Ron

What do you suggest? I am far from being a ‘wall streeter’ but I resent the term ‘main streeter.’ I have a business that relies on a line of credit to get through slow periods. It is always paid off and I have never missed a payment. Today I was notified that it was no longer available–no explanation and no inkling as to when it might be available. A secondary source provided me with a quote of 27.99%!!!!! This is a source that last year quoted me 8% and I thought it was high then. Without funding it is likely that I will not survive. After a quarter century the business will be closed. I have eight employees who will be impacted. I will not make my house payment.

I don’t live high on the hog–my cars are ten and sixteen years old respectively–paid for, well maintained and serviceable. I have not taken a vacation in two years. My wife works. The economic slowdown dissipated our savings as we dipped into them first to make things go on. We believed in hard work–good people and a reputation that has resulted in customer loyalty. But that has not been enough.

Last quarter’s sales declined by almost 50% from last year. Clients no longer have the money to do what they need to do–only what they have to do.

Do people like yourself ever really consider what the human costs of your ‘tough shit’ brand of economic realism means? The biggest stock holders are institutions(churches and universities among them), mutual funds(usually small investors), and pension funds(lots of fat cats work a lifetime for that big pension). A trillion dollars disappeared on Monday not from the gutless politicians who pandered to a new populism, but from the pocketbooks of the very people who did not and still don’t understand what is going to happen if the system collapses.

There are always a few people who swim against the stream and you and others such as yourself will point to them to buttress your point of view. But a recession of five or ten years length is unfathomable here in the USA. The Japanese dithered around on a solution after the 1990 collapse of the real estate and stock markets in their country. It took ten years for them to start to come out of it–and then 9/11 hit. They are still screwed.

Pain is inevitable–and blame rests with all of us. Politicians traded regulatory authority for campaign donations. Executives traded sound business practices for a good quarterly report and bonuses. The citizenry traded common sense for instant gratification.

It is possible to minimize that pain–although it might be too late for some of us. But your attitude contributes NOTHING!! Will you benefit from ten years of recession? Will you benefit from a credit market that causes businesses right here in Bend to fail? Will you benefit from having every fourth or fifth person unemployed?

Like almost everybody with an opinion, you’re long on criticism and short on solutions. Thanks for the constructive rant–now crawl back under your rock before the black helicopters take you away!