[geeks] [rescue] E250 temperatures

[Lionel Peterson]

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*** Moved to geeks
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>From: Patrick Giagnocavo <patrick at zill.net>
>Date: 2008/04/14 Mon AM 08:43:59 CDT
>To: The Rescue List <rescue at sunhelp.org>
>Subject: Re: [rescue] E250 temperatures

>Lionel Peterson wrote:
>
>> Yep, saw a bunch of them at Starbucks this past weekend... The tip
>> cup had very little in it, though the lines were just as long as
>> always...
>
>
>I am amazed that for all the supposed "recession" we are in, that the 
>mall parking lot is always so full, even on say, Wednesday at 1:30PM.
>
>Either Lancaster, PA is some special case, or things are not quite as 
>bad as al-Reuters would have us believe.

IMHO, and of course, YMMV, but in my opinion there are many that will get thrown under the bus in the next year or two, but I contend that much of it will be self-inflicted, or as a result of someone else incurring some self-inflicted problem (collateral damage).

I am *constantly* amazed when you see poorly educated, blue-collar workers on the news complaining how they are losing their home - a home they could never afford, based on their income level - and in the same breath they seem almost, oddly proud that they didn't read all that legal-stuff on the contracts and agreements they signed. The lack of concern is overwhelming - they are signing up for, say, a $200K mortgage on a house that costs $225K (but should be worth more like $150-160K), putting them on the hook for 30 years of payments that add up to upwards of $750K (over time). Then, the world wakes up and their house value is now say $180K, they scream about making payments even though the value of the house went down (and they are underwater) - uh, hello! That is what you agreed to!

Then they talk about being kicked out of their house - they never owned it, but they can't understand even that simple concept. Then the Gov't steps in, says we gotta protect these people and their American Dream - bull. These are the same politicians that said the banks *had to* loan money to folks that want to buy in depressed areas, with poor credit and no stable income - congratulations! You set them up for failure.

Everybody does *not* deserve a house - everyone deserves the chance to own a house anywhere they like, assuming they can *afford* it.

In the final analysis, the problem (IMHO) is the education these folks didn't get growing up - they can't calculate mortgage payments, can't grasp the impact of an ever-changing mortgage rate, and never questioned the maxim that "Paying rent is throwing money away!" - never realizing that it was the Realtor that subtracted 6% of the total value of every house they sell...

Argh.

Back to the original topic, if you ask most people, you find that *they* are doing OK, but they are concerned about *everyone else*, based on what they see on the news/read in the paper.

Sorry...

Lionel