Was it Dow Corning who, while laying off 25, 000 people, said that hope won’t pay the bills?
I hate to keep beating the same horse, but how many of the laid off put 20% down, paid 25% of their income, had savings and will still find it impossible to get another job paying anything comparable? I know one man who was making $65, 000 a year and who after 9 months took a position that paid $18, 000 because he was desperate to give his family health insurance.
Well, there’s me. But we also set up our lives so that my wife’s income pays all the bills. Never gave into the temptation to reach higher with housing, and when the money was there, we paid off all our debts- student loans, credit cards, cars. It wasn’t sexy, but it sure was functional… which is sexy today.
That siad, I don’t expect comparable money right now. It’s a recession, and in my opinion, soon to become a depression, so expecting comparable would be a bit much for me to do.
Hope I’m wrong, though. I hope that ‘stimulus’ kicks in and that curve shoots straight up to the sky, crossing over the blue curve.
Clearly an ugly story. But, when shown as a percentage it is much less ugly. It still isn’t as bad as the 1980/1981 recession. (I know, try telling that to someone who lost their job). My firm just laid off 10% of our associates and 59 staffers. Not pretty.
February 25th, 2009 at 15:34 -06006
So how does bailing out the foreclosed help those of us who are still making mortgage payments, but at the expense of everything else?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t help you at all, or them very much either, for that matter. All it does is give them a few more free months to hang out in a house they can’t afford and of course, your taxes will ultimately go up to help cover the losses.
But hey, at least we’re DOING something, right?
What’s that old adage? We gotta do somethin’ even if it ain’t right…Well, this’d be it.
Katie – thanks for the link. Alas, Tim is right. the bailout won’t do anything to help me. I’ve been buried by the cost of home repairs – not fancy makeovers, just silly things like having a working toilet and a non-leaky roof. This is what I get for having lived within my means all these years.
Was it Dow Corning who, while laying off 25, 000 people, said that hope won’t pay the bills?
I hate to keep beating the same horse, but how many of the laid off put 20% down, paid 25% of their income, had savings and will still find it impossible to get another job paying anything comparable? I know one man who was making $65, 000 a year and who after 9 months took a position that paid $18, 000 because he was desperate to give his family health insurance.
Well, there’s me. But we also set up our lives so that my wife’s income pays all the bills. Never gave into the temptation to reach higher with housing, and when the money was there, we paid off all our debts- student loans, credit cards, cars. It wasn’t sexy, but it sure was functional… which is sexy today.
That siad, I don’t expect comparable money right now. It’s a recession, and in my opinion, soon to become a depression, so expecting comparable would be a bit much for me to do.
Hope I’m wrong, though. I hope that ‘stimulus’ kicks in and that curve shoots straight up to the sky, crossing over the blue curve.
I’ll be interested to see follow up.
Clearly an ugly story. But, when shown as a percentage it is much less ugly. It still isn’t as bad as the 1980/1981 recession. (I know, try telling that to someone who lost their job). My firm just laid off 10% of our associates and 59 staffers. Not pretty.
http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=ZDJhYTZmMDRmNWNkMTI4MGE4YTMxOWVkNWQwZjQzNmY=
Here’s hoping we turn the corner soon – but I don’t think anything in the pipeline will do that.
I’d pay money to be wrong about that, though.
That’s the scary thing about the stimulus though. You’ll pay money to be right as well. Guess you pay your money and take your chances.
So how does bailing out the foreclosed help those of us who are still making mortgage payments, but at the expense of everything else?
lemming – I found this article helpful in understanding y/our concern:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100824600&ft=1&f=5
6 lemming says:
February 25th, 2009 at 15:34 -06006
So how does bailing out the foreclosed help those of us who are still making mortgage payments, but at the expense of everything else?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t help you at all, or them very much either, for that matter. All it does is give them a few more free months to hang out in a house they can’t afford and of course, your taxes will ultimately go up to help cover the losses.
But hey, at least we’re DOING something, right?
What’s that old adage? We gotta do somethin’ even if it ain’t right…Well, this’d be it.
Katie – thanks for the link. Alas, Tim is right. the bailout won’t do anything to help me. I’ve been buried by the cost of home repairs – not fancy makeovers, just silly things like having a working toilet and a non-leaky roof. This is what I get for having lived within my means all these years.