Post by Honeylioness on Feb 9, 2009 21:41:06 GMT -5
09 February 2009
I have managed so far to not chime in with my two cent’s worth about this whole “stimulus” mess – but I may have reached my snapping point this weekend after hearing more than one comment that made me want to ask the person speaking “And just where are you getting your drugs these days?”
I too am of the opinion that for many people who have yet to remove their heads from either the sand or their rear eliminatory orifice that subjecting them to more “reality” and real hardship would not be such a bad thing. On the other hand there are true and urgent needs that should be addressed. Extended unemployment benefits, food and medical aid and practical recourse for homeowners who are in trouble not because they were greedy or delusional enough to think they could afford, or they deserved, 3x-4x more home than they could afford. For those who are behind in their mortgage due to lack of work, excessive medical bills etc – Why CAN’T the banks interrupt their scotch-swilling, Lear jet hopping Casino weekends and present a workable plan to ensure they are not suddenly left holding thousands and thousands of abandoned properties instead of waiting for the federal government to do it? I think it shows a lack of personal, or corporate, responsibility in admitting they let their hubris and greed get them into this mess in the first place. And if they sit and do nothing they can then whine and pout and point fingers at the Feds for being the big bad meany “big brother”.
I have been rather disgusted in listening to some of the shows this weekend that almost NO-ONE has mentioned the elephant in the living room. And that is just WHERE is all this money going to come from? The “experts” seem eager enough to get on television to spout off about what MUST be done, and it must be done NOW, and throw around figures in the BILLIONS. But just where are we getting this money? Why will no one be honest and point out that if the Treasury just runs the presses faster and prints off all this cash we have done nothing more than further de-value our currency and pushed inflation higher. And how does THAT help anyone? And don’t even get me started on the “pork” this thing has. How DARE they? If they think that squeezing in some money for their own pet project is okay – well then I guess it is not really a crisis after all to pass this turkey.
I also am very uncomfortable with how this is being pushed at us and Congress. Okay, so Obama said he wanted this signed and done by President’s Day, February 16th. What will happen if that date passes? Will the earth stop spinning? We did not get into this mess in a few months people – does anyone else think it is unrealistic that we can get out of it with just the wave of a magic pen? It’s like the woman who eats nothing but junk food and gains 50 pounds deciding a month before her wedding she is going to drop 40 pounds before the big day. Give me a break.
ARE there any adults in the government who are willing to publicly say “Hold on there bucko. Let’s take another month and really look at all the options and scenarios instead of doing yet another knee-jerk reaction spending package that will A) most likely not do what you think it will, or B) will only be a few month stop gap measure.”
I also don’t really understand the reasoning behind some who say that the car companies “cannot be allowed” to go into a structured re-settlement bankruptcy. Why not?
Afraid they might actually have to learn something and realize they are not getting their 1.2 M bonus this year for sitting on their backsides and doing nothing? If you run your company into a ditch because you do not want to try something new or choose to ignore what the customer wants – then why shouldn’t you have to pay the consequence?
Which brings up the folks on Wall Street and the Investment Banks – talk about the inmates running the asylum!!! I don’t for one moment buy the argument I heard this weekend that we “HAVE” to give them their bonuses because after all they chose this line of work to make a lot of money and if they don’t then they will leave those companies etc, etc, etc. So what?? Out here in Reality Land we either are never eligible for so much as a bonus donut, OR, and this will be truly shocking I know – you have to actually MEET your company/division/ department goals before you are eligible for a bonus.
I don’t want another “stimulus check” since like most people I know I would not use it to go buy a new TV, “toy” or cell phone. It would go directly into one of my savings accounts. Or for a lot of people they would pay their rent, light bill or blow it on something non-essential like food.
Yes I understand that many families really are in danger of losing it all. But I agree with the comment SES made that if this package gets rammed down our throats and the “worse” seems to be over that too many people will have learned nothing and just return to their hedonist, spend thrift ways. And like a spoiled kid who blows through their monthly allowance in five days corporate America will be back in less then a year with their hand out again hoping “Uncle” has found a money tree and has more free cash to dole out.
The Depression of the 1930's was not solved overnight with a magic wand waved over the country by Roosevelt. It was slow and painful and involved everyone - not just those hanging on at the end of the social spectrum.
And what too many people seem to have forgotten is that in the end it was not really any of the government programs or Senate resolutions that finally pushed this country into a period of incredible prosperity - it was WWII and the associated industries that ramped up, or were created, because of it.
Okay - off my soap box for the moment. We now return you to your regularly scheduled reading
*****************************************
I just finished watching Obama's first prime time news conference. RME. I am really trying to just focus on the words and not his mannerisms - as he way and cadence of speech just grates on my nerves something awful.
One reporter asked him a question along the lines of "The plan seems to be encouraging Americans to go out and buy when this bill is passed - isn't that kind of consumerism what got us into this mess in the first place - and that we do not save as a society?"
I did not like what I felt was the President's dismissive tone to the valid question. He did address it in a rather round about way, but I am not sure we can lay ALL the catalyst for this mess on just the shoulders of those lenders who made bad loans and speculative deals.
Where has personal responsibility gone? Why are we so afraid to just frankly say to someone "Yes, you screwed up and this part of the crisis IS your fault"?
The arrogance, or perhaps if I am being kind just rank stupidity, of people who WANTED to believe that the life styles / things they saw on TV or magazines was actually attainable on a salary of $30K a year. Or perhaps it is their unrealistic sense of entitlement that someone they were owed these things.
It saddens me that I feel as though I am at the tail end of a group of people who don't assume that society owes me a big car, or TV or four bedroom house. That if I want something it is my job to work and plan for it. That instant gratification leads more to instant disappointment and bankruptcy and not normally to a lasting happiness.
I will confess that at times I feel like a societal oddity, especially living in this section of town. I don't have a clue how I would go about getting housing assistance and food stamps while at the same time driving a new car, working off the books, and having the latest phone/clothes/electronic gadgets. Or perhaps I do know how they do it - they charge everything, pay almost nothing or default on those cards and leave those like me to suffer with higher interest rates and fees so the CC companies can try and recover a bit of their losses.
I have managed so far to not chime in with my two cent’s worth about this whole “stimulus” mess – but I may have reached my snapping point this weekend after hearing more than one comment that made me want to ask the person speaking “And just where are you getting your drugs these days?”
I too am of the opinion that for many people who have yet to remove their heads from either the sand or their rear eliminatory orifice that subjecting them to more “reality” and real hardship would not be such a bad thing. On the other hand there are true and urgent needs that should be addressed. Extended unemployment benefits, food and medical aid and practical recourse for homeowners who are in trouble not because they were greedy or delusional enough to think they could afford, or they deserved, 3x-4x more home than they could afford. For those who are behind in their mortgage due to lack of work, excessive medical bills etc – Why CAN’T the banks interrupt their scotch-swilling, Lear jet hopping Casino weekends and present a workable plan to ensure they are not suddenly left holding thousands and thousands of abandoned properties instead of waiting for the federal government to do it? I think it shows a lack of personal, or corporate, responsibility in admitting they let their hubris and greed get them into this mess in the first place. And if they sit and do nothing they can then whine and pout and point fingers at the Feds for being the big bad meany “big brother”.
I have been rather disgusted in listening to some of the shows this weekend that almost NO-ONE has mentioned the elephant in the living room. And that is just WHERE is all this money going to come from? The “experts” seem eager enough to get on television to spout off about what MUST be done, and it must be done NOW, and throw around figures in the BILLIONS. But just where are we getting this money? Why will no one be honest and point out that if the Treasury just runs the presses faster and prints off all this cash we have done nothing more than further de-value our currency and pushed inflation higher. And how does THAT help anyone? And don’t even get me started on the “pork” this thing has. How DARE they? If they think that squeezing in some money for their own pet project is okay – well then I guess it is not really a crisis after all to pass this turkey.
I also am very uncomfortable with how this is being pushed at us and Congress. Okay, so Obama said he wanted this signed and done by President’s Day, February 16th. What will happen if that date passes? Will the earth stop spinning? We did not get into this mess in a few months people – does anyone else think it is unrealistic that we can get out of it with just the wave of a magic pen? It’s like the woman who eats nothing but junk food and gains 50 pounds deciding a month before her wedding she is going to drop 40 pounds before the big day. Give me a break.
ARE there any adults in the government who are willing to publicly say “Hold on there bucko. Let’s take another month and really look at all the options and scenarios instead of doing yet another knee-jerk reaction spending package that will A) most likely not do what you think it will, or B) will only be a few month stop gap measure.”
I also don’t really understand the reasoning behind some who say that the car companies “cannot be allowed” to go into a structured re-settlement bankruptcy. Why not?
Afraid they might actually have to learn something and realize they are not getting their 1.2 M bonus this year for sitting on their backsides and doing nothing? If you run your company into a ditch because you do not want to try something new or choose to ignore what the customer wants – then why shouldn’t you have to pay the consequence?Which brings up the folks on Wall Street and the Investment Banks – talk about the inmates running the asylum!!! I don’t for one moment buy the argument I heard this weekend that we “HAVE” to give them their bonuses because after all they chose this line of work to make a lot of money and if they don’t then they will leave those companies etc, etc, etc. So what?? Out here in Reality Land we either are never eligible for so much as a bonus donut, OR, and this will be truly shocking I know – you have to actually MEET your company/division/ department goals before you are eligible for a bonus.
I don’t want another “stimulus check” since like most people I know I would not use it to go buy a new TV, “toy” or cell phone. It would go directly into one of my savings accounts. Or for a lot of people they would pay their rent, light bill or blow it on something non-essential like food.
Yes I understand that many families really are in danger of losing it all. But I agree with the comment SES made that if this package gets rammed down our throats and the “worse” seems to be over that too many people will have learned nothing and just return to their hedonist, spend thrift ways. And like a spoiled kid who blows through their monthly allowance in five days corporate America will be back in less then a year with their hand out again hoping “Uncle” has found a money tree and has more free cash to dole out.
The Depression of the 1930's was not solved overnight with a magic wand waved over the country by Roosevelt. It was slow and painful and involved everyone - not just those hanging on at the end of the social spectrum.
And what too many people seem to have forgotten is that in the end it was not really any of the government programs or Senate resolutions that finally pushed this country into a period of incredible prosperity - it was WWII and the associated industries that ramped up, or were created, because of it.
Okay - off my soap box for the moment. We now return you to your regularly scheduled reading
*****************************************
I just finished watching Obama's first prime time news conference. RME. I am really trying to just focus on the words and not his mannerisms - as he way and cadence of speech just grates on my nerves something awful.
One reporter asked him a question along the lines of "The plan seems to be encouraging Americans to go out and buy when this bill is passed - isn't that kind of consumerism what got us into this mess in the first place - and that we do not save as a society?"
I did not like what I felt was the President's dismissive tone to the valid question. He did address it in a rather round about way, but I am not sure we can lay ALL the catalyst for this mess on just the shoulders of those lenders who made bad loans and speculative deals.
Where has personal responsibility gone? Why are we so afraid to just frankly say to someone "Yes, you screwed up and this part of the crisis IS your fault"?
The arrogance, or perhaps if I am being kind just rank stupidity, of people who WANTED to believe that the life styles / things they saw on TV or magazines was actually attainable on a salary of $30K a year. Or perhaps it is their unrealistic sense of entitlement that someone they were owed these things.
It saddens me that I feel as though I am at the tail end of a group of people who don't assume that society owes me a big car, or TV or four bedroom house. That if I want something it is my job to work and plan for it. That instant gratification leads more to instant disappointment and bankruptcy and not normally to a lasting happiness.
I will confess that at times I feel like a societal oddity, especially living in this section of town. I don't have a clue how I would go about getting housing assistance and food stamps while at the same time driving a new car, working off the books, and having the latest phone/clothes/electronic gadgets. Or perhaps I do know how they do it - they charge everything, pay almost nothing or default on those cards and leave those like me to suffer with higher interest rates and fees so the CC companies can try and recover a bit of their losses.
