So it seems we find ourselves in a bigger and bigger mess with the economy. There are several factors compounding to make life today interesting, but I do believe the biggest fault lies in the US mortgage and credit "crisis."
Yes, I said "crisis." I don't mean to belittle the severity of the situation. Obviously, we are not in a happy place. Rather, I wanted to belittle all the absurdly stupid decisions that brought us here. While I know that collectively people tend to make stupid decisions, the reach of this situation boggles my mind.
How did we get into this credit crisis? Because a huge amount of people allowed it to happen. This is not a mystery, nor is it an honest mistake. It is absolutely the fault of hundreds or thousands of individuals making plainly bad — or at least plainly dangerous — decisions.
Buying homes when you can't afford them. A great number of people hold (at this point held may be the correct word) sub-prime mortgages. That is to say, they took adjustable rate loans. Either they were confident the rates would not rise, felt they'd be able to handle the rise, or were flat out lied to by their loan officers. I don't think we'll ever know the breakdown of which case was most often true. I understand desperation, and I understand the desire to own a home. I want to attribute ignorance as the main factor with this fault, but I simply do not know if it was genuine ignorance or willful ignorance. Certainly, this is not the crux of the matter. It may just be a symptom. It makes it clear that people in the US do not understand money.
Crooked Loan Officers. We've heard of the pressure and assurances that were given to the recipients of these loans. I don't doubt this was common. If you're trying to sell a house it is very easy to ignore the reality of the situation and focus on getting the sale closed. Most sales people either get commission for the deals they close, or it directly impacts their performance rating. If you don't close deals you get paid less or are looked on less favorably when it comes to review time. This inside-out business perspective is systemic across the world. Employees are blinded to the bigger picture, and to their customers because of the way they are trained and paid. I have no problem with ruthless competition, but I do have a severe problem with acting without acknowledging what is right. The whole "not my problem" attitude people seem to take on when they are in fact causing the problem is ridiculous. I would equate this to selling thirsty people seawater to drink.
Greedy lenders. I've got to preface this one. I am all for greed, just not in the way most people look at it. The desire to acquire wealth can be a wonderful driving force for progress, innovation, and quality of life, but only if it's pursued in a rational manner. In this case, it was not. Having a certain amount of sub-prime or other risky loans in your portfolio makes sense. They can be very profitable, but the potential profit must be balanced with the potential risk. This was not done, Systemically. Again, it's typical of the corporate world. It's not my job. It's not my problem. I don't have the power to ask a question or make a change.
Idiot CEOs. I don't think this one needs a lot of explanation. It falls back to the previous examples of failure to think. I understand the temptation to maximize profits for a short period. You look good, make buckets of money. Unfortunately that does not make you a CEO, it makes you an opportunist. If you do not have at least some form of contingency plan for the risks you take on, you have already failed.
Every failure I've listed here comes down to myopia, and avoidance of responsibility. Every single level. The financial situation we currently find ourselves in was completely avoidable at any of these levels.
Thanks guys.
I'd like to believe that what we're seeing is not human nature. I'd like to believe that somewhere along the lines we've made some mistakes that we can find and correct that have led to the idiocy we see. Whether we've created this culture of ignorance and responsibility avoidance, or whether it's something natural, we have to fight it.
I don't think anyone is responsible 100% of the time. I don't think we need to be. But please, the next time you're going to make a big decision think a bit about the implications down the road. The next time your boss asks you to do something stupid, question it. Just because you were trained a certain way does not mean it is right. Just because everyone else is doing it does not mean it is wise. Challenge yourself and think about the actions you take. Just because an action will give you an immediate benefit does not mean it will give a lasting one.
» Mediocrity. ... Last Reply: 1 week ago by shadowsun7.
Well, I was optimistic, thinking neither of them could be that bad, and how influential is a VP anyway. I mean most of our VP's over the past few decades have simply been party men, casting the tie breaker votes as you'd expect.
After listening to that shit last night, I'm appalled. They're both lying, hypocritical, manipulative children.
When I heard all the position switching in 2004, it was funny. It was flip flopping. It was not good, certainly, but had a comical element to it. This year whenever I hear either candidate talk I just hear lies. I'll vote this year, but it's not going to be for a main party, I find them both slimy, dishonest, and downright disgusting.