Originally Posted by
ryan1234
Kilgore... it is just my humble opinion... but a large portion of the failure of the U.S. economy is based on those ideals that capitalized on the gullible poor, in reference to sub primes, etc. The vicious circle of politicians bribing the poor for votes, futher creates a larger poorer class. While it may appear to some that I'm wearing my shiny new tin-foil hat... I would argue that cheap labor causes corporations to be able to sell products in a weaker market they wouldn't otherwise be able to do, and perhaps if the tax burden was decreased, less outsourcing would happen, and futhermore, foreign businesses might be attracted to the U.S. to create more jobs. The U.S. corporate tax burden is staggering, and many corporations have done the necessary to stay afloat. Many speak of fat cat "bonuses"... those "bonuses" (whether for an upper or middle class) are taxed around 40% alone (not to mention the corporate tax itself, payroll tax, etc)... those bonuses are a bonus for politicians to bribe the degenerate public with items that do little good. This is the circle Alexis de Tocqueville described as being an end to our Republic.
The letter seemed to be talking of a small business owner (i.e. provided 14 good paying jobs). Somewhere in between the irresponsible lower class and the greedy upper class, these people shoulder the burden of the U.S. Economy. This isn't to say there aren't ways around taxes for small business (i.e. S corp, LLC, LLP, etc).
.. it is just my humble opinion... but a large portion of the failure of the U.S. economy is based on those ideals that capitalized on the gullible poor, in reference to sub primes, etc.
I wouldn't argue that there are plenty of people to blame for this. I think the two parties primarily responsible for this are the government and individuals alike.
The government had placed an enormous amount of pressure on banks to give loans to people that may otherwise have not have qualified for them. This forced banks to lend money to people who probably couldn't afford to pay the money back.
At the same time, there were people who were carelessly using the system to purchase homes they couldn't afford and/or refinancing with irresponsible motives. Many people went with interest-only loans, sub-primes, and other non-fixed interest loans to purchase homes they had no business walking into in the first place. Others had used artificially high appraisal numbers to qualify for home equity loans to purchase large items such as cars, televisions, etc.. In other words, using their home as an ATM because their credit cards were maxed out.
Why were these requests getting approved by the banks? Because people were asleep at the wheel.
Bottom line? They are called "sound financial principles" for a reason. Don't spend more than you make and save until you can afford it.