When are middle class Americans going to take some responsibility?
By oneidmnster
@oneidmnster (1384)
United States
October 10, 2008 8:02pm CST
Everyone is blaming the government for not helping the middle class more.When is the middle class going to help themselves?
I'm sorry,but I see people in my middle class neighborhood driving around in Escalades and Hummers.No one needs an expensive auto like that.I see them going out and buying new flat screen TV's and computers.They run out and buy the new IPhone or whatever other new gadget comes out.They're going out to eat 5 nights a week.They're remodeling a new home that was just built to make it the way they want it.And they're already into a mortgage they can't afford.
Yet,it's the governments fault for not helping them out of their financial situation.
I have medical problems that are starting to cost me thousands of dollars I don't have.I don't expect the government to bail me out.None of us should.
3 people like this
10 responses
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
11 Oct 08
Are these people you see in foreclosure? If they are then I agree, no one should pity them. But, there's another area of the middle class who are hard working people who do not drive Escalades or spend money like it's going out of style. Those are the ones who were encouraged to buy more house than they could afford, with adjustable rate mortgages on interest only, or other specialty loans that sounded like such a great deal. I had a real estate agent tell me back in 2000 when I was looking for my first home that he could arrange financing that was $60k over what I had been prequalified for by my bank. This is what deregulation did to the industry and many people were duped into believing that interest rates would actually go down. These people exercised poor judgement but they were helped and encouraged along the way which is why I believe that some people should be helped on a case by case basis.
@ch88ss (2271)
• United States
11 Oct 08
poor judgment they need to take responsiblity for their actions too.
However, I don't believe it is all middle class that are getting it all.
There are many middle class families that live and work harder than low income families. Because they barely passed the income bracket by a few thousand but are not entitled to other benefits so they have to pay medical, school lunches, higher taxes, babysitting/ or preschool, and other school circulum.
Most middle class Americans have two working parents, if you compare the life style it may not justify they are middle class. Those drivings the escalade I think they are the spoiled and ruining it for everyone else.
There is a 50/50 chance some middle class destorys it for the honest real middle class. And there is a chance 50/50 of the working class are really working so hard and can barely make ends meet but they have they are the one I admire because they work hard and don't expect someone else to pick up their medical tabs.
2 people like this
@ClassyCat (1214)
• United States
11 Oct 08
Hello everyone. I don't necessairly agree that the financial situation is the fault of the middle class - not that they may bare some of the responsibility.
I do believe however, that we should be having classes taught in out schools, starting about the freshman (9th grade) level, teaching on economics. Kids today are as bad as many adults today who know nothing about budgets, balancing check books, and living within their means. And these idiot credit companies target the young college kids for their cards.
I believe that there is yet much uncovered deception within our big corporations, that has helped in a big way, to bring us down financially.
If you look at the full picture - the middle class can't be responsible for the WHOLE WORLD in this - yet it is affecting the whole planet. There's got to be a lot more here that I, and probably many of us, aren't realizing in this whole scheme of things.
And what about the 'honest' poor people? I have a precious sister-in-law struggling something terrible trying to exist on less than $700 a month. I don't know what all she goes without to survive. She and others like her were the ones that needed the stimilus checks that went out last spring.
I sometimes send her cash in the mail - though not a good idea, so that she has gas money to drive into town. She lives about 6 - 8 miles out, and while not really far, a car that's a gas hog makes you have to stay home a lot.
I don't have a lot of answers - but I pray a lot for our governmental officials, and that God will help us, even though we don't seem to deserve His help.
Nuff said. I'm back to my chair over here in the corner.
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
11 Oct 08
Well, I am part of middle America and we never spent more than we can afford. Yes we carry some debt but nowhere near what folks carry. However, you can only get knocked down so many times before you have to start looking for help. When you need the help, you can't get it. That is why people are ticked off. There are so many people who intentionally stay poor who suck the life out of the government, yet those people who do work and try to support themselves, can get a dime when they try to use the system for what it was made for.
2 people like this
@Taskr36 (13963)
• United States
11 Oct 08
You're preaching to the choir on this one. People blame the banks for pushing people to buy these houses, but I believe in personal responsibility.
3 years ago my wife and I considered buying a house and we looked at mortgages. The real estate agents told us how great home-ownership is. We got pre-approved by the bank. We even found a nice house. We then looked at what our monthly payments would be, factored in insurance, taxes, phone, cable, internet, pest control, and all the other expenses we already had and compared that with our income. Despite pressure from the lender, who called and emailed us constantly, we decided we weren't financially read to be homeowners.
How should I feel bad for people who made $300,000 purchases without actually contemplating whether or not they could afford it?
Aside from that I'm sorry about your medical problems. Unlike those in foreclosure you didn't decide to put yourself in that situation.
2 people like this
@dncmanning (770)
• United States
11 Oct 08
I agree that there are folks who got in over their heads by not knowning their own budgeting needs. But there are those who got into an ARM adn are now losing their homes becuase the payments are sky high- when a mortgage payment jumps from $800.00/month to $1200.00/ month that's hard to manage and those people are simply trying to get by. They may taken the ARM for a lower rate thinking they would refinance and then couldn't. There are many reasons people end up on the short side and that;s not always because they were living beyond their means.
I mean for folks who bought a home 3 years ago and everything was fine gas prices alone could cause a major cash flow problem. I just try to remember to look at both sides.
@sid556 (30960)
• United States
11 Oct 08
I don't really know what constitutes "middle class" anymore. I wish the government would focus a bit on the working poor. I work hard. I don't want hand outs or anything like that. I am just one person and I can only earn just so much. I am a single mom. I don't need brand new anything and I live very frugally. I'd just like to not have to stress about making ends meet so much. I don't expect the government to bail me out and likewise, I don't want to bail them out for their poor choices.
2 people like this
@mikeysmom (2088)
• United States
11 Oct 08
i agree that people live wayyyyyy outside their means. but if what you are siting is considered middle class then i am dirt poor because i cannot afford to do any of things you mentioned above. i drive a 8 year old ford focus wagon, i do not own a flat screen tv, my computer is very average, i do not have an iphone and i cannot afford all the new gadgets that come out, i never go out to eat or to the movies and my house needs so many things done that we do not have the money to fix. the point i am making is that people who can afford all the things you are talking about are no longer considered middle class but well off. middle class is not what it used to be. and yes, if they are so irresponsible with their money then they deserve what they get. there are people who have real money problems like myself and many others that i know and we do all we can to cut back on EVERYTHING and try to find ways to help ourselves by doing things like freecycle and getting free samples and doing online surveys and coming here to places like mylot and cutting out coupons and not using the air conditioning and heat excessively and on and on. i do not know what the answer is though.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
11 Oct 08
I was talking about that with my husband. I was trying to watch Dr. Phil and my husband who hates him was talking all the time so I could not hear all that Dr. Phil said. My husband said that people do not need a large house and that the trouble was that in America, mortgage interest is tax deductible and I was trying to tell him they can have a large house as long as they scrape and put money on a larger downpayment, but then my husband has this small house fixation.
It does not matter what you buy, as long as you pay it off within a year or earlier. In other words, why do the Americans not save their money and then when they buy a big ticket item put it all on credit cards? Even if they cannot afford to buy it all at once, why not just pay more of it, and pay it off within a couple of months?
1 person likes this
@piasabird (1737)
• United States
11 Oct 08
The Dems forced banks to make risky loans to poor people with bad credit. That is part of the housing mess we're in.
I do agree with you that people are living way beyond their means. When gas prices shoot up and food prices rise then people can't afford to pay their mortgages. Too many people are living on plastic and have no savings.
So, yeah, I think some people need to take responsibility for the mess they're in.
1 person likes this
@TessWhite (3146)
• United States
11 Oct 08
Part of what you say is true. Many people do try to live beyond their means. And some get into situations that cause them problems. My son is one of those. Two years ago he was branch manager of a privately owned mortgage company. He and his wife were making good money, so they bought a big home they could afford the payments on. He bought a new car he could also afford, and the flat panel TV. Then last year his company went under, and he was out of work for 6 months. The stress of it all then caused marriage problems. My son's divorce was just final. Now he has a car payment he can't afford on the income he is making at his new job. Two kids, and credit card payments galore. Yea, he wasn't spending wise. But at the time he had no reason to think things would change. Circumstances sometimes change things.
I know my partner worked for a company for 27 years until they closed the plant and moved it to Mexico. He now has very little skills to fit the current job market, and works at a grocery store bagging groceries. We are barely surviving, but are lucky enough to not be paying off huge amounts of debt in houses or cars. We drive older cars, don't own an IPHONE (I wish), don't have a flat panel TV, and don't even own a house right now. The government isn't going to be bailing out this middle class person.
1 person likes this
@redkathy (3374)
• United States
11 Oct 08
First let me say I'm sorry to hear about your medical problems and I pray that your health will improve.
You are totally 100% correct. Hubby and I started our business in 1990 with no money. There was not a bank in town that would help us because our credit was trashed. It was our determination and people who got us off the ground. We made lots of mistakes along the way. Bought things we didn't need, charged when we shouldn't have, and never expected anyone or any agency to bail us out.
We have only three contracts for the rest of the year. Our normal load is at least three per week. No one is bailing us out. We'll use our savings, probably ruin our now good credit again and scrounge until this all gets resolved. It's our fault we spent all the money we made, not the feds.
I wish this discussion could be posted on the television for everyone to read!
2 people like this
