It Will Only Get Worse!!!

Maybe it will get better once the warmonger is no longer in the White House.

 

Essentially what results is a becalmed economy.

Japan has had one for 20 years. Nobody starves, but it gets freakin' hard to get ahead. Their manufacturing base slipped away first to Korea, then to China. They even build plants in the U.S.--in part because of political pressure, in part because their labor cost advantage just isn't as great as it once was.

Japanese office workers, once some of the most productive people on the planet have instead become gigantic screw-offs, preferring to spend their on-the-clock time in video game parlors. Since there's not that much to do, nobody seems to begrudge them that.

The key factor that got them stuck was a system that made it almost impossible for a large business to be allowed to fail ... failed businesses equaled businesspeople going to jail, and since nobody wanted that, banks and businesses swept all these problems under the carpet and decided to just muddle along rather than prune out the weaker players and undergo a cycle of destruction that would allow for the creation and reallocation of capital as well. Where no one can fail, no one can really succeed either.

Sarbanes-Oxley laws and regs have the potential to cause that problem here. Who knows whether it will actually come to that.

 

Yes Greg.....everything is GWB's fault, we know......he is a warmonger, which has SO much to do with credit issues in this country....can we please keep this on topic? Thanks.....

 

Ok, let's keep it on the credit topics. Look at the 2005 bankruptcy laws, paid for by banks/creditors - embraced by Bush - lining the pockets of banks/creditors, by provisions making it virtually impossible for folks to file a Chapter 7 (total elimination of debt.

 

And Im sure GWB steered the hurricane in to New Orleans and caused global warming.....Greg, I am certainly not defending GWB. I voted for him and have been throughly disappointed. However, you sound like someone who blames the president for everything from the spilled milk on the carpet to the fact that the sock in my dryer disappears.......I dont have an issue with many of the new rules for bankruptcy, however, I do take issue with some of them. For instance, I do think it is a good idea for people to have to go thru debt counseling. I filed in nov of 2003 because I was laid off from my job. I got counseling on my own. I know a couple of individuals that filed Chap 7, not because they couldnt have paid their debts, but because they knew they could......that being said, Im not trying to pick a fight with you, as I have read some of you posts and have learned things from you. The original thread was talking about the fate of the American consumer, not the fact the GWB is a warmonger. That, in my opinion, is a ridiculous statemet. It is also for argument on a different forum. We can just agree to disagree.;

 

So you filed a Chapter 7 in 2003 - old laws, and I presume you were granted a discharge. Do you think that after the 2005 laws you would be able to?

 

No.....I filed a Chapter 13 in Nov 2003 and it was actually DISMISSED in May of 2004 because I couldnt afford the bankruptcy payments anymore.....I let things cool off for a few years and then started the repair process......

 

Hi Chiroman

I certainly didnt intend for this thread to go in that direction....Im just a guy trying to get his credit straight and didnt really see the relevance of Bush being a "warmonger". Anyway, I apologize for steering it that way because I didnt want to, it just rubbed me wrong I guess.

 

You are right. The bad thing is that it will probably get worse before it gets better. The only thing I know to do is take control and do what I can to make things better for ME and not wait until someone does it for me. That is one reason I am taking control of my credit and have been for the last couple of years.

 

One of the reasons for the credit "crisis" in this country is greed. People wanted things they couldn't afford, like a house costing half a mil on salary of $50K.

So the mortgage companies (unregulated by the Bush adminstration, for Greg's edification) came up with things like paying only the interest for 3-7 years. They hoped to be able to sell at a gain by then. And do what--move to a smaller house? Refinance (they still couldn't afford the mortgage payments).

Anyone with a basic understanding of economics saw this coming. I've been predicting it for at least five years.

Then when the laws of supply and demand kick in, and people can't sell the houses for what they want (more supply than demand), they blame the government.

If people learned to live within their means, they wouldn't be in this situation. For the most part, they wouldn't have to declare bankruptcy, either. They would have put money away and be able to make it through the job loss, or the major medical issue, or whatever.

So quit blaming the government and put the blame squarely where it belongs--on people who have to have what they want, when they want it, without being willing to sacrifice. We've lost the ability to be patient and save to reach goals. Instant gratification will kill this country, and we're seeing the beginning of it now.

 

Couldnt have said it better Hedwig.......I was young and stupid at one point but grew up. I know that there are some people who have gotten into their particular situation thru medical reasons and the like, but the majority did exactly what you said. I filed for bankruptcy because I wanted a fresh start and made many mistakes in my youth as well as being laid off. I never tried to live above my means, I owned my house outright but borrowed against it to pay some bills which got me in trouble. I thought at the time that was the way out.

I know Greg''s reply will be "well some of the people are in the same situation you were back then so why should they be any different than you were".....I cant argue with this BUT if I knew then what I know now, I wouldnt be in the situation I was in. I know now I will NEVER get into that situation again. I wish I knew more about the dangers of credit and also the ways that credit can be used as a positive. I regret the mistakes I made but I am attempting to atone for them now.

 

The political issues have nothing to do with the current administration. The real political issue is that leaders from both parties have permitted, both on the national and state levels, granting CCCs a virtual immunity from usory laws that regulate most other lendors. If I lent money to a guy at 30% interest, I could be prosected, or at the least, have my loan declared unenforceable by a court.
So, as Hedwig has stated so well, the problem lies primarily with consumers not controlling themselves. For those who seek governmental assistance in setting restraints, we have elected officials who we pay to do this. We are the government, but only if we demand it. Contact your elected officials, and urge them to regulate the CC industry by eliminating the nearly total exemptions that they now enjoy.