This is the best image ever to describe why we are in trouble

[TwixVoy]

Says it all.....

[ZombieHorde]

1. The banks don't seem to be represented by that pic. nt

[TwixVoy]

2. Sure they do

or did you miss the AMEX card? The two go hand in hand.

[Stephanie]

3. I don't blame the borrowers for the banks' bait and switch predatory lending

Many people took the bait, got terms they believed they could pay off, then the rules were changed and suddenly they're being asked for enormous payments.

[TwixVoy]

6. Should never have in that position to begin with

Same as the people who were all over TV screaming that they were going bankrupt when gas hit $4/gallon while they were filling up their Hummer. Once you put your self in to a position where you owe your life to the banks and you are living that close to the edge you should NOT be surprised that the banks will pull the rug out from under you.

Don't play the game - do NOT get in debt regardless of if you can pay the damn monthly bill or not. They are out to screw you the moment you sign the paper rather you can pay it or not... and sadly too many people are so fast to sign that damn paper.

[Stephanie]

7. Many people didn't know that

You might have noticed, the credit card companies spend a lot of ad money trying to get you to believe otherwise.

[TwixVoy]

9. I blame both

I blame both the lenders and the borrowers. I have seen a great deal of gross negligence on both sides.

[Bluebear]

12. Blame away if it makes you feel better. Now, what to do?

[TwixVoy]

15. I have posted here numerous times about what to do next

The fact is credit is going to be widely harder to come by over the next several years... more so than people can even imagine right now. Unfortunately many people have gotten in to the positions of substituting low wages with credit.

Once that is no longer possible it won't be the end of the world, but it WILL lead to a drastic change in life style. We will be a poor nation. The middle class is going to get even smaller - drastically smaller I'm afraid. We no longer produce anything in this country anymore, and what we do produce is going to hell (i.e. cars).

We built up our entire economy on consumption - and consumption based on DEBT no less.

I work for a major national retailer. Do you know what we have been told from corporate for YEARS? "Push the credit card on the customer. Our research shows they will spend X percentage more with the credit card" Basically our entire "growth" as an economy has been fake. It has been based on "growth" because more and more credit became available.

Now that credit is drying up and we are going to see ZERO REAL growth in the economy. In fact we are going to see massive negative growth. This means job creation, for example, will be damn difficult.

So what to do now? Frankly, what we should have been doing 20 years ago. PAY OFF DEBT. Stop spending on credit. Stop shipping our production jobs out of the country. (too late on this one sadly) Cut back in ways no one wants to do - but they are going to have to. We are going to live poor. We lived on credit for far too long and now the time to pay up has come. A LOT of people are in denial about this, but it will be life for most of us for likely the next 15-20 years. We will be a poor country.

[Deja Q]

4. Hey, that's not Rihanna - want that to describe America, that has to be of her face too.

[panader0]

5. "Smoke 'em if you got 'em."

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

8. A Credit Card is merely the pink slip for your ass.

As soon as you have one, the banks own you and everything you make and they intend to exercise their rights as owners.

[jkshaw]

10. What exactly is she doing, and why does she have acne?

Signed, Behind the times. Or something.

[Thickasabrick]

11. Nice image but this one sums it up for me.....

It started when compensation stopped keeping up with productivity. People were forced into making "deals with the devil" and sub-prime credit cards and mortgages are born.

[Bluebear]

13. BRAVO!

[leftstreet]

14. BINGO!

"when compensation stopped keeping up with productivity"

:thumbsup:

[TwixVoy]

16. It is all linked together

It's unfortunate too many people can't see that. Why are people doing what my picture displayed? Because of what your picture displayed. Too many people ended up substituting low wages with credit. All the "growth" we have seen for the past 20 years has been fake. And now the house of cards is falling down....

[Double T]

17. OMG!!!! Not the lethal AMEX fix that needs to be completely repaid..........

within 30 days. It's almost UN-American!!!! Poor woman is a goner!!!! Quick, give me a bong hit so I can calm down.......

[TwixVoy]

19. If you had a clue what was going on these days

You would know that AMEX offers a FULL RANGE of REVOLVING credit cards. (a popular one you have probably seen on TV is AMEX BLUE) In fact, even the traditional pay in full charge cards (for example, AMEX GREEN) now offer an option to revolve your balance from month to month on request. Why do you think AMEX is asking for federal money? They got in to the revolving credit card game over ten years ago just like everyone else.

[Double T]

20. Better check your current facts. The AMEX world has also changed.

I try very hard NOT to be clueless, how about you?

http://wwwstayalive.blogspot.com/2008/10/american-express-in-trouble.html

[hay rick]

18. caption? smoking dope.