Another Country - This will scare you!

[Cassandra]

http://jameshowardkunstler.typepad.com/clusterfuck_nation/2005/09/another_country.html

" Take a good look at America around you now, because when we emerge from the winter of 2005 - 6, we're going to be another country. The reality-oblivious nation of mall hounds, bargain shoppers, happy motorists, Nascar fans, Red State war hawks, and born-again Krispy Kremers is headed into a werewolf-like transformation that will reveal to all the tragic monster we have become.

What we will leave behind is the certainty that we have made the right choices. Was it a good thing to buy a 3,600 square foot house 32 miles outside Minneapolis with an interest-only adjustable rate mortgage -- with natural gas for home heating running at $12 a unit and gasoline over $3 a gallon? Was it the right choice to run three credit cards up to their $5000 limit? Was I chump to think my pension from Acme Airlines would really be there for me? Do I really owe the Middletown Hospital $17,678 for a gall bladder operation that took forty-five minutes? And why did they charge me $238 for a plastic catheter?"

Watch the "ownership society" and the era of "personal responsibility" fold into a sreaming abyss.

[Mari333]

1. Ive been preparing for it for a long time

and when the bankrupty laws take effect in Oct ( no one can file), added to the min payments on credit cards being raised, added on the heating bills that will go up 70 percent, well, its the perfect storm brewing and Im hunkering down living like a pauper, because its going to get ugly in the heartland.

[raccoon]

2. And not just in the heartland. nt

[Cassandra]

5. I'm very grateful I have no debt but...

I have no clear idea of the effect of this on NYC. We don't grow much here and everything has to be shipped in. OTOH, shipments are very efficient because a large concentration of people can be served at once. My building is heated by natural gas; the landlord got a fuel surcharge but I don't know if the extra is too much or not enough. As far as my jewelry business is concerned, I have to wonder if I'll have many customers left. Who needs jewelry when you're just trying to take care of the basics?

[sasha031]

3. scary

I have read his articles and heard him on the radio. I agree with him, I keep saying wait till winter.

Are the sheep waking or are they still oblivious to their surroundings. Will they blame the gays and blacks when it happens and pull out their guns?

There has never been a time when as now, we need another Roosevelt.

[AValdoux]

4. His comments about NOLA

worry me the most. The word from the govt is everything is going to be okay, NOLA will be just fine. We heard all the things that would be disrupted or ruined when the big one hit, but now no mention of the toxic soup, oil & gas infrastructre, shipping interuption caused by port damage, etc. I don't believe we are being told the truth because they don't think we can handle the truth.



AValdoux

[SlipperySlope]

6. Personal choice...

Was it a good thing to buy a 3,600 square foot house 32 miles outside Minneapolis with an interest-only adjustable rate mortgage? Was it the right choice to run three credit cards up to their $5000 limit?

Who makes people live like that? I picked a fixed-rate mortgage, even though it meant living in a smaller house. I decided to pay off my credit cards years ago, even though it means I can't afford to buy the things I want.

I know that everybody isn't as fortunate as me to be able to make these choices, but IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY BACK A LOAN, DON'T BORROW THE MONEY.

Instead of living in a society that teaches responsibility, we practically have irresponsibility crammed down our throats. Banner adds for interest-only mortgages, preapproved credit card offers in every day's mail, we live in a world of financial junk food.

Hell, I like that analogy. What the fast food industry has done to our collective waistlines, the financial industry has done to our personal debt.

Remember that commercial about how having a gold MasterCard would make you a better person. I hated that commercial, but it looks like we've all "better personed" ourselves to death.

[Cassandra]

7. If you want to know why others don't make wise choices....

"Instead of living in a society that teaches responsibility, we practically have irresponsibility crammed down our throats. Banner adds for interest-only mortgages, preapproved credit card offers in every day's mail, we live in a world of financial junk food."

The ads are there because they work. Not everyone has the fortitude or the income to avoid the temptation of going out on a limb.

[SlipperySlope]

8. Yeah, I know. I just started ranting...

[katty]

9. yup, I posted this on DU yesterday-in another forum-Scary