Whose Fault is it Really?

Disclaimer: I am not an economist; I am not a banker; I am not a politician; I am not a financial expert. The following is strictly opinion based on observation.

Our economy is in meltdown. We all know that. We listen to the news and hear all the bad news. But, the bailout will save us all. The news people say so. The politicians say so. And none of them would lie to us, so it must be true.

Okay, now back to reality. The Democrats blame the Republicans and the Republicans blame the Democrats. I blame all of them. I blame us, too. Each and everyone of us who has ever maxed out a credit card, or two or three; who has robbed Peter to pay Paul; who bought more house than we needed or could afford; who had to have every single new electronic gadget on the market no matter what it cost.

We are all basically to blame for this mess. Why? One word: greed. The American consumer is greedy. And selfish. And "right"eous. Okay, what does that mean? Ever since the sixties, and yes, I'm old enough to remember most of the sixties, people have been shouting and arguing about "rights". I have the right to have a job. It doesn't matter if I'm really qualified, it just matters that I am _______. Fill in the blank. Because I am _________ I have the right to any job I want. I have the right to any house I want. I have the right to any car I want. I have the right to have the biggest and best on the block. Just because I am _________________. See, it doesn't matter how you fill in that blank, it's still wrong. No one has a right to those things. You have the right to earn those things. You have the right to have the opportunity to gain those things, but you don't have the right to have them handed to you because you think you're something special. And you are leaving out an even more important word: responsibility.

What, never heard of it? Look it up. Then look up accountability. They work together. If you want your "rights", then you better take some responsibility.

It works like this. You make a certain amount of money every month at your job. You work for it. Uncle Sam takes some of it before you see it, but that's his job. He has to make money so he can run the country. So, the government gets a share of your paycheck and you get what's left. With that you have to pay the rent or the mortgage, pay the utility bills, make the car payment, put gas in your car, buy groceries, pay the baby sitter, pay for the cable so you can have 450 channels you don't watch, pay for the internet so you can surf the web and read blogs like this one, pay for that overpriced designer coffee that gets you going in the morning, pay the minimum on those five credit cards you have but will never pay off because you're paying 25% interest and the minimums barely cover that, pay to have your nails done every other week, your hair done every six weeks, that new pair of boots because the fashion magazines say you'll never attract the love of your life if you don't, okay, you see where I'm going with this?

GREED. SELF. ME. ME. ME.

This has been going on for decades. Banks were convinced to give home loans to people who really could not afford them. Credit cards were given out like candy at Halloween. We, the American consumers, have overdosed on credit and now it's time to deal with the hangover. And we're looking for someone else to blame.

How do we get out of this mess? STOP SPENDING MONEY YOU DON'T HAVE! That goes for the goverment as well. Whoever you choose to vote for in November, at any level of government, city right up to federal, tell them one thing loud and clear. DO NOT propose ANY new programs for ANYTHING. The government can't afford it. This country is broke. We run our government on borrowed money. Taxes can't cover the interest much less the principle. We don't need new programs. We don't need new "boots", we need to simply live within our means and deal with what we have. And if you make more than X dollars, don't let the government tell you that you have to take some of that and give it to those who make less than X dollars. If you're successful, congratulations. You've done something right. Don't let the government punish you for it. If you're not so successful, if you don't make the dollars in that higher bracker, don't expect to be carried. And if you're in the "system", get out of it. Okay, the job market's tight, we all know that. But there are jobs out there. No, they don't all pay great. A lot of them pay minimum and not much more. Are you too proud to take it? I've worked for minimum wage. I was overqualified for the job, but I did it and did it well. I did not go on welfare. I did not go on foodstamps. And I raised a family. Boys. They eat a lot. They never starved. Not even close. Yes, for a short time I did have the state medical benefit for my children. And yes, I used it for their physicals and shots and when they got sick. That's what it's there for. We had no access to other insurance. But I did not take advantage of the system. And I got off it as soon as I could.

I do not have a college degree. I have a decent job. I have a house that I'm probably about to lose because I can't make the mortgage payments. That's my fault. I bought more house than I could reasonably afford on what I was bringing home and now I am in trouble. I could blame the mortgage company and say they should not have approved the loan, but why should I? They were doing what the government told them it was okay to do. Sure, approve that subprime loan. Then sell it to someone else so you don't have to worry about losing the money. Don't worry whether that person can still make their payments in year or two, you'll have your money. It's not your problem. That's what they did by the way. The servicer that now holds my mortgage is the third in the less than three years. The other two, have their money. They haven't lost a dime. They don't care.

So you see, it's not all the government's fault. Sure, they need to shoulder a good portion of the blame, but there's enough for Democrats and Republicans alike. And it doesn't go back just the past 8 years. It goes back to the sixties. Forty something years. We've had both parties in the White House in that time and a majority of both parties in control of Congress in that time. BOTH parties are to blame. And neither one will fix the problem if they continue to propose spending bills they can't afford. They need to STOP spending. Just like we do. Stop living on credit. Don't move to a bigger house this year. Don't buy a new car just because the one you have now is all of two years old. Drive it till it quits. Drive it till you've actually gotten your money's worth out of it, if that's even possible. Wear last year's boots; they're probably still in pretty good shape. The fashion world won't die if you don't have a brand new wardrobe. I haven't had one in years. Don't care. I like my jeans. I like last year's boots.

So, whose fault is it really? All of us. We all did this to ourselves.

Book Review

I just finished John Ringo's The Last Centurion. What a ride! If you've ever wanted to take potshots at the media, or the politicians, or anything that just completely got your goat, you will love this book. His character tells his story in blog form and everything, and every one, is fair game. He points out the foibles and fables that run wild and cause all sorts of other problems. Domino effect; in spades. Without going into a lot of details that would simply spoil it for you, this is the perfect book for those who think "scientific polls" are bogus, bureaucracy often causes more problems than it fixes, "governmental experts" rarely are, and the media would not know the truth if it bit them in the nether regions. This book is pure fun. Read it. I will issue a warning for the more sensitive types out there. The language is just about as crass as it gets. Get over it. It works for the character. I don't use foul language. I don't write it in my books. That's me. I've heard it all. This character would not be believable without it. It's just him. But, I've warned you, so don't blame me if you blush. Read it anyway. I haven't had this much fun reading a book in a very long. Thank you John Ringo.