Scroggs,
Thats a rather misguided comment. The people who lose their homes are the people who should not have bought them in the first place , certainly not on 100%+ valuations. Boom and bust are as old as crushing grapes to make wine. Sub prime was only the excuse to get the inevitable bust on the road, this slowdown is about a whole lot more than sub prime but about peoples use of credit in general. Credit everything , forget about saving was the great mantra of the last few years. To suggest that people are the helpless victims and didnt know they were spending beyond their means is narrow. Are people in foreclosure blaming the bank if they lose that home ? Really ?? As a kid on credit ( i got my first TV on credit ) I knew i was taking a risk that i could not pay it back. Luckily McDonalds didnt go bust at the time.
The " system " , nor anybody like me has responsibility for such folly and as for the banks that lent them money , well thats called a writedown or loss so they got and are getting their own medicine. Mostly American banks.. Although a few on this side of the pond too like the Rock.
It is not the systems, nor people like me as you put it ..fault that hundreds if not thousands will mortgage their ( parents ) house listening to some crap from a flight school about a pilot shortage, leaving themselves in long term debt with no prospects either... doesnt mean people wont do it though. But thats " credit " right?
The one area that I do think the current " system " is to blame for though is oil. If " they " managed to change the system so their could be less speculation I do not believe it would be as bad. That and / or send China back to the dark ages and rickshaws. Incidentally I dont own oil but USO.
The purpose of my post was to add something by way of information to the thread , i think thats done now , as best as I can do it. My money is made not because of who I am but becuase of the blind risk most people took. Your apology is accepted.
Last edited by thirtysomething; 8th Jul 2008 at 11:18.