Michelle Malkin » “I will be damned if I ever ask another American to bail us out of our situation or to help us with our mortgage.”

“I will be damned if I ever ask another American to bail us out of our situation or to help us with our mortgage.”

By Michelle Malkin • March 5, 2009 11:24 AM

The letter of the day today comes from reader V. It will bring tears to your eyes and give you real hope. God bless you, V.:

I worked for a large bank for 10 years. The bank grew dramatically over the decade, and I put a large amount of my income into my 401(k) through the purchase of bank stock. (The bank was actively encouraging it’s employees to invest in it’s success). In the summer of 2007, I began to feel uncomfortable about the loans being made and about the manner by which the bank was maintaining it’s assets. Accordingly, I sold (so I was assured) the stock and transferred the funds into other investments. (I received a notice stating the the transfer was made, then received a notice that the transfer was in the process of being made). However, by March of 2008, it was clear that no transfer would take place. In May of 2008, the bank was taken over by the feds, and along with thousands of depositors and employees, I became an unsecured creditor. (Which meant that, much like in bankruptcy, I might someday see 2%-3% of the $600,000.00 [we] had saved for our son and daughter’s education and for our retirement).

The area my husband and I live in, Northwest Arkansas, was one of the fastest growing areas of the country for several years. It is the home of several great companies including Wal-Mart and Tyson. But it has been hit very hard by the economic downturn. After the bank closed I had a very difficult time finding work, but did eventually find employment for less than 1/2 of what I had previously made. Moreover, my husband’s job had become heavily dependent on the growth in the area, and he is now working to keep his head above water while adjusting his practice. We are now most likely upside down in our house and our mortgage has become tough to manage. (Thank God it is a fixed rate mortgage). To add insult to injury, our daughter started college this year and our son, god willing, will start college next year. However, I will be damned if I ever ask another American to bail us out of our situation or to help us with our mortgage.

I should have better diversified my 401(k). My husband should not have become so dependent upon the growth in the area. We are ultimately responsible for the mess we are in. If my husband and I have to live in his pick-up and get ready for work at the community gym, so be it. If we lose our jobs, we will move in with his mother, and he will hunt and I will garden. We have never been on unemployment, welfare, nor other assistance. We are Americans. Our ancestors fought in the American Revolution, the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and his brother fought in Vietnam. Our family has faced tougher foes than this economy and Barak Obama. We will do as True Americans do; we will not whine, we will persevere.

God Bless your good work, Michelle.

Posted in: Subprime crisis, Tea Party

Printer Friendly

comments (102)

trackbacks (9)

See what others have said

Note from Michelle: This section is for comments from michellemalkin.com's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that I agree with or endorse any particular comment just because I let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with my terms of use may lose his or her posting privilege.

Trackbacks

Trackback URL

Comments

« Older Comments

#101

On March 5th, 2009 at 7:19 pm, twofoot said:

Same as Steve said above. I am not from the NWA area, but I am not far from it as the crow flies. Anything Mrs TwoFoot and I can do to help.
#102

On March 5th, 2009 at 8:10 pm, zyzzyg said:

On March 5th, 2009 at 3:11 pm, Schweggie said: #86

When V mentions Barry, she is by then speaking in generalities, if we’re going to parse words. So in general, how about this, ‘a rising tide lifts all boats’. Seeing as how the Obama administration is clearly running the market into the ditch, can’t we assume Obama is a foe of sorts to everyone, as a crashing market will undoubtedly touch everyone?

On March 5th, 2009 at 3:07 pm, James Felix said: #86

Calling Obama her foe and blaming him for her situation are not the same thing. Valid reasons for considering him a foe include:
- His polices, which at this point actually seem intended to deepen and prolong our economic pain
- His budget, which will give hundreds of billions to nanny-state programs that she apparently holds in contempt.
- His party, which is full to the brim of the sort of tax cheats and theives that actually didcause this mess.

Believe me I understand each of your fears in saying what you did. And, not simply admitting that V. gave no specific reason for calling Pres Obama her foe.

V. told a very specific story from her past. She did not speak of the future and Pres Obama’s policies. She made no hint, or projection, about the impact of the coming Obama agenda on her current situation.

Yep, a crashing market under Pres Obama will affect everyone, but did it impact V. and her story?

Yep, if the situation continues, it may very well further impact V., me and you. Too bad she did not say so.

Fair enough, calling Obama her foe and blaming her situation on him are two different things. I agree, because I never suggested such a thing, but then why mention him and not explain why he is her foe?

My original question from Post #35 -
Why is Pres Obama a foe instead of the bank that screwed up her savings?

OH, yes because of what he will do in the future. Yet, that requires some kind of psychic talent, tarot card reading, and some serious assignment of what V.’s motives and meaning is, when she called Pres Obama her foe. Seeing as how she gave no reason. And that is all I am looking for. A reason. And, I am prepared to accept that there is no linkage between the story she told and calling Obama her foe.

Make all the assumptions you want about the future, assign motive to V. all you want, disconnect the apparent linkage between her story and calling Pres Obama her foe, and I still don’t get it. Why does she think Pres Obama is her foe? Because, she does not say why. We have to guess and speculate as to why. I am going to speculate, too. My guess is that he is too tall.

The Bank who screwed her out of her money is her foe.
#103

On March 5th, 2009 at 10:39 pm, havok said:

RSS…

We got into this mess by spending money we did not have on things we did not need. Now you want to spend even greater amounts of money we don’t have on more things we don’t need to get us out.

It won’t work. A depression is coming and people had best get ready to live a more simple life.

Also…you should remove ’skeptic’ from your name. You don’t seem to get what a skeptic is really about. Go read up on some Michael Shermer to get started.
#104

On March 5th, 2009 at 11:01 pm, rfjjulie said:

On March 5th, 2009 at 4:56 pm, RedDog said: #98

Thanks, I needed that!
#105

On March 6th, 2009 at 8:03 am, SDN said:

Reader V needs to walk down to the US Attorney’s office and file criminal charges against her employer and their agents. They broke Federal law by not conducting the transfer of the funds in the 401k in a timely manner. After that, a civil lawsuit on the same grounds.
#110

On March 9th, 2009 at 9:20 am, danigon said:

Take the unemployment if needed- you paid for it- if it is extra income- support conservative policy with it. Also if you have Social Security coming- take that you paid for it…support conservative policy with it as well- if you don’t need it for living costs.Your children need to apply for financial aid for college- they can get excellent education at most 2 year colleges…