A very small percent of the public understands what is really going on, and knows harder times are just around the bend.
But tell me, what good does it do knowing the horror is coming and not being able to do a damn thing about it?
|
The never was and the never will be's |
by Kathy Fisher, Unknown News
Jan. 14, 2004
Bush and his lot have the general public hooked on credit cards, low interest rates, no money down, buy now, pay later. It reminds me of what Gore Vidal referred to as the appearance of wealth — no-one really owns anything, it just looks that way.
|  |
The majority of Americans are so busy going to work they don't have the time to figure out how badly they’re getting reamed. They just know that they have to depend on credit cards, and live from week to week one paycheck at a time.
A very small percent of the public understands what is really going on, and knows harder times are just around the bend. But tell me, what good does it do knowing the horror is coming and not being able to do a damn thing about it?
And another miniscule number are too rich to give a damn. They’re in an elite class of their own and nothing short of a giant bolide is going to upset their oh so perfect world. They are protected by their money and the power it buys.
I live in a working class, mixed income neighborhood where there are two people working in every family, or sometimes three if there's a teenager. I never saw so many new cars, so many furniture deliveries and so much new vinyl siding in my life.
But looking closer, this is what I see: It's not at all it appears to be. The car payments are stretched out to 6 years or more, so that the payments are nice and low, but that doesn't mean the car came cheap. The furniture was offered with no payments until next year and no money down. The cards are all maxed out, and that nice new vinyl siding was purchased only because the owner refinanced his house again. Now the house is depreciated, it's not worth the bloated price they originally paid for it, and it will never sell it for a price that will bring them a profit.
It's all a façade — the house and all they thought they owned. And when the credit finally runs out, the banks will come in like vultures on dead carcasses. They will con them into believing they are saving their asses, and for a while they will feel like they are coming out of debt, if the banks let them refinance one more time ... But this time the banks will set the stakes even higher in their favor.
The banks will eventually win, and when people can't pay, if they're lucky, the banks will make them an offer they can't refuse: a crappy little payment for their dream homes. They'll buy their homes from under them, but the poor buggers will still go bankrupt. Or maybe worse, out into the street.
I always used to think that if enough people went belly up, the banks would lose too. I kept saying to myself, there's no way in hell that tens of thousands of Americans would be thrown out into the streets.
I have since changed my way of thinking. The banks and the elite and their corrupt partners in Washington will always win. They don't care how many "have nots" they create. In fact, the more slaves to boss around, the better for them. It will simply give them reason to build more of what they like to refer to as "affordable housing," which will soon be transformed into slums ... apartment buildings teaming with cockroaches and no heat and plenty of disparity. They will refer to them as the 'never was" and 'never will be's," but rest assure they will always be needed.
I must tell you, several years ago my husband and I stopped using credits cards all together. Thinking I would be less a slave for them. You know, you'd be surprised to see what little you buy when you have to actually come up with the cash for something. You start to ask yourself, do I really need this right now?
We had to start putting money aside for a new washer and dryer. It took us damn near a year to save for them, and when we told the man at the store we were paying cash he looked at us like we were speaking another language.
"Are you sure you don't want to use our store plan?" he said ...
|
 | I have to laugh. We thought we did the right thing. For us, there were only two choices. One — Use credit cards, get stuff now, and pay forever. Or two — Don't use credit cards, pay in cash, but take forever to save for stuff you need now.
So many choices, so little time. I find myself praying for a meteor... a really big meteor.
© 2003, by the author.
Comments? newsuneed@yahoo.com |
There's much more than this at Unknown News.
|
|
| |
We try not to whine too much or too loudly, but we are poor and this site eats a lot of money and time.
We couldn't do it without the help of our volunteers. And for those who can't afford the time, giving just a buck or two can make all the difference and keep Unknown News alive.
|
Talk
to Us |
Archives |
| If you have something to say, we'd love to hear from you. |
Click here for archives of recent editions of Unknown News |
|
|
