That’s seven hundred billion dollars. That’s the amount of money our government is talking about spending for the financial bailout of “Wall Street.” That’s some pothole to require $700 billion to fix it! Now, I’m no economist, in fact, I’ve never even taken a class on economics. However, I did take math, and any 5th grader can tell you that $700 billion is a buttload of money. (A buttload, in this case, is equivalent to well over $2000 per person living in the U.S.) Now, according to my sources (NPR, CNN.com, and Will Davidson, esq.), the real source of the crisis is the real estate market and the foreclosures faced by many homeowners. It makes sense to me: when banks foreclose, and people move out of their homes completely in the hole, with credit destroyed, then the banks assume the property. The property goes up for sale, but no one is buying houses because all the people moving out have been foreclosed on and aren’t able to buy. So the banks are holding assets they can’t cash in on and suddenly, the liquid is dried up because everyone is holding too much inventory. Ok, so what’s the point, if you’re still reading? What if the government was proactive with that $700 billion dollars? What if instead of bailing out financial companies by buying defunct mortgages, they bought houses from the homeowners themselves and saved them from foreclosure? $700 billion dollars would buy 3.5 million homes at the price of $200,000 each. Currently in Miami, certainly one of the largest cities impacted by the housing crisis, there are a little less than 37,000 homes for sale. That’s approximately 1% of the number of homes that could be purchased by the government if they were to listen (yeah right). What’s the difference between buying defunct mortgages and buying homes at risk of foreclosure? If a homeowner is able to sell his or her home before foreclosure, they walk away with credit in tact (or more so) and in some cases, homeowners could walk away with money from equity built over years of paying for their mortgages rather than losing it all because of trouble over the past few years. These people would be more equipped to be homeowners again at some point and less likely to be homeless. I’d be interested to know what the numbers of the homeless are as a result of the housing crisis. Additionally, if these homes were taken off the market (the ones at risk of foreclosure) then the housing market could possibly recover. As it recovers, the government could sell the homes it holds gradually, regaining their investment and keeping the market from getting flooded with homes again. I’m sure my theory is full of holes, but I just keep coming back to $700,000,000,000 and thinking… now that’s a buttload of money.
Archive for September, 2008
$700,000,000,000
Saturday, September 27th, 2008Two year-old adults
Monday, September 15th, 2008If you stick around for the first 10 minutes of the two year-old class during children’s church, you can hear the children sing their favorite song: “Around and around is the name of the game and around and around and what’s YOUR name?” The kids get to say their names one by one and then everyone sings a lively chorus of “Lindy is her name, Lindy is her name.” The youngest ones in the class are shy and usually don’t say their names, but there’s is always an older, more verbal kid who knows everyone’s name and chimes in for the quiet ones. By the time they graduate to the 3s class, everyone has learned to say his or her name.
Another behavior you can see in the same class is the rule of possession. Whatever one kid possesses is what all the other kids want. A toy is completely uninteresting until someone else is playing with it. Then, a struggle ensues and adult intervention is necessary.
“Yeah, yeah, why are you bringing this up?” you say. It’s because adults, as it turns out, are just like two year-olds. I am flipping channels the other night and stop on PBS. I see this lady named Suze Orman, who apparently is hot snot, but since I don’t watch Oprah and pay close attention to the Best Sellers list, she had flown under my radar until this particular night when I got to see the end of her seminar on TV. She’s addressing a crowd of women into which I would have neatly fit. 20s to 60s professionals (well, that may be a bit of a stretch for me, but nevertheless) hanging on her every word. On the screen behind her is the profound statement, “Say your name.” It’s in all caps, but lest I scream… As I listen to her, all she is doing is encouraging the women to say their names. She says in her most polished motivational speaker voice, “I want you to say… your… name!!!” And the women are all excited, saying their names. She picks some out of the crowd to do it, criticizes one for her lack of gusto, I suppose, but quickly coaches her and wham, bam, thank you ma’am, she is saying… her… name!!! (These people paid money to see her, I’m sure.)
Then, the next day, I am listening to NPR and I hear that there has been a massive sell-out of the Japanese glasses frames and red patent peep-toe pumps that have adorned Sarah Palin on the world scene in recent days. It’s just like the two year-old class. I want what SHE has!!! Like I say to my kids, “Monkey see, monkey do.” Adults are just over-sized, not-nearly-as-cute two year-olds. Lord save us!!!
The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. Acts 11:26
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:20-21
When will we get it that our name is His name and that our treasures cannot be contained on this earth?
Of Beetles & Angels
Monday, September 8th, 2008Of Beetles & Angels is a memoir I read the other day by Mawi Asgendom. My friend Tina gave it to me and said it was a quick read. I read it in a day. I’m sure there are many reviews of this book and now the author has a whole speaking business. The subtitle gives you the basic idea of the book: “A boy’s remarkable journey from a refugee camp to Harvard.” This kid from Ethiopia spent 3 years in a refugee camp in the Sudan with his family before they all moved to Wheaton, Illinois. The struggles of his life and the issues his family had to deal with would seem insurmountable, but by the grace of God, his life was not only spared but he became someone enviable to most. Even more remarkable to me was life of his father. The father’s journey was the opposite of the son’s. Where the son went from a place of poverty and complete lack of recognition to being a Harvard graduate, the father went from being a highly respected member of the medical community to being a janitor and then a disabled, unemployed refugee living in the projects. It was the sacrifice of the father that made the son’s life possible, and the father seemed to know that going in. He gave up everything so his son would be great. What a picture of the gospel and what a picture of the call of all Christians.
Food Names
Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008I’ve been meaning for a while to make a list, for the record, of some of the food nicknames Aaron has given to his friends. It proves that I’m raising him to be just like his mom. These are all names he came up with and initially thought were the actual names of the people:
Grace = Grapes
Donna = Donut
Gretchen = Crunchin’
Joey = Jelly
Brad = Bread
So now you see, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree 