patrick.net
An Antidote to Corporate Media
1,363,570 comments by 15,734 users - Al_Sharpton_for_President, Booger, floki, mell, Misc, stereotomy online now
Cause of Mortgage Meltdown: Americans Unwiling to Handle Adversity
2009 Nov 5, 4:57am 6,453 views 29 comments
« First « Previous Comments 29 - 29 of 29 Search these comments
simchaland
2009 Nov 7, 10:06am
Elliemae, thanks for fleshing out what I was simplifying for the sake of brevity. ;-) I understand what you have written because I work in a field where I must deal with these benefits indirectly. I wasn't trying to be that specific and just trying to make a point. Thanks for hitting it out of the park! That was awesome!
I wrote what I wrote from memory and from being confused by all of the misinformation that is out there for people seeking benefits and trying to keep them. It's amazing how much people who work for the places where you must go to apply for benefits don't know about their own system and rules.
Absolutely, it requires much more than simply a psychiatrist's letter to get SSI. I know that one directly because my brother is on SSI. He just moved here from out of state so he could be closer to me and all his numbers changed just a little bit. Like most he was denied SSI the first time he applied. Like most he was forced to enlist the help of a law firm to make his case the second time. It required almost two years. They gave him a giant lump-sum back payment from the time of his application. He had less than a few months to spend down so that he had no more than $2000 to his name. It was sad because that lump-sum would have made a great cushion against hard times and emergencies. Now, we the family are called to "chip in" whenever there is a money crisis. If the system would have simply left him with the lump-sum given him without forcing him to spend down, none of us would have had to "chip in" from our modest means. SSI can be so humiliating and disheartening. It is a program that keeps people dependent on the system and relatives for emergencies. But, unfortunately without his SSI, Medi-Cal (Medicaid in other States), and Medicare, he wouldn't be able survive with any independence because he just can't work full time due to his disability. We would be forced to take care of someone who can live mostly independently and his life would have been much smaller.
And I'm with you, elliemae. I don't think I've ever come across such a study that states simply that 75% of 17-24 year olds are unfit for military service. I'd be ever so curious to find such a simple study. ;-)
« First « Previous Comments 29 - 29 of 29 Search these comments
As much as I hate to admit this, it is absolutely true: Americans have become weak, soft, lazy and unable to handle adversity, and of course, in general we as Americans want something for nothing...this is called an entitlement mentality. Americans have come to believe we need unemployment benefits that last forever, welfare (and it is ok to be on welfare), Medicare, Social Security, healthcare for everyone, to save the environment, subsidies for buying a house, cash for clunkers, million dollar bridges for turtles, 700 military bases world wide. The list of programs that the American people want is never ending. And the more we get, the more we want without having to pay for it by raising our taxes. This is a moral sickness that is destroying America.
The reason the mortgage meltdown happened was because we kept asking politicians in Washington to make mortgages more affordable, more available and easier to come by. Somehow owning a house became a right and entitlement for all Americans. The consequences of easy money be dammed just give Americans what they want. When will we pay for what we want? Never, and don't raise our taxes either.
The purpose of buying a home is to be able to pay off the mortgage and own the house free and clear. But if you can not save money after paying your principle and interest payment, home owners insurance and property taxes then you will have to refinance down the road. A house eventually needs a new roof and new carpeting and some kind of rather expensive maintenance to be done. If you have to refinance to pay for these maintenance items, then it is always because you did not save enough money for it. And if you can not save money you will probably not own your home free and clear.
But what do people say when you tell them you need to save money and be able to make a real 30-year fully amortized payment? They complain: “Oh that's hard to do,” “No one can save money and afford that payment,” “things are too expensive these days.” What people are really saying is that they can not save money because they would rather spend what money they earn today on things that they want today rather than secure their financial future; these kinds of people used to be called renters not house owners. And mortgage companies even today will sell you a mortgage payment you can “afford” that will not pay off your mortgage balance in 30 years because these “affordable” loans offered have government guarantees. And this is a financial disaster guaranteed to happen in the future.
Until we as Americans come to grips with this epic financial disaster and tell the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stop giving unqualified borrowers loans, we as a country as a nation shall perish because we were unable to tell our fellow Americans “no, you can't afford to own this house, simplify your life, go rent a house you can afford and save money for a down payment if you want to own a house.” But we can't talk to people like that, Americans can't handle the truth and that kind of adversity.(sarcasm)
Some of this can be blamed on the fact that people are just financially illiterate and that they don't take the time to plan ahead for the future and think their financial futures out in advance. But really people make excuses because they want a lifestyle and refuse to accept the long term implications of their financial decisions. It used to be lenders that gave these unqualified applicants the bad news; now no one gives them the bad news. And the federal government wants to coddle these unqualified house owners, give then loan modifications and does so at the peril of our once great nation.
This is what has ultimately has caused the mortgage meltdown. People want to believe that they are financially good enough to own a house, but in reality, they are not in a strong enough financial position to afford house ownership. People want but do not need to own a house. People need a house to live in, but owning a house is another thing entirely. Without real hard consequences for making bad house buying decisions, unqualified house owners will continue to own houses they can not afford and we as Americans will learn the hard way that America is NOT too big to fail.
Without the lessons learned from making mistakes and experiencing failure and adversity, our country will continue to socialize the mortgage loan losses and become essentially a communist state. Only in a communist state/country is failure not allowed to happen for individuals and corporations. Welcome to the American communist revolution. But don't worry, everyone can own a house in communist America. All you have to do is apply; no one is declined. You have after all a 'right' to own a house in America correct?
#housing