2) Individuals who are well educated in financial matters. specially those who have majored in Economics from a University or College. They know more about these matters than I do. Therefore they do not need my itch to write.
It may be, however, to be of interest to those who are willing to learn, to investigate, to question and to actually practice ECONOMICS in their own home within their own family
When looking up the definitions of the word "Economics" one gets the general term of:
A social science that deals with the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services and with the theory and management of economies or economic systems.
The next question could be:
In my humble opinion, ECONOMISTS should know history, specially finances. They also should be well versed in the present financial situations around the world. The most qualified would be one of at least 90 years of age and older. Since humans in general don't live that long, we have to put up with all kinds of people who call themselves "ECONOMISTS".
The problem with almost all so called economists is the fact that they are too young, had no personal experiences with the great depression of 1929 and the after effects. Their knowledge is strictly and mostly what was taught them in Universities by Professors, who themselves, have no first hand knowledge of great, historical upheavals in the financial world.
When I listen to the self proclaimed "Economists" on TV I wonder how they can call themselves "Economists" with a straight face. Most of them would not qualify to more than "Analyst", "Commentator" or something to this nature. True economists are very few in this world. Economists of greatness are
A quote: "If economists could manage to get themselves thought of as humble, competent people on a level with dentists, that would be splendid." John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946), British economist.
Another quote: "If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion." George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
A great lexicon of great Economists is the URL:
So much for generalities. I am more interested in "Home Economics", meaning the economics concerning personal and private households. Again, those who should be more knowledgeable in these matters won't read matters like this. I am convinced of the "lack of knowledge" of the average citizen which is enforced by the unbelievable questions which are phoned into the TV show of Suze Orman.
I consider this lady - Suze Orman - a living encyclopedia of financial wisdom. I would like to encourage anyone to see and listen to her TV show. I am showing the URL:
Just to listen to some of the most hilarious questions could be equated with an ecstasy. People who owe tens of thousands of dollars on Mortgage, car and credit card payments are inquiring if they could afford e.g. a diamond ring, $ 12,000.00 ear rings etc.
Ms. Orman tells those pawns the facts of life. People who are already deep into debts are told to cool it. Her advice is not only sensible but also right on the button.
At this moment (August 2007) a lot of people still don't see the dark clouds in the sky. People who should not have entered the "Home Owners" club are in deep trouble. Some bought their home without a down payment, interest payments only and hundreds of other possibilities.
While the economy was growing fast, the banks and other loan institutions, had no scruples to loan money to those who could not afford it. And as always, those on the bottom of the ladder, are paying the highest interest rates.
For most of these people there is no way out. A lot of them will lose their properties as they can no longer re-finance in a world of a credit crunch. Now that the financial market is clamping down, those of lower income are a high risk. Therefore they cannot find an institution which does take them on as a client.
I don't think that anyone has a solution for financial insolvency of those unfortunate number of people who are caught in such a situation. For those who are a little bit better off and can ride out the financial squeeze (hopefully temporarily) I would suggest to face their own financial situation straight on.
b) Cut up the paid up credit cards.
c) Don't use credit cards if at all possible.
d) Don't purchase any articles unless absolutely needed.
e) Pay cash for these items.
f) Don't be lured into unnecessary expenses by sweet talking Sales persons.
g) Sell any item you don't absolutely need for your financial survival.
h) Make sure that all your time payments are paid ON TIME!.
i) If you are late with your payment(s), call the institution and try to have an extension. Do not miss your payment(s) without permission from the loan institution.
j) Get financial advice from someone you know and trust. Preferable someone who is a successful business person. These people have valuable knowledge. Any decent person would help you out with advice. Remember, those who do have the knowledge did not get it by sleeping!.
k) Don't get involved into any kind of gambles. Anything that sounds too good is most likely no good at all.
There are many more points that could be raised, but it would depend on the individual situation. Above are practical words of wisdom.
I would urge you not to discuss your own, desperate, financial situation with neighbors, friends or people who are in the same dreadful position. Stay away from insincere people or from those who are too intelligent for their own good. By that I mean people who claim intelligence, but are NOT SMART. Specially those who are incompetent, never accomplish anything worth while, BUT DO HAVE ADVICE FOR YOU!
One final word: If you are desperately in need of financial counseling, use State, Community sponsored programs. Most of these offices do help with a minimum of cost. In an atmosphere if fiscal squeeze do not seek the services of a PROFESSIONAL financial adviser. You should solicit the best which you may not be able to afford and those others - real snake oil pushers - are certainly more expensive (in the long run).
If you are really interested how to run a life, family efficiently, go to your 7/11 store or some store like it. Ask the owner (who is most likely of NON - North American heritage) how to make money out of next to nothing. These people, by knowing misery and what it takes to succeed, work 25 hours per day:). I never seen anyone of these industrious, motivated people being in financial trouble. You know why? Because they have a secret -
Now I would like to address a another form of "ECONOMY", The ridiculous, repetitive, silly, double tongued, outright stupid, misleading Advertisements of the Multi Nationals. They spent Billions of dollars - not even theirs - it is the money of the shareholders, and also subsequently costing the purchasers.
Everyone realizes that the appetite of the North American public is diversity. Hundreds of different models of cars and trucks. We are bombarded with Breakfast cereal promotions only to find that most of them are produced by a handful of manufacturers. The same goes for almost any article the consumer is buying. The slogan is: "confuse the customer, give him the fog treatment", propaganda which is dubious.
Very few people would advocate to have only one model of each article e.g. car, truck, boat, house etc. However, if the number of different objects would be cut down, the choice of selection narrowed, the cost of each individual item would be considerable less. This phenomenon is not only caused by the Capitalistic system, it is also a product of the greediness of the public at large.
Why is it that I have to be told slogans about certain advantages of automobiles over those of the competition? In most cases you are buying a piece of welded metals. These vehicles are then being shipped to the Dealer which sells it as is. Only years later will the automobile manufacturer recall defective vehicles, after lives have been lost due to false manufacturing. They would not even advise the public of the hazardous condition(s) if it was not for some organizations reporting about it. For an example, take the unbelievable number of recalls FORD is undertaking at this time for a defective part which caused fire in some of their vehicles. We are supposed to trust these merchants of death traps until they see fit to graciously replace the defective part which possibly has been out sourced to a foreign country anyway.
You may say, what does that have to do with Economy? I has a lot to do with Economy. The sub quality of the product and the sloppiness it has been put together, costs money. I am using Ford examples, because we are driving Ford vehicles. When you purchase, for example, a pickup truck. It is warranted for a very limited number of parts for a given km limit, e.g. 60,000. This is by no means a bumper to bumper warranty - God no. In order to feel reasonable save of extreme repair costs the Dealer entices one to buy extra Insurance for possible defects (within the warranty time!). This is outrages, as the manufacturer admits that the parts can't be trusted and they are willing to replace them (within the warranty time), but NOT free of charge. The cost of the extra insurance, the undercoating and paint protection can cost another $ 2,000.00.
The manufacturer pays their top managers bonuses which boggles the mind. The CEO's of some of the Multi Internationals e.g. Home Depot, Wal-Mart and many others are pulling in hundreds of millions of Dollars as wages, bonuses. Take for example: The former CEO of Home Depot (now the CEO of Chrysler) got in excess of $ 200,000,000.00 (Two hundred millions) of a severance bonus. This is not just unjust, it is outrages and can even be considered obscene.
This is also part of Economy. It is a plutocratic system designed to fleece the working class, milk them until they bleed.
By now most people who are interested in finance in general and the present housing - mortgage crisis know that there is something wrong with the system.
Everyone should know that the economic well being of the plutocratic societies is based on consumer spending. It is therefore in the interest of the financial institutions e.g. Banks, Finance companies etc. AND OF COURSE the Governments to entice people to spend, spend and spend till they are out of their mind AND MONEY.
This is a very simple explanation and the situation is much more complicated than that. However, the economy of the US and Canada can only prosper when the public buys merchandize if the need it or not. There was a time when the man of the house was the sole income source of the family. Then greed of the population at large - mostly working class - took over. The house had to be bigger, they wanted a second car, more TV's (preferable one in each room). In time it was clear to most that the income of one would not sustain such expenses. So the partner - wife in most cases - had to get a job. This meant second car. The second job meant extra income, but it also added expenses e.g. transportation to the 2. job, child care expenses, additional income tax etc. etc.
Thousands of people who were not credit worthy were induced to easy mortgages (many of dubious quality). It looked so good. Little or no down payment, Interest only etc. looked so good. However, anyone with an ounce of brain could foresee that this was nothing but a fata morgana. It was designed to fleece the working class out of their savings, their earnings. We hear little about the problems these poor people are facing. But we hear about the unfortunate losses the Investment banks, the offshore accounts which are losing value. The Federal Reserve bank immediately put Billions into the system to prevent the Banking system from getting into serious problems. If anyone believes that this was done to save the mortgage delinquent home owner from bankruptcy, they should have their brain examined. This money infusion, which was really not REAl MONEY, was strictly for the benefit of the wealthy.
In the next few months we will see what will happen. A guy who is a multi Billionaire just asked the President of the US to intervene to bail out the home owners who cannot pay their bills. I had to laugh when I read this. A Billionaire who is concerned about delinquent home owners? This is just like asking the mafia if there is any crime.
There is an article on the Internet - www.forbes.com - dated Aug. 23. 07 and written by Andrew Farrell which says: " Rate cut not the answer". At the end of the article it states: "A Presidential bailout of homeowners who can't pay their mortgages would likely be a boon for the companies making the mortgages". It then mentions the companies who are presently in financial trouble.
You may say, well it could be worse! Well, how much worse? More and more jobs are lost. Illegal immigration has gone out of hand. The cost to provide for these Illegals is unimaginable. When your phone does not work or you have a problem with your satellite dish receiver - don't expect to be speaking with an expert in your country. Chances are you speaking with an individual in India. 3 out of 3 times the advice I got in such a situation was wrong, useless or could-not-care-less.
It is a good thing to live in a small community. Sure, we have all the same problems dealing with the Multi Nationals, the blood suckers, but people are of a better quality than in the big cities. This is a small way of finding that there is still goodness in this world. While it may not help to keep above water, it may sweeten the tea!
The above has been written, unrehearsed and without additional help. I spilled my heart as I feel the earth around me spinning. There are some but very infrequent writers who tell it as it is, but they are either on some back pages of the multi national papers or work for small print media which is not widely read. I would hope that someone reading these lines will be open minded and see the frauds which are perpetuated on us on a daily basis.
I can't change things, but I have one thing which is very precious to me: I am thinking, I am not part of the majority which is "slightly out of tune":)
Following quotes are interesting:
It is tough to make predictions, especially about the future.