Posted by
Playful Walrus on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 8:25:36 PM
Do you live within your means? Do you budget and save? Me to. We're suckers.
The Los Angeles Times has printed some letters from people not happy about how the various levels of government are responding to the economy.
David Eggenschwiler of Los Angeles writes:
Whether or not the government bails out homeowners, it must institute extensive regulations on American indebtedness.
All we need is to bring back indentured servitude.
Companies buy and package shaky mortgages to use as collateral for securities to be sold to companies that borrow money to buy them; this money is also borrowed from companies that have borrowed money to lend. This inverted pyramid of paper balances precariously on mortgages taken out by the John and Jane Does who cannot afford them if the housing market corrects, as it did and will again.
People should not buy things or services they can’t afford. People should pay off their debts.
We also should institute regulations on the credit card business, which works in ways analogous to recent mortgage lenders, encouraging precarious debt with severe penalties for inevitable defaults.
No, we don’t need more government regulations. The credit card companies, at least here in California, are already required to show in plain English in standardized form what the fees, rates, etc. are. Anyone who signs up for a credit card without looking at that information deserves whatever comes their way. I’m kind of glad all of these people buy things they can’t afford using credit cards. Since I never accumulate any interest on my credit cards, their fiscal irresponsibility is what allows the credit card companies to pay me cash back. Thanks!
Andrew Healy of Los Angeles writes:
We seem content to continue to live in a fantasy land in which debts never come due. And, by the way, as a renter who did not irresponsibly buy a house he couldn't afford, I'm pretty ticked off at the notion that my tax dollars might be used for the purpose of inflating housing prices.
Me too, as anyone who has read my previous blog entries knows.
Kenneth Jones of Eugene, Oregon writes:
I have saved all my life and now depend on interest income to support my retirement. The Federal Reserve has been reducing interest rates; my income will fall by about 20% in 2008. These reductions were made solely to bail out the sub-prime fiasco and benefit all those who have overextended themselves foolishly. Why should I have to pay for this? I have acted responsibly and now have been hit.
Yeah, that’s what government “help” does. There seems to be more encouragement to be irresponsible than ever before. Why do we insist on punishing responsible people - people who produce, people who save, people who create jobs, people who wait until they are married to have kids, men who marry instead of shacking up or just fornicating… the list never ends.