The Bailout

If you can’t afford it, I don’t want governmental policy encouraging you to borrow. There’s something fundamentally wrong with loans that can only be made when usurious rates must be charged. Hey, Gary Coleman–I’m talking to you.

I am an opinionated guy. I have a position on nearly every public issue. I’m not sure whether that’s good or bad. It’s just how it is.

That’s why this whole bailout issue is so perplexing. I have no idea where I stand!

I am worried what will happen to our country if our banking and financial system fails. Maybe it is to big to fail. Even if I’m pissed at the bankers, I don’t want to cut off my nose to spite my face.

On the other hand I worry we’re rewarding bad behavior by allowing these big businesses to survive. No one can convincingly deny that.

I hear a lot of talk about keeping the credit markets open, but don’t we need the credit markets to be a little tighter? Wasn’t the whole sub-prime mess caused by too much credit being available to too many people?

If you can’t afford it, I don’t want governmental policy encouraging you to borrow. There’s something fundamentally wrong with loans that can only be made when usurious rates must be charged. Hey, Gary Coleman–I’m talking to you.

I don’t want the people who caused this to benefit. That especially goes for bankers. Do you think we consumers don’t understand you’re right up there with airlines in your contempt for us? For many people you have turned borrowing into the financial equivalent of heroin addiction.

Finally, there’s a hard sell on. I see it on the cable news networks especially. Any time the pressure’s on to make a quick move I begin to count my fingers and hide the silverware.

I really wish I knew. This is too big a decision to be rendered without me having an opinion.

6 thoughts on “The Bailout”

  1. I just clicked on your Gary Coleman link, Geoff. These banks are actually allowed to issue loans at 99% APR? (See fine print at end)

    For a $2,600 loan, the repayment comes out to $9,114!

    And people wonder what is wrong with our banking system…

  2. did you go to the website? for a $1500 loan there is a $500 processing fee and 12 payments of $159 , a 141% interest rate. holy crap !!! and i am complaining about 14.9%

  3. If you visit the web site advertised in the Coleman video and then check their rates for Connecticut residents, you’ll see listings for loans and 99.25% and 141.42% with a note that not every applicant will qualify for the lowest interest rate… which leaves open the possibility of the rates being even higher, if one can imagine such a thing!

    On a more serious note, however: this week one of my clients told me he could only make a small partial payment on my most recent invoice due to his business line of credit having been frozen. It’s the first time I’ve encountered that problem, so the affects of this economic “crisis” seem a lot more real to me than they did 2 weeks ago.

    Luckily for me, I still have enough breathing room left so I don’t have to follow Gary Coleman’s recommendation…

  4. I always read the mouse type in ads, so the interest rate jumped out at me right away. That’s why I posted it.

    Geoff

  5. I knew Gary Coleman was at the root of this. Now we have a smoking gun. (LMAO) This is just the beginning. He also convinced AIG to amp-up credit-default swaps.

    Ever hear the old adage that when the Dems and Reps agre on something and it has gotta be done yesterday, there’s gotta be something wrong with it? Usually true.

    I think they had to do this- the credit system needed to be saved or it would have been catastrophic, but that’s one guy’s opinion. I know there will be many unintended consequences of this and that this crisis will be studied for generations.

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