my heart every day for this country. We're headed down such a horrid path, and no one is doing a thing about it besides talking. People condemn the actions of others, only to perpetrate their own crimes against themselves and their peers; political campaigns are filled to the brim with a bunch of wonderful rhetoric, but no real substance or activity. Now we face a weak dollar, a housing market that would be a buyer's boone if the buyers out there hadn't already mortgaged their families' futures on false hopes of a dream loan, crime and violence are increasing nationwide, and the government that thinks it knows what's best for us is so divided on every issue that they've stalemated themselves. And now, thanks to an overtly liberal media that pushes the me-first attitude, everyone thinks they are entitled to a hand-out to fix their problems.
Here are the facts, people: you have a responsibility to yourself, your family and your nation. Yes, there are times when the government needs to give assistance to people; I've benefited from government help, and people to whom I am very close have benefited from it. It's often very important, and just as often necessary.
However, you live in the Land of the Free; your decisions are yours to make. And if you choose to sit on your lazy arse and try to collect money from the government without putting any effort forth, you are a leech and a major threat to this nation. If you are informed that a category-four hurricane is going to hit your city that lies below sea level, you are able-bodied, and you choose not to leave, that's your problem, not mine. If you failed to research the sub-prime lending vultures out there, and you failed to read the terms of the contract you signed, why should my tax dollars pay for your mistake?
My point is this: man up, people. Take some responsibility for your own actions. If you are unable to decide anything for yourself, do the world two favors: stop procreating, and go live in a communist country where the government will make sure you have no decisions of your own to make. Your lack of personal responsibility is rapidly degrading this nation into a cesspool of the worst kinds of human dredge — blue-collar and white-collar included, there's no distinction in my mind between class when it comes to the scum of the earth.
And, no, I'm not saying that everyone (or anyone in particular, for that matter) who defaulted on a sub-prime loan is the "scum of the earth." That's not the implication; what is implied here is that you are responsible for your own decisions and the consequences that come from them. If you choose to feel the government is obliged to bail you out, that the other 300 million people in this country should be forced to bear the burden of your failure to take responsibility for your actions, you are sadly mistaken. I am happy to help out those who make an effort to help themselves, but I will not sit idly by and watch my hard-earned dollars continue to support and bail out those who just don't want to get a clue.
With that, I'd like to put something on the table for you: if I ran for President, would you vote for me? Talk back!
March 5th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I would vote for you! I totally agree with what you’ve said. I have also been on government assistance. I only need a year of help with medical insurance and then worked hard and found myself an excellent job! I also do not want to be responsible for all of the lazy people who make no effort what so ever to help themselves.
I have been reading your blogs for a couple of years now and think you are very intelligent and have many great ideas. This post is not the deciding factor for me. I think you have great insight on many topics!
Oh happy belated birthday to the little princess. I hope you both had a great day! Welcome to the terrible twos lol
March 6th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
so true.
March 9th, 2008 at 7:58 am
Amen!
March 9th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
where are Tim’s comments??
March 11th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Although it pains me to say it because of our relationship, no I would not. To view the mortgage foreclosure crisis as a lack of personal responsibility solely on the part of the borrowers is to ignore the true depth and magnitude of the problem.
Responsibility is a two-way street in any business transaction. Were the banks acting responsibly when they agreed to finance all of these sub-prime, variable rate mortgages in the midst of a (and I’ll be generous here) slow growth economy that was being propped up mostly by the housing market, the very market they were funding? Given that all of these defaults have resulted in U.S. banks being bailed out by foreign investment, it appears that caution was not exercised properly.
And that is the true problem behind the foreclosure problem. It’s not just the people who will be displaced after defaulting, it’s the banks that will lose tremendous amounts of money unless one of two things occur: (1) the government bails them out; or (2) foreign investors buy them out. If neither happens, the credit market will continue to collapse — take note of the recent stories discussing how private student loans are becoming harder to obtain — and the available funds for business investment, especially small business investment, will slowly disappear as the pressure to get out of debt will increase on every American.
Call me what you will, but I prefer government intervention over foreign ownership at this point in time. Trade agreements have not been kind to us over the past decade and foreign ownership of American debt, both public and private, has never been greater. As a nation, we find ourselves in the precarious position of being financially beholden to countries whose interests do not match our own, including China, who has hinted at a willingness to flex its military muscle if the U.S. oversteps its bounds (see North Korea’s nuclear program and alleged human rights violations).
Also, consider this, should we again fall victim to a state-sponsored terrorist attack, could we finance a military operation without monetary support from China, Japan, and/or Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. (Dubai)? At what point do China and Japan balk at giving us more loans? And would any Arabic nation assist in financing such an action, given that any attack would likely have been sponsored by one of their allies or neighbors?
While I, too, hesitate to advocate government intervention into private contractual matters, a president must also consider the consequences of any action or inaction. Further increasing foreign ownership and debt holdings — in addition to displacing thousands of Americans, thus sending the housing market into a serious downward spiral and slowing overall economic development — is too bitter a pill for me to swallow given our other commitments throughout the world and here at home.
America is strongest when Americans control the power behind her economy. To ensure that the foreclosure problem does not damage that goal, all variable interest rate mortgages should be indexed to inflation and capped at a negotiated rate that would reduce the banks’ lost profits (which is not to say that they would take a loss overall, although they might) while allowing people to remain in their homes by making more achievable payments.
It is not an ideal solution, and it is not one I propose lightly, but it allows us to right an economic slide that affects our general welfare and national security more and more every time foreign ownership of American debt and business increases.
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Sorry to be so long-winded, but when campaign season rolls around I tire quickly of bumper sticker slogans and sound bite politics. And don’t get me wrong, I’m all for personal responsibility — I remind my clients of it almost daily — but we cannot sacrifice the best interests of our nation because of strict adherence to any concept or ideology, regardless of how appealling it may sound.
Mikey, I count you as a friend, but I must respectively disagree on this one.
March 11th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Whoops; it should be “respectfully disagree” at the end.
March 11th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Ahh, yes, Jeff. I agree on some points. But the fact remains that I specifically said that it was personal responsibility in *general*, not housing issues specifically. And I was careful to point out at the end that I wasn’t referring to everyone who defaulted, just the ones who refuse to accept any responsibility for their errors in judgment.
Nor am I saying the government shouldn’t be acting for the better good of the nation in this instance; it’s the people who expect the government to fix their screw-ups. Hurricane Katrina is a great example: the government should be expected to help pay for the damage caused by a hurricane no one could stop, but they should not have been expected to take the blame for the great loss of life among able-bodied citizens who were given early warning of the storm’s potential and several ways to escape its path. But, the New Orleans community and mayor Ray Nagin pinned the loss of life on the Bush Administration, even as dozens of buses sent to evacuate residents sat empty and flooded out in the streets of the city.
This was not a pot-shot at any one group of people, or at any people in particular. It was simply intended as a commentary on the declining desire of the general U.S. population to accept the consequences of their own actions and decisions.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:25 am
Perhaps I was confused by, “If you failed to research the sub-prime lending vultures out there, and you failed to read the terms of the contract you signed, why should my tax dollars pay for your mistake?” To me, that strongly implied that the federal government should take no action, which formed the basis of my reply to your question.
There will always be people with unrealistic expectations of government performance, be it federal, state, or local. I encounter this almost daily, usually in the form of, “Why would the judge throw me in jail for not paying my child support for two years? I can’t work from there!” Or, my personal favorite, offered by a client who recently had incurred her SIXTH (!) DUI, “How else am I supposed to get home from the bar?” We’ll always have these incorrigibles, nor matter how much we do to improve education.
I would disagree with your contention that the percentage of people who expect the government to remedy their personal problems is increasing. It seems to me that complaints about government performance often increase during periods of economic downturn and usually come from people frustrated with their personal situation. For all of the unaccountable clients that come my way, I’ll have a few who have honestly tried to turn things around after responding well to their punishment, but can’t find work for any number of reasons, can’t get away from their old temptations, and often find their way to my office again. But I don’t believe that they want the government to take total control; the government is just an easy target.
And sometimes that bull’s eye is justified. How many congresses and presidents ignored the requests of the Army Corps of Engineers for the necessary funds to fix the levees around New Orleans?