another day in the stock market …
by Travis on Oct.10, 2008, under General, Rants
“World leaders are trying to calm anxious investors…”
That’s a the words I read this morning on cnn… did it make me feel any better? No. Why? Well, as the market shows, it doesn’t matter what the governments are saying, investors (not to mention people in general) don’t trust them any more.
You say things will get better, but yet instead of stepping in and directly regulating failing banks, you simply produce a bailout plan that pays these companies billions of dollars to recoupe their failures. Why? Don’t you understand the biggest problem is not the fact they are in debt, it’s how they got there.
Between million dollar payouts to high ranking executives to poor spending habits (see AIG’s 500k retreat for their execs after an 85 billion dollar loan) these companies will continue to downward spiral until the money that us taxpayers are footing the bill for in some way or another is all gone yet again. You might as well sit out front on the steps of the Capitol and burn money and throw it to the wind.
Someone asked me why I was a bit cranky this week. Wouldn’t you be if you were watching as the key points of your 401k were just burning out? Now, keep in mind I am optimistic as to my investments and have faith in the particular ones I’ve chosen only because I trust the people who directly influence them and know that somehow those investments will recover once the bottom of this pit has been reached. Those investments don’t depend soley on the health of the stock market to continue doing business and that is why I chose them. One day, they can recover. But do I trust things will get better when government officials who allowed this to happen says they’re doing everything they can? *NO*
As I made pretty clear yesterday, I’m unhappy with the political and economic health of this nation. While being a nation of unparalleled freedoms it has also become a nation of greedy politicians and businessmen. While not all are blatent liars and thieves, the vast majority of them which directly affects us are. While at this point in time, my family is doing ok, who’s to say tomorrow says the same tale if things continue the way they are.
We’ve tolerated too much as a nation by putting our trust people who do not have our best interests in mind. They don’t care about their neighbors, just themselves. You see them with multiple houses (*cough*McCain*cough*) that they don’t need while families are losing their homes. Now, don’t get me wrong here… just because many of the leaders (both business and government) are crooked doesn’t mean some of the American people aren’t to blame either.
The mortgage crisis, is in part the people’s fault for allowing it to happen. Wether through ignorance or plain stupidity, a lot of people fell for these shady offers that lenders put out there. I’m sorry, but a subprime loan that has an ajustable rate… use your noggins. If your payment was 1200/mo at the time of signing and you could barely afford it, you had two options… a) have a solid plan to refinance on a fixed rate within 2 yrs or b) make enough money to handle the hike in price. A huge chunk of the failed mortgages were due to the fact that when those loans adjusted up, people couldn’t afford their payments anymore. I blame both parties there. The lenders for allowing people to put themselves into that position without properly educating them and the borrowers for not having the sense to walk away if it was something they couldn’t do.
Regardless, the nation, the world is in turmoil and bleeding out due to many factors and instead of actually addressing and fixing those things, we’re trying to apply bandages where stitches and sometimes amputation is necessary. I wouldn’t be too surprised if we dropped under 8,000 today. *shrug*
who knows…
October 10th, 2008 on 10:43
FIRST and foremost, what the f**k is a mortgage refinance blog doing copying your blog to theirs and relinking?
Second of all, the actual serious issues facing this country. Here’s my thoughts on the subject.
First of all, from yesterday, f**k both political candidates. John McCain doesn’t know his head from a hole in the ground. Obama talks alot but has no real meaning behind anything. He says he is going to fix healthcare. … that’s great. HOW. He says he is going to fix the economy. Super! HOW MOTHER F**KER.
I am still undecided, because I personally I can’t stand either of them. Personally I think they would fit alot more if Biden and Palin switched spots. Palin can’t give a straight answer just like Obama. Biden is a moron who could be brothers with McCain with a little hair job.
On the subject of the market. People don’t seem to understand how the market works. When the market crashes 700 points for the first time since 1987, you don’t suddenly jump ship in investing and cause the market to come back up 600 points the next day. That’s false hope, so on the third day, when the market takes another dive… all those extra people who decided to jump on the bandwagon of “low prices” bail out to cut their already big losses and run, on the 4th day causing another s**t hole dive. Quit trying to make money for yourself and think about the economy as a whole entity.
On the subject of the credit of the country. … maybe we should all quit using money that doesn’t exist, and stop crying when invisible money goes away. This country has gone so far from spending the money we actually have. I unlike most people have two credit cards. One is my generic, use when I need the scratch credit card with a simple limit of $800. The other is a Goodyear Tire Company credit card, which I got because I have big tires, and $1000 when it’s time for tires is hard to pull out of no-where. Those of you complaining about the market crashing, and yet you have $40,000 of just credit card debt, GTFO and burn in the fire you created. You wonder why credit companies are so broke. … cuz your broke ass doesn’t pay your f**king debt. Same with the housing situation. You got a $1500 mortgage, and you make $2000 a month? Great… something is going to happen and you’re going to miss a payment because your debt to income ratio sucks so bad. You miss one, you’ll be paying late fees. Eventually the late fees will stack up to equal another payment, now you are two months behind. Granted, this isn’t entirely your fault. You got sweet-talked by a guy in a nice suit behind a desk who said, “Oh don’t worry, you can do this! *big smile and thumbs up* ” Well, unfortunately you knew you couldn’t, and you signed the s**t anyways. Smooth move. You contributed to the housing crash… once again, because you couldn’t pay your bills.
Now before anybody calls me a hypocrite, remember… I’m not using my Mastercard to pay my Visa bill. And the Visa to pay off the American Express. I have a Visa “card” that just draws straight from my checking account. When I’m out of money, I’m out of money until next pay day. That’s it. And while living paycheck to paycheck is bad, I’m not spending hardly any of the fake money that has f**ked this country so bad.
My two-cents, sorry for the length. 🙂
October 10th, 2008 on 11:11
LOL, here’s to a more colorful approach by Deebs. 🙂
October 14th, 2008 on 7:55
HEY! Mortgage Refinance jack***, piss off and find your own little hole to play in. I agree with Deebs (who ever you are). When will people learn that you need to live within your means, not your wants. Stop using so damn much credit and start living off of your actual income and bank accounts. The banks/mortgage companies of the country screwed us so bad it is not even funny. Then dumb sh** Bush signs this damn “bail out” which will hurt us even more. Why? Because the a** tards that caused this problem are being given the money. Bush is actually going to give these damn banks money to bail themselves out of their own damn hole. Idiot! You want to fix the economy, close the idiot failing banks, fine everyone that was a part of the failure and pass that funding over to the good financial institutions and the general public. Better yet, let me runt he white house and I will fix terrorism and the economy in the first 2 years. One day, as a country we will pull our heads all the way out of our butts and not just half way.
October 14th, 2008 on 19:40
I’m Andy. 🙂
October 14th, 2008 on 19:41
^ what he said. lol