Sioux City Journal

The blame game

Posted: Tuesday, December 11, 2007

SIOUX CITY -- The raise in credit card interest rates no matter if you're always on time is not surprising. After all they no longer recognize the usual 30 days normally used by business as a current payment. They have quietly reduced the time to 20 days and it starts from the day of billing. So if your mail is delayed, tough luck. You can delete their invitations to debt on your e-mail and don’t check your credit score too often, but that’s a no, no, also. I burned out one shredder destroying checks and cards ready to use with my name that I never asked for.

The present housing crisis is an example of lenders so greedy for short- term profits at the expense of good judgement. They competed with each other for the lowest teaser interest rates to cash in on the housing boom. They took advantage of the basic human need to live in your own home. Every ad hyped the advantages of home ownership and moving up to a better home with subtle hints that your equity in the old house would take care of every thing. Then they have the nerve to talk about responsible use of credit to cover their lack of responsible lending.

Now they are using their money and influence for government help. -- Phillip A. Severson

Story Comments

Free Man wrote on Dec 12, 2007 12:06 AM:

" Phil, try a little personal responsability for once. Sometimes it is your fault when things go bad. It gets really old hearing all the crying about how it's not my fault when there is a big screen tv in the new $250000 house and a new car in the driveway. "

mp wrote on Dec 11, 2007 7:54 PM:

" People are speculators when: They buy more house than they can afford. They borrow with an adjustable rate mortgage when they could have locked in very attractive long term fixed rates. They put little to no money down. Lenders are speculators when they loan to the above. Speculators will always get spanked and rightfully so. We should never bail out speculators on either side of the contract. Receiving a credit card application in the mail is NOT the same as a payraise. Some people are too stupid to have any money and why should we reward bad behavior. "

BigGeorge2 wrote on Dec 11, 2007 10:01 AM:

" Phil it looks like you took a "bitter" pill this morning. The best advise in the world is "If you can't afford it, don't buy it. It doesn't get any simpler than that. The good Lord only hands out one brain in our lifetime, use it. "

Bored wrote on Dec 11, 2007 8:49 AM:

" the thing I can't figure out is that no one was twisting these peoples arms to sign on the line to get these credit cards and loans, if they were dumb enough not to manage their finances, tooo bad, don't blame the banks for what you did wrong. It's not a basic need to own a home it's a basic want and that's what gets every one of you into financial trouble is your wants exceed your finances. Only buy what you can afford. Other big business' sought gov't help....Chrysler... so why wouldn't big banks...fair for one, fair for another. "

mv wrote on Dec 11, 2007 8:15 AM:

" These home buyers gambled and lost, you know when you do an interest only loan you can't afford the house, don't buy it, you know the inerest rate will change. The blame falls on the home buyers, they gambled that the value of the house would go up and lost, I seen this day coming years ago, sooner or later it was going to happen. I don't blame the lenders they are trying to make money, like me when I go to work, these buyers gambled on the housing market and lost. "