Credit Crisis

[Nolerama]

I just watched Maxed Out: Hard Times in the Age of Easy Credit

Although depressing, it rings some truth in the idea that America's concept and practice of consumer lending/credit is a facade for something that's been around for ages:

Indentured servitude. You can even call it "slavery" to an extent; especially when it comes do our increasing dependency on our credit score, which is a privately-manufactured process. Buying a home or conveyance (this can include bicycles) require credit. In many cases, having a decent credit score can weigh heavily on getting a job. We are dependent on making the Powers that Be happy, and that means keeping a certain number high.

But this is what fuels a large part of our consumer society, and feeds into everything from education to medical care to the increasing disparity between the Rich and the Struggling.

I wish I had the resolve to live off the grid. But I like watching satellite TV and my Internet from my home.

What do you think about the concept of credit in today's society?

 

[terryl965]

I think it sucks, the only thing I have anymore is my mortgage. Everything else is paid for with cash, period if I can not afford it we wait.

 

[Gordon Nore]

What do you think about the concept of credit in today's society?

I would liken it to being on a giant hamster wheel. I've taken that ride a few times in my life. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to plastic. Last year, I paid off the cards and kept one, with a $500 limit. My wife has custody of a card with a higher limit, reserved for emergencies such as sudden vet bills (we foster dogs in addition to the ones we own) or if the furnace blows up.

That has curtailed my impulse buying, and I can honestly say I am a happier person for it. It's very easy to get trapped in personal debt, spending years paying off stuff you didn't need in the first place and then getting to a point where you need overdrafts and plastic to keep up with bills for the necessities of life.

Our consumer language disguises what I think is really going on with our purchasing. We don't buy a new computer; we upgrade, although the the upgrade usually consists of throwing the old computer in the trash and buying a new one. Similarly, products we buy must accessorized, which is code for buying an i-pod or a cell phone and then purchasing other junk to go with it, like "skins."

 

[SageGhost83]

I just watched Maxed Out: Hard Times in the Age of Easy Credit

Although depressing, it rings some truth in the idea that America's concept and practice of consumer lending/credit is a facade for something that's been around for ages:

Indentured servitude. You can even call it "slavery" to an extent; especially when it comes do our increasing dependency on our credit score, which is a privately-manufactured process. Buying a home or conveyance (this can include bicycles) require credit. In many cases, having a decent credit score can weigh heavily on getting a job. We are dependent on making the Powers that Be happy, and that means keeping a certain number high.

But this is what fuels a large part of our consumer society, and feeds into everything from education to medical care to the increasing disparity between the Rich and the Struggling.

I wish I had the resolve to live off the grid. But I like watching satellite TV and my Internet from my home.

What do you think about the concept of credit in today's society?

You could pretty much say that for Capitalism, itself. You have freedom, but you need a roof over head, clothes on your back, and food on your table. And how do you get those things? You need money. How do you get money? You go to work, and that is similar to slavery with the only difference being that you can actually quit anytime you like, however, it is still a virtual death sentence because then you don't have any money coming in and those bills add up fast. Your boss still yells at you and makes you do stuff, and you must do it if you don't want to lose your means to earn a living. It is all indentured servitude, just dressed up and accessorized to look like something else. Slavery with one of those new "skins" :rofl:.

 

[Jai]

My wife and I got ourselves into a mess with credit when we first started out. It took us nearly 10 years to get it all cleaned up. Now we keep one card each for total emergencies ONLY. Each card has a low limit so there isn't even the big temptation to spend. The only things we have is the normal monthly bills, and her car which is almost paid off. It was a hard road back from the black pits of credit but we pulled it off and things are so much better for it. To call it "slavery" is really an understatement. It's a living hell.

 

[Big Don]

I think it sucks, the only thing I have anymore is my mortgage. Everything else is paid for with cash, period if I can not afford it we wait.

Wow. That is common sense in action there. If more people lived that way and didn't buy more house than they needed or could afford, fewer would lose their homes, credit scores, etc.

 

[Jai]

And then it wouldn't be America....

 

[newGuy12]

No one needs all of those fancy things. People can live a simple lifestyle. The simpler the better. I try not to buy into all of this advertising nonsense. its poison. The true goodness of a person has very little to do with the clothes that they wear.

 

[Kacey]

Like Terry, I pay cash whenever I can; I'm not quite as out of debt as he is - in addition to my first mortgage, I have a second mortgage and student loans... but that's it. Still, this is not a new problem (or, at least, not as new as many people would like to think it is). In one of the Little House on the Prairie books, after Laura marries Almanzo, one of their problems is that he goes into debt $500 to built their house - which doesn't sound like much, but remembering that bread was a nickel a loaf, that brings things more into perspective.

Tennessee Williams also brought this problem to the fore, in his song "Sixteen Tons", the refrain of which says:

You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store

It's not a new problem... but the depths to which people can sink with credit are deeper than ever - and more, people are spending so much on debt payments that savings are at an all time low.

 

[shesulsa]

People no longer have the notion that they may actually face a depression or a serious, country-wide financial crash. We have become a nation of spoiled brats - if you can't afford what you want to buy, buy it anyway and pay at least twice as much for it because you borrowed money to do it.

It's very simple ... if you can't afford it ... DON'T BUY IT!!

The answer to environmental revolution, the credit crisis, world hunger, etcetera? Is to live FAR, FAR below your means, to value everything that comes across your path (either as fodder for use, profit or trade) and be extremely critical of every single purchase.

You really don't need the very latest gadgets - you need to obtain the few, necessary tools for living plus a couple of conveniences.

Take a nice slow walk around your house and ask yourself about every single item in it. That sleeper sofa ... is that a necessity or a comfort? That plasma television? Okay, those are gimmees. How about ... a toilet and plumbing? Convenience ... a necessity today but a convenience nonetheless. How about all those earrings? Facial creams? Perfumes? Books? DVDs? Games?

Credit cards are great for emergencies but horrible for daily living.

 

[mrhnau]

Credit cards are great for emergencies but horrible for daily living.

Used properly, they can be ok. Problem is, people tend to see them as empowering. They don't think far enough ahead. When I got married my wife had some cards. that took a while to get out of :-(

Personally, I've got one card that has a flat 1% cash back. I pay it off every month. I use it to pay bills, food, gas, stuff like that. I've had it for about 10 years now, in various forms. I've easily gotten over $1k back. I've spent a lot over that time period, but they were bills I in general had to pay anyways... I normally wind up getting $10 a month or so. It drives my wife nuts, but at times, that $100 or $200 has proven helpful...

I don't recommend it to most people. They don't have that much control. In one thing, I'm like Terry. If I can't pay it off at the end of the cycle, its not going on the card!

 

[SageGhost83]

People no longer have the notion that they may actually face a depression or a serious, country-wide financial crash. We have become a nation of spoiled brats - if you can't afford what you want to buy, buy it anyway and pay at least twice as much for it because you borrowed money to do it.

It's very simple ... if you can't afford it ... DON'T BUY IT!!

The answer to environmental revolution, the credit crisis, world hunger, etcetera? Is to live FAR, FAR below your means, to value everything that comes across your path (either as fodder for use, profit or trade) and be extremely critical of every single purchase.

You really don't need the very latest gadgets - you need to obtain the few, necessary tools for living plus a couple of conveniences.

Take a nice slow walk around your house and ask yourself about every single item in it. That sleeper sofa ... is that a necessity or a comfort? That plasma television? Okay, those are gimmees. How about ... a toilet and plumbing? Convenience ... a necessity today but a convenience nonetheless. How about all those earrings? Facial creams? Perfumes? Books? DVDs? Games?

Credit cards are great for emergencies but horrible for daily living.

Sage words, Shesulsa (no pun intended). It is amazing just how greedy we are as a country. People will run out and spend money on a bunch of stuff that they don't need, then they will go deeply into debt and end up having to give most of it back while attaining a horrible credit score. I think that our modern American way of life is very toxic to both ourselves and the world at large. The ironic thing is that though we own more stuff than ever before, we are more depressed and dysfunctional than ever before - which means that maybe this materialistic binge is not the good, ultra hip thing that the commercials and billboards make it out to be :wink2:. The only thing that we really need is the necessities coupled with a strong, supportive community and good times. Credit cards should only be used for emergencies, I am with you 100% on that one.

 

[5-0 Kenpo]

I agree with you all about not spending above your means. This is absolutely true.

However, I do not think that the demonization of IPODs and SUVs is the answer. There is nothing wrong with having the modern convienences of life. Certainly there is no need to ALWAYS having to have the latest and greatest, and a long term financial plan is necessary. But without airconditioning, my bedroom is absolutely unsleepable during the day (work graveyard shift), and Lord knows I need my beauty sleep.

Plus, alot of the convienance items that we have are due to a continual technical innovation, and that allows for the development of technology which betters our world, not worsens it.