The Banks are squeezing every last dollar they can from everyone they can get; I know, for they have

I understand that we are not to be in debt, so I am not sharing the following with you wanting to be scolded for being in debt. What things are is what things are, and some of us for various reasons got ourselves into situations that necessitated taking on debt and now we are getting ready to pay dearly for it.

Sparing you the details, for they are not important, let me simply say that the following are the facts:

1. We have never been late on any obligation for twenty years.

2. We live in a home that when re-financed in May of 2007 had, at the time, a full one third equity position. In other words, there was deliberately room left for unexpected expenses in the future.

3. We have 7 credit cards with balances on them and another 5 with zero balances.

4. Our income and expenses are the same as they have been for many years.

5. NOTHING has happened, on our end, to alter our situation in the past year and one half.

With these facts in mind, let me tell you what is going on. We have three credit cards that all go through the biggest bank in America. We have had these cards for between three and ten years. At times they have had balances approaching their limits and at other times balances of zero. NEVER has there been a late payment, over credit fee or any other negative. At present, all three carry balances which are at or below 50% of the credit lines.

Last week we received notices with the bills that as of December, the interest rates on all three cards were going from 6.99%, which they have been at for years, to 18.99%. As if this was not shock enough, we were informed the credit lines on all three cards were being frozen at current levels. Although we were able to “opt out” of the rise in interest rates by guaranteeing we would never use the cards again, we effectively were shut down by a bank we had up until a month ago, EXCELLENT relations with.

Yesterday the exact same thing happened with another bank we have two cards with. In both cases the so-called justification for the action was the bank did not like our “debt to income ratio”. Hello, it is the same as it has been for months. Before I had a chance to take all this personally, I did some research and found out what is going on which pertains to any of you carrying credit card balances.

A very trustworthy source, whom I trust completely wrote in an article yesterday that all the major banks and financing institutions are in the process of dealing with 2 trillion dollars in bad credit card debts. To handle this, they are systematically going through their clientele and doing exactly what they did to us with all but the very best customers on their books. In other words, they are cutting their losses by assuming anyone not making $500,000 per year is going to default on their credit card bills and thus they are freezing lines of credit and charging outlandish interest rates.

This has been going on for months and months with those in deep financial trouble, the difference is that now it is spreading to the “common folk” like my wife and I. The banks are bleeding money faster than Uncle Sam can give it to them. Look at the stocks of all the major banks and they are nearing the point of being worthless. No amount of money poured into the banks is going to help, for they are slowing slaughtering the very people who could have made them money via mortgages, loans and credit cards.

We recently found out that the same home which we had one third equity in 18 months ago now mysteriously has basically no equity. How on God’s green earth can a home lose 30% of its supposed value in 18 months? At the current rate, we will be “upside down” within six months. Oh how the vultures are circling as they make their plans to snatch this attractive property and acreage out from under us. All we can do is pray and do the best we can. These matters are way bigger than we are.

Don’t be surprised if any outstanding lines of credit you have get frozen soon. Don’t be surprised if the assumed equity you think you have in your home suddenly evaporates into thin air and you find yourself owing more than someone says your house is worth. Don’t be surprised if the reward you get for paying your bills on time, not being extravagant and trying to save money via retirement accounts is having to file for bankruptcy along with 50 states, thousands of cities and in due time, the United States of America.

Yes, that is where this is all heading. Sooner or later the government’s funny money will not be worth the paper it is printed on and no matter how much of it you make or save, it will not be able to help you. Those who sit back thinking they are safe and secure, will see sudden destruction come upon them. Those who thought they had enough in savings to carry them through their retirement years will be trying to survive on Social Security checks alone. Those who thought they had money to burn will find that money has all been burned up.

America’s chickens HAVE come home to roost in the sense that gross mistakes made due to greed are destroying the very financial foundation of this country. All logical measures which could really help the common person are laughed at and rejected outright. Instead, more and more money is thrown to the hungry ravenous wolves which represent the corrupt financial institutions of this world. They will never be satisfied until they have gobbled up every dollar from every soul in America. God help us.

Which is more risky; 700 billion with no oversight to government or $25,000 to each adult in the country?

No accountability for the 700 billion bail out money. No one knows who has received how much and what is being done with the money already given. Is this any way to run a government? Of course it is when we are talking about the United States of America.

There will, no doubt, be some bail out for the GM, Ford and Chrysler. They will be handed the billions of dollars needed to appease the UAW and keep the multitudes of high salaried top officials happy. Meanwhile, where is the bail out for all the small businesses in America? Where is the bail out for the beleaguered families unable to make ends meet?

These crooks who parade around the halls of various official looking buildings in Washington should all be hauled before tribunals and sentenced to life in prison for high crimes and misdemeanors against the American people they swore to serve. These people serve no one but themselves and the influential power brokers who tell them how to vote and who to give away money to next.

The corruption in Washington has reached epidemic proportions and has nothing to do with which political party a person belongs to. The vast majority of all Congressmen and women are pawns in the big game being played out by the groups who control the affairs of this nation.

California is burning and no one cares. Texas and Louisiana were steamrolled by Hurricanes Ike and Gustov and no one cared. FEMA is out of money along with the Red Cross and most charities. The only ones with any money are the big banks who just keep getting more and more “loans” from the Treasury and Federal Reserve.

I am tired and I am angry. I have tried to help people in distress and find resources for those in need for a long time. There is no one around to help for all their resources are being spent to stay afloat themselves. The money situation is way past the crisis point in this country. It is at the “there’s no way out” point.

How can those entrusted with the oversight of 700 billion dollars not have a clue where the money is going and how it is being spent? This to me should qualify as illegal or at least grounds for an investigation. But no, we must find billions more to throw at the tired old automobile giants who should have changed their ways years ago. We must throw more and more money at situations which need to resolve on their own.

If the government gave a hoot about us, they would allow us to withdraw one time from our 401K plans and IRAs without the atrocious penalties normally incurred. Sure talk of this surfaced awhile back and then vanished. Many of us will have to pay the penalty soon for we have no other source of money but our retirement accounts.

If the government simply gave every American family $50,000 with no strings attached what would happen? How could whatever would happen be any worse than giving banks hundreds of billions of dollars with no oversight? What would people do with that kind of money anyway?

Most of us would immediately pay off debts. Guess where that money would go? TO THE BANKS. Next up we would pay down on our mortgages. Guess where that money would go? TO THE BANKS AND MORTGAGE HOLDERS. Some of course would spend the money on big screen televisions and computers and furniture, etc. All of a sudden the retailers would make money again.

But this solution is to simplistic for the morons who run this country. To simply give the people the money is irresponsible for they cannot be trusted. Since when can a politician be trusted, especially with money? The government’s response to this whole fabricated financial mess has been convoluted and irrational. But what do you expect from a body of people whose only mission is to make themselves and their cronies rich.

I say give every citizen of the United States over 18 years of age a check for $25,000 with ZERO tax liabilities and no strings attached. Sure it would cost a bundle of money, but nowhere near the 5-10 trillion dollars flushed down the rat holes of the banking and other financial businesses.

Watch would happen to the United States economy within a month if everyone suddenly had $25,000 to work with. Some would invest it, some would spend it, some would save it and many would use it to pay off debts. Regardless, it would be used in a way to stimulate the economy and stabilize not only the financial markets but thousands of household’s budgets.

Of course my plan is only in my dreams and will never happen. Oh well, it was a nice dream for awhile.

Integrity and Honesty vs. Greed, Corruption and Lies=The American battle

No country, no matter how might it is, can expect to maintain its greatness if it violates principles long enough. The Roman Empire ultimately fell because it ceased doing the very things which had led to its power. The great empires of a few centuries ago fell into disarray because of greed and the failure to abide by the governing principles which led to their rise.

The United States of America has steadily gone downhill during the very time it appeared to the world to be gaining strength. Ever since World War II, this country has veered in the same direction which led to the fall of the Roman, British and other once great empires. When the truth is no longer held sacred and greed is allowed to rule, the inevitable result will be collapse of the system.

Almost an entire generation saw nothing but prosperity starting in 1981 and continuing until 2007. There were certainly a few bumps in the road such as the “recession” of 1992 and the period after September 11, 2001; but by and large, most Americans were “blessed” with an unprecedented period of financial prosperity which enabled millions of people to move up to the coveted “middle class” or even higher.

If Americans would have saved and wisely invested their new found wealth, there would be no crisis at the moment and this country would be the envy of the world. But, once greed and selfishness replaced conservative financial stewardship and charity; disaster was inevitable. Greed breeds corruption and abuse of power which spells calamity. All that has been exposed by the huge investment banks on Wall Street shows clearly the pattern of unbridled greed and the evil that springs from it.

I remember traveling to see a friend in western Connecticut in July of 2007. I was amazed to hear of and see the incredible properties which were only the SECOND homes of the high finance people who ran the big investment banks and worked on the trading floor of Wall Street. These huge properties were used only a few weekends per year and a few weeks in summer. One such property, in need of much work, was on the market for a few million dollars. I am sure it sold before the collapse.

Those who made hundreds of millions of dollars at the expense of those they allegedly served are guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors. Those who continued to pad their own pocket even as their companies sunk into bankruptcy need to be prosecuted for fraud and thrown in prison for a few years. Those who caused the very crisis we all are enduring through unethical and many times illegal activities need to be held accountable for what they did and serve appropriate time for their crimes.

The government can continue to throw non-existent money at the financial monster devouring this country’s assets, but it will do no good if nothing changes from within. If those who oversee and run the banks and other financial institutions are corrupt and unethical, all they touch will reflect their evil ways. The government could bail out every bank and every business and every family which is in deep financial trouble and the problem would still not be solved.

Unless the underlying problems of greed, corruption, fraud, extortion and lies of all sorts and kinds are purged from the financial sector; the same problems will resurface again in different places and with different people. Honesty, integrity and commitment to principle must be honored regardless of the price that must be paid. Simply waving the magic wand and producing wads of money to throw at the problem solves NOTHING. Unfortunately, this is all that is being done and all that will be done due to the agenda of those intent on taking over the wealth of this world.