CREDIT CHECK!

Like President Bush, I often think about my legacy and how my generation will be reflected in History. I consider my generation a SOCIAL generation. I think we've made tremendous strides in diversity, technology, and communications. Politically, I think we're quite apathetic. My parents' generation was too HAPPY to be concerned with politics; what I inherited was a "POLITICIANS ARE LIARS, IT AIN'T WORTH MY TIME" mentality. Just be happy on your own; don't participate in (or even pay attention to) politics, laws, rights, etc. And besides MINISTER FARRAKHAN'S Million Man March in 1995, there hasn't been a true MOVEMENT of any sort since the 70's. I say movement because it has to be sparked by your emotions. We have these long lists of things we care about that take priority; we never see the end of these lists. So HOW are we to care about OTHER things that we can ignore (sadly to our detriment.)

I think we represent the beginning of corporate takeover. We made shopping recreational. It's now considered a legitimate SPORT. One word ruins any rebuttal: SHOES. Bargain shopping, coupons, blue-light specials, dollar stores, 24 hour WAL-MARTS, internet shopping, CREDIT CARDS! Credit. We've been an economic experiment. I reflect back to the eras of "buying your first VCR or TV or car, or house" with cash with money you've already earned and saved. "Saving" to us is a discount. Our minds have been molded to respond to advertising and brand names. I personally am a recovering Polo addict.

We BUY instinctually. From the minute we're first put in front of the TV, the trance begins. TV is science. And to the innocent, highly impressionable minds of children, it can be very influential to the makeup of each individual. Teenagers, in my opinion, are the most manipulated demographic in the country. Here is one place where Race truly does not matter. And it's not even GREEN anymore. It just gets charged on a credit card. Money management, economics, psychology, civics, and similar topics have been disguised as long, confusing, and irrelevant story questions in tests. And these tests play a key role in how we get pre-filtered for education and vocational opportunities. It seems that we are judged on how we conform, as opposed to facts and skills we posses.



We LOVE labels and symbols, but we don't truly realize and understand the POWER of them. They're not just nice to look at; they subliminally target specific areas of the brain and trigger a response. As a result of this detachment, we've reprioritized "I WANT THAT" and "I NEED THAT." A large majority of money is spent on wants, and more often than not it's spent before it's earned.

We're entering an economic atmosphere I have yet to see in my lifetime. The folks whose financial strategy is dependent on their homes and credit cards, are about to be hit terribly hard. I've worked in the mortgage banking industry since I got out of the Air Force in 2004. And it's provided me some true insight into the state of portions of America. I've spoken to people from all around the country, and there's definitely a pattern, especially amongst the folks I have to unfortunately deny. Add to that, the daily constrictions to the lending guidelines that can change your status in ONE DAY. You can qualify today, and not tomorrow. That's REAL. I've never seen anything like it.

And this hurts me to see. I'm a firm believer in accepting the consequences of your actions, but in a lot of cases this doesn't apply. There are many factors involved that may be unknown to those not interested or just read headlines. The introduction of the "exotic" loan types such as 2 or 3 year fixed rates, interest-only, and option ARM's has caused much confusion among consumers and professional alike. You combine that with RECORD LOW RATES and the expansion of qualifications, and it makes for a COMPLETELY NEW market of prospects. The most important of these dynamics is the low rates governed by the Federal Reserve.

This allowed the entry of THOUSANDS of "unqualified" individuals to enter the mortgage banking industry. I say unqualified because the RATES did all the work. It wasn't required for the client to be educated on the complexities of the loans they were agreeing to. People were happy they had "5%," even if it was only for two years, or not paying any money to the principal of the loan, or worst-case scenario the balance actually increases. It was about EGO and getting the best deal, bragging to your buddies on the golf course or the bar. NOW, the market is beginning to return to "normal," but it seems like it is spiraling downwards.

In actuality, there was a false market created. And now these homeowners are getting excluded through false promises made to them. Many have the same qualifications from when they initially got their mortgages, but do not qualify now. As a result, they're forced to stay in a loan with a payment that can increase every month, while property values are decreasing. This causes many to work endless hours and live off their credit cards. Revolving debt KILLS your credit score and is next to impossible to recover from once you reach a few thousand dollars of charging everyday expenses. WAGE SLAVERY.

And to top it off, the new bankruptcy laws have been changed to the point where it's variably impossible to qualify to file for this protection.

To all with mortgages, please make sure you know the details of it. The next few YEARS are going to be extremely challenging. If you have a credit score below 700 and no money in the bank, it's going to be next to impossible to qualify for credit. This is going to result in a severe CRISIS. I hope the president doesn't consider it the type where he can exercise his COMPLETE oversight and formally merge the three branches of government.

END PROCRASTINATION!