Watch those pins get OWNED by Nabor Dan!
What can I say? If you're gonna do it... do it like a man!
- ND
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Who's responsible...
I was watching the victory speeches this evening and heard something that galled me. I'm used to listening to the pandering speeches, with all of their empty promises in words spun so tightly that their meanings are lost in their staccato delivery. But sometimes... I hear something that I just can't digest.
Everyone who is not in a persistent vegetative state has now heard of the "mortgage crisis". It's in the media every day, and tends to be linked with the term "recession". More often then not it's credited as the root cause of the lack of confidence that has developed in the resiliency of our economy. The thing that bothered me this evening wasn't the mortgage crisis, or the recession fears that are being fanned, but rather the way that the entire crisis was being characterized. My issue was that the politician blamed the crisis on "predatory lending".
So at some point... lenders became predators.
What galled me was yet another subtle example of the continued slide of self responsibility. At what point will people finally decide to take responsibilities for their actions? If you decide to buy a home, who is responsible for ensuring that your loan is the best possible rate? The lender? Are you kidding me? Obviously the purchaser is responsible. Yet somehow, lenders have been labeled the predator. Are there examples of situations where a mortgage banker or broker acted in self interest over the interests of their client? Sure. Does that release the consumer from responsibility for their own self interest? Of course not. In Latin it's caveat emptor, or let the buyer beware.
OK people, let's all take this Nabor Dan wisdom to heart...
If you have reached the age of majority in your state be careful what you sign. If you don't understand what your signing... don't sign. Take the time to find someone who can explain it to you. Don't assume that anyone who has an financial interest in the transaction will offer you advice that is in your interest. And lastly... if you get screwed on something that you signed, suck it up and take responsibility for it. The only thing worse then someone taking advantage of you, is you not taking responsibility for yourself.
- ND
Monday, February 11, 2008
Tax rebates...
Sorry for the delay in getting a post out. My bout of the illness that has been going around is in full swing, and I'm enjoying a lot of napping when I'm not at work. Thank you for your patience... now on to the post.
Does anyone find it odd that the government proposes stimulating the economy by handing out tax rebate checks? Somehow putting $600 (or some other like amount) into the hands of nearly everyone is somehow going to change the national mindset about a looming recession? That's just crazy.
And why are so many people pumped-up about the government writing them a check for some of their own money? Won't this just add to the deficit that already exists between revenue and spending? Are people really silly enough to think this is a good thing?
Wouldn't it make sense if the government controlled its spending, and by doing so, found a way to lower taxes over time. By giving us a tax rebate, aren't they just ratcheting up the taxes that will eventually need to be collected to cover this new debt? And who do they expect to pay those future taxes? I can only assume that it's me, and you and everyone who pays taxes.
The projected surplus that was talked about 7 years ago is a thing of the past. Bigger government and wars in the post 9/11 world have ensured that we won't be seeing any surplus in the near future. Why do we keep thinking that we can spend today and pay tomorrow? Is it the same thinking that has caused the financial problems of such a large part of our citizenry? I suspect so.
In this election year, I think that these questions are especially important. Will we continue to elect people whose ideas are rooted in this same "well take care of everything for you" philosophy, or is the problem that we don't know who we are as a country? Are we the independent individualists we think of ourselves as, or have we become something else? Who does this government serve? I suggest that the answer is no one...
- ND
Does anyone find it odd that the government proposes stimulating the economy by handing out tax rebate checks? Somehow putting $600 (or some other like amount) into the hands of nearly everyone is somehow going to change the national mindset about a looming recession? That's just crazy.
And why are so many people pumped-up about the government writing them a check for some of their own money? Won't this just add to the deficit that already exists between revenue and spending? Are people really silly enough to think this is a good thing?
Wouldn't it make sense if the government controlled its spending, and by doing so, found a way to lower taxes over time. By giving us a tax rebate, aren't they just ratcheting up the taxes that will eventually need to be collected to cover this new debt? And who do they expect to pay those future taxes? I can only assume that it's me, and you and everyone who pays taxes.
The projected surplus that was talked about 7 years ago is a thing of the past. Bigger government and wars in the post 9/11 world have ensured that we won't be seeing any surplus in the near future. Why do we keep thinking that we can spend today and pay tomorrow? Is it the same thinking that has caused the financial problems of such a large part of our citizenry? I suspect so.
In this election year, I think that these questions are especially important. Will we continue to elect people whose ideas are rooted in this same "well take care of everything for you" philosophy, or is the problem that we don't know who we are as a country? Are we the independent individualists we think of ourselves as, or have we become something else? Who does this government serve? I suggest that the answer is no one...
- ND
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