Surviving This Financial Crisis
Wednesday - October 15, 2008
There are many fingers to be pointed in many directions regarding our economic death spiral.
The Democrats are to blame because they started this mortgage mess with unrealistic goals of socially engineered universal home ownership. Republicans are to blame because they saw the writing on the wall, but failed in making necessary changes while occupying the White House. The financial markets are to blame since they obscenely profited from unrealistic mortgages, then taking these stinky packages and selling them to others. The individual borrower is to blame for entering into agreements that, although made available, should not have been signed on the dotted line. There are several fingers remaining to be pointed, but I need them to type.
I understand there is much more to this issue and, when you throw presidential politics into the mix, the situation becomes more convoluted. Rather than focus on who is to blame, my immediate concern is how to take care of our family and survive a financial crisis that many have never seen before.
The current news cycle and whirlwind pundit-ry is all about how did we get here and how do we get out. That’s fine. But it seems like the regular Americans are being left out of the equation. Oh sure, the taxpayer can be called upon to fund an almost trillion-dollar “rescue” package, but how about their lives? What is the real effect on real Americans?
That’s the question for you. How is the financial crisis affecting you and your family? I’ll use some of your responses in next week’s space.
While the debate rages between the McCain and Obama camps as to which candidate will fix the economic crisis, I have to turn the volume down.
I don’t look to Barack Obama or John McCain to save me and my family. I look in the mirror.
The politicians at the heart of this matter don’t really care about you and me. How could they? None of them has to struggle to make a rent payment. Not one of them has to stretch a dollar at the grocery store. There is not a sitting congressman or senator trying to figure out if they should pay the electric bill or telephone bill first. These people have no idea what you and I are going through, and I find their “I feel your pain” pandering offensive.
This economic meltdown is severely affecting our family. We have a small business, and the anxiety, uncertainty and cash shortage in the marketplace is wounding us. Consequently, we have to find ways to survive. The financial juggling needed to stay afloat is dizzying but necessary. Perhaps this is the source of outrage at the prospect of multimillionaire CEOs having their businesses saved while we languish because, in part, by their actions.
I know it sounds shallow and petty, but I don’t care. When I see the head of Lehman Brothers complain that his company didn’t get a government bailout while he pocketed more than $500 million in compensation, I admit there ain’t many tears being shed.
I won’t be waiting by the mailbox for the government to bail us out. I will be getting a third job, reducing our expenses and eliminating such excesses like taking the kids to Dave and Buster’s or passing on the ribeye in favor of 80 percent ground beef.
I wish I could say, “This too shall pass.” I guess I’ll just keep wishing.
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