Korene's Blog

Who Should We Blame?

A very good friend of mine and I were engaged in a discussion regarding a news item we had both heard while we shared a meal and some time together this last week.

The topic of conversation was regarding alot of promises a person of prominence had made and appeared to be making everytime he spoke or was being quoted by members of the various news organizations and the press corps.  That conversation led to a another matter until we were talking about the economy, the housing market, unemployment, and people who were in a state of real dispair and pain.

Like so many other  conversations, this conversation came back to the subject of "Who should we blame for one of the worst financial collapses in world history?  Now, I talk to people who are doing "A-OK" and everyone else is just greedy, foolish, or worse according to some folks.

I remember writing a paper when I was in college on the "Great Depression".   At the time, we did not have the internet (Al Gore hadn't invented it yet), or personal computers (Bill Gates was still in high school), or fax machines (we did have tele-type machines but they were real expensive), oh but we did have cars, telephones, color television, and talking movies...So, one evening when I got a bit homesick for my Grandfather's voice, I called him and visited abit then asked him about his thoughts and recollections of the "Great Depression".  I do not remember a great deal of what he said but one thing he said remained with me.  What he said was this, "Mostly, it seems that everyone was buying and selling.  What they were buying and selling was just paper or an idea written on paper and then they went looking for someone who would pay more for the paper than they had paid for it."

I remember thinking that was really foolish and I would make sure I never did anything that foolish.  OH YEAH!  Most of us who bought and sold any of the following in  the late 1990 through the early 2005-2007 did just that.  Did you buy and sell real estate ( not that you would use but you hoped someone else would buy it from you at a higher price or would agree to pay your mortgage and give you a profit for nothing down and nothing into it), vehicles or toys (that depreciate as soon as the title is transferred to your name), stocks and bonds (that were backed not by real hard value but by someone else buying the paper from you), or something else that you did not want to impress someone you did not care about, for something you had not real or solid use for with money you did not have, and in the end could not afford unless someone else bailed you out or everything continued to get more of the same so you could pond it off on someone else?

I did! Most of us did.  In fact most all of us bought into the Madison Avenue lie that the Winner in the Game of Life is He or She Who Has the Most Toys in the End.  That statement is so false.  Our current economy and situation today is the price of our foolishness.  We spent, spent, and spent some more.  We are still spending.  It is totally rediculous to believe we can spend our way out of this economic mess.  Our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren will not rise up and call us blessed or the Greatest Generation.  They are going to call us foolish.  We have learned nothing from history and we are not paying attention to those around us who are crying in despair.

Here in Phoenix, this week, we see such a tragic example of one family in such pain.  If you watched the news channels or read the newspaper, you probably saw the same story I did.  It reached into my inner soul and just tore the heart and soul right out of me.

The story was of a young family that consisted of a father, mother, and two young children who had all the trapping of success and the American Dream.  They had a home in one of the more upscale Scottsdale neighborhoods.  They were well liked, friendly, outgoing, and moving upward.  They had all the toys and the symbols of happiness and success.

The story was not in the toys or the symbols.  Their story was of murder and suicide because the house of cards was crumbling, then how alone and defeated someone felt.  This is the same or similar story we will hear all too often.  Maybe not to the depths and permanence of this story but I hear of families breaking up, friendships being thrown away, or people giving up because the things that used to be the measure of who and what they were/are really are worthless or worth little.

Family, friends, neighbors, casual acquintences are important.  One human life is worth more than all the bailouts and all the toys.  It costs us little in the long scheme of things to reach out a hand and lift someone up.

How does all of this matter to me and my family and our situation, you may ask?  We are like pieces of small bamboo.  By ourselves, we break easily.  When we knit and ban together we become strong and can stand against the tides as they beat against us.  Unless we as people and we as Americans start caring and helping and banding together, we will sink into the mire that so many other countries have done in the past.  Two hundred plus years is not a long time in the time clock of world history.  Our short life span is not much in the terms of the suffering of mankind.  BUT if each one of us, we spread a little kindness, reach out and positively help our fellowman, regardless of what we get back, we as individuals and collectively, we as a nation, will be better, stronger, and thrive together not just survive.

What is most important is not what you do for or to me or about me but what I know about, can say, and will build on the person we each see everyday in the mirror.  Have a Great Week!

May I suggest you help your friends and family by recommending them to me and my website to your friends and family whether they are looking to buy, refinance, have debt, want to be financially responsible, or want to build a sound financial base?                 www.klcsloanteam.com

My full contact information is shown in the signature area of this blog and on my website at www.klcsloanteam.com. My telephone number is (623) 340-0934.

I thank you and they will too!

Sincerely,

Korene L. Clopine-Seaman
CMPS, CMA, RRDS, LMB
Senior Mortgage Advisor
Pacific Coast Mortgage, Inc
6991 E. Camelback Rd, Suite C-250
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
#BK 090581
Direct Phone: 623-340-0934
Direct Fax: 623-218-1807
Email: korene@klcsloanteam.com
website: www.klcsloanteam.com

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