September 23, 2008 - Tuesday
This housing crisis
Current mood: anxious
I found this over at
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/anotherlook.aspx
Good Intentions Gone Bad
By AP | Thursday, September 18, 2008 4:30 PM PT
In view of the mortgage meltdown that led to the current financial crisis, we couldn't resist rerunning this 2004 photo from the Associated Press that appeared in this spot April 3. It was taken after Bank of America agreed to a $6 billion affordable housing program pushed by the Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America (NACA). The program was designed to provide mortgages to low-income homebuyers without requiring a down payment or charging closing costs and fees. The expressions on the faces of CEOs Kenneth Lewis of BofA, left, and Chad Gifford of FleetBoston as they listen to NACA's Bruce Marks say it all.
Click to Enlarge
My take:
With all that is being said about the current financial meltdown, little time is being given to the fact that people were buying houses they couldn't afford. When we were trying to get Mom into the duplex, we were very specific about what monthly payments she could handle. If a property was out of her/our range, we didn't even consider it. Sure we could have moved her into some 4 bedroom nice places in Arvada with a sub-prime loan... but we realized that those payments would go up and get out of her grasp in short order... so we kept looking. The purchase turned into a fiasco (the lender backed out because he felt the seller was being unethical... which turned out to be true) and we got stuck in a rental disaster with no rental agreement and ever increasing rent, but that's outside the point.
This crisis was caused by "programs" initiated by liberal government ideals such as the Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America (NACA) mentioned above. All with good intentions "let's get not-so-wealthy folks into houses." BUT the "not so wealthy folks" couldn't AFFORD to get into houses just yet... and they defaulted on their mortgage loans. Now, once again, like the McDonald's hot-coffee plaintiff, common folks are looking to the government to make up for their own mistakes and self-inflicted "crisis." There's this whole mentality nowadays that the government should fix any mistakes (or out-and-out frauds) that we bring upon ourselves... and to speak contrary to that "benevolence" makes you cold and heartless ("How could you possibly fault working class Americans that were just trying to buy a house for their families and live the American dream?")
1ST Question -
How many of these defaulted loans by "working class Americans" were taken out by/for illegals? I'm just curious. Bank of America is proud of the fact that it extended loans to "undocumented workers" - where do they fit into this puzzle?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/realestate/2003586080_harney25.html
2ND Question-
What SHOULD the government have done instead?
They should've kept HUD homes the way they were intended... selling them for pennies on the dollar and THEN the working class (myself included) could have actually moved in and invested time and effort into fixing up the place. However, HUD now (in order to turn a profit for the government) MUST sell the house at the "fair market value" making HUD nothing more than another property-holding company.... and NOT the opportunity it was intended to be!
Just my two pennies
Currently listening :
Duets: An American Classic
By Tony Bennett
Release date: 2006-09-26
11:04 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Responsibility
RESPONSIBILITY
These last two weeks of lockdown at the Armory has gotten me thinkin' about a BUNCHA' stuff! Although we were typically up at 0400 and training straight until 2100 (9pm) minus meal times, of course... lying on a foldable cot in a warehouse-like room with 300 other guys in the dark... you get a lot of thinking done as you try to fall asleep (and ignore all the snoring). We deploy in January for MOB and after a 4-day leave in March (to say goodbye to family and friends) we fly out to Baghdad... so lotsa' things are being done ASAP and the myriad of thoughts is hard to contain.
ONE THING I SPENT A GREAT DEAL OF TIME ON:
What kind of person are you?
Do you take on your fair share of responsibilities... less or even MORE than your fair share? If someone needs help, love and compassion... do you take the time and make the effort to make sure that person is okay... or do you pawn it off on someone else figuring "it'll get done." Do you figure you will get around to your responsibilities "one of these days"? Is your life so hectic that some responsibilities just fall to the wayside and before you know it weeks and months have passed since you last checked in on those responsibilities?
Are you the one who does the heavy lifting, or do you make excuses, justifications, and flimsy reasons for not doing what you SHOULD be doing? This is equally applicable for soldiers, workers, friends, family, politicians... what have you.
THOSE WHO SHIRK RESPONSIBILITY:
TYPE 1 Person: The Excuser
"Ya' know, I would _________ IF I didn't have to deal with _______." Ahhhh what a convenient excuse... saves you all the heartache, hard work, and demands of a responsibility, and you get to play the victim card at the same time. Funny, how people that are like that are guaranteed to not pick up the slack even WHEN that obstical is no longer there.
Type 2 Person: The know it all
"The way this is being done, is lousy! If I were in charge....."
Again ... such a wonderful excuse, while at the same time building yourself up as some superior, smarter, more enlightened master of the universe. Of course, the fact is... if your ideas were actually TRIED and TESTED.... they might not work, but then again.. you don't have to worry about that do you? "Cause you haven't lifted a finger, have you?
Type 3 Person: The complainer
"I won't have anything to do with this.. the person in charge is a louse"
Similar to the "know it all" mentioned above...no need to do anything.. just attack the chain of command, the person 'in charge' and you again don't have to lift a finger, only complain.
Type 4 Person; The Bulldozer in a China Shop
This is the pro-active version of the "Know it all"... I don't care what you want or say... we're doing it this way like it or not. This is the equivilent of a superior who enlists no information, suggestions or input from inferiors. "But Sir! There's a mine field there that will wipe out this entire batallion!" "Shut up... the plans don't mention a mine field... I've set my mind and we're going... I don't care about new information."... note: this isn't something I've encountered in the Army, just a hypothetical to illuminate the behavior. The Army is VERY cognizant of new intel and reacts accordingly! The bulldozer can sit back and say "I took responsibility"... but in fact, responsibility WASN'T served, only that person's need for ego and control. Responsibility includes serving the wishes and requirements of those being served.
Taking responsibility requires sacrifice, it doesn't consist of doing things the easy way, nor does it consist of passing the buck. Above all, it doesn't consist of letting someone else do the work while you kick back making excuses, complaints, and criticizing how things are being done!
As George W. Bush has learned in spades, taking responsibility often means being attacked for the manner in which you take care of those responsibilities... by people who don't have the balls, the patience, or the abilities to take on the responsibilities themselves.
THE SOLDIER'S CREED
I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.
ARMY VALUES
Loyalty
Duty
Respect
Selfless Service
Honor
Integrity
Personal Courage
These last two weeks of lockdown at the Armory has gotten me thinkin' about a BUNCHA' stuff! Although we were typically up at 0400 and training straight until 2100 (9pm) minus meal times, of course... lying on a foldable cot in a warehouse-like room with 300 other guys in the dark... you get a lot of thinking done as you try to fall asleep (and ignore all the snoring). We deploy in January for MOB and after a 4-day leave in March (to say goodbye to family and friends) we fly out to Baghdad... so lotsa' things are being done ASAP and the myriad of thoughts is hard to contain.
ONE THING I SPENT A GREAT DEAL OF TIME ON:
What kind of person are you?
Do you take on your fair share of responsibilities... less or even MORE than your fair share? If someone needs help, love and compassion... do you take the time and make the effort to make sure that person is okay... or do you pawn it off on someone else figuring "it'll get done." Do you figure you will get around to your responsibilities "one of these days"? Is your life so hectic that some responsibilities just fall to the wayside and before you know it weeks and months have passed since you last checked in on those responsibilities?
Are you the one who does the heavy lifting, or do you make excuses, justifications, and flimsy reasons for not doing what you SHOULD be doing? This is equally applicable for soldiers, workers, friends, family, politicians... what have you.
THOSE WHO SHIRK RESPONSIBILITY:
TYPE 1 Person: The Excuser
"Ya' know, I would _________ IF I didn't have to deal with _______." Ahhhh what a convenient excuse... saves you all the heartache, hard work, and demands of a responsibility, and you get to play the victim card at the same time. Funny, how people that are like that are guaranteed to not pick up the slack even WHEN that obstical is no longer there.
Type 2 Person: The know it all
"The way this is being done, is lousy! If I were in charge....."
Again ... such a wonderful excuse, while at the same time building yourself up as some superior, smarter, more enlightened master of the universe. Of course, the fact is... if your ideas were actually TRIED and TESTED.... they might not work, but then again.. you don't have to worry about that do you? "Cause you haven't lifted a finger, have you?
Type 3 Person: The complainer
"I won't have anything to do with this.. the person in charge is a louse"
Similar to the "know it all" mentioned above...no need to do anything.. just attack the chain of command, the person 'in charge' and you again don't have to lift a finger, only complain.
Type 4 Person; The Bulldozer in a China Shop
This is the pro-active version of the "Know it all"... I don't care what you want or say... we're doing it this way like it or not. This is the equivilent of a superior who enlists no information, suggestions or input from inferiors. "But Sir! There's a mine field there that will wipe out this entire batallion!" "Shut up... the plans don't mention a mine field... I've set my mind and we're going... I don't care about new information."... note: this isn't something I've encountered in the Army, just a hypothetical to illuminate the behavior. The Army is VERY cognizant of new intel and reacts accordingly! The bulldozer can sit back and say "I took responsibility"... but in fact, responsibility WASN'T served, only that person's need for ego and control. Responsibility includes serving the wishes and requirements of those being served.
Taking responsibility requires sacrifice, it doesn't consist of doing things the easy way, nor does it consist of passing the buck. Above all, it doesn't consist of letting someone else do the work while you kick back making excuses, complaints, and criticizing how things are being done!
As George W. Bush has learned in spades, taking responsibility often means being attacked for the manner in which you take care of those responsibilities... by people who don't have the balls, the patience, or the abilities to take on the responsibilities themselves.
THE SOLDIER'S CREED
I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.
ARMY VALUES
Loyalty
Duty
Respect
Selfless Service
Honor
Integrity
Personal Courage
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)