Friday, March 9, 2012

Again...Spoiled Americans. Is Fannie or Freddie to blame


Joel Sucher is working on "Foreclosure Diaries," a documentary about the financial crisis.  He  wrote a blog titled “Fannie, Freddie, and the FHFA Holding The Line On Foreclosure Policies.”    Joel captures a story about one individual Arturo de los Santos.  Sucher tugs at the audience’s strings by conveying to the reader a despairing story as any filmmaker should do.  Sucher starts of by describing Santos as a former soldier, the father of four children and a supervisor trying to provide for his family.  He then finishes the tale by telling the reader about Arturo losing his house to foreclosure due to the reduction of hours at work. 
     Joel Sucher makes a statement, “Freddie sees the home as simply an investment property to be sold for top dollar.”  The only response I have for this is…yes it is an investment property.  They are not running a daycare but a business.  One thing the buyer needs to understand is that --buying a house is not an investment but a debt.
Sucher also expresses, “Greed again rears its ugly head.”  This statement should not be geared toward the "bad guy" corporations, but the individual trying to live up to "the Jones”.   Many of us strive for better things, but do we have to max out credit cards, buy the biggest houses and purchase a new car every other year?  As a society, we are taught greed and are marketed to buy, buy, and buy, regardless of the cost.

Here is a different story on NPR about a fourteen-year-old girl named Willow who lives in Florida.  This young lady owns her own house!  Yes unusual, but it can be done.  Willow has found a way to make money successfully without fully depending on government programs. Instead,  she has taken advantage of the foreclosures and is now renting out the house to a young couple.

I do not agree with the  filmmaking Joel Sucher's bias side that these conglomerates should be lenient with the individuals borrowing cash.  Joel is out to make money for a movie of course there is a bad guy good guy.  Unfortunately, some people need to realize that they are living beyond their means.  It is not the responsibility of FHFA, Fannie, or Freddie to adjust the loan each time due to hardships. These companies are not ones I would put any faith or trust in.   I can’t judge Arturo de los Santos for not trying to better his life, but I can’t help think …so if they cut his hours at his current job did he try to get a part time job at the local Wal-Mart?  Did they ever think four children would not be expensive and they might have to depend on the govenment?  Did Arturo come up with an inventive idea like the one Willow had? Many questions run through my mind, but mostly pessimistic.

  I see it every day, people not accepting a job because thier mindset that they are worth more.  Many individuals will not work for $7.25 an hour because they have a degree, or they have held some sort of authoritative position previously.  God forbid they have to work more than forty-hour weeks at intensive laborious job.  I am not by any means wealthy nor am I in debt to anyone.   I have taken jobs for the minimum amount and worked my way up.  Americans should realize an associate’s degree (you can now get online) or title means nothing these days.  Receiving a Doctorate from a prestigious college may alleviate some stress allocating a job.  Then one must ask how much debt do you have to accrue to be happy?  We are becoming an overpopulated, somewhat educated, spoiled society.  Many individuals are out of work, including those graduating from college.  I continue going to college not because it will make me wealthy, but I enjoy learning and I found what makes me happy. 










No comments:

Post a Comment