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Posts: 58935
11/14/2011 4:20 PM
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11/14/2011 5:22 PM
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11/14/2011 7:20 PM
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11/14/2011 7:37 PM
JJB Angel '09 Biggest Scandal '09 Internet Famous '11Time Magazine's Person Of The Year '11Ideas ARE bulletproof, bitch!
coboardgirl wrote:My problem with the occupiers is that they seek to blame all the problems we have now on corporate greed and frankly my dear, there is a LOT more blame to go around than to just blame corporate greed for all the problems we're experiencing in the U.S. right now. I think their anger towards the 1% is in a large part, misplaced. They can continue blaming those at the top, because they're easy scapegoats, but 16% of the millionaires in this country are doctors and those in the medical industry. 7% are engineers, scientists and computer professionals. 8% are lawyers and 80% of millionaires in the U.S. today are first generation millionaires. They are not all just trust fund babies or people who fell into their wealth by luck or screwed the system to get to the top. It's so easy to turn the blame outwards, but to actually look at yourself and say "what did I do wrong" or "what could I have done differently" first before blaming others, that's much more difficult. Quite honestly, I think a lot more people would take them seriously if they said "Here's where I went wrong. Here's what I'm doing to correct it, now you do the same and see where you can fix things, too." The problems in the U.S. today are huge and it takes a lot more people fucking up than just the 1% at the top. I am not denying the existence of corporate greed or a select few people at the top who received while failing to give or earn, but they make ups such a small fraction of the problem that I see them as scapegoats.
I don't care about any of this, but I find that comment and then this funny:http://jjb.yuku.com/reply...and-Colbert#.TsGIkFalDg0
11/14/2011 8:01 PM
I hate it when people say this. A wise thinker once said "People make their own histories, but not in the conditions of their own choosing." People absolutely have free will, and there were plenty of people who did not make smart choices during this recession. But I just can't get behind the idea that so many individuals all did the same thing wrong all over the world. Have you ever read anything about the housing crisis and the toxic assets that were being sold? Banks were literally choosing the people who were the most likely to default on a loan to loan to. And then betting that they would default. Individuals were targeted to fail, and lo and behold...they did.
Re: 1%, this is a pretty contentious issue. I think there are a lot of people demonizing the 1% and I think a lot of people just kind of wonder what the point of that is. Be rich, that's fine. But people's wealth should not give them more power, and that's what we contest. Not that people are rich, but that their wealth makes them more important, somehow. The average person has a 1 in 22 chance of being a millionaire. A congressperson has a 1 in 2 chance of being a millionaire. The rich are overrepresented in politics and have more power and wealth than everybody else. Be rich. But for America, which is supposed to be the greatest country on Earth, this is just not okay:
Posts: 19032
11/14/2011 8:06 PM
Lauriestar wrote:I hate it when people say this. A wise thinker once said "People make their own histories, but not in the conditions of their own choosing." People absolutely have free will, and there were plenty of people who did not make smart choices during this recession. But I just can't get behind the idea that so many individuals all did the same thing wrong all over the world. Have you ever read anything about the housing crisis and the toxic assets that were being sold? Banks were literally choosing the people who were the most likely to default on a loan to loan to. And then betting that they would default. Individuals were targeted to fail, and lo and behold...they did.
11/14/2011 8:07 PM
coboardgirl wrote:I hate it when people say this. A wise thinker once said "People make their own histories, but not in the conditions of their own choosing." People absolutely have free will, and there were plenty of people who did not make smart choices during this recession. But I just can't get behind the idea that so many individuals all did the same thing wrong all over the world. Have you ever read anything about the housing crisis and the toxic assets that were being sold? Banks were literally choosing the people who were the most likely to default on a loan to loan to. And then betting that they would default. Individuals were targeted to fail, and lo and behold...they did. I can get behind the idea that so many people did the same thing all over the world. Especially when general culture makes it okay and even encourages such excess. There is a vast culture of "compete with your neighbor" and get that bigger better thing to show that you can one up them. Take a look at JJB - it's pretty rampant here. People are constantly trying to prove themselves through possessions. I am not saying that the banks weren't to blame. For sure any bank CEO that okay'ed or even promoted the allocation of money to those that were most likely to default should have been drummed straight out of their position. But how many people is that, total? Not many. On the other hand, how many people defaulted on loans and signed their names on the dotted line onto loans they NEVER should have gotten in the first place? Millions. And they need to take their part of it, too. It takes two to tango and there's a LOT of blame to go around. Own your share. Re: 1%, this is a pretty contentious issue. I think there are a lot of people demonizing the 1% and I think a lot of people just kind of wonder what the point of that is. Be rich, that's fine. But people's wealth should not give them more power, and that's what we contest. Not that people are rich, but that their wealth makes them more important, somehow. The average person has a 1 in 22 chance of being a millionaire. A congressperson has a 1 in 2 chance of being a millionaire. The rich are overrepresented in politics and have more power and wealth than everybody else. Be rich. But for America, which is supposed to be the greatest country on Earth, this is just not okay: I think we agree on this piece. I don't believe that having money should give you greater representation. I'm not sure what you're trying to prove with this. As I said, there are certainly those who get to the top with unscrupulous tactics but among the 1% this is the minority. A majority of congressmen are crooks who can be bought? Yep. I agree. But what percentage do these crooks make up of the 1%? Not much.
11/15/2011 1:25 PM
coboardgirl wrote:I hate it when people say this. A wise thinker once said "People make their own histories, but not in the conditions of their own choosing." People absolutely have free will, and there were plenty of people who did not make smart choices during this recession. But I just can't get behind the idea that so many individuals all did the same thing wrong all over the world. Have you ever read anything about the housing crisis and the toxic assets that were being sold? Banks were literally choosing the people who were the most likely to default on a loan to loan to. And then betting that they would default. Individuals were targeted to fail, and lo and behold...they did. I can get behind the idea that so many people did the same thing all over the world. Especially when general culture makes it okay and even encourages such excess. There is a vast culture of "compete with your neighbor" and get that bigger better thing to show that you can one up them. Take a look at JJB - it's pretty rampant here. People are constantly trying to prove themselves through possessions. I am not saying that the banks weren't to blame. For sure any bank CEO that okay'ed or even promoted the allocation of money to those that were most likely to default should have been drummed straight out of their position. But how many people is that, total? Not many. On the other hand, how many people defaulted on loans and signed their names on the dotted line onto loans they NEVER should have gotten in the first place? Millions. And they need to take their part of it, too. It takes two to tango and there's a LOT of blame to go around. Own your share.
11/15/2011 1:55 PM
11/15/2011 2:12 PM
You need to read about the housing crisis, because you're just factually incorrect here. Yes, people received loans they should never have signed for. But these people were targeted by banks to default; these are people who were uneducated and pressured into signing contracts they did not have time to read or understand.
Don't you think there's a reason why poor African-American and Hispanic residential areas were foreclosed upon at a much MUCH higher rate than everyone else. It's called predatory lending, and banks go to neighborhoods where people can't generally get loans and offer these amazing deals. People everywhere need loans, especially poor people. The choice is either don't get a loan because you know you can't afford it and lose your house/don't eat/etc, or get a loan from a bank offering amazing interest rates and you think you can afford it except oops! Three months in, your interest rate triples!
Why is it easier to believe the MILLIONS OF PEOPLE had the exact same thing happen to them all over the country, but it must be something they did wrong? If millions of people all have the same symptoms of an illness, do people say "oh, it's their fault. They should own their sickness." Or do they say "there is a disease running rampant across the country, getting people sick. We have to find the disease." Predatory lending is a disease, and massive foreclosures are the symptom of a very very very broken financial system that caters to the rich who can afford to victimize the por.
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11/15/2011 2:53 PM
11/15/2011 3:03 PM
11/15/2011 3:17 PM
11/15/2011 3:36 PM
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11/15/2011 3:56 PM
Loves soapy boys
Posts: 31166
11/15/2011 4:02 PM
WWFSMD
gscaleta wrote: Right but at the end of the day they still signed the papers. I'm not saying that it was wrong but they still need to be somewhat accountable for it. There were many people that knew it was too good to be true but still went for it. Occupy folks are a bunch of whiners in my opinion. I'd take them a hec of a lot more serious if they were employed and preaching during their off hours.
Posts: 1812
11/15/2011 4:21 PM
brisync wrote:I live in Portland. I've seen the news over the past weeks. The movement is a fucking joke.4 overdoses, attempted rape, thousands of dollars of taxpayer money for police overtime. Big accomplishments.
Posts: 9241
11/15/2011 5:04 PM
I should be dreaming
gscaleta wrote:Right but at the end of the day they still signed the papers. I'm not saying that it was wrong but they still need to be somewhat accountable for it. There were many people that knew it was too good to be true but still went for it. Occupy folks are a bunch of whiners in my opinion. I'd take them a hec of a lot more serious if they were employed and preaching during their off hours.
Posts: 13138
11/15/2011 6:36 PM
11/15/2011 7:44 PM
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