Now this is a post that truly deserves to be sent to everyone you know. If you believe it's time to stop laying blame and begin rebuilding America, send this. If you know in your heart that a divided America is not a good thing, send this. Even if you do not agree with this post, let us at least begin the debate without all the anger and bias. SEND this.
Frankly, I'm a bit miffed at all the "blame game" crud that has been going on for the last 3 years. That game does nothing to solve problems - it prolongs them by taking our eyes off the prize - fixing things.
But I am even more perturbed when less informed people blame the wealthy for what has happened. They are not the culprits - crooks and government are responsible.
I prefer solving the problem, but for those who insist on placing blame, at least have the common decency to place it where it belongs. Where to start?
To some extent, all of us are responsible. If you have and use a credit card, part of the blame goes to you for spending tomorrow's money yesterday. If you use entitlements even when you COULD have done things on your own, part of the blame lies with you. If you did not get and stay well informed, and then did not vote - yep, you're IT.
And then there are the credit card companies and banks, who long ago stopped being in business to serve the public and began ripping us off at every turn.
But the real culprits - the ones who actually ripped the foundation out from under the economy - are the crooks on Wall Street (no, not the wealthy investors but the crooks who took their money and made the investments in bogus products like derivatives). And then there is government - responsible for laying the groundwork for the crooks to ply their trade.
The government (FDR) created Fannie Mae. LBJ gave it freedom to prey on us by privatizing it. Carter passed the Community Reinvestment Act (courtesy of ACORN) which legally forced banks to make risky loans. Then Clinton passed the Bliley Bill which required banks to make at least 50% of all loans to be of the high-risk variety.
These government requirements forced banks to make loans to high-risk persons, resulting in sub-prime loans. The sub-primes, being so risky, resulted in the creation of derivatives, supposedly to spread the risk and pay Wall Streeter's huge profits built from paper that was virtually worthless.
In 2005 Bush tried to regulate Fannie Mae. Chris Dodd and Barney Frank blocked it, and went on record saying Fannie Mae was healthy.
Fannie Mae collapsed under the weight of those derivatives and sub-primes in 2007 because those high-risk borrowers could not pay what they owed. And the house of cards crumbled quickly.
And THAT, my friend, is the truth of what transpired. So, if you must place blame, put it where it is deserved. Don't put it on the rich. I am one of them, and I don't live on Wall Street. Don't forget - it was the rich investors who lost over a trillion dollars in the Wall Street crash. We were victims, not perps. But the people responsible needed someone else to blame. Since they were the ones in power, they used that power to create division among Americans with class warfare. Blame the rich - they are an easy target. People already assume the rich made their money by taking advantage of the poor (not true, of course. At least not for most of us).
I made my money from real estate. I still do. Even as things are, it is quite profitable if you know what you are doing. And I do. And the people I teach also know what they are doing, and are acheiving wealth (see my course at www.intellibiz.com if interested). We do not make money by duping the poor, because most of my students WERE the poor when they came to me and started out. They - and I - make our money legitimately, through a combination of know-how and effort. We won't do any deal that is not win-win for everyone. So we are not the culprits. We would appreciate it if you would blame the real perps if you insist on the "blame game".
I make a huge amount each year. And most of the "excess" mentioned in my previous post gets invested to create jobs for people, and in exchange I get a profit, as I should. Most often it gets invested in people - people who need homes, and need a helping hand to get there. And much of it is donated to various charities. Most wealthy people do contribute a lot to charity. Bill Gates contributes millions each year. So don't blame Bill for being the culprit - he makes his money helping millions by making computers easy and useful.
Face it - if you are reading this you are either wealthy, or you are not. And if you are not, you want to BECOME wealthy. So stop making the wealthy your target - you may be it someday.
As I said in the beginning, I'm not into the "blame game". I prefer finding solutions. It's what I do. And to be blunt, I can tell you with 100% certainty that all money that is made legitimately is made by solving problems. Gates solved the problem of making computers easy to use. I solve problems for both buyers and sellers - and for those who come to me to learn. If you have a job, you are solving a problem for your employer - how to get his products made, or marketed or whatever.
Solve bigger problems, you make more money. But solve problems for the largest number of people (as Gates did, and as Sergey Brin, founder of Google did) and you become super-wealthy.
Solve problems. Don't waste precious time playing the stupid "Blame Game". Leave that to the trouble-makers and morons. You have a future to find.
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