Friday, March 6, 2009

That's right I said it

I've been stewing about this "Economic Crisis" thing for months. Some of the things I say may be heartless and stinging but I think they are true--and I'm not apologizing.

I'm one of those people that hates to hear people complain about anything. My motto is --do something about it or shut up.

All I'm hearing everywhere is whine whine whine, blame blame blame. No one is stepping up and saying--I had a part in this and I'm going to do what I can to step up.

I want ONE just ONE somebody somewhere to step up and do just that.

Politicians---pointless. They are too busy pointing fingers and talking trash to get anything done. How is that I can work in an environment, like most people, who have differing opinions right and left and still get something accomplished. And they can do nothing--worthless piles.

I come from blue collar. Small town, hard working, do it yourself sort of stock. My dad built our house all on his own without any sort of carpentry know how. He read books. When they moved he hung the front door that day. They lived with milk crates as cupboards for years. They paid as they went. Now my dad is retired, his house is paid for, his cars are paid for his EVERYTHING is paid for. My parents never had credit card debt. If they ever used one, they paid it off at the end of the month. If they didn't have money for something, they didn't do it or they didn't buy it. And they saved their money--yes, savings. Guess what--now they are living well. Not crazy--own a second home in Sand Diego well, but clear conscience we have no debt and enough to live on and buy things we want, well.

I wish everyone was raised with that example. Because guess what--if everyone were like my parents---we wouldn't be in this mess.

I was listening to the radio today and they were talking about helping those with mortgages that are all about to foreclose. REALLY? Oh I'm so sorry for all those people who bought houses they couldn't afford with money they didn't have and a stated income that didn't exist. Oh poor poor them. UM . . NOT.

I do know some people got hoodwinked. Mortgages are hard to understand and there are lying cheats out there who just wanted to make a buck. But I also know that those people who got hoodwinked are people who are probably busting their butts right now to do all they can to make their payment and who, if they could, would just want to refinance at a normal rate like everyone else--not a special rate for the poor taken advantage of souls--just a flat rate on what they owe. I can deal with that.

But on the radio today they were saying how people who are upside down in their mortgages and behind on their payments may get to refinance at rates as low as 2%. The first words out of my mouth were :

BullSh** (A term I learned from my hard working, blue collar, pay as you go parents)

Let me let you in on a little secret. My husband and I bought a house with a mortgage that is more than we can afford right now. That is, more than we can afford with our basic monthly income. And in order to afford it, every year when we get our tax return, we use it to pay the shortage in our mortgage each month. We don't buy fun things with it. Because we CAN'T AFFORD FUN THINGS. And the stimulus money we got last year--it was going to go to a trip to Disneyland, but then instead we paid to fix our 1994 suburban. As for Disneyland--we never told our kids about it. In fact they don't know Disneyland exists, because we never told them about it, so they don't know what they are missing. And guess what--they are happy children--I know--shocker. Ok, I digressed, back to my point.

We, like most of you, are paying our mortgage on time in full. We figure it out. So why is it that the people who made BAD DECISIONS get a 2% interest rate to stay in their home that they purchased that was too much for them and we get nada?

Oh Yeah--I remember--because we keep the economy going. That's right. You, me, my parents, my husband's parents and my next door neighbor. We are the workforce. We are the ones who lay low on the radar, go to work everyday, collect a paycheck, live on a budget, and pay our mortgage. We are the ones that create the steady influx of dollars to the financial institutions that keep their doors open. We're the ones who save our pennies and splurge every once in a while for a big screen TV (well not us, but you guys).

How about this--how about they take all of us who are at our 6% or 7% interest rates and cut us a deal for a year or two. Just bump us down to 4% or 5%. Guess what? We would probably spend that money and stimulate the economy. I might even take my kids to Disneyland and hire someone to paint the exterior of our house, and landscape our yard. That's an idea.

But I realize that would never happen. Because we are the worker bees. We are the dependable ones. We are the ones who are keeping things going.

For that, on behalf of me and all of my cohorts, I'd like to tell the American public this:

YOU'RE WELCOME

11 comments:

Roma Li Wakamatsu Morgan said...

Jill, you've just said everything I've been thinking for months now, and with less foul language than I might have used!! Bravo to you girl!!

Cicily said...

Amen! I am pissed at these stupid people who extend themselves beyond their means "because they need it" or "they have to for their kids" crock of crap.
Don't knock on my door asking for sympathy. You've had years of living it up, and now you can feel how the rest of us live. Although I'm sure the government (AKA your hardworking neighbors)will bail you out while you continue to assume you deserve it.

Hildie said...

First time visitor to your blog, and all I have to say is Amen!

And by the way, I am still terribly cool. I have just realized that the definition of cool has changed and has nothing to do with twentysomethings who only imagine they know what cool is.

Micah and Jen said...

WOW! You just said everything Micah and I have been talking about for months! I am soooo glad to live in the house that I do...to be able to afforde it each and every month....regardless of if my husband has a job! It may be small...but it's a HOME not just a house and nope, NO sympathy for those poor idiots out there! I honestly hope they lose everything, then maybe our economy really will change! LOVE that you always speak your mind....Thanks for being YOU!

Col.Smeag said...

Can't say anything else except amen!

Snarky Belle said...

OH YEAH BABY!!!! AMEN!
Is it ok if I link to this post on my blog sometime this weekend?

Anonymous said...

Will you please send this to Washington?

Sheri said...

True Dat. I was out in the desert today and stumbled on a religious compound. There's a lot of room out there. I'm thinking of starting my own. Do you want to come?

Susan Anderson said...

Boy, you are right on! My kids are in the same situation you are. They'd be thrilled if they could get their 7% mortgage down a to 5%. They've never missed a payment; they rarely buy or do anything "extra"....and like you, they spend their income tax refund paying off the shortfall every year.

I have no empathy at all for those people who took out "creative" mortgages they clearly could not afford, and the thought of them getting a 2% rate makes me very, very crazy. These people bought houses planning to make the payments using appreciation that hadn't even happened yet! (And now it ain't gonna happen...) It's all about depreciation in this economy.

Let's face it. Some people just can't afford a house. They should buy one if and when they can.

Thanks for venting so perfectly in line with my feelings. =) (I feel better now...)

Anonymous said...

AMEN! I'm with you, but I also think you should see if you fit the terms for the "program A" section of the Obama plan. We bought a small house that we could afford, and make full payments every month. We are responsible. But when the plan rolled out last week, my husb called our bank to see if we qualified to get our rate dropped. Since we bought our house at the exact WRONG time, and house values dropped so badly in AZ, we are "under water" (we owe more than the house is worth). Since our mortgage is backed by either Fannie or Freddie, we are eligible to refinance at a lower rate, even though we've never missed a full payment. The deal is you have to be less than 105% under water. The other section of the deal is if your payments are over 38% of your income, then you can get them lowered to 31% of your income. You shold call you bank to check - seriously! We might go through with it, because we are the people who did the right thing and our tax money is paying for the plan, we might as well be benefitting. No guilt here. Since the plan is going to be implemented no matter how much we complain, at least it is going to benefit SOME people who have done the right thing from the beginning.
:) Keddi

Jamie said...

FABULOUS POST!!!!! Thanks:)