I have tried to start this article three times now, getting halfway through and scrapping it because I’m not saying what I mean.
I’m not an economics whiz. But I am a parent, and for me that is a calling to seek equality and justice. I don’t know who my kids will love when they grow up, or what my grandchildren will look like, or whether all my loved ones will be able to advocate for themselves up to their deaths. I hope they have fulfilling careers, but the most fulfilling jobs aren't generally the most lucrative. I want things to be fair -- for them to have a fighting chance -- whether they are rich or poor, able-bodied or not, black or white, gay or straight.
I also have a soft spot in my heart for an underdog. I feel bad for people who find themselves in one of life's rough spots. Sometimes people get themselves into sticky places – I’ve been guilty of it – but other times life picks them up like a whirlwind and carries them against their will, and they wake up in Oz, with no idea how to get back home. For the most part I believe people do the best they can.
And because I usually feel pangs of sadness for the downtrodden, I was surprised at what I felt this week as Merrill Lynch, AIG and Lehman Brothers all gave up the ghost. I feel bad for the people who’ve lost their jobs and their dreams. But mostly I am angry, because the decision-makers there, who have profited the most by taking advantage of people who never should have been talked into mortgages, will not be hurt by any of this. They will be absorbed by new companies, their savings accounts and retirement funds will remain intact, they will not lose their homes.
It’s not that I want vengeance, or I want rich people to suffer – again, I don’t think these executives are evil. I’m sure they convinced themselves that they were helping people get into a home, not selling them a mortgage that would eventually ruin them. I’m certain they believed in the need for individuals to stand on their own feet, and assume responsibility for understanding their own finances and making good decisions. I don’t imagine any (or many) of them were rubbing their hands together greedily, cackling over the poor hopeless suckers who signed their lives away. But it seems unjust that the government is saving AIG from financial ruin, when no one is doing that for people whose homes have been foreclosed – or even worse, their tenants, who are left homeless.
Like I said, I’m not an econ whiz. I’m sure there are sound reasons to spend all this money keeping a corporation alive, when people are homeless and starving. Maybe I’m not seeing the big picture: AIG is a big company. I guess I just envisioned the big picture featuring more faces, and fewer logos.
Edited to add a link to this story: AIG Bailout Raises Bar for Action on Mortgages
Comments
It's called Trickle-Down Economics - in the long run, we are all supposed to benefit. But, of course, we all know what really happens in the long run...
I am right there with you. Where are the bail outs for the American people? The economy is hurting regular people in every single way. A downturn in the economy means less hiring, less pay increases, less of everything. With less of everything, how can people keep up with the skyrocketing prices of fuel, food, electricity, basic necessities, etc.? So even if you got into a mortgage that you could manage (maybe a bit tight but still doable) just the costs of everything skyrocketing means there just isn't enough to go around. Something has to give.
So where is the bail outs for people who meant well - who didn't get in over their head at the time but who now are struggling and feeling completely overwhelemed.
Where is the help for the average American citizen who needs it?
Don't you remember the stimilus package, that was W's idea of a bailout for the little people, yeah right! What a joke! Oh and the bills that are going to help all those people keep their homes. Too little too late. And I'm not as nice, I do believe the mortgage bankers knew exactly what they were doing. They just didn't realize what a major impact it would make.
I seriously don't know how people are making it. There are just some things you can't skimp on if you tried. My single friend Mom of two couldn't buy bread the other day because she had to buy a bus ticket for one of her kids to get to school as she has to go back to college to get a degree to make a living. I now carpool her son with us to help out.
And the shock at seeing the number of houses in my neighborhood alone in foreclosure is heartbreaking.
I think your instincts are spot on, actually. Thanks for writing what a lot of people are thinking.
The stimulus package wasn't actually meant to be a bail out for the American people. It was to help the "business economy" because we were specifically asked to spend the money on things and vacations - anything except bills and investments (though most of us ended up using it to pay bills or buy groceries). The government wasn't looking out for the people in the specific ways that people need it. Sure - you might have gotten a nice flat screen TV out of the deal but really - what good is a TV is you are forced into foreclosure on your home?
So the stimulus package, in my opinion only succeeded in making people happy for a millesecond (the art of distraction) while insuring an even larger debt to China.
If they are really interested in helping people - let's revamp the mortgage loan terms. Let's allow people stuck in mortgages that scare the crap out of them refinance into manageable contracts which extend the term of the loan. Instead of the standard 30 year loan, let's extend it to 40 for people who need it. They did it with car loans when cars got so expensive. They went from the standard 4 year to a 6 year loan term.
It just seems to me that there is so much that could be done to help people keep their homes, pay their bills, keep food on the table, etc. And I'm sorry - but $300 a person doesn't even begin to scratch the surface.
Clearly I have a lot to say on this topic. :)
Very well written, thoughtful article. I so agree!
I think we all share a desire for things to be fair- especially if fair is framed in terms of equality and justice. Here's what I see to be the problem: Any given person's notion of what is fair is probably much different than what millions of other people would consider to be fair. We will never be able to agree on what is fair because our circumstances and histories are like our finger prints - entirely unique. "Fair" becomes quite unfair when intentionally imposed upon us through the decisions of others (either through exorbitant taxation from government or exorbitant interest and prices in the private sector). As citizens, neighbors, and families, we must somehow remedy the injustice exerted upon many without falling into our human tendency to redirect that injustice towards others. Great article; thank you for your thoughts. Hasten the day of the one whose ways are just (Psalm 146:1-10; Luke 4:16-21; Mark 10:17-31).
Nice motives. You sound a bit sheltered.
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