I used to think *exactly* the same way, and honestly most of the time I still do. It really doesn't bother me to see someone I know who's lived "the high life" above and beyond their means crash and burn. Yep, I know a few folks like that and I haven't an ounce of pity for them. I used to say to my wife "What are we doing wrong? We don't live like that, what are we doing wrong?"
Her answer was "nothing, we're simply living within our means" and she was right. I still remember losing my job in 2003, and worked hard to finish my college degree at age 43, find a new job and keep the family out of debt. In many ways, my family was lucky. We remained practical and frugal even though I was able to find a very good job at a slightly higher salary than I was making, and I continue to make a very good living.
Now I see those same friends that blew every dollar they had and then some while they were living the high life, now living like paupers and crying. Some have lost their homes already, others are in the process of doing so. I have zero sympathy for them.
I also have friends who frankly never had much, have worked hard their entire lives, and struggled as much in good times as in bad to keep their heads above water. These folks never drove new cars, never went on fancy vacations, never blew money they didn't have because at times they never really had much. They're honest folks who paid their bills and just didn't seem to have much left over afterwards. This group was just 'getting by' in the good times.
This group is the one hurting the most right now. I went down to the local food pantry in Lockport (IL) on Tuesday the 20th to make a donation. I walked in and had to take a number just to talk to someone. I witnessed 35 families being helped with food in the hour I sat there. When my "turn" finally came, the nice elderly lady I met with asked if I'd been there before. I answered "No." She proceeded to hand me some forms to fill out. When I told her I wasn't there looking for help, I was there to help the look on her face was priceless.
I asked how much the pantry needed and wrote a check. I asked if they needed help delivering food or working the pantry but they had all the volunteers they needed, what they really needed was money to pay for the food they were buying (at a discount) from some of the local food stores and the Will County food pantry. Before I walked out the door, I left my name and phone number with instructions to call me if they needed addtional help. So far the phone hasn't rang.
I walked out the door back to my vehicle and sat in the parking lot for awhile. I was completely unprepared for what happened next. I continued watching people go in and out of the food pantry for awile. Some walked up, others drove up in cars ranging from 5-10 years old or older. (My own vehicle is a 2003.)
It was when I realized that pretty much every family that walked in and out that door looked like my family that I just began shaking.
You see, I live in a bubble. I leave my house every day, I drive 5 minutes to a train station, catch a train for an hour to go to work, I have to walk past these OWS idiots to get to the office every day, then at the end of the day I walk to the train station, catch the train home, and pull my vehicle into the garage. This happens 5, maybe 6 days a week. Typically, I never leave home once I'm in or on the weekends so I don't see what's happening out there beyond my own "bubble."
Let me tell you, I was completely unprepared for what I saw going on in this economy outside my own "bubble." Sure, the folks who lived beyond their means and are now screwing the rest of us by walking away from their mortgages because they're "under water" or losing their homes because they overbought - I have no sympathy for. They were greedy, living beyond their means and that's the price they pay. I'm with you on that.
But there's another whole group of folks that look like you and I, who've played by the rules, done their best to do the right thing and paid their bills on time - and this group is really hurting. They're right on that edge of poverty. This group IMO deserves our help.
The Obama Economy has forced an additional 14,000,000 people onto food stamps in under 3 years. Aside from helping out the local food pantries, the best thing we can do for them is to improve the economy by booting this worthless POC that sits in the White House today. I'm committed to doing both.
Bravo!!!!!!!!!
And yes there are a lot of people who are finding it hard to make it. They didn't buy the fancy cars or huge houses but now that they only have half or less of the income they use to have things are tight.
Nicely said. You have convinced me to donate some money and possibly some time to a local food pantry here.
I’m somewhere inbetween. I grew up poor and had to scrape most of my life. Finally I got a job that paid well and I went a little wild. I maxed myself out, though, it wasn’t the economy that did it to me. But I had to constrict around the same time everyone else did, late 2008. I know it’s my own fault, though. So I just tightened the belt back up, returned to my old scraping ways, held onto most of what I’d accumulated during the wild times, and... I’m more or less okay. Got a little debt, got a little savings. Got a nice place to live, but no car. I’ll be on a money diet for another year or so, but when it’s over, I do intend not to make that mistake again.
Thank you for your post and your generosity. Not too long ago I was in a bubble like you but God had led me out of my comfort zone in a lot of ways.
We don’t have a lot of money to give, but we can all do little things. My 11 year old volunteers at the food pantry at church. We had our neighbor over for Christmas dinner so he wouldn’t be alone. We always have a collection bag for Goodwill in the laundry room and go to the donation center about every month. At work we collected a truck load of goods for a charity in Atlanta that does fantastic work helping people who are not on government assistance but need a little help.