Want to know why Citigroup needs a bailout? Because of emails like the one I just got a few days ago...
Dear Danica, we are pleased to increase your credit line to something ridiculously high given that we haven't bothered looking at your income or whether or not you'd be able to repay it in this lifetime. Guys, my credit limit is now HIGHER than my annual income. Granted, I don't make all that much on my own, but STILL.
If you are lending idiotic amounts of money to people who may or may not have the ability to repay the loan, then frankly, you DESERVE to go bankrupt. Seriously.
Yes, I do pay more than the minimum balance. And yes, I carry a balance on that card because I'm still working on getting us out of debt from when hubby was out of a job and we used that card for groceries and other necessities. Maybe not a smart idea, but it was our only option at the time. But now... we are paying it off. I have two jobs. The paycheck from one goes toward paying off the card. The paycheck from the other goes into savings so that if we end up in a bad place again, we've got a cushion.
Do the folks at Citigroup know this? No. Do they care? No. They would like to see me in debt up to my eyeballs so that they can charge me 500% interest (not really, but you get the point). The trouble is, they have no idea if I can afford to repay it. If I lose my job tomorrow, guess how much money they get? Nada. Guess who's filing for bankruptcy (not really, but a lot of folks do). Guess what happens to the credit card company's debt?
I am so irritated right now. I cannot believe that these idiots are trying to lend me so much money at the exact same time they're begging for bailout help. No wonder our country is in financial trouble. Maybe if all these banks would stop lending people more money than they can ever pay back, they might find that they aren't in the same position: too much cash going out than is coming in. Economics 101. Duh.
6 comments:
I'm an idiot when it comes to economics and even I understand that you can't lend someone something you don't have.
You also can't bail someone out with money you don't have.
Sheesh - maybe I'm not the idiot.
Ditto. Ditto.
Like Kay, I'm not an economics expert. But - I am so frustrated with all of the bailout plans. Maybe we should let the companies fail. We're all affected by it anyway. What's especially irritating is how the executives seem so unrepentant about the mess (retreats, private jets, and so on). If I handled my expenses in this manner, can I expect a bailout from the government?
I have become incredibly cynical, too. Did you see that clip where the congressman asked the three heads of the Auto industry if they flew to the capitol commercially or on private jets? All three of them flew on private jets. Then he asked which of them would go back and sell some of their company jets to pay for some of their debt. No one answered....hmmmm! How can we not get angry!!!
By the way, Danica - Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for your encouraging words to me, your tenacious spirit and your blog!
Maybe we need to run a few of these companies...
And yeah, loved the jet comment. Come on! I'd sure love to take a private jet to visit Congress to tell them why they need to pay my bills. Let's go.
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