tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post625093534588513389..comments2024-03-15T21:51:30.609-07:00Comments on Iron Tongue of Midnight: Why Welfare "Reform" Was a Crappy IdeaLisa Hirschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-51479413051989788422010-01-06T12:14:22.407-08:002010-01-06T12:14:22.407-08:00Yes, certainly, I do wonder what people were think...Yes, certainly, I do wonder what people were thinking when they signed up for very large loans, loans with giant balloon payments, etc. I don't think they thought about it, for a variety of reasons, from actively misleading marketing to poor or hard to understand disclosure forms to lying real estate agents to lying mortgage lenders to their own inability to understand the numbers involved.<br /><br />(Anon, your voice is vaguely familiar. :)Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-15982639172664256332010-01-06T01:04:05.965-08:002010-01-06T01:04:05.965-08:00It's just grotesque. And not only that people...It's just grotesque. And not only that people are in this situation, but that so many people simply have no real idea about how money works in this society and never seem to think very rationally about it (I should probably include myself in that set). Although I totally fault the banking industry for the loan meltdown and ensuing recession, you still have to wonder, what were people thinking? It takes a lot of extremely unrealistic people on all sides to create that situation.<br /><br />I have this terrible feeling that many Americans have been living in a sort of magic reality that is collapsing around their ears, and they seem not to comprehend why or how that could be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-8956993740523715762010-01-03T10:56:28.999-08:002010-01-03T10:56:28.999-08:00Agree on all points. Amazing that the Republicans ...Agree on all points. Amazing that the Republicans can lie about basic economic facts and get quoted in the NY Times, too.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-10413103010502436722010-01-02T21:38:10.037-08:002010-01-02T21:38:10.037-08:00I'm not extravagant about buying food, I subsi...I'm not extravagant about buying food, I subsist on rice, pasta and a little meat, no $30 spices or any of that and $300 is about my monthly food budget. If I had any dietary restrictions that would force me to buy expensive rarities or had to feed someone else on that, no way.<br /><br />It's amazing how much mileage the Republicans get out of the "welfare queen who gets in her limo to go buy liquor" lie.<br /><br />I saw George Clooney's <i>Up in the Air</i> the other day and it's got some heartbreaking scenes with people who have lost their jobs.Henry Hollandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15871451112170286316noreply@blogger.com