The Way of the Shadow Blade editing progress: Chapter 21 of 32.
House Rules
- Posted
- Oct 11th 2008
The entitlement system has collapsed.
This sort of meltdown is exactly what one must expect to happen when the social and political culture have become such that people have come to believe that they are entitled to things they cannot afford. And the politicians and corporations have done nothing but feed the very hunger they themselves have generated.
Somebody should tell me why, exactly, a person is
entitled to own a home on which they will never be able to pay down the mortgage. Is the state of financial awareness and education in this country that pathetic? Is it the fact that we've come up in a debt culture where the idea of saving up for something until we can actually afford it is so alien to us?
I am not in the least surprised by the economic meltdown. This has been a crisis waiting to happen from the very moment companies ever issued subprime mortgages and people, against their better judgment, actually accepted them.
The concept of keeping oneself out of debt should not be that hard to grasp. My great grandfather--who had all of a 6th grade education--understood that concept just fine. The trouble these days is that people are unwilling to live within (and preferably below) their means.
Let's get this straight. Does this mean I don't care about poor people, because I believe the handouts and the culture of accepting and expecting them has led to this problem?
NO.
I simply believe in solving the problem a different way. You do a much greater service to a person when you teach them skills that increase their earning power, AND when you give them the education in personal finance to better maintain their assets and to avoid shady credit deals and to budget so they can save up for the things they want and need. Even teaching people to understand something as simple as the difference between a want and a need is key. You do not NEED cable. You do not NEED Internet. You do not NEED the fanciest car.
And no: you do not NEED a house or condo when you would be better-served by taking the intermediate step into a reasonable apartment. I do NOT want people to live in squalor, understand. But I think in many cases an intermediate step is necessary before upgrading all the way to a house, to ensure financial solvency. So siblings might have to share a room. So space will be tight. Tough! It'll be a lot worse when you default on that mortgage you can't afford and get foreclosed on.
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Murder by Magic: An anthology of twenty short stories including magic and a murder mystery. Includes stories by Diane Duane, Debra Doyle, James MacDonald, and more! There's some good stuff in there... 
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I agree. And it's screwing up the rest of the world too. Subprime isn't the only thing to blame though
Consumerism has been so bad - especially with inflation being that high in the first place. We've ended up with the bar set so high, that people are really gonna feel the drop when it all starts to hit.
What's really bad here in the UK is nobody cared during the boom. My mum used to work for social services, catering for council estaters. They want products they can't afford - they have houses full of stuff they can't afford that they have on higher purchase, such as BMW's etc. They couldn't accept that they were poor, and go and get a job so that they could afford things - they decided to do nothing in life. Some of them don't eat so that they can have new clothes every week. It's just daft.
Now you're gonna thing that's reckless. My mum found out that what most of them do is order things from catalogues such as index, littlewoods, etc. They'd order a load of stuff from one magazine, then not pay for it. So they'd get blocked by that catalogue. So they'd move onto the next one, and the same thing would happen again, and again, and again. By the time they return to the first catalogue, the insurers wipe the debt off, and they can order things from them again! Reckless. I'd like to see them do that now. I don't think that's going to happen again ever in the future - and if it does, society hasn't learned.
Consumerism pushed onto houses, and it all blasted off from there. Now it all falls. For us it used to be annoying when we looked around because we were always responsible - our family knew this would happen. And here it is.
Major Says:
I definitely agree with you, but considering how you can only apply for some jobs online (not to mention online college), the Internet is now almost a necessity, almost. I don't know; it may be for some people. Even though someone can go to a library to complete a resume or fill out a job application online, I need specific art programs to do my work, as well as post it.
But a definite yes to what you said regarding fancy cars and houses - just have one that's livable AND isn't in a state of great disrepair. Believe me, I have been in crap cars that have so many things wrong with them (like waking up each day wondering whether or not the car will even start), that our new Toyota is an unbelievable blessing (AND we can pay the car note!). This is also a reason why I avoid taking out loans at all costs.
Lilac Wood Says:
I've finally really stopped to take the time and try and understand what's going on in this world. Because I live at home and my dad is the main one who takes care of finances, and I don't have a credit card or any of that, I haven't had a huge connection to economics to know the big picture. I keep track of my money and make sure that the car my parents own gets refills on the gas I use to drive it. I try to save otherwise. Still, I'm incredibly spoiled and fortunate, and I'll admit that openly.
Now that I've actually looked at what the whole crisis really is, I understand. The blurring of "right" and "privilege," and the whole idea of accountability, especially with the housing mortgages... It's really just astounding to me.
I mean, I grew up without cable or fancy internet, driving in old cars, only occasional frugal vacations. We only finally got cable and high-speed internet *after* my parents finished paying off the house, not before. We only got actual new cars *after* the house was paid off. I didn't really connect these things before, but I asked my dad and he confirmed. My whole life has been spent with the subliminal message that the important thing is to stay well out of debt and not waste.
Because of that, it just seems ridiculous to me that anyone would see the world otherwise. I had this strangely skewed picture that such frivolous people were rare. Heh. I faintly recall that before Rome fell, it was doing all sorts of things so its citizens would have easier lives. I can't remember exactly. All fun and games until somebody loses a country.
Lindale Says:
I agree, and I'm not surprised either. As much as I'd like to think that people will now start learning that they're not entitled to everything they think they need (like a bigger house or a better car), from what I've seen it only seems to give people another excuse for demanding money. Which they then spend on stuff they don't need.
And the worst is that some people I know are starting to get into trouble because all their hard work isn't paying off because the skills they have are for jobs that people can't afford to hire them to do (or don't believe they can afford).
But I think that the same greed that got everyone into this mess will get most people out eventually - the politicians and corporations don't seem to like the idea of losing money either
Galloglasses Says:
Actually, what you are saying is quite true, but I must put in that several pressure groups, (screw PC and the 'Interest Groups' moniker they go by), have actually pressurred several big name banks to loan to some rather, economically untenable characters for mortage loans, even though they knew they'll never see that money efver again. Apparently this contributed largely to the economic bubble which is on the verge of popping. The greenlining institute, apparently, is one such group, it boasts about how it forced several big name banks to loan to some of the poorer citizens in the US or they'd face law suits about Racial or economic discrimination. I'm not naive enough to believe they're mainly responsible, but they obviously helped bring this economic meltdown in a rather large way.
Jolie Says:
Just be aware that sometimes living in debt isn't a choice. Sometimes it's generated by automobile accidents, medical needs, layoffs and other things people can't control. Heck, these days, I know people who are in debt from having to feed their kids and fuel their cars on their credit cards because the price of EVERYTHING skyrocketed and left their wage levels well behind in the dust.
So it's not just about bums who expect handouts. It's about a system that is crumbling because of widespread deregulation. Guess what, when no one is watching the greedy people, they fleece everyone else. The whole mortgage crash is about greed. Give a loan to people who can't pay it, keep what they did pay, repo the house and sell it again to the same kind of person, all the while lining your own pockets and hording cash, meanwhile screwing over whoever gave them the loan as well as the home buyer. Now we all get to pay for that greed running rampant. They were even selling these bad loans as INVESTMENTS to people. Yeah, that's a sound practice... not. And all while the government just looked the other way.