Weddings and other choices
It sort of hit me today that as soon as next week we could live in a country with an entirely different world view than what we currently have. What if we were open minded enough to elect a man with a mixed race heritage? I feel like this could be a HUGE cultural shift, and I am thrilled. What if Americans could live up to their ideals of equal opportunity? Next week could change this country forever, and I am completely riveted by the possibilities. I honestly wonder why the Republican Party didn't do this four or eight years ago with Colin Powell, since that really would have kept them out of this current Bush/Rove/Cheney/Palin morass of a personality cult. If we're lucky, maybe Bill Richardson will get to be Secretary of State!
On a personal note, I keep wondering about these people who are mad that any culpability for the current economic problems could be blamed on borrowers. I keep hearing that we shouldn't blame any individuals that bought houses. However, I could have bought a house a year ago, and I seriously considered it. I didn't, simply because it seemed too easy to get into trouble with. I could have afforded a house on my own last year, but I couldn't have afforded a house and an emergency. Instead, I waited, and Eddie and I have done this together, with a comfortable cushion.
So, suddenly I am hearing that the borrowers aren't to be blamed, and it makes me angry. We keep hearing about the "Greatest Generation" of our grandparents, and this seems to be one of the lessons that we should learn from those individuals. My grandparents all lived within their means, and while I have not done as well as I could, I haven't been among the worst offenders. This personal responsibility suddenly means that my tax dollars are going to bail out thousands of irresponsible people and legions of dishonest lenders, and I am furious. I understand that academically, a bailout is necessary, but I don't think that subsidizing the executives who were behind all of this is the right answer, either. The more I hear about the bailout, the more it seems like the kind of legislation that got us into the Iraq war. Lawmakers weren't given enough time to think this through in order to get bills enacted that would be beneficial, instead there was pressure from the current administration and the whole financial sector to just throw my money at the situation and to trust the very people who have gotten us into this mess. I don't really see how Alan Greenspan was wrong to assume that banks wouldn't assume all of their value and holdings into questionable debt. I think he was right to assume the best of the professionals leading the banks, otherwise, what faith at all would we have in those professionals?
To make this even more personal, Eddie and I have registered for our wedding gifts. At at time when people should be paying off bills, he and I are asking for home appliances and couture linens. Part of me just wants to have everyone who wants to give a gift to either give us cash to pay for the wedding, or to ask those people to donate to the ASPCA. Another part of me is listening to my relatives who geniunely love us and who want to help us with gifts that they have thoughtfully chosen, and I don't want to seem ungrateful to those people. I think this would all be easier if I could just wander over to a store and register for a whole household full of goods that were made in America, but I can't even find those sorts of things to alleviate my conscience.
On a personal note, I keep wondering about these people who are mad that any culpability for the current economic problems could be blamed on borrowers. I keep hearing that we shouldn't blame any individuals that bought houses. However, I could have bought a house a year ago, and I seriously considered it. I didn't, simply because it seemed too easy to get into trouble with. I could have afforded a house on my own last year, but I couldn't have afforded a house and an emergency. Instead, I waited, and Eddie and I have done this together, with a comfortable cushion.
So, suddenly I am hearing that the borrowers aren't to be blamed, and it makes me angry. We keep hearing about the "Greatest Generation" of our grandparents, and this seems to be one of the lessons that we should learn from those individuals. My grandparents all lived within their means, and while I have not done as well as I could, I haven't been among the worst offenders. This personal responsibility suddenly means that my tax dollars are going to bail out thousands of irresponsible people and legions of dishonest lenders, and I am furious. I understand that academically, a bailout is necessary, but I don't think that subsidizing the executives who were behind all of this is the right answer, either. The more I hear about the bailout, the more it seems like the kind of legislation that got us into the Iraq war. Lawmakers weren't given enough time to think this through in order to get bills enacted that would be beneficial, instead there was pressure from the current administration and the whole financial sector to just throw my money at the situation and to trust the very people who have gotten us into this mess. I don't really see how Alan Greenspan was wrong to assume that banks wouldn't assume all of their value and holdings into questionable debt. I think he was right to assume the best of the professionals leading the banks, otherwise, what faith at all would we have in those professionals?
To make this even more personal, Eddie and I have registered for our wedding gifts. At at time when people should be paying off bills, he and I are asking for home appliances and couture linens. Part of me just wants to have everyone who wants to give a gift to either give us cash to pay for the wedding, or to ask those people to donate to the ASPCA. Another part of me is listening to my relatives who geniunely love us and who want to help us with gifts that they have thoughtfully chosen, and I don't want to seem ungrateful to those people. I think this would all be easier if I could just wander over to a store and register for a whole household full of goods that were made in America, but I can't even find those sorts of things to alleviate my conscience.