1. Originally posted by guam:If Bono made Jesse Helms 'riverdance' on
    capital hill (not capitol..CAPITAL as in $$$!) -
    he probably can make Sarah Palin belly dance
    to 'mysterious ways'!




    Sorry, but Signatures aren't allowed. I'm going to have to remove it.
  2. poll for u2start:

    the american economy is in the shithole....can we use greed as an excuse, yes or no?


  3. It's not an excuse...
    I think that the people in America are betrayed by their economic system. I'm not sure if it's true, but my economics teacher tells me that people in America can borrow is much money as they want from the bank as they want. The banks don't even check if people can pay it back!
    And now those people can't pay it back and the banks get (financial) problems by this. So I think it's just the fault of the system. I think no-one can be really blamed, it's just your culture. But in the future they shouldn't use this system any more. It might sound a bit nationalistic, but I think our Dutch system works fine. Maybe the States should use our system too!
  4. Originally posted by markp91:[..]

    It's not an excuse...
    I think that the people in America are betrayed by their economic system. I'm not sure if it's true, but my economics teacher tells me that people in America can borrow is much money as they want from the bank as they want. The banks don't even check if people can pay it back!
    And now those people can't pay it back and the banks get (financial) problems by this. So I think it's just the fault of the system. I think no-one can be really blamed, it's just your culture. But in the future they shouldn't use this system any more. It might sound a bit nationalistic, but I think our Dutch system works fine. Maybe the States should use our system too!


    exactly...the thing is, there's little money for funding. we owe china so much (300 billion). in fact the iraq war was supposed to be funded by china and others. ready to laugh? iraq has an 80 billion dollar surplus. we've indebted ourselves to put money into the hands of an unstable 3rd world country.

    if this bailout goes through, the US will be 1 trillion in debt. however, the american people shouldnt have to pay this debt. wall street should. for once they should swallow the poison. another issue is other sorts of funding. here in mass they're cutting scholarship money for people willing to get into college. this affects me firsthand. if we were to raise taxes, then there would be money for this. the thing is we need the right politicians in office so this is done. if not its called wasted spending. i refuse for my money to be associated with any sort of pork barrel.

    another example is with sub prime mortgages and credit cards. its like, you can have 10 dollars, but for the sake of humanity, take 8. of course people dumb enough would take 10.

  5. Originally posted by Steveanother example is with sub prime mortgages and credit cards. its like, you can have 10 dollars, but for the sake of humanity, take 8. of course people dumb enough would take 10.

    That's indeed exactly what America needs now! People who THINK before they spend their money! On this moments Americans need to show their love for their country. Try to keep as much money as possible at the bank, it's the only way to make America healthy again!
    And the American army should withdraw out of Iraq. It costs them way too much...

    But I wouldn't worry to much; your economy will be okay in a while! Since the Dollar is worth nearly nothing, foreigners will start spending money in your country again, just because it's cheap. The prices will rise again, the Dollar-worth will raise again, the economy will rise again! It always goes like that, in every country. Good times come after bad times.
  6. Originally posted by markp91:
    [..]
    That's indeed exactly what America needs now! People who THINK before they spend their money! On this moments Americans need to show their love for their country. Try to keep as much money as possible at the bank, it's the only way to make America healthy again!
    And the American army should withdraw out of Iraq. It costs them way too much...

    But I wouldn't worry to much; your economy will be okay in a while! Since the Dollar is worth nearly nothing, foreigners will start spending money in your country again, just because it's cheap. The prices will rise again, the Dollar-worth will raise again, the economy will rise again! It always goes like that, in every country. Good times come after bad times.


    yupp....the problem is when people go to take the ten, they only pay back 4 because thats all they can do. and if everyone does this, a crisis occurs.
  7. Originally posted by stj0691:[..]

    yupp....the problem is when people go to take the ten, they only pay back 4 because thats all they can do. and if everyone does this, a crisis occurs.


    Exactly
    In Holland the banks always check how much money you get paid every month and if you're possible to pay the lend money back. They know everything about your paying back-history. And I think that evry country should have such a system. Of course, I am a Dutchman, so it's not very special that I like our system, but it works very good.

    BTW I really like to hear opinions about this crisis from Americans themselves!
    It gets me even more interested...
  8. Originally posted by markp91:[..]

    Exactly
    In Holland the banks always check how much money you get paid every month and if you're possible to pay the lend money back. They know everything about your paying back-history. And I think that evry country should have such a system. Of course, I am a Dutchman, so it's not very special that I like our system, but it works very good.

    BTW I really like to hear opinions about this crisis from Americans themselves!
    It gets me even more interested...


    thats called credibility....the problem is people abuse the system. adjustable mortgages is one problem. people would pay a really low mortgage for a bit, then say 3 months later theyd be up to their eyeballs in debt, then foreclosure. its bloody horrible.

    wanna talk about the gas crisis?
  9. Originally posted by markp91:[..]

    Exactly
    In Holland the banks always check how much money you get paid every month and if you're possible to pay the lend money back. They know everything about your paying back-history. And I think that evry country should have such a system. Of course, I am a Dutchman, so it's not very special that I like our system, but it works very good.

    BTW I really like to hear opinions about this crisis from Americans themselves!
    It gets me even more interested...


    This is the way it used to be here too, but slowly all the checks and balances disappeared. Originally, you had to show proof of income and proof of assets to get a loan, and then lenders realized they'd get more people to borrow (and therefore make more $$ off interest) if they eliminated some of the qualifications. Pretty soon, you only had to say how much you made and how much you had in assets, then as greed got stronger and stronger, you only had to say how much you had in assets alone and nothing about monthly income. This, of course, is basically an invitation to lie about your assets and income and set people up with loans they couldn't possibly pay back.

    So, yes, IMO, it is greed.


  10. but people can't use greed as an excuse for why the economy is the way it is. greed has always existed, so what makes this instance so special? sure you can say the 1920s was a similar time, but prohibition existed too. you just cant lend money without having background checks. it just doesnt work that way. its not the people, but those in charge who let it happen in the first place.

    inflation now isn't caused by greed, but because of oil. oil is very expensive not because of greed, but because its becoming harder to obtain. also, you have to protect the oil tankers, considering some of the oil comes from dangerous areas. if you ask ali, 'how much is gas in iran', you'd expect it to be really cheap over there, but also mad its not that cheap here.
  11. Originally posted by stj0691:[..]

    but people can't use greed as an excuse for why the economy is the way it is. greed has always existed, so what makes this instance so special? sure you can say the 1920s was a similar time, but prohibition existed too. you just cant lend money without having background checks. it just doesnt work that way. its not the people, but those in charge who let it happen in the first place.



    I think we're saying the same thing here. I'm not saying greed on the part of the consumer, I'm saying greed on the part of the corporations and lenders who realized there was more money to be made by letting anyone get a loan.