Universal Pain; Effect of Economic and Emotional Depression
copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
Teresa Madison forlorn and torn by life's dilemmas contemplates a reality she never considered before. Death by one's own hand may be the latest and greatest in preventative medicine. Suicide can be a cure for what ails a person, or at least many have come to believe this is so. In her age group, more people deliberately take their lives. Only months ago, Ms Madison perused an article that appeared in The New York Times; Midlife Suicide Rises, Puzzling Researchers. Teresa was not perplexed. Ms Madison knows to her core society is consumed with ills. Physical, mental, emotional, financial woes, and a sense of finality overwhelm individuals in the United States. Teresa feels heaviness in her heart when she opens her mailbox and sees the bills. Her empty pocketbook cannot ease her pain. Nor does it alleviate the aches her family feels.
Ms Madison hears people speak of hope for the future. Countless say change is on the horizon. Yet, in this election year, this workingwoman does believe the solutions offered are realistic. She listens to the rhetoric and recognizes the aspirants do not feel the common peoples' pain.
Each of the candidates speaks of the current financial crisis and foreclosures. Health Care is also an issue. The Democratic Presidential hopefuls promise Universal Health Care. Yet, none of the possible nominees propose a Single Payer not for Profit plan. Each candidate expects Americans to pay for the insurance they desperately need. The cost of coverage may be reduced; nonetheless, citizens will be required to pay for the policies. A Choice Plan may claim to make Health Insurance more accessible; however, those who work and struggle to meet medical expenses understand this strategy will not serve them well. A Plan for a "Healthy America," provides little comfort for those who are not fit and already feel the pain of being a bit too affluent to qualify for assistance. "Potabilty" while a wondrous concept is not practical for a person who is uninsured, underinsured, or who can barely benefit from policies that exist.
Perhaps, Americans will not need adequate coverage in the future. If the country continues to experience an economic downturn, people may just choose to end it all. Some may sing the song, "Suicide is painless," as they pull the trigger, pop the pills, or inhale toxic fumes.
Historically, research shows, rates of depression and suicide tend to climb during times of economic tumult.In an article published in 2005 by Cambridge University Press, researchers compared suicide data in Australia from January 1968 through August 2002 with economic problems such as unemployment and mortgage interest rates. The study found that economic trends are closely associated with suicide risk, with men showing a heightened risk of suicide in the face of economic adversity.
"For some people, suicide is the rational option when they see no future," says Ken Siegel, a psychologist in Beverly Hills. "One's house is very much a projection of one's self. To have a home taken away is tantamount to having part of yourself taken away. There is embarrassment. For many, it's overwhelmingly unconquerable."
In the most severe cases . . . authorities have linked suicides with the financial stress of foreclosures. . .
"Suicides are very much tied to the economy," says Kathleen Hall, founder and CEO of The Stress Institute in Atlanta. "It's a public-health issue."
Teresa works as a Realtor; she has for more than three decades. Ms Madison is well aware of how the housing market affects families. She read the report, Foreclosures Take an Emotional Toll on Homeowners, and thought how true the words were. Teresa Madison saw the housing bubble as it floated through the hills of Southern California. At the time, admittedly, she too was overcome with joy as the ethereal enthusiasm drifted through the air. Only a few short years ago, Teresa was as most in the Golden State were, elated as the equity in homes rose. For Ms Madison, the higher prices meant greater income, certain security, and a sense of stability, or at least that was her hope. When the housing bubble burst so too did Teresa's. Now, as Teresa Madison skims through the pages of classified advertisements in search of another job, she sees the headlines Foreclosures skyrocket 65% in April, and she thinks of how this will further her dilemma. How will she be able to pay her medical bills.
Although vibrant, Teresa Madison is aware of the fact that a serious illness could devastate, even destroy her. The middle age white woman, while successful in her work was never able to save as she had thought she might. Teresa was not a compulsive shopper as her dear friend Silvia is. Strapped with debt, Silvia slit her throat and every other part of her body. Depression or the drugs her physician prescribed almost did Silva in. While others may think Teresa has reason to resort to drastic measure, Ms Madison never would. Her faith in the Lord and her love for her family sustains her.
Teresa has two children that need her. Her daughters are adults now, and one would presume they could take care of themselves. However, Tammy needs more than merely emotional support. She needs someone to take her from doctor's appointment to surgeries. Trips to the drug store are numerous and while Tammy drives, she is not always able to get into her automobile and travel from home to the pharmacy. Movement is not easy, although Teresa daughter tries. Mostly, Miss Madison cries out in pain. Much of her distress is caused by guilt. The rest is all too real.
Tammy had tumors as a child; one was in her brain. Her thyroid was also a concern. Ultimately, the gland was totally removed. The younger woman is affected by other illnesses. None are observable in a casual exchange. However, health issues are omnipresent in the younger woman's day. Nights are not better. Indeed, as the sky grows dark, so too does Tammy's demeanor.
The medication necessary for survival slowly took Tammy's life. The girl, now near forty still breathes, and mentally, she is extremely active. However, with each twinge Tammy twists and turns. Her every moment is as torture.
As a lass, Tammy was told the drugs she needed would add pounds to her posterior. Her legs and arms would swell. The small frame she once had would be forced to carry quite a load. She did not imagine what would actually occur.
Serious weight gain placed pressure on Tammy's spine. Today, the vertebrae break easily and often. Stress fractures fill the severely ill woman's medical files.
Excessive amounts of cortisol have helped Tammy to exist. Yet, the side effects have lessened her quality of life. Her teeth deteriorated. Recently, they were all pulled. Dentures are in Tammy's near future. Before her fortieth birth date, she will be fitted with porcelain plates. Might Tammy or her Mom find a better policy to cover the burgeoning costs? Is this family underinsured? Perhaps, but most, if not all insurers consider preexisting conditions. Pre, post, present . . .
Tammy circumstances have been a constant in Teresa's life. She works and worries how will she continue too pay the price. Hospital invoices pour in, just as they did when times were good. Even when Ms Madison's earnings were greater, she was never able to afford a home. She helped others buy beautiful abodes and sell these stately properties. Still Teresa could never save enough to secure a down payment. Frugal as she is financial stability has escaped Teresa Madison.
Since the subprime mortgage meltdown altered her ability to make money, Teresa has fallen behind in her rent. A landlord who loved her, and whose house Teresa and Tammy had lived in for more than a decade finally insisted the Madison's must move. Teresa was grateful; the owner of the property considered all the upgrades Teresa had done and subtracted the cost from the amount owed.
Ms Madison with all her connections was temporarily able to secure another rental apartment; however, the stairs were a problem. Tammy could not climb these. A third residence was found. Still the two women once more were evicted. No matter how much money Teresa brought in, it never seemed enough. She was able to stay in a neighborhood that suffered little from the foreclosure catastrophe. However, Tammy's circumstances and hence the cost worsened.
Days ago, as Teresa pondered what would she do next she read the account . . .
On a brisk day last fall in Prineville, Ore., Raymond and Deanna Donaca faced the unthinkable: They were losing their home to foreclosure and had days to move out.For more than two decades, the couple had lived in their three-level house, where the elms outside blazed with yellow shades of fall and their four golden retrievers slept in the yard. The town had always been home, with a lazy river and rolling hills dotted by gnarled juniper trees.
Yet just before lunch on Oct. 23, the Donacas closed all their home's doors except the one to the garage and left their 1981 Cadillac Eldorado running. Toxic fumes filled the home. When sheriff's deputies arrived at about 1 p.m., they found the body of Raymond, 71, on the second floor along with three dead dogs. The body of Deanna, 69, was in an upstairs bedroom, close to another dead retriever.
"It is believed that the Donacas committed suicide after attempts to save their home following a foreclosure notice left them believing they had few options," the Crook County Sheriff's Office said in a report.
Teresa Madison reflects on the reality and realizes she cannot cry. She has shed too many a tear. Ms Madison is left to ask, how much more can any of us endure. Foreclosures and health care concerns are only a fraction of what consumes Americans. Teresa understands her story will not make the nightly news. Few will ever meet Tammy. Neither woman can afford to attend fundraisers. Nor do lobbyists represent Teresa or Tammy. If either of the Madison women had time or energy to travel to a free rally or a town hall forum the chances that they would be seen or heard are slim.
Teresa and Tammy have heard many platitudes from Pharmaceutical companies, private insurers, and even from politicians. Each has received pounds of boilerplate letters. These communiqués explain why Tammy must wait, or why a request for care is denied. Doctors who have attended to Tammy for decades cannot hasten the process. Nor are these proficient physicians powerful enough to alter a reality that enslaves them as well. When talking with many trained professionals in the field of medicine, Teresa hears of their frustration.
Those who believe in the Hippocratic Oath cannot avoid doing harm, no matter how hard they try to heal the ill and injured that enter their offices. Current policies preclude a physician from offering authentic and adequate preventative care. It is just too costly is the conclusion of many. Others note an investment in prevention ultimately will curtail the initial disbursement. Moreover, imagine the savings if the sick did not need to continually spend billions of dollars on drugs, diagnosis, and driving from doctor to doctor. Oh, how Tammy and Teresa would be blissful if they were not led by symptoms and side effects. The quality of life might have been different if much had been done differently and early on. At least thoughts of how death might relieve fiscal and physical trauma would have been diminished.
Doctors may not openly speak of how they too suffer when a patient passes or is parallelized by pain, However, quietly, on occasion, a practitioner may mention how he or she is hurt by the current structure. Had Tammy been more than a patient, in pain, and only assigned minutes to consult with a specialist, she may have seen the literature. In 2003, The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) released a Proposal of the Physicians' Working Group for Single-Payer National Health Insurance, which advocates that American policymakers adopt a truly Universal and not for profit plan.
Some say a Single Payer Not For Profit Health Care system will cause delays, and lessen the quality of treatment. The Madison's muse how might that be possible. Each day they wait and wonder, when will the doctor see them. How many more months will slip away before a surgeon is given permission to perform a necessary operation.
As Teresa and Tammy Madison watch the election coverage, they think of there own. They too are exposed to much scrutiny. The Madison must also address the issues. These two ordinary citizens understand every person has his or her tales to tell. As Teresa and Tammy sit by the television far from the crowds and the candidates, they ask, 'Will those who aspire to live in the White House ever address what affects the average American?'
Teresa, who has long trusted in the Lord, continues to "hope" that he will be the agent of "change." Daughter Tammy, who has also been a person of faith, at times, fears her conviction wanes. Suicide may not be painless; nonetheless, she trusts she can endure whatever anguish death may bring. She has withstood life, a broken health care system and an economic structure that causes much distress. Tammy frequently thinks "yes, she can" live or die.
Scars, Sores, Suicide, and Sources . . .
Posted by Betsy L. Angert on May 20, 2008 at 02:35 PM in American Dream, Americana, Economics, Emotional Decisions, Health Care, Health Insurance , Heartbreak, Heartache, Individual Health Care Coverage , Psychology | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Issue Number One; Economic Insecurity Breeds Bigotry, Bias and Bitterness
copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
He was a beautiful bouncing baby boy. He was born to two parents that love him dearly. Even before his birth, indeed, prior to conception, this little fellow was the apple of his parent's eyes. His biological beginning was carefully calculated. As the seeds of life developed into a bright-eyed baby, the people he now knows as Mom and Dad thought of little else but Maxwell. The soon to be proud Papa and Momma anxiously anticipated the day they could hold this bundle of joy. Each of his parents was eager to meet and greet the small, sweet face of the guy that they would call Max. Maximum value, supreme significance, marvelously magnificent, all this was and would be their son. After Max was delivered and during any political season, such as this, Mom and Dad feel certain Max is issue number one.
The guardians look over their angel. They plan for his future, and they are apprehensive, just as their parents and grandparents were before them. For generations the realities of daily life have shaped parental priorities. First and foremost, families want to survive, to feel safe and secure. Yet, much that accounts for stability is beyond the control of a parent or any single person. Moms and Dads agonize, as do all individuals. Economic, educational, environmental concerns have an effect on caregivers and all citizens. Military engagements also affect households, even if only one lives within the domicile. Mothers, fathers, and babies, boys or girls learn to fear.
Ultimately, in the course of a life, each individual will ask, how does any matter affect me, my family, and friends of mine? Countless citizens sense we have loss the sense that within a society, each individual works for the commonweal. The words of Thomas Paine On the Origin and Design of Government in General are principles from the past. In America today, the common folk feel they can no longer trust the government. In recent years, people profess too many promises were broken; lies were told. Intelligence was not wise. Still, Americans sense there is an enemy.
In the minds of most Americans, the foe exists outside self. Few have fully internalized the truth of the words uttered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." As people do, citizens in this country trust themselves. People know their faith will guide them. The Almighty will not disappoint them. Proud of their personal strength and all they survived throughout the course of their lives, the American public, no matter their economic station believes their family will be fine. All Americans trust in their ability to fight the opposition. Residents in the United States are not afraid to take up arms if they need to protect themselves from evil forces.
Nevertheless, Americans are "bitter." People in the cities, the suburbs, and in the countryside, resent the precarious position their leaders have placed them in. In the "Land of the free and home of the brave" the public is "looking for strong leadership from Washington." Individuals and communities recognize they cannot go it alone. Sadly, those previously entrusted with Executive privileges have not served the common folk within the United States well. Citizens have expressed their ample concern for quite a while and no one seems to hear the cries. While some of the Presidential aspirants wish to believe Americans are not indignant . . .
Poll: 80% of Americans Dissatisfied
By Associate Press.
Time Magazine
April 4, 2008(New York) — More than 80 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, the highest such number since the early 1990s, according to a new survey.
The CBS News-New York Times poll released Thursday showed 81 percent of respondents said they believed "things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track." That was up from 69 percent a year ago, and 35 percent in early 2002.
The survey comes as housing turmoil has rocked Wall Street amid an economic downturn. The economy has surpassed the war in Iraq as the dominating issue of the U.S. presidential race, and there is now nearly a national consensus that the United States faces significant problems, the poll found.
A majority of Democrats and Republicans, men and women, residents of cities and rural areas, college graduates and those who finished only high school say the United States is headed in the wrong direction, according to the survey, which was published on The New York Times' Web site.
Seventy-eight percent of respondents said the country was worse off than five years ago; just 4 percent said it was doing better . . .
The poll also found that Americans blame government officials for the housing crisis more than banks or homebuyers and other borrowers. Forty percent of respondents said regulators were mostly to blame, while 28 percent named lenders and 14 percent named borrowers.
Americans favored help for people but not for financial institutions in assessing possible responses to the mortgage crisis. A clear majority said they did not want the government to lend a hand to banks, even if the measures would help limit the depth of a recession.
Intellectually astute, each individual understands to his or her core, a country must work well as a whole. If we act independently of others, with little regard for those who reside in our nation, we all will realize a reason to feel insecure. No family can survive alone. Maxwell's parents can plan and work to provide, but if the country suffers from a crisis, be it fiscal, a protracted feud, the cost of food, or fuel, the family will also find themselves in situation critical.
In a society, we are our neighbors' keeper, for what affects those in adjacent abodes will influence us. If one person is poor, so too is his brother.
The tenet is true in the abstract; it is also viable concretely. We need only consider what occurs when one domicile on the block is in disrepair or foreclosure flourishes in an enclave. Property values for all homes in the area plummet. A family functions best as a unit. A nation fares well when we are one.
Our most conservative estimates indicate that each conventional foreclosure within an eighth of a mile (essentially a city block) of a single-family home results in a 0.9 percent decline in value. Cumulatively, this means that, for the entire city of Chicago, the 3,750 foreclosures in 1997 and 1998 are estimated to reduce nearby property values by more than $598 million, for an average cumulative single-family property value effect of $159,000 per foreclosure. This does not include effects on the values of condominiums, larger multifamily rental properties, and commercial buildings.Less conservative estimates suggest that each conventional foreclosure within an eighth of a mile of a property results in a 1.136 percent decline in that property’s value and that each foreclosure from one-eighth to one-quarter mile away results in a 0.325 percent decline in value. This less conservative finding corresponds to a city-wide loss in single-family property values of just over $1.39 billion. This corresponds to an average cumulative property value effect of more than $371,000 per foreclosure
In 2008, this consideration consumes millions of persons who thought they were safe and secure. As the subprime debacle ripples through every community, people realize their very survival is at risk. Everyone, even some of the elite now experience a profound sense of insecurity. Again, people ask who or what might they trust. The average American has faith only in what is familiar. Max, Mom, and Dad, families turn to what is tried and true. Whatever has protected them in the past, they hope, will save them from what is an uncertain future.
Certainly, people have no confidence in government. Many are frustrated. They resent those who placed them in such a precarious situation. Mothers, fathers, sons such as Max, and daughters are reminded, without regulations only the few profit. Dreams die. Witness the subprime debacle.
Mortgage companies and banks, such as Wells Fargo, have twisted the average prime mortgage loan into something much more incapable of paying by the recipient, but profitable to the company. Subprime loans, as “adjustable rate mortgages,” are packed with deceiving modifications that have low “teaser” rates that expand in interest exponentially after an initial low pay period. Families that have received Subprime loans have bit into a bitter center of the sugar-coated American dream.
Citizens in this once prosperous country wonder whether they will ever again be able to trust that they can aspire to greater heights. Homes are no longer worth what they were at the time of purchase. Payments on adjusted rate mortgages [ARM] are exorbitant and balloon expenditures are now due. Americans feel pinched. Businesses are also affected by a slowed economy and bad investments. Bankruptcy is an option, although brutal. As the cost of fuel and food rises, financial fears become more real. Existence takes a toll. As Americans assess the circumstances within their home region, they realize there is reason to hold on tightly to what they know and love.
Perchance G-d and country are all citizens can believe in, and maybe there is no longer reason to believe either of these will save them. Certainly, Administrations in the recent past and present have not protected us well. After all, our Presidents, Congress, and the Federal Reserve were responsible for the Demise of Glass-Steagall Act. This law once regulated banks and limited the conflicts of interest created when commercial depositories were permitted to underwrite stocks or bonds. Without such oversight, Americans lost their security. Survival no longer seems possible. The American Dream is a nightmare.
The Next Slum?
By Christopher B. Leinberger
Atlantic Monthly
March 2008Strange days are upon the residents of many a suburban cul-de-sac. Once-tidy yards have become overgrown, as the houses, they front have gone vacant. Signs of physical and social disorder are spreading.
At Windy Ridge, a recently built starter-home development seven miles northwest of Charlotte, North Carolina, 81 of the community’s 132 small, vinyl-sided houses were in foreclosure as of late last year. Vandals have kicked in doors and stripped the copper wire from vacant houses; drug users and homeless people have furtively moved in. In December, after a stray bullet blasted through her son’s bedroom and into her own, Laurie Talbot, who’d moved to Windy Ridge from New York in 2005, told The Charlotte Observer, “I thought I’d bought a home in Pleasantville. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that stuff like this would happen.”
In the Franklin Reserve neighborhood of Elk Grove, California, south of Sacramento, the houses are nicer than those at Windy Ridge—many once sold for well over $500,000—but the phenomenon is the same. At the height of the boom, 10,000 new homes were built there in just four years. Now many are empty; renters of dubious character occupy others. Graffiti, broken windows, and other markers of decay have multiplied. Susan McDonald, president of the local residents’ association and an executive at a local bank, told the Associated Press, “There’s been gang activity. Things have really been changing, the last few years.”
In the first half of last year, residential burglaries rose by 35 percent and robberies by 58 percent in suburban Lee County, Florida, where one in four houses stands empty. Charlotte’s crime rates have stayed flat overall in recent years—but from 2003 to 2006, in the 10 suburbs of the city that have experienced the highest foreclosure rates, crime rose 33 percent. Civic organizations in some suburbs have begun to mow the lawns around empty houses to keep up the appearance of stability. Police departments are mapping foreclosures in an effort to identify emerging criminal hot spots.
The decline of places like Windy Ridge and Franklin Reserve is usually attributed to the subprime-mortgage crisis, with its wave of foreclosures. And the crisis has indeed catalyzed or intensified social problems in many communities. But the story of vacant suburban homes and declining suburban neighborhoods did not begin with the crisis, and will not end with it. A structural change is under way in the housing market—a major shift in the way many Americans want to live and work. It has shaped the current downturn, steering some of the worst problems away from the cities and toward the suburban fringes. And its effects will be felt more strongly, and more broadly, as the years pass. Its ultimate impact on the suburbs, and the cities, will be profound.
Perchance, more weighty than the influence of a social degradation on a community is the impression such dire circumstances leave on a little lad such as Maxwell. Young Max will learn, just as his parents had. Likely, he too will come to believe that he can only depend on himself. An older and wiser Max will not fully grasp how extraordinary he is, or perhaps he will know all to well that no matter how glorious he is, someone might jeopardize his stability. No matter how well he lives his life, another force, power, person, or authority might cause his dreams to go awry.
Maxwell sees how hard life is for his parents. He comes to understand that he too will always and forever, need to prove his worth. How else might he hold onto his job, his home, his money, or his sense of self? For Maxwell, as for us, anyone, innocent as they may be, might seem a threat. His Mom and Dad, fearful that they might lose their livelihood, health care benefits, the family home, and their ability to provide, let alone survive, teach their young son trepidation.
Mom and Dad look around the neighborhood and they see society is shifting. People of other races, colors, and creeds are destined to overtake the white majority. This can be nothing but trouble, or so they think. Maxwell trusts this sentiment to be true. The parents wonder; might immigration and Free Trade deprive them of their life style? In the United States, Anglo Americans react more to what they muse might be so. However, ample evidence affirms the contrary. A 2006 study, by the Pew Hispanic Center avows, the sudden rise in the foreign-born population does not negatively effect the employment of native-born workers.
Growth in the Foreign-Born Workforce and Employment of the Native Born
By Rakesh Kochhar, Associate Director for Research
Pew Hispanic Center
August 10, 2006Rapid increases in the foreign-born population at the state level are not associated with negative effects on the employment of native-born workers, according to a study by the Pew Hispanic Center that examines data during the boom years of the 1990s and the downturn and recovery since 2000.
An analysis of the relationship between growth in the foreign-born population and the employment outcomes of native-born workers revealed wide variations across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. No consistent pattern emerges to show that native-born workers suffered or benefited from increased numbers of foreign-born workers . . .
The size of the foreign-born workforce is also unrelated to the employment prospects for native-born workers. The relative youth and low levels of education among foreign workers also appear to have no bearing on the employment outcomes of native-born workers of similar schooling and age.
Nevertheless, people continue to fear what is less than familiar. Maxwell's mother and father often speak of the immigrants. The words voiced are unkind. Assessments often are unrealistic. In this country, on this globe, our apprehensions, our insecurity, the fear that we might not survive divides us. Self-surety is issue number one.
When individuals do not feel as though all is fine, when distressed, emotional reactions may be exaggerated. Many persons prefer to deny that they feel distraught. The press, the powerful, and persons who wish to be more prominent understand this. Each is expert in the art of persuasion. Tell us that we are doing well, that we are strong, that they will help bring certainty, security, and safety to our lives, and to our country, and we will croon along with them.
Anxious Americans, at home and abroad, such as the parents of young Maxwell attack. Anyone can be considered the enemy. Bankers, big business, bureaucrats, billionaire oil magnates, migrants, and of course, mutineers of Middle Eastern descent. Our fellow citizens are easily terrorized, if not by the persons who they think might destroy the neighborhood, or take their job, the people who crashed a plane into the Twin Towers must be a target. Since September 11, 2001, Maxwell parents have thought it wise to protect United States shores.
Some Americans say we must stay the course in Iraq and Afghanistan. These persons may fear terrorists from the Persian Gulf. There is great consternation when people do not think they are physically safe.
Citizens feel a greater concern when they discover the reasons we went to war are invalid. Again, the people in this country recognize the adversary is the American Administration. Lie by lie, the Iraq War Timeline reveals greater reason for antipathy.
Those who cite security and survival as the primary concern proclaim, "It is the economy." They say, this is the number one issue Americans must address. Too many persons, today, cannot even live paycheck to paycheck. Disposable income, discretionary spending, savings to fall back on are luxuries of the past. People dream of the cushion they hope to create. Yet, in the back of their minds, they fear. Again, foreclosures are in the forefront in people's minds. Many are mired in debt. In February 2008, another sixty percent (60%) of Americans concluded they could no longer pay the mortgage. Mortgage Woes Boost Credit Card Debt. Balances on charge cards cannot be reconciled.
Plastic Card Tricks
The New York Times
March 29, 2008Americans are struggling with a very rocky economy while they are also holding almost $1 trillion in credit card debt. In most cases, those cards provide a little flexibility with the monthly bills. But an increasing number of people are defaulting because of the “tricks and traps” — soaring interest rates and hidden fees — in the credit card business.
Before more Americans get in so deep that they cannot dig out, Washington needs to change the way these companies do business to ensure that consumers are treated fairly.
The stories about deceptive practices are harrowing. At a recent news briefing in Washington, a Chicago man told about what happened when he charged a $12,000 home repair bill in 2000 on a card with an introductory interest rate of 4.25 percent. Despite his steady, on-time payments, the rate is now nearly 25 percent. And despite paying at least $15,360, he said that he had only paid off about $800 of his original debt.
Once more Americans are confronted with what causes great bitterness. No one, not Congress, the companies that lend citizens cash, the corporate tycoons, or candidates can imagine why Americans might be bitter. None of these entities care enough to help the average Joe, Jane, Maxwell, or his parents.
Why might inhabitants in this Northern continent be cynical, or feel a need to cling to religion, weapons, or hostility. Perhaps, these sanctuaries feel more tangible. Faith, as an arsenal, and anger too, are at least more affordable than other options.
Petroleum prices are also an issue of import. Citizens cry, I now work for fuel. Only four short month ago, oil hit $100 a barrel for the first time ever. The rate charged for petroleum continues to climb. Now the expense exceeds what was once unimaginable. The cost of crude is the cause. The effect is, Mommy and Daddy do not drive much anymore. Each trip is evaluated. Carpools are common considerations. Vacations are not thought vital. Parents who had hoped to show Max the seashore this summer cannot keep the promise they made to themselves and their progeny. Plans did not prove to be predictions.
In 2008, the inconceivable is classified as inevitable. Scientists share a stingy assessment. The environment is no longer stable. Nor are our lives on the planet Earth. We, worldwide, have passed the point of no return. Globally, groups and individuals pooh-pooh this determination. For them, immediate concerns take precedence over the future.
The question we all inevitably ask, even if not expressed aloud, is, "Will I continue to exist?" If so, "Will my family and I be comfortable?" The answers shade our sense of what is right or wrong. Maxwell hears his Mom and Dad speak of free trade. This is another hazard that haunts them.
The link between economic integration and worker insecurity is also an essential element of explanations for patterns of public opposition to policies aimed at further liberalization of international trade, immigration, and foreign direct investment (FDI) in advanced economies. Economic insecurity may contribute to the backlash against globalization in at least two ways. First is a direct effect in which individuals that perceive globalization to be contributing to their own economic insecurity are much more likely to develop policy attitudes against economic integration.Second, if globalization limits the capacities of governments to provide social insurance, or is perceived to do so, then individuals may worry further about globalization and this effect is likely to be magnified if labor-market risks are heightened by global integration.
It seems every issue intimidates us. Each challenges the security we crave. All beckon us and cause us to question whether we, Maxwell, or his parents will survive. Our serious fears force us to believe we must separate ourselves from others, from our brothers and sisters. In an earlier speech, echoing the words of Franklin Roosevelt, the eloquent Barack Obama spoke of this situation and how our own anxiety harms us.[ The Presidential hopeful offered solutions.
[W]e need to come together to solve a set of monumental problems – two wars, a terrorist threat, a falling economy, a chronic health care crisis and potentially devastating climate change; problems that are neither black or white or Latino or Asian, but rather problems that confront us all . . .Understanding this reality requires a reminder of how we arrived at this point. As William Faulkner once wrote, “The past isn’t dead and buried. In fact, it isn’t even past.” We do not need to recite here the history of racial [or economic] injustice in this country. But we do need to remind ourselves that so many of the disparities that exist in the [any] community today can be directly traced to inequalities passed on from an earlier generation that suffered . . .
Legalized discrimination . . . That history helps explain the wealth and income gap . . . and the concentrated pockets of poverty that persists in so many of today’s urban and rural communities.
A lack of economic opportunity . . . and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one’s family, contributed to the erosion of [all] families – a problem that welfare policies for many years may have worsened. And the lack of basic services in so many urban [and now with "no new taxes" suburban] neighborhoods – parks for kids to play in, police walking the beat, regular garbage pick-up and building code enforcement – all helped create a cycle of violence, blight and neglect that continue to haunt us.
Potential President Obama understands and hopes to help all American realize that we are one. While this vocalization was meant to focus on the more obvious rift between the races, the Senator from Illinois, the community organizer, attempted to advance awareness for what troubles Americans as a whole.
In fact, a similar anger exists within [all] segments of the . . . community. Most working- and middle-class white Americans don’t feel that they have been particularly privileged by their race. Their experience is the immigrant experience – as far as they’re concerned, no one’s handed them anything, they’ve built it from scratch. They’ve worked hard all their lives, many times only to see their jobs shipped overseas or their pension dumped after a lifetime of labor. They are anxious about their futures, and feel their dreams slipping away; in an era of stagnant wages and global competition, opportunity comes to be seen as a zero sum game, in which your dreams come at my expense . . ..
Americans, no matter the color or circumstances might contemplate that anger is "often proved counterproductive" as are resentments. These attitudes distract attention and widen any divide. If Americans are to find a path to understanding, we must accept that our insecurity, our fears need not distract us. We will survive if we work as one.
This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of [any child] black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can’t learn; that those kids who don’t look like us are somebody else’s problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy . . ..This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics [poor and those the government classifies as affluent] who do not have health care; who don’t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.
This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn’t look like you might take your job; it’s that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.
This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should’ve been authorized and never should’ve been waged, and we want to talk about how we’ll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned.
Today, we must be honest with ourselves. We can admit that we are incensed, irritated, infuriated, and irate. These feelings do not immobilize us. Nor do we necessarily need to fight, and be combative. It is time we teach Maxwell and also Maxine, distress can inspire us to dream the of impossible and make it our truth. We, Americans can rise above our bitterness and build bridges to a fine future if we unite.
It is not elitist to speak truth. It is ignorance and obfuscation to deny how we feel and what we fear. We cannot change what we do not acknowledge. Elusion will not bring bliss. We may be insecure; we may question whether we can survive. Indeed, if we act as we have in the past, if we focus on our faith and antipathy, there will be no reason to hope. Americans, divisions have distracted us for too long. To negate our natural response is to restrict our growth. This time citizens of the United States, let us come together. Bitterness can become sweet.
Sources of insecurity. Resources for survival . . .