Comments on: Faced with a more affordable lifestyle, Beverly Hills couple flees to Oregon

By: termie

termie — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 08:17:02 +0000

You know… making money and being concerned with image are actually mutually exclusive. I’ve found that hard work does the trickm but your result might vary.

Ayn Rand wouldn’t do anything but try her best to completely ignore the whiny soul suckers so she could take care of her own business.

By: Matt Mason

Matt Mason — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 03:16:23 +0000

What would Ayn Rand do? Probably what Bobby Jindal did a few nights ago. Rail against government and say that the marketplace (meaning unregulated corporations) will take care of all our problems.

By: queequeg

queequeg — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:18:25 +0000

I think the real problem is a combination of so many things that can’t simply be chalked up to the fault of the idiots who decided to take out an interest-only 50 year mortgage on a $1.25 million house with a $70k combined salary OR to the fault of the institutions that acted as enablers to walk them through what used to be a comprehensive, credit-checked process. It’s the lack of both sides’ responsibility that was the problem, resulting in a big bankruptcy party for both sides, and accelerating the downfall of the economy. Creating artificial distinctions between us and them helps no one.

And I’m with browne on the general MSM’s skewed perspective on the recession. It’s maddening that the media keeps finding it f’ing novel to feature stories on the downfall of the once rich – and not in a scheudenfraude kind of way.

By: David Markland

David Markland — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:22:46 +0000

Angelcityart: Great point!

I agree with Browne in questioning CNN’s judgement that this couple’s story is somehow reflective of the financial collapse. Which is what I was mocking in the first place.

But as Rodger points out, the lack of responsibility is the problem. There are, indeed, plenty of innocent victims out there – working stiffs who work pay check to pay check who’ve been laid off.

But among them I don’t count those who secured a loan from “predatory lenders.” I don’t doubt that the lenders are scumbags, but anyone who took on a loan to buy a new house when the costs were skyrocketing was not a “victim” to anything but their own bad judgement.

By: browne

browne — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 00:03:40 +0000

Wow, so you believe that the very rich had nothing to do with the economic melt down right now that it was that we weren’t saving for a rainy day. Are you aware that there are not jobs being created and there are people who have not had a job for months. Even if you did have money in savings in six months it would be gone and if you are older like the husband in this couple and making a better salary good luck. If you are older and was working in a blue collar job, good luck. I mean really…CNN is the authority now. Possibly you guys should check out the Economist to find out what’s been going on in your country, but the words are kind of big and there are no pictures, so keep watching CNN and Fox too!!!

By: angelcityart

angelcityart — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 21:03:40 +0000

The irony is that she’s a ‘financial manager’ with “meager savings”.

What kind of a manager is she? She couldn’t save any of her husband’s $100K?????? I bet their former clients are glad they’re living on a farm now!

By: rodger

rodger — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:43:36 +0000

This and all of the times before it was very clear that it was them who did this.

Browne, if I left a cookie jar on the kitchen table and my child, over the course of an afternoon, gorged herself on cookies to the point that she got a nasty tummy ache, who’s to blame? Me or the greedy sweet-toothed child? There is no them, there is only us. No one forced subprime mortgages on the public just as no one forced that child’s hand into the cookie jar. No one was forced into accepting credit cards so we could purchase items we realy couldn’t afford and no keen economist that I know of ever said, “What? You only have $10 million in life savings? Good God, man, you’re in trouble, you’d best invest that in the stock market for future security.”

Us, not them.

By: kint

kint — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:00:32 +0000

I agree with David as well.. although the article doesn't jibe completely with the iReport, which says the couple lived in West Hollywood. She works as a financial manager of some sort, and I'll guess conservatively she made $35k.. with his "over $100k salary," their combined income would be around $140k. From Beverly Hills to Hillbillies

By: frazgo

frazgo — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:21:25 +0000

I’m with you David, a large part of our problem is people living outside their means, finding ways to continually do so then it all came crashing in. Browne alludes to only a little bit of the problem. Where I sat in the cube-world its been snowballing for years, always finding a way to get more out of people so they could get rid of more of the payroll, all at the expense of those who could survive that toxic environment of the disposable employee. At some point it all crashes and burns, and we are seeing it on a global scale now.

Living within ones means, working to stay there is all we need to get back into balance.

By: browne

browne — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:54:49 +0000

What I’m waiting for right now is an editorial on how if we just believed in god more or were more moral or had family values that we wouldn’t be in La Crisis.