GREED

I have seen a number of people arguing this entire Wall Street Occupation for days now. I sit back and watch like a tennis match because, in my OPINION, no one is really addressing a key point.  PERSONAL GREED. Oh yes, we have heard it from the mountains about the big evil rich corporations and how bad and awful they are. But, until my fried David Harris posted this today, no one had stepped up to smash the sacred cow of the masses: their OWN greed.

“The proletariat masses that are looking to shift blame off of their own sorry shoulders need to look in the mirror and see that they are equally to blame for the current state of the economy. People losing their homes because they accepted a mortgage payment at 95% of their monthly worth, quite frankly, DESERVE TO BE HOMELESS! Fuck 'em. No one held a gun to their head and made them sign a mortgage contract. They had the data in front of them, and were so blinded by the notion of owning their "dream home" that it never occurred to them that maybe, just maybe, they couldn't afford it. This whole nation lives beyond its means, and now the public, the irresponsible sheep that they are, are reaping what they've sewn. And as for the "criminal banker" that gave them the mortgage? All they did was say "Here's the deal. Do you want it? Yes or no?" The public is to blame for this... mostly. Was the bailout a load of shit? Of course it was. No argument there. And after the stupid bailout, with the current administration touting increased taxes for the rich, who could blame them for pocketing what they had? I would have done the same thing. If you're going to take what I have coming in, of course I'm not going to spend what I already have. I'm hanging on to it until you go away.” 

~David Harris

Many years ago, I sat in a little office on a home site, wanting to own my own home. The sales lady asked us how much we made annually and we told her. She wrote down….50k more than we said. We stopped her and corrected her. We did not make THAT much money.

”Oh….no worries,” she said, “We just do that for the finance people.”

“But won’t the finance people calculate whether or not we can afford the home based on that number?”

“Well, of course.”

“And if you put that number it won’t be an accurate analysis of what we can afford?”

She looked at us like we were morons.

“Look, I am just trying to help you here….don’t you want this?”

Pause….

We did. We wanted a home very much. We were so sick and tired of living in an apartment. Carrying groceries up flights of stairs. People jumping and stomping above us. Indian curry smells wafting from below. We wanted our own place. So bad. But…not that bad. She tried desperately to make the sale. Even invoking the “everyone else is doing it” clause.

We walked away. And tried again. Time and time again we got sales and finance people pushing us to overextend or just flat out lie.

I am not a super genius. I am not brilliant. But I am smart enough to know that if I only make $10 a month and my mortgage is $20 dollars a month, lying and saying I make $30 a month AIN’T GONNA PAY THE FUCKING MORTGAGE!

How many people did that? Let those sales people suck them in and talk them into ignoring the truth because they were so greedy to have that home so they could boost their ego or make their wife happy or impress the fellows at work?

How many of those protesting RIGHT NOW are those same salespeople who knew very well what they were doing was bullshit and did it anyway to line their own pockets.

That wasn’t the corporations. Those sales people could have refused to be dishonest. Those people who bought could have done just what I did and said, “No thanks. I can’t afford that.”

And it’s not just houses. Look at credit card bills… Yes. Some people hit hard times and used them to buy groceries and put gas in their cars. I am not ranting at them.  But I am pointing a slender delicate razor sharp red fingernail tipped one at those who loaded up on things they didn’t NEED out of GREED:

• Video games and systems
• Expensive furniture
• Designer clothes, shoes and bags
• Jewelry
• Clutter from: Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, Ikea, Best Buy, or Target etc etc etc
• More expensive clutter from more expensive stores.
• Trips they could not afford
• Crap for their whiney kids they can’t say no to.
• Expensive gear/electronics/smart phones etc.

This is not something I have gone into but another huge disconnect with douche bag was his attitude towards money. When I first met him he was (or appeared to be) very responsible with his money. If he wanted something he would save up for it and buy it with cash. I was delighted that he seemed so responsible. Problem was, he simply had not had the means to be irresponsible. Once he got that first credit card it was like he went mad. If I said no, I was a bitch. If I tried to point out that he already had three game systems and with him being laid off we didn’t need a fourth he would yell and scream and rant. He wanted EXPENSIVE everything. From his tequila to his sweaters to his cigars. And when a time came he had to PAY for it all he ignored that and wanted to spend more. I tried to talk sense into him and he would pretend to agree with me…but then he would just buy something else. Tell me, “honey, I paid the AMEX bill this month so you don’t have to worry.” So stupid me just believed him.  I am the type of person that when I went to London, the plane tickets were paid off before I went. London was paid off before I went to Hawaii. Hawaii….well….STILL paying that off. But I am not going anywhere else until I do. His perspective was, “Who cares? We will all die in 2012 according to the Mayans so why not?” Yes. He said that. He actually said that. And when he met the people who over extended themselves and then just filed bankruptcy and it was all hunky dory…. I lost what teeny tiny amount of influence I had in trying to get him to be responsible.  How many times did he go behind my back to buy something? Too many.  How many times did he hide the credit card statement from me? Too many. Should I have paid more attention? Yes. But I thought I was supposed to trust my husband. I thought I could. I thought wrong. (This is a heads up to any man who wants to get with me that I will never just trust them with money again and will always have my nose in that business and an iron grip on the purse strings).

What so many people are failing to address is this:

The big evil corporations didn’t force everyone to want their products or services. No one is forcing Absolut vodka down your throat when you can just as easily get the cheap stuff.  Look around at the people who are out there wearing designer this and exclusive that. Who idolize the celebrities carrying $14,000 purses. $14,000 for a fucking purse? Bitch, please. I don’t think ANYONE who carries a $14,000 purse should be allowed to open their mouth about corporate OR individual greed.

If you are not one of these people, then you know I am not talking to you.

But I bet you know them.  There are plenty of people out there that are greedy and have no sense of personal responsibility. THEY are the ones that gave that power to the corporations/designers/etc. Those people made money, sure. But they made it off the GREED of the herd. And the herd wants to ignore that and sweep it under the rug.  At least I am honest about my own greed and want and desires. But I see so many others who aren’t.  I am the 1%. That’s true. The one fucking percent that says it like it is. Greed is not “bad” or “wrong” or “evil”. It’s what you do with that greed and how it affects yourself and others that is an issue.

Greed can be a motivator or an impetus or a catalyst. Or it can be a curse, a sickness, or even your death.

As a great man once said, “Indulgence. Not compulsion.”

Next time you see people complaining, take a long hard look.

Next time YOU complain….take a long hard look.

If this is not applicable to you, then you know that.

But if it IS….then you know that, too.

What this looks like to me is that there is a large percentage of people who were greedy as all hell and got screwed by their own greed and are now pissed off they can't keep their crap or get more. This is not applicable to everyone but many other people are now being asked to pay THEIR bill. Perhaps when people start to live within their means and stop giving power to the corporations they rage against....the tide will turn. If you want to hit them where it hurts: be responsible and hit them in their pockets with your right to say no to their crap, their marketing, their overpriced goods. This is not all the fault of the corporations. The people who allowed this shoulder some of the blame as well by feeding the machine as long as it gave them what they want.  Now they all want a special code to type in for free energy, free money, free level ups or immortality. 

Life is not a video game and you can only cheat for so long before it bites you in the ass. Take responsibility for your actions and the consequences of them. And don't get caught up in the propaganda that is spewed by the media or those who don't want to own their own role in the mess.

That is all.