Wedneday, June 5, 2009

opinions are like kittens...

(If you're just here for the pleasantries of Cake Tuesdays, then you might want to skip this entry. This is a rant about something that's been bugging me for days.)

When I was driving to a cake delivery last weekend, I listened to a This American Life podcast called "No Map."

Both sections were really hard to take (and I'm a fairly liberal person).

The first was about the foreclosure crisis, and how it would be really helpful for everyone involved if the banks would just cut deals with the troubled homeowners. One main complaint seems to be that home prices increased, owners refinanced and took out piles of cash to buy cars, or remodel, or take trips or whatever. Then the market crashed, and the homes aren't worth the refinanced amount. And now the owners only want to pay for what the house is worth.

Really?

This seems unbelievably irresponsible to me. Like people that rack up a ton of credit debt and then declare bankruptcy (or cut deals with the banks) and wipe it all out and start over. If your house value increases in the next few years, are you going to go BACK to the bank and say, "Hey guys, my home's now worth twice as much - PLEASE let me double my payment to you!"? One of the creditors was talking about going through bank statements, and how clients were all "Waa - I can't afford to make my payments!" but still had gym memberships, cable tv, went out to restaurants regularly - you know, the basic rights of every 'merican. WHAT the WHAT? I KNOW this is a fraction of the problem - there are legitimate issues like job losses, medical crises, broker scams. But in THESE types of cases, people need to suck it up and be responsible for their actions. Move into a rental. Buy a smaller house. TURN OFF THE CABLE AND READ A BOOK. C'mon.

The second part was about this company which arranged international adoptions, only it turns out that they weren't honest with anyone - they lied to the birth families about when and where their children were going, and they lied to the adoptive parents about the circumstances of the children's lives and family situations. And the main guy in the story, Mike, realizes that this is wrong, and works really hard to find the birth family of his little girl and get her home. The problem with this segment was, EVERY OTHER FAMILY INVOLVED thought it was their right to keep the child. "We're givin' her a better life," one says. Um, that shouldn't be your call to MAKE. That child was taken away from her parents, people who loved her and cared for her. Because she lived in a grass hut and you have McDonald's, this makes you a better provider?? Cultures, thank goodness, are incredibly diverse, and the fact that you can KNOW that the child sitting in front of you has FRANTIC parents who want him or her back and you won't help? Is appalling.

Usually TAL makes me laugh, or cry, or generally be glad that I had an hour to listen. This one made me wish we'd all take a long second look at this modern society of ours. And maybe work a little harder to improve it.