The Human Factor
Posted on October 2, 2008
Filed Under Banking, Business, Capitalism, International, Liberalism, Socialism, US economy, business trends, economics, economy, financial, financial markets, government bailouts, home buyers, housing, housing market, investment, investors, money, mortgage loans, mortgages | 14 Comments
[A good friend, looked at the news and wondered why no one is taking into account the effect the loss of a home has on those loosing it. You may fully agree or vehemently disagree with her (I most definitely disagree!) nevertheless she'll make you think. She has added the human dimension to the story behind the cold, ruthless, numbers...]
I was watching a program about the current global financial crisis, which appears to have originated in the U.S. through predatory mortgage lending practices.
Something struck me while watching the footage of neighborhoods peppered with “for sale” signs. What about the humiliation factor here? Has anybody considered that?
Think of it. Your home is going to be auctioned off. The sign on your front lawn says “Bank owned” or “For auction”. It’s essentially a badge of shame. You must come and go, in and out that front door, crossing that sign each time. Your neighbors avoid you now. When they do see you and if they feel forced to make small talk, they carefully avoid eye contact. They don’t know what to say, to make it better. They seem frightened of you now.
Because there, but for the grace of God, go they.
What do you chat about with your neighbors now? Anything but that sign of blood on your lawn. It’s as if they’ve all had a peek up your colon, they’ve seen your poop up close and first hand. Your dirty laundry is on display for all to see. That offending sign, flapping back and forth slowly in the wind … it’s a symbol of your failure.
You did the wrong thing. You thought you were a success – but it turned out you are not. You have failed your family.
It’s hard for me to imagine what this humiliation must feel like for so many people. Americans, British…. Where else is this happening? It’s like a huge mass of shame.
A wall of shame heaped upon the backs of hardworking folks, being built up brick by brick. The “overlords” – the lenders, the owners, the bosses – have always made very good use of shame. In one memorable recent job interview, the owner told me, “I like to use a carrot-and-stick approach.” Yikes. Glad I didn’t end up there, because he wouldn’t have liked the result if he’d tried to use one of his “sticks” on me.
Where’s the dignity in an involuntary foreclosure lawn sign? Is there any particular reason that this information has to be made public? Why not just keep a central list of homes being auctioned, for anybody interested in acting the vulture to peruse.
Anybody want to leap onto an opportunity created by the shame and misery of another person? Well, put in a bit of effort and just go and check out the list. What’s with the lawn signs, are they really necessary? I think this method must be psychologically damaging for the poor souls involved. And that’s probably why it’s done. System of shame.
I continue to imagine myself in the shoes of somebody currently undergoing this excruciating, ongoing agony. What does it feel like? How’s the marriage these days? How are the kids doing? Are they afraid? What does your 14 year old feel like when he comes in the front door, all of his local friends painfully aware of his family’s plight?
It’s time to put away the shame factor. It’s time to remove the humiliation.
Let’s get rid of the “sticks”. Carrots will do just fine, thank you. Feed me some carrots and I’ll do my work. Keep your damn stick to yourself. Maybe flog yourself with it once in a while – it’ll do you good. Or, better yet, stick it where the sun don’t shine.
Nobody deserves public humiliation because of a bit of bad luck.
Those days are gone, and this has to change. The overlords will just have to get along without their damned sticks now.
I was explaining to my son how I see the difference between capitalism, and socialism. I told him that it’s all based on “ideology”, which is ideas minus people. Ideology is a way of rationalizing the terrible things which are done to people. But socialists do it, too. Let’s examine my take on it – just humour me here a bit longer.
Capitalism: “You don’t give people anything. You force them to work for it. Because, if you give them something, then they will stop working. People don’t actually want to work. People are essentially lazy. The unwashed masses are criminals at heart, every one of them. Want proof? Look at the fact that they are the unwashed masses. They are poor because of character deficiency. You give them something, they will immediately sit down and stop their work. People don’t really want to work.”
Socialism: “You don’t give business owners anything. They are all crooks at heart. They all want to stiff their workers. They don’t really care about workers, not at all. They see human beings as cash cows, money-makers – they don’t see the souls in people. All businesses are bad, and their owners are worse. So you have to give money to the people – not companies. Companies are evil and they don’t care about you.”
Now, to the truth. Neither of these ideologies is correct. Both assume the worst of people. Guess what, capitalists? People do have pride. People do take pride in their work. Nobody wants to sit there and be fed, like a moron, a simpleton. Men and women take great pride in working hard to feed their families. You give them something, they will say “thank you” and then they will just work harder. They will feel happier, and so they will work harder. Happiness makes you feel like working, not lazing about. It’s sadness and helplessness that make people lie down. Most people are not criminals at heart. Most people don’t take things that don’t belong to them. Most people are too proud to accept handouts, unless they are completely desperate.
And guess what socialists? Not all business owners are mean, nasty and evil. Most do care about their employees. Most realize that the happier people are, the better business will be. Most delight in doing nice things for their workers – if they don’t, that’s because of their own personal and business problems and issues. Most business owners realize that without their workers, they are nothing at all. They appreciate and revere their workers, just like the nicest, kindest of slave owners did.
(sorry but I just could not resist that last part …..)
The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Who knows where, exactly. The truth will only be found if both extremes meet somewhere together, in between their ideologies.
Remember that the markets must be applied to imperfect people, so there needs to be some flexibility. But also remember that not all people are born equal. Some people are broken when they are young, and they can’t be fixed. All that we can do is make them comfortable. Remember that poverty is an inescapable cycle, under the present economic and legal system. So don’t fool yourselves into thinking that anybody could lift themselves out of it, without significant help, the kind of help that does NOT try to make them feel ashamed for needing it.
Those who are doing well, the wealthy, have a duty and an obligation to make this right. Those with the power are duty bound to fix this, and make whatever sacrifices necessary to fix it. Tighten your belts and share more. Be kind and generous. Give people the benefit of the doubt.
And get rid of the shameful lawn signs. Do it now.
Chella Ann
Crossposted at: Therealchella’s Weblog
Comments
14 Responses to “The Human Factor”
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A dose of austerity could be one the best things to happen to many people in this country.
I was one of those people who lost their home…28 years ago. I now how it feels. I also know that the government didn’t come knocking on my door and say “OOoops! The taxpayers will save you!” NOR did I expect them to. We got ourselves into a mess, and it was our responsibility to get ourselves out. I learned a LOT from that experience, and I never got into such a situation again.
I couldn’t disagree more with your definition of capitalism, and I also disagree with your agenda of eliminating “the shame factor,” which you deem is too painful.
Capitalism: “an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market” (defined by http://www.m-w.com). Nowhere does it say “People are essentially lazy. The unwashed masses are criminals at heart, every one of them.”
Conversely, if a capitalist treats people that way, in a capitalist system they the choice to leave that person and go work somewhere else, where they’re treated like an asset, not a lazy cow that needs to be whipped. But if you look at communist (you call them “socialist”) societies (we have many to observe, sadly), you’ll see people who have become lazy cows because they know it doesn’t matter what they do, they’re enslaved and unable to change their economic situation. The entire society soon becomes an indifferent, helpless disaster. These societies were very clearly exposed for all to see with the crumbling of the USSR, from Poland to East Germany to Romania.
Just compare standards of living (or “quality of life”) between North and South Korea: one is a thriving, vibrant, happy place, and one is a toxic waste dump of misery. There is no need for “extremes meet[ing] somewhere together,” nor for “flexibility”; this mindset is what is taught by our communist teachers poisoning the minds of children in “public schools,” confusing the beauty of capitalism with the enslavement of “socialism.”
“the shame factor”: I only need to say one word to justify this – deterrent. If you don’t want the punishment, don’t do the crime. Deterrent works great, as proved in real-life by Kate’s post (the second one here). If people’s “humiliation” were the worst part of foreclosure, our problems would be very small indeed.
Too many people in our once exemplary nation have become concerned with “self-esteem” instead of results. Pacifists prosper because freemen fought. I wondered what the agenda was of a place called “Freedom’s Cost.” Freedom isn’t free, but whatever “cost” freedom has, it is less than 1% of the cost of a socialist system. Skeptical? Just have one person from North Korea or Cuba trade places with a “poor” person in Washington, DC for a month, and see who’d be screaming for a return!
It’s interesting that nobody had any truly substantive comment to make here. Victims of predatory lending have the skills of an accountant, apparently, or they should: “You should have known better”. People should not have trusted their banker or agent, right. They should have known better. People should not have given in to the American Dream of becoming an “owner” – they should have known better. There is a distinct vein of cruelty coming out of these comments, but that certainly does not surprise me. Oh, and by the way – I said that this was MY take on capitalism and socialism. Did I claim to be quoting from an economic textbook? No. Am I entitled to my own personal take on these ideologies? Of course I am. I would like to take this opportunity to thank “Shame” for all of this great publicity. Reverse psychology is a truly wonderful thing. Any more self-righteous people want to tell me how wrong I am? I’m waiting. Just the 3 of you? Hmmmmm. Boring.
John,
Your pompous take on this blog’s politics is a disgrace to the conservatism you claim to espouse! I fully concur with you on the inaninity of this particular post. I fully agree with you on the ignorance of history, economics or lack of understanding anything remotely connected to reality so blatantly exhibited by its writer.
I’ve been reading this blog for almost two years, had you bothered reading anything else you would have understood that the two co-bloggers Chaim from Brooklyn, NY and Samuel, an Arab Frenchman from Rouen, France, have impeccable conservative values that more than match anything you got to show for. One of the co-bloggers – based on the comment after yours, I think it was Chaim – did the author a favor in posting it because he truly believes in and practices absolute freedom of speech as anyone bothering to read any further posts and comments can easily attest. John, if you read my comment I would love to hear your take on it. I challenge you!
Chella
Reverse psychology is a two way street, I will therefore bite your bait and answer you. Like Kate above, my husband and I also lost our home. I lost my job after 35 years at a company that was swallowed up by a far bigger competitor. On my husband’s salary alone we couldn’t continue paying the mortgage, not if we expected to eat at the same time, and all too often we fell behind. Eventually the bank foreclosed. Yes, it was a combination of bad luck (being laid off through circumstances outside of my control) and not saving enough for a rainy day while I did work (which I could have and should have done). But, it never occurred to my husband or I that we should be bailed out by the government or anybody else. Yes, believe me, the humiliation was all too real. The stress, the anxiety was more than I could take at times. Yet, I was fully cognizant of the fact that both my husband and I shared a big part of the blame.
You are very lucky that thought, comprehension, or even being in touch with reality are not prerequisites for posting anything. You hardly show any understanding of all sides of the equation. If you did, if you only bothered informing yourself as to what actually happened, you would have known that over 4/5ths of the defaulted mortgages were loaned by the government entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to people that did not qualify for bank loans under normal market conditions. You would have known that these government entities were created under President Clinton with the vigorous help of Senator Dodd – through the Senate Banking Committee – and Representative Barney Franks – through the House Financial Services Committee (very powerful Democrats both).
The simple idea of a government creating semi banking institutions to pick up those who could not qualify for a regular mortgage through a commercial banking institution is, at best, something fraught with grave dangers. These institutions then proceeded to insure the loans and sell them to greedy Wall Street and commercial bankers who thought they’d be good investments since they were insured. This pattern of corruption and fraud (proven too late, unfortunately) at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and bankers’ greed (in the US, Europe and Asia) were instrumental in creating the current debacle. The government had no business getting into the banking business. Every time government gets involved in anything outside its narrow purview, the result is an unmitigated disaster. In fact politicians have proven very adept at screwing up even the simplest of tasks.
Shortly after your post was up, I wrote to Chaim complaining about it. I told him that it seemed diametrically opposed to anything ever published on this blog, I felt it was unworthy of this blog. While Chaim and Samuel constantly quote easily verified facts, figures, history, etc.. to prove their points, your post was unworthy of appearing here I felt. It was merely an emotional outburst, not well thought out and rather poorly written. He wrote back, valiantly defending your right to express your opinion and said that both he and his co-blogger Samuel would stand up for your right to freely express yourself. I emailed him again asking him to either remove it or have the author rewrite it. He felt the author did a rather credible job of defending her point of view regardless of the fact that personally he fully disagreed with you. Yet you just chose to spell his name as “Shame.” Well, sister, you have just shown to the world that not only are you out of touch with reality, not only has your post exhibited a scarcity of thought and any real reasoning, but you have also exposed through your comment the shame of your morally and intellectually decrepit values. I could go on, but I would instead love to read your comments on my take if you can do it without foaming at the mouth and without using profanity.
The ball is in your court, sister dear!
Hardly doing me a favour, Chaim repeatedly begged me for an article for his blog, and thanked me profusely for it. I don’t need any more exposure – believe me.
Kate – I never addressed the bailout at all in my post. I was speaking of the unnecessary and humiliating lawn signs. Funny how nobody has bothered to address that, the main issue of my post.
ooops, that was for “Brandi”, not Kate. Does anybody have any comments about the actual subject matter of my post – i.e. the unnecessary public humiliation of people who’ve had misfortune? I’m still waiting.
I want to add one more thing. One thing that my detractors have in common, is that they are stuck on what happened to them. “Me, I had foreclosure, me I had back luck.” Me, me, me. Guess what? I’ve never owned a home, and I’ve never been foreclosed. I am speaking up on behalf of OTHER PEOPLE. Correct me if I’m wrong, but this “thinking about other people” thing might be something that is foreign to you, Brandi. This proves a theory I’ve had for quite some time – those who espouse strange concepts like “commercial deterrence” are incapable of compassion for others. Way to prove me right. (you, you, you …. go ahead and tell us another story about yourself). And try not to foam at the mouth too much this time, dear.
Sweet Chella,
It is rather obvious from the rapid machine gun style of your first three answers to my comment (12:21am, 12:22am and 12:35am) that you are the one foaming at the mouth, but we’ll let the readers decide that one.
On the other hand, I’ll admit that I’m pleasantly surprised that you’ve used no profanity. BRAVO!!! I’m forced to admit that I was wrong when I suspected you of using it in your answers to me. On the other hand it is quite possible that you’ve just taken your medicine before you sat down to pen your answers. In any case you are truly a good, good, good girl. I admit it!
The reason I told my story is to show you that working class values, hard work and sweat, heartache and stress, do not preclude someone from being politically conservative. On the contrary, looking at the world around us with open eyes rather through fairy tales, will give anyone some percentage of conservative values. And some will be more conservative than others, unquestionably.
I can assure you I do not wish what happened to me on anybody else, but I do take full responsibility about what did happen. Though there were major circumstances totally outside of my control, I did not exercise the options that were within my control. Kate, obviously, feels the same way. I could go on for years blaming the bastards at the big competitor that swallowed my company. I guess I could continue reeling with shame at the humiliation of the foreclosure signs on my lawn and so on. Only one thing is wrong about all that blame… how will that in any way, shape or form help me (or anybody else, for that matter)? How will I recover from the misery? Only by going out and starting from scratch. That is obviously something you fully fail to understand.
You mention “commercial deterrence,” I read, reread and triple read my answer to you and I fail to see where or when I used that phrase. You say you did not address the bailout, actually neither did I. As a matter of fact and since you brought it up, the bailout as it exists now does very little for the individual mortgagees loosing their home. It has in fact been put in place to bail out the Wall Street fat cats, commercial bankers and, indirectly, the commercial banks’ depositors. Why? If banks are allowed to fail it may cause a panic and precipitate a mad run on banks which would bring us right back to conditions and results similar to the crash of 1929. Some thought, some true compassion for others (rather than crocodile tears), something other than wanting to hear yourself babble on, might have saved you the embarrassment of the post as it is now written.
I doubt that I’m capable of having my words penetrate your thick skull, but frankly there is nothing compassionate about your words. They merely represent an inane, unnecessary, but very revealing comment about yourself. I pity you, I really do.
Let me put it a different way. Capitalists believe in the Ultimate Good of Man. They beleive that left to their own devices, people will usually do the right thing. Socialist believe that people are inherantly evil. That without government telling them what to do and when to do it humans will degenerate into animals.
While Capitalism usually needs some government intervention to keep things running smoothly, Socialism has never worked anywhere. Why? Because it is based on a Lie, that man is bad, and when you tell people that they are bad, they begin to believe it.
Of course some people are BAD. Like those who are invited to post on a friends blog and then trash them for it. Maybe Chella Ann, there should be socialism but just where you post.
All of these personal attacks must mean that I’ve scored some significant points. bye, folks – have fun without me.
You didn’t score points you were RUDE, please don’t go away mad….just go away
Chella – While your distress is understandable (I am disabled and have to be very frugal to make it through a month) to post about your situation and then ‘getting into it’ with another poster is silly.
Nobody addressed your points because they had everything to do with YOU and nothing to do with the points & ideas expressed in this post.
Until you pull your head out of your own unfortunate situation, carrying on an intelligent discussion about these points is going to be impossible.
As Abraham Lincoln said “Better to keep your mouth shut and appear ignorant than open your mouth and remove all doubt.”