Some thoughts on the current state of our union
Posted on :
11-23-08 |
Is it really a recession when everyone was living on credit. Spending money they didn’t have. Extending their home equity loans for that sexy flat screen with 18 speaker surround sound?
Is it really a recession when people bought houses that were appreciating 10%, 20%, 30% a year, when the average appreciation of homes used to just keep up with inflation, and then they are surprised when houses get so expensive nobody can afford to buy them anymore, so prices start to decline?
Is it really a recession when people who can’t afford a car loan or a home loan, are actually no longer allowed to get a car loan or a home loan that they in turn can’t default on?
The problem, as I see it, is that we as a country don’t really want change we can believe in… we actually can’t stand change at all. When we get something, we can’t fathom giving it back.
When someone invented the wheel, we all wanted to roll things around.
When someone built the first hardwood floor, we never wanted to walk on dirt again.
When someone invented a window, we all couldn’t stand to be a room with no natural light
The same goes for cars, air conditioning, television, refrigerators, cell phones, and shoes that have those little cool air pumps built in.
Every time we get a new thing, we can’t go back. To go back is revolting. A catastrophic interference with our lifestyle. Now, if you don’t have an X-Box, you’re poor. If you don’t have a cell phone, you are being denied your basic human rights. Just having a roof over your head isn’t enough anymore unless you have some kick ass toys.
I’m all for advancement. I’m a big fan of Air Conditioning. If it weren’t for AC, I would have to move back up north and shovel the snow off my car every morning. I just don’t believe that because us Americans can’t borrow to the hilt to buy more and more stuff that we should call it a recession.
I would call it getting back to reality.
50 years ago, nobody would buy a car with a 7 year loan. They would put 20%-50% down on a house. And those houses were 1/3 the size of what we have today. If they wanted something, they would actually save for it, and then buy it when they had the money. But hey, I guess that’s bad for growth. I guess that’s bad for the stock market. I guess that’s bad for jobs, and especially bad for Nike, Major League Baseball, and apparently Wachovia.
I just don’t think we can call it a recession when too many people in America got drunk and threw a huge party on borrowed dollars. Maybe I would call it a hangover. And now it seems to me we want to charge the folks who schooled longer and worked harder for the Tylenol. |
