15 Comments on Where is my bail out?

Pat on Thu, 2nd Oct 2008 5:48 am


Good one! I too have been living within my means without debt for several years.

Remember that movie back in the 80′s(?) where everyone starts yelling out their windows “I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!!!!”

John Dilbeck on Thu, 2nd Oct 2008 1:23 pm


Good morning, Pat.

One thing I know for sure, I’ll never go back to living in credit card hell.

A few years ago, I saw an ad for a mortgage that would finance 125% of the value of your home. I knew then that trouble lay ahead for anyone who took on that kind of debt.

I also knew that everything goes in cycles and that many of those fast-rising home values would eventually start to decline, but I had no idea how big a problem it would be or how many people would face foreclosure.

I do feel sorry for people who are losing their homes, especially if it was because of illness or losing their jobs or something else out of their control.

I don’t feel sorry for anyone who gambled and lost or who was too greedy to exercise proper fiscal control.

Been there, done that, learned the lesson the hard way.

The movie you’re talking about is Network. Peter Finch (who won an Oscar for Best Actor) played veteran newsman Howard Beale who was about to get fired for low ratings and announced that he would retire and commit suicide on the air.

Later, it was he who encouraged all the viewers to stick their heads out their windows and yell, “I’m mad as Hell and I’m not going to take it any more!”

It’s interesting that you would mention this movie, because I considered making a companion design that said just that, but decided against it because I didn’t want to steal the words of Paddy Chayefsky, the screenwriter.

Still, it pretty much sums up how I feel about all of this mess.

It’s too bad we can’t change it just by shouting out the window or wearing a different t-shirt.

Thanks for your comments, Pat. It’s always great hearing from you.

All the best,

JD

John Dilbeck on Thu, 2nd Oct 2008 3:12 pm


Steve Pavlina has some interesting thoughts about the Financial Meltdown, politics, money, relationships, and taking personal responsibility.

Act on your dream!

JD

Dennis Edell on Thu, 2nd Oct 2008 4:31 pm


I have no response to this that would take under an hour so I will just say, “great blog!” and I just subscribed

Dennis Edells last blog post..Coming Soon? Yes They Are I Swear – I Need Your Advice First!

John Dilbeck on Thu, 2nd Oct 2008 5:53 pm


Hi Dennis,

Welcome! Thanks for your comment and for subscribing. I look forward to getting to know you better and sharing thoughts and ideas about online marketing.

Now, I’m off to visit your blog and see what you’re writing about.

Act on your dream!

JD

Sire on Thu, 2nd Oct 2008 6:26 pm


I suppose you have to look at the consequence of not bailing the morons out and whether or not you would be worse off.

What I don’t agree with it the huge amounts the CEO’s get paid even when the companies they are supposed to be looking after hit the wall.

John Dilbeck on Thu, 2nd Oct 2008 6:41 pm


Hi Sire,

I agree with you about what the CEOs get paid whether they succeed or fail.

I’m all for rewarding success, but when you drive something off a cliff – such as a major corporation – you deserve to crash and burn, figuratively at least.

There should be some sort of penalty for failure, not a reward.

All the best,

JD

Mitch on Thu, 2nd Oct 2008 8:14 pm


Well, I have to say that I actually do understand the need for the bailout, and I support it, though with some qualifiers, which I hope Congress has now put into place.

The main thing about this bailout is that it’s not really just for Americans, though that’s a big part. It’s more global, because companies like AIG are truly international companies, and if they fall then the economies in other countries fall also. And, in reality, what AIG is much different than what the banks and mortgage companies are going through; I have no sympathy whatsoever for those morons.

Still, I like the idea of the shirt, but since I don’t wear sweatshirts can mine be a t-shirt instead? lol

Mitchs last blog post..$100 Million Dollar Challenge

Dennis Edell on Thu, 2nd Oct 2008 9:08 pm


Hey JD, thanks much for the visit, and I really appreciate the heads up…I responded.

Dennis Edells last blog post..Coming Soon? Yes They Are I Swear – I Need Your Advice First!

Sire on Thu, 2nd Oct 2008 10:22 pm


We haven’t been overly affected by what is happening in the US, at least nowhere near as much as some of the other countries, other than the shares and super taking a dive. I would lose big time if I were to sell, but all I need to do is sit it out and wait for things to pick up.

I really wish I had known before hand though so I could have cashed up before the crash and bought into some real bargains.

Sires last blog post..Is Chitika Better Than Google Adense?

John Dilbeck on Fri, 3rd Oct 2008 6:33 pm


Mitch, thanks for your take on it. As I said, I really don’t understand all the issues and ramifications.

Right now, I’m listening to the News Hour on PBS and they’re talking about how the credit breakdown was tying up all kinds of projects that needed credit to continue. They are saying it was freezing municipal and corporate projects as well as consumer credit availability. So, I can see that it is a serious situation, but I just have a problem with the government nationalizing these businesses.

I agree when one of the commentators just said it is a terrible decision to have to make because both choices could lead to terrible consequences.

I was doing some chores the other night and PBS was on TV. The previous CEO of AIG was talking to either Charlie Rose or Tavis Smiley…hang on a second…

Found it:

It was the second part of an interview with the former CEO of AIG, Hank Greenberg.

A followup on AIG with Hank Greenberg.

I don’t remember exactly what he said and my dial-up connection is way too slow to watch the video, but I perked up when I thought I heard him say that he’d offered his help, free of any attached strings, to help the management of AIG get themselves out of the mess they found themselves in now.

He said something to the effect that an insurance company should have known how to analyze and manage risk.

Now, I don’t know the background on this, nor the politics involved, but I’d think a company would be willing to talk with their previous CEO who had led the company for several decades, apparently successfully.

I don’t know. It just seems wrong that the management of a company in trouble would not accept help and advice from someone who had knowledge of the company and also still has a substantial investment in the company.

I wish I’d heard the entire interview. The parts I heard were very interesting.

Sure, you can get a t-shirt. If you click on the sweatshirt, it will take you to a page full of shirts, mugs, hats, and more – all really for sale.

(grin)

Sire, isn’t that how it almost always works? Now would be a great time to average down some stock investments if the cash were available.

Act on your dream!

JD

Mitch on Sun, 5th Oct 2008 10:53 am


People hate going backwards, as in getting advice from a previous CEO, for many reasons. One, they worry that it will make them look bad because it looks like they don’t know the answers, which of course they don’t. Two, because it’s possible the previous CEO’s motives may be more self serving than gracious; in other words, maybe his policies are what put them into this position in the first place. You just never know.

Truthfully, I think the bailout is a good idea, but I’m not sure how it’ll work. I always worry when we have politicians making the decisions that financial people probably should be making.

John Dilbeck on Sun, 5th Oct 2008 3:46 pm


Your points are well taken, Mitch.

I agree, we really don’t know why the management of AIG would not want to work with the previous CEO, so it’s probably not worth the time to speculate on it.

I’m still not sure about the bailout. It may be necessary; I don’t know.

I agree wholeheartedly with your last point; I get nervous when politicians make decisions best left to financial pros.

Darn it. Now that I read that, I had to stop and think for a few minutes because it was the financial pros who got us into this mess. They definitely need rules and limits, and in our society I guess that chore falls to the politicians.

Act on your dream!

Jd

nike golf shirts on Tue, 3rd Feb 2009 10:46 pm


I agree with you whole heartily. I think it’s ridiculous that our tax money is going to other companies that did not spend and budget wisely. I think they should just let the company die out, I think that would teach other companies a lesson on why you need to make sure only spend as much as you make.

John Dilbeck on Wed, 4th Feb 2009 5:29 pm


Good afternoon, Nike Golf Shirts.

Welcome to the discussion.

It looks to me as if the October bailout has not been as effective as I would have hoped after over 350 billion dollars has been spent.

We’re still seeing tight credit, failing banks, failing corporations, and massive job losses.

Consumer confidence continues to decline and the retail industry is taking a huge hit.

I thought I was going to be fairly safe, since I’m rather frugal, live within my means, and had more than enough to cover several months of expenses, but my affiliate marketing income has plummeted over the last four months and I’m earning only about a third as much as I was earning each month before September 2008.

As a result, I’m clamping down on expenses and will pare them to the bone. I’ll be canceling things I’ve been doing for years until my income picks up and I can restore the reserves I just went through.

In the county where I live, unemployment just went above 12% and will probably rise. It’s substantially higher here than it is for the state of North Carolina as a whole.

I haven’t had a job in years, and probably could not find one locally right now if I really needed one.

It’s going to get worse before it gets better and it really ticks me off when I’m trying to manage a few hundred dollars every month and I see people wasting billions of dollars.

Maybe I need a new shirt that says, “I’m too small to fail.”

Trying to grin, but not really succeeding.

Act on your dream!

JD