Personal Responsibility

Jesus christ, yes, the lenders and banks were very bad and are very hold a lot of fault for this economic problem. You know who else was responsible? YOU.

Yes, you. American Consumer, get up here, front and center. You, Joe Average, Madam Hockey Mom, whoever you are. Did you run up a lot of credit card debt? Did you buy a house that you weren't absolutely sure you could afford? Did you take out a personal or business loan that seemed too good to be true?

Congratulations, you dipshit, you were part of a massive team to sink the American economy!

Here's what needs to happen for a national-scale economy to work: People need to have money to loan. That means that the people who take out those loans need to be able to repay it. In the past, if you took out a loan that you couldn't afford, you were an idiot and/or scumbag living above your means. Recently it seems that doing so is not a stupid, scummy, irresponsible thing to do, but rather your own little slice of the American Dream.

If you took out a mortgage, you signed a contract saying that you accepted full responsibility for it. That means for one that you should have done your damn research before signing it. But that also means it is your responsibility. No, you cannot just walk away from it and expect the bank to write it off as a loss. No, you cannot expect a government bailout to make everything better*. No, you cannot blame the banks. Yes, they are partly culpable, but you know what? YOU SIGNED THE AGREEMENT. You saw the numbers you talked about it, you did it anyway.

Of course they told you it was a good idea and a great investment! Jesus christ, of course they told you that! You know why? They're selling it! If I go to a car dealership they're going to try to talk me up to the absolute peak of my price range. If I go to a realtor they're going to try to talk me up. Why? Because that's how they make their money, you ignoramus! That's like people who are stunned, absolutely horrified, to find out that their doctor is trying to tell them that tests X, Y, and Z are in fact neccesary and that you should really be on this and that drug. If you do it they get more money; if you don't they don't get the money. I was under the impression that this wasn't a terribly complex idea, but apparently it is.

I don't think I'm going to be able to watch the entire VP debate; it's going to make me too angry.

*Can someone *please* explain to me how this is going to solve anything long-term? We need regulation, not for our representatives to ignore their constituents and vote for a bill that's more pork than anything useful.

Credit card companies love me

So a while ago I was buying something on Amazon.  They threw an offer at me: Sign up for our no-annual-fee student Visa card and get an instant $30 credit!  Applicable instantly!

Well, the total amount I was spending was $30.16.  Unable to resist such an offer, I signed up, and discovered to my joy that I could use that instant credit for the current purchase.  

I just got the actual card, signed up for the online statements, and paid my enormous outstanding balance of 16 cents.  

Memorial Day

The buses were running on a Sunday schedule today due to the holiday.

Am I the only one who thinks there might be a trace of irony in remembering the sacrifices people made so (coughallegedlycough) that we could live our lives as normal...by changing up the normal routine and inconveniencing people?  I mean, wouldn't a better memorial be to run everything as normal and just take a few moments to enjoy how great our version of normal is?

I treated myself to brunch at the Santa Fe Baking Co. today, then went to Borders and spent most of the afternoon cheating Corporate America by sitting and reading magazines I had absolutely no intention whatsoever of paying any money for.  It was a lovely day.

Surprisingly, doctors are proven to not be angels.

In a great display of the investigative spirit, a survey of doctors has revealed them to be often dishonest people who are first and foremost out to make a buck.

_A third of surveyed doctors said they would order an unnecessary and expensive MRI scan just to get rid of a complaining patient.

_A quarter said they would refer patients to an imaging center in which they had a financial interest without revealing the conflict of interest, which could violate certain laws.

But it's OK, because of the doctors who responded, 28% of their patients are on Medicaid or uninsured.

Please do not the inherent flaw in this as a self-reporting survey: only about half the doctors returned the questionnaire, and obviously, someone who is extremely unethical is either not going to answer, or going to lie.

What's wrong with this country, part ??

Boise, Idaho. 1 AM the day after Thanksgiving.

America's heartland, people. This is our country, unfortunately.