True, Sweet, Delightful, Agonizing

[elfs]

One minute and 45 seconds of news reporting that would be cute and funny if it didn't hurt all of us. (Well, okay, 99% of us.):

Bet Against The American Dream from Planet Money on Vimeo.

Comments

[gromm.livejournal.com]

Heh. Sounds remarkably like something straight out of The Producers.

At the same time, the American Dream has never been about borrowing lots of money to get "rich". It's been about scamming your neighbour into getting rich. :)

[darrelx.livejournal.com]

I like to believe the American Dream is about working hard so that someday, if you do it right, you can become rich.

It certainly isn't about getting handouts from your neighbor because your success isn't as good as theirs.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, no matter how hard you work, it's unlikely you'll ever become rich in the United States. You'll be lucky to hold your head above water. Our class mobility is less than that of freakin' Denmark.

And where the hell do you get the idea that CDS's were a product of Barney Frank? It looks more like JP Morgan Chase invented the CDS as a form of risk management (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7886e2a8-b967-11da-9d02-0000779e2340.html) in the mid 1990's.

[darrelx.livejournal.com]

My 2 siblings and I were raised in a 1-bedroom roach-infested motel room with a single hippy parent.

I taught myself computer and electronics technology and paid my own way through college by working multiple jobs.

I have been homeless as recently as 1994 when I was between jobs. shortly after, I moved into the litigation technology vertical market.

I have earned a 6-figure income the last two years, thanks to 25+ years of focusing my career goals, honing my skills, and working hard.

THAT is the American Dream.

As for that doofus Barney Frank, I was referring to his participation in creating the mortgage crisis by providing incentives for banks to issue bad loans to underqualified buyers by alowing them to asssign their risk over to Fannie/Freddie.

[mikstera.livejournal.com]

Do you believe that anyone and everyone can do what you did, and will have the same outcome that you had?

[darrelx.livejournal.com]

I belive that "anyone" can, yes, and that is the dream. Can "Everyone"?... of course not. But if there where a Caste system in place, NO ONE could.

Therefore, there is no caste system in place, as long as people are free to work for their own status elevation. I strongly reject any notion that a caste system exists and offer my own experience as evidence.

[darrelx.livejournal.com]

It's that "Credit Default Swap" portion that made this all possible... The one that Barney Frank and his socialist ilk spearheaded through "to make housing affordable by all". If it wasn't for that, the investments wouldn't have been risky to begin with, and the banks wouldn't have been encouraged to take advantage of the loophole created by socialist agendas.