Friday, October 26, 2007

Bend Over Middle Class!



another reason to despise the credit and banking industry.

9 comments:

FM said...

pretty soon everyone's asses will be permanently in the air.

Joe said...

I'm hoping that 2009 is the new 1929.

FM said...

"party like it's 1929!"

CRASH AND BURN, BABY!

FM said...

oh wait... maybe that will be bad, considering that's when the baby boomers are going to cash in on their retirement accounts...

oh that will be VERY bad!

oh noes!

QP said...

Although I'm not a fan of credit card issuers, a couple years ago I canceled about 2/3 of my available credit shortly after being sent to collections by Capital One, and my credit score is still in the high credit-worthy. So, while irritating, canceling a credit card probably isn't that bad in the long run.

emily1 said...

the pendent:

i thought the poster's concern about canceling the card were a little misplaced.

kusala:

a 1929 crash would be really bad. be careful what you wish for. the last time that happened, this country came very close to fascism. women, gays and ethnic minorities don't fare well during economic hard times and they're crushed under the boot in societies that go fascist.

Joe said...

I was kind of kidding. I'd probably be the first one to starve to death if everything tanked. Although I would argue that the Depression was one of the few times that a huge socioeconomic catastrophe "forced" meaningful reform in this country in the form of all the New Deal programs that were implemented (and which still drive neo-Cons crazy to this day... as they'd rather have grannies starving on the streets like in Calcutta if "they were too irresponsible to financially plan for their own futures.")

Joe said...

Also, women, gays, and minorities didn't seem to fare so well during the postwar economic boom time of the 1950s -- so I'm not sure if there's always a correlation. Just throwing that out there, not trying to start an argument.

emily1 said...

i've, at times, allowed myself to entertain thoughts that an economic crash like the Great Depression would usher in a set of reforms like the New Deal. it's easy to think it would teach people a 'lesson' and that they would suddenly see the light and vote for progressive reforms.

then i started reading about what kind of politics it sparked on the extreme right here. a group of wealthy businessmen tried to stage a fascist takeover of the government, but they asked the wrong guy to help them out. i shudder to think of where things would have gone if the man they asked to help them was receptive to the idea.

i'm not saying that economic booms necessarily produce good environments for women, gays and minorities. clearly, the boom-time 50's weren't good for them. it's just that economic hard times make them more vulnerable than they already are.