Today’s Economy - Financial Stupidity or Greed?

OK, how the heck did the economy end up where it is now? Who is to blame? Well someone has to be blamed. It sure as hell was not our fault — or was it? 

Amid all the financial finger-pointing, candidates shooting at each other, and the general consensus things are tough all over, the real problem really only comes down to two issues: Stupidity or Greed. 

That is it. No bizarre blaming of things on oil, housing, the airline crisis, global warming, or even Brett Favre retiring (which I am still getting over) — none of that. You get two choices in this blog…pick one. 

Choice One: Greed. 

Ah, the old favorite. “I can’t possibly lose money in this market.” “ Don’t worry, the housing prices will keep going up, and you will make a killing.” 

It all works great in an up-market doesn’t it? People are making money, becoming overconfident, and beginning to over-extend themselves financially. Why not? My investments are going up — in a good way. Of course, all that is great until the music stops, there is a big scramble, and a few chairs seem to be missing. Actually, a lot of chairs are missing. 

The only “Greed Factor” question left is did people know they were being greedy (and therefore make the wrong decisions), or was it because of choice two (Financial Stupidity) that they ended up in the position they did? 

Which brings us to our second option…

 

Choice Two: Financial Stupidity. 

Maybe “stupidity” is a bit harsh, but the problem with choice two is that it is easy to get into the I-don’t-accept-personal-responsibility blame game. “They” should have taught me in school. “My parents” should have raised me better. “My friends” should have warned me. Blah, blah, blah.

I guess I could say “financial Ignorance.” Sure, that softens it, but in the end, who is to blame? People purchase cars more expensive than their homes; plasma TVs for thousands of dollars on credit (but only $25 per month for the rest of their lives); and think for some reason, buying a home with no money down, interest only, will not burn them in the end?! Perhaps stupidity is the right choice of words after all.

Common sense should kick in. Unfortunately, for far too many Americans, it does not. Can we just get back to the basics? Don’t overextend yourself, save for a rainy day, and if it is too good to be true, it probably is.