Comments | fluffysings: My Hand is Out

fluffysings

My Hand is Out - But I get Nothing

Mar 09, 2009 12:05

The more I hear about the housing bail out thing, the angrier I get. I'm sorry if people didn't live within their means. But why should the rest of us who were responsible pick up their slack ( Read more... )

Comments 10

mermaid7 March 9 2009, 17:32:26 UTC

I don't feel that I should be punished for not making poor decisions.
While I am aware that a lot of people are suffering right now through no fault of their own, there are TONS of people who just made really crappy decisions and expected everyone else to take care of them and guess what, they were right.

drunkpoet515 March 9 2009, 17:44:21 UTC

I do feel sympathy for people who were really hoodwinked. Like I saw an old woman, who was so out of it that she could barely speak, who had a subprime mortgage. How can someone in good conscience sell a complicated mortgage to someone who just doesn't understand?! But I agree that there were a lot of people who just lived beyond their means, buying a starter mansion just because they (thought they) could and I don't care about them. Or the people who bought a bunch of houses trying to make money. You gambled and lost so it's your problem ( ... )

fluffysings March 10 2009, 12:59:28 UTC

I guess I don't understabd how bailing out some irresponsible people benefits me. I get penalized.

mermaid7 March 10 2009, 14:26:11 UTC

And if the bail-out plan isn't done correctly and just puts the rest of us in the poorhouse or has half the country paying the taxes of the other half, it's not helping as much as it could.
I don't know all the ins and outs of our bail-out plan; I'm just saying that if it's not done right, it could hurt people worse than they are right now.

marvelboy74 March 9 2009, 23:43:17 UTC

I think the problem in this country goes deeper. I remember letter writing in grade school; you know, actual letters which people rarely do anymore. I was helping a co-worker write a letter yesterday, as we do often in my job, and asked him, "Don't you remember how to write letters?" Mind you I've been out of grade school 10 more years than him. There are people my age who don't know how to type. I didn't learn how to do my taxes until a few years ago.

My point is this: our education is wasted. I realize you can't teach people classes in avoiding stupidity, but people need to be taught more life skills growing up, rather than British authors or minute world history. They need to be taught about personal finances, about loans, taxes and insurance. This is knowledge everyone can use whether you are going into college, the military or you're going to be a stay-at-home parent.

mermaid7 March 10 2009, 14:24:39 UTC

You are so right- no class that I ever saw dealt with life skills such as finances, loans, taxes, etc. This class could have existed but have been hidden behind basket-weaving 101 and should have been more prominent or even required. I still don't know much about taxes; I'd be so lost without turbotax. I DO know how to budget, how not to spend money I don't have, but many people I know do not know how to do this.

marvelboy74 March 10 2009, 14:37:49 UTC

My mother who was in high school 40 years ago took the business curriculum. She learned how to do taxes then. Like you, I can not do my taxes without some type of tax software. Now maybe we don't need to learn everything about taxes but a basis would be nice because when you're 16 or 17, you can get away with a short form because you probably only have a part time job. I work in auto insurance and you would be surprised how many people don't know what a deductible is; in fact, they don't even know what they pay insurance for. And what I've come to find is the number one excuse people give for not knowing something is covered: no one told me. Granted, I'm not saying we have to hand-hold people. I believe, "Let the buyer beware." But if you give people the basics in high school, then it is truly their own fault for not holding up their end of the bargain.

madjeanine March 12 2009, 12:32:06 UTC

Oh, I am HELLA-BITTER! Neil and I actually live below our means. We don't believe in pretty things that mean nothing. It doesn't make me a better person if I drive a flashy new car that looses more than $7000 value within a second of me driving it off the lot. Or a Mc-mansion whose siding will fall off after the first rain fall. We were approved for a mortgage a significant amount more than what we actually paid for our house. I don't like to be strapped - I like to have control of my finances ( ... )

fluffysings March 12 2009, 12:39:31 UTC

Well said!

mermaid7 March 17 2009, 19:30:42 UTC

ok pretend that I said what Jeanine said. she's a lot more eloquent than I am, but that's what I meant.