We all think we have a say in our government. That our vote counts for something. Well, that is just an illusion. Unless you are very wealthy, your vote and you count for nothing. Nothing. Your congressman only ever considers you when he needs that vote that he can't bypass to get into the halls of the legislature. Other than that, you are non-existent. And the same holds true with businesses you deal with.
Let's take "credit" for starters. What the term credit entails is the use of credit cards. Nothing more, nothing less. If you are one of the few who does not use credit cards, then you have no credit. You can have purchased a house on a mortgage, ie creditl. You can have purchased and paid off several cars on credit. But if you do not have credit cards, you are non-existant in the "credit" department. And your credit worthiness hinges on three little numbers. And those three little numbers are arbitrary. They will change daily or even hourly. If you have credit cards pay them in full every month, not good. If you use them only for large purchases, not good. If you carry balances on them, not good. So there is realistically no way for you to keep those three little numbers high. Businesses that collect all your personal information, and I do mean all your personal information, decided whether you are an honest person or not. Three. Little. Numbers. I was in the mortgage business way back in the day. Back in the day, if you had more than a couple of those credit cards, that went against you. We collected proof of employment, how long you had been with your present employer, what your monthly bills were. We talked with your employer. And unless you qualified for a VA or FHA loan, you put 20% down. Most people did qualify for FHA or VA loans by virtue of being poor but with a stable history, or you were a veteran. And FHA and VA sent their own home inspectors out and those home inspectors worked for the home buyer. If they found something wrong with the house, the seller was told to fix it. I have been out with those inspectors. House on a slab, he crawled under the house. He inspected everything. Plumbing, electrical, dry rot, roof, everything. I was taught by the best in how to assess a house. Not anymore. If you want a halfway honest inspection, then you have to hire and pay your own inspector. And you have to pay for a plumber to inspect the pipes and an electrician to inspect the wiring. Otherwise, it is ignored.
But back in the day, a lending institution was concerned 1) for the buyer because he was going to be paying for the house and 2) the soundness of the structure because in the case of a foreclosure, they wanted that structure in good shape so they could resell quickly.
So much has changed in my lifetime and I have watched it unfold and both political parties are guilty of selling off of the country. Only those with money count. Only big business counts. Ask any small businessman about all the taxes and fees he has to pay. Back in the day you could start a business and make it successful. Try it today.
And for the consumer, we had savings accounts with a guarenteed 5% interest. Every one saved. Now good luck with .05%, And I have watched this happen over the years. It started with Nixon and has only gotten worse. We were shocked, as a nation, when Nixon pulled his tricks. Now Nixon seems like a babe in the woods. And those town hall meetings, they only call on pre-selected people with pre selected questions. I took part in one of those telephone town hall meeting when Flores first started them. I was not allowed to ask any questions of Flores because what I wanted to ask would have made him look bad. However, he took calls from people not even in his district. There is a book out by a former congressman detailing how the congressmen spend their days fundraising. They are being paid by the taxpayer and all they do is fundraise. Feel like you have been royally screwed yet?
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