28 September 2008 - Rantings and Ravings

Rantings and Ravings
Sunday 28 September 2008

It has been a busy time the past few days. We now have UBC satellite and the number of English speaking channels for me has gone from 2 to 22. The addition of the Discovery Channel, History Channel, and National Geographic Channel are most welcome.

We are still busy settling into the new home - unpacking my 30+ years of technical documents and personal papers. It is amazing how much paper accumulates over the years and when circumstances dictate that you evaluate your "treasures", you realize that you don't really need them. For instance - this week I threw out or rather made available for recycling treasures such as 1976 US Federal Income Tax booklets and just about every year from then to 1994. I somehow thought that it might be necessary to refer to them at some time. That time has not come yet and I doubt that it will.

We are still moving furniture around. There have also been home chores such as hanging towel racks in the kitchen and another in the master bathroom to keep me occupied.

I have read that there is an apparent agreement to try to resolve the financial crisis in the USA.

Once again it is interesting to note that once again everyone is a victim in America nowadays and no one is to blame and no one will be held accountable.

In May of this year when I was preparing to retire to Thailand, I had to make some international banking arrangements with my bank in California. I knew the head teller and I told him that it was my opinion that the banks were to blame for the banking crisis ("crisis" seems rather an understatement looking back at what we knew of the situation back in May compared to what we know now at the end of September. I wonder what we will know at the end of October about how screwed up things are).

I stated that bank managers were not satisfied to have a mortgage portfolio comprised of 5.5% mortgages like mine from people who make every payment on time. The bank managers in order to earn bonuses and promotions developed mortgage portfolios comprised of 7% mortgages from people who would not be able to make the payments. I am sure that the more responsible and cautious bank managers were under a great deal of pressure to improve their "performance" to be comparable to the banking super-stars.

The Head Teller replied to me that it was a problem but almost apologetically stated "people have to have a place to live". I quickly agreed with him that "Yes, people do need a place to live" and emphatically added "and they call it renting. When I am overseas, I don't own a house. I rent a place to live. What is wrong with renting?"

This attitude exhibited by the Head Teller is indicative of the sense of entitlement that pervades American society today - even to the halls of Congress tonight. There is a conviction that everyone must be protected and insulated from the consequences of their actions, and that wanting as well as wishing are sufficient justifications for gratification.

The famous lawsuit of the woman who scalded herself with a cup of coffee from McDonald's is a good example. She bought a cup of coffee and placed it between her legs as she drove off in her car. At some point as she was driving, she squeezed her legs and was badly burned. I believe that she was awarded $9,000,000 and McDonalds as well as others have a limit on how hot their coffee can be as well all those warning labels on their cups. I sympathize with the woman's pain and suffering. I saw the photos of her injuries and they were serious. However she made a stupid decision to drive holding a semi-rigid container of hot liquid between her legs! For anyone reading this blog and is concerned about political correctness - if a man had made the same decision I would consider the decision to be just as stupid and any award for pain and suffering to be just as unwarranted.

Just because someone has pain and suffering should not entitle them to compensation. If they made a poor choice or decision they should be held solely accountable for their situation. It used to be that way.

I know of a juror involved in a civil lawsuit who was holding out for a lower cash award to the plaintiff. One of the jurors stated "Why are you so concerned about the money, it is not your's - it is the insurance company's money". The reluctant juror believed that the plaintiff had not suffered to the degree that they stated or was able to provide evidence for. The juror was standing by a principle of accountability, and fairness for all parties.

It is the insurance company’s money – whom do you think they get the money from?

It is the government’s money – whom do you think they get the money from?

This brings me back to the financial situation in the USA today. Many people who could not afford to buy a home but believed that they were entitled to own, rather buy a home, obtained mortgages from banks that had no business loaning these people the money.

I know of a person who had gone bankrupt twice who got a mortgage to buy a 20 year old trailer. Guess what - the person defaulted on the loan and went bankrupt a third time!
To a point this worked well to most people's benefit. She "owned" a home for awhile. The real estate broker got their commission. The banker built up a high interest rate mortgage portfolio. Just like the pyramid schemes, as long as new cash kept coming in, the system was working. Did you ever think about how the "Home Industry" could have been driving the US economy for all those months? I often wondered where all the money for the homes was coming from if manufacturing and the service industries were not thriving. Now it seems it was just like the pea and three walnut shells game I once saw being played in Times Square - a shell game.

So now the US Government will bail out Wall Street - whoops - they said that they were bailing out "Main Street". Yeah, right. Rest assured no one will go to jail. Everyone is a victim, no one needs to be punished or held accountable, big governement will make it "all right" for everyone.

A couple of days ago, I saw Congressman Barney Frank complain that there had been a lack of regulation and that there needed to be more regulation of the banking industry - Barney Frank the Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee - I wonder where he has been for the past five years? Given his notorious history with his "house guest" running a male prostitution ring out of their apartment in 1990, I have a pretty good idea of what he has been doing. I suspect that some of his deposits and withdrawals were not related to banking. I also saw a film clip of him in 2003 saying Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were doing just fine even though the government at that time was cautioning and lobbying for more oversight of their activities.

I enjoy telling people that when I was a child I could have anything that I wanted ... as long as I could pay for it. From my parents I learned that if you couldn't afford it, you didn't need it. If you wanted something bad enough, you would work for it. If you were not willing to work for it, you didn't want it bad enough.

Wonderful lessons. Lessons apparently not shared by many others or lessons that are taught nowadays.

I am also fond of quoting a late twentieth century philosopher ... "You can't always get what you want. You can't always get what you want, but if you try just sometimes well you just might find you get what you need" Mick Jagger

Oh well - I feel better - now

Tuesday we are off by overnight bus to Bangkok and then a morning flight to Phuket for the Vegetarian festival for 6 days - no blog but I expect to have many photos to share upon our return - self mutilation and body piercings by religious zealots (not exactly behavior that you would expect from vegetarians)!

Stay true to your principles and be brave.