An open letter to the whiners
Mar. 30th, 2009 02:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
norsegirlDear whiney-ass-crybabies,
Most of you don't know how bad it can get. No matter how many obstacles stand before you, no matter how your situation today compares to what it was last year, it can always get worse.
I'm sorry your portfolio isn't worth half what it was last year and that your retirement is now at risk. But if you couldn't afford to lose it, maybe it shouldn't have been in the stock market to begin with. Oh, but you could never have seen this coming, this kind of drop in the market has never happened before *cough* great depression, black monday *cough*, you were just doing what everyone else was doing. To quote your mother... "if all your friends jumped of a bridge"... It's not the "always make lots of money and never ever lose any market", and if anyone invested in it tells me they've never ever lost money there before I'm going to have to call them liars. I'm sorry you're not happy with the outcome, but this was a risk that you knew existed, and you agreed to it when you signed up. If you can't afford to lose it, may I suggest a savings account?
I'm sorry you lost your job. If yours was a two-income household, be thankful if you still have one income. If you're single, well that sucks and I feel for you, but you can get out there and look, and in the meantime there's social security or EI to help you get through this.
I'm sorry you can't afford the mortgage payments on a house that is mortgaged for more than it is worth. You probably shouldn't have been approved for that mortgage in the first place, but now do us all a favour and act like a grownup. Sell your house, pay off what you can, and don't be another deadbeat debter contributing to the mortgage foreclosure collapse. If you're also saddled with lots of credit card debt, I'm sorry, but maybe next time you'll think twice before you buy that lattee, pair of designer jeans, or whatever else it was you simply couldn't live without at the time. Many of us live within our means. Take this as an opportunity to learn that skill.
If you live in the USA, I'm sorry you do not have health care. I'm sure that even if your company provides it that it is insufficient to meet all your needs, and I understand that maybe you are staying at a job you hate because you can't afford to lose your coverage, even for just the few months it would take to get qualified under your new employer's plan. You can vote. If you'd like to escape your servitude to the HMO, simply demand it of your elected representatives. You have the power and the opportunity to make that happen if you can only find the will. If you live in Canada, be glad for that peace of mind you enjoy every day. Emergency room lines and wait times for elective surgery may be frustrating, but it could be worse.
I live in a country where I pay the same taxes as anyone else but I am a second class citizen. I cannot vote. I did not get any help when I purchased my home. I cannot use my saved-up RRSP money towards my first-time home purchase. I do not qualify for the stimulus federal tax credit either, because while I am a first-time homebuyer making well below the maximum income allowed to take the credit and I certainly pay the same taxes as the rest of you, I am considered a non-resident and do not qualify for this benefit. I cannot apply for work even if we needed the second income because my visa does not allow it. I will not receive any government assistance after I give birth later this year and my husband will probably not be able to take any parental leave as it would put his job at risk. If my husband loses his job he also does not get paid social security even though he pays into it every pay cheque. We also cannot remain as residents in our lovely house even if we can still afford the mortgage because our visa depends on him holding that particular job, so if he loses that job we will have to shoulder the cost of a mortgage, plus rent and an international move on no income, with no government assistance. On the bright side, when we return, jobless, to our native country, we will both be able to apply for work, though we will not qualify for government assistance there either until we have been working for several months at our new jobs. And yet, right now, I have a beautiful house, a husband and dogs that love me, food in my fridge and enough savings to get me by if the worst should happen. I know that because of the choices I have made, that my husband and I have to rely on ourselves without any government safety nets and that is a risk I have chosen to take. I manage the risk as well as I can, but I am honest enough to say that I worry. There are a lot of obstacles ahead of me if something should go wrong, and still, I know it can be worse.
Every day I drive past people begging for change on old pieces of cardboard or on the backs of advertising they rip off telephone poles at intersections. In the evening I see them assemble under overpasses to share meals and companionship. At night they move off into their tent-cities, which are not nearly as far from your suburban perfection as you might think. They are adept at hiding just out of sight and you are practiced at not seeing them. I never give them money, but I pay my taxes and sometimes I donate to charities and I hope it helps. Maybe you too can't afford to give much financially right now, but the least you can do is quit your whining and remember, it could be a lot worse.
Most of you don't know how bad it can get. No matter how many obstacles stand before you, no matter how your situation today compares to what it was last year, it can always get worse.
I'm sorry your portfolio isn't worth half what it was last year and that your retirement is now at risk. But if you couldn't afford to lose it, maybe it shouldn't have been in the stock market to begin with. Oh, but you could never have seen this coming, this kind of drop in the market has never happened before *cough* great depression, black monday *cough*, you were just doing what everyone else was doing. To quote your mother... "if all your friends jumped of a bridge"... It's not the "always make lots of money and never ever lose any market", and if anyone invested in it tells me they've never ever lost money there before I'm going to have to call them liars. I'm sorry you're not happy with the outcome, but this was a risk that you knew existed, and you agreed to it when you signed up. If you can't afford to lose it, may I suggest a savings account?
I'm sorry you lost your job. If yours was a two-income household, be thankful if you still have one income. If you're single, well that sucks and I feel for you, but you can get out there and look, and in the meantime there's social security or EI to help you get through this.
I'm sorry you can't afford the mortgage payments on a house that is mortgaged for more than it is worth. You probably shouldn't have been approved for that mortgage in the first place, but now do us all a favour and act like a grownup. Sell your house, pay off what you can, and don't be another deadbeat debter contributing to the mortgage foreclosure collapse. If you're also saddled with lots of credit card debt, I'm sorry, but maybe next time you'll think twice before you buy that lattee, pair of designer jeans, or whatever else it was you simply couldn't live without at the time. Many of us live within our means. Take this as an opportunity to learn that skill.
If you live in the USA, I'm sorry you do not have health care. I'm sure that even if your company provides it that it is insufficient to meet all your needs, and I understand that maybe you are staying at a job you hate because you can't afford to lose your coverage, even for just the few months it would take to get qualified under your new employer's plan. You can vote. If you'd like to escape your servitude to the HMO, simply demand it of your elected representatives. You have the power and the opportunity to make that happen if you can only find the will. If you live in Canada, be glad for that peace of mind you enjoy every day. Emergency room lines and wait times for elective surgery may be frustrating, but it could be worse.
I live in a country where I pay the same taxes as anyone else but I am a second class citizen. I cannot vote. I did not get any help when I purchased my home. I cannot use my saved-up RRSP money towards my first-time home purchase. I do not qualify for the stimulus federal tax credit either, because while I am a first-time homebuyer making well below the maximum income allowed to take the credit and I certainly pay the same taxes as the rest of you, I am considered a non-resident and do not qualify for this benefit. I cannot apply for work even if we needed the second income because my visa does not allow it. I will not receive any government assistance after I give birth later this year and my husband will probably not be able to take any parental leave as it would put his job at risk. If my husband loses his job he also does not get paid social security even though he pays into it every pay cheque. We also cannot remain as residents in our lovely house even if we can still afford the mortgage because our visa depends on him holding that particular job, so if he loses that job we will have to shoulder the cost of a mortgage, plus rent and an international move on no income, with no government assistance. On the bright side, when we return, jobless, to our native country, we will both be able to apply for work, though we will not qualify for government assistance there either until we have been working for several months at our new jobs. And yet, right now, I have a beautiful house, a husband and dogs that love me, food in my fridge and enough savings to get me by if the worst should happen. I know that because of the choices I have made, that my husband and I have to rely on ourselves without any government safety nets and that is a risk I have chosen to take. I manage the risk as well as I can, but I am honest enough to say that I worry. There are a lot of obstacles ahead of me if something should go wrong, and still, I know it can be worse.
Every day I drive past people begging for change on old pieces of cardboard or on the backs of advertising they rip off telephone poles at intersections. In the evening I see them assemble under overpasses to share meals and companionship. At night they move off into their tent-cities, which are not nearly as far from your suburban perfection as you might think. They are adept at hiding just out of sight and you are practiced at not seeing them. I never give them money, but I pay my taxes and sometimes I donate to charities and I hope it helps. Maybe you too can't afford to give much financially right now, but the least you can do is quit your whining and remember, it could be a lot worse.
