I am a tile & stone contractor who typically remodels kitchens and bathrooms for middle-income homeowners. For three months earlier this year I worked on a major house remodel for a owner-builder. When my work was completed, I submitted my bill of $25,000 and was shocked to learn the owner had no money left to pay me; he had over-spent his budget. He would pay when the house sold... making me a de facto investor in his speculative real estate. I was not happy, but could do little but wait.
The house did not sell, even after the price was lowered over $500,000. I began a lawsuit against the owner, one of many he faced. He declared bankruptcy and I am told I will be lucky to get pennies on the dollar, if anything. Of course, my legal bills continue to mount. My wife and I have realized that instead of having a second child, we will spend the next few years paying off someone else's debt.
The owner-builder who owes me has never apologized nor does he believe any of the trouble he has caused me is his fault. It is simply a "difficult real estate market and I should better understand how the world works", in his words.
All last week and for the foreseeable future, the Bush Administration finally began addressing the financial crisis and possible financial collapse. We are told that only with a huge infusion of taxpayer money can the severity of the financial meltdown be reduced. Unstated but inevitable is that taxes will have to be raised and there will be little chance of improving health care, education, major investing in renewable energy, or anything else vital to our future.
I did not invest in speculative real estate. I do not own stocks and bonds. I was not spending money borrowed from home equity on useless consumer items... yet twice in six months I am the one TOLD (not asked) to foot the bill for the excesses of others.
Once the owner-builder's remaining assets work their way through bankruptcy, his secured creditors (i.e. the banks) will get what remains. The unpaid contractors, all small businesses, will get little or nothing. By everything I read on the government bailout of the mortgage meltdown, the banks and investment firms will get a blank check for a buyout of their speculative investing... making all of us involuntary real estate investors. After a long, painful shakeout, we taxpayers may see pennies returned on our dollars.
Please do not tell me that this mess was part my fault, or that I benefited by being employed during a construction boom. I was lied to and robbed and what happened was a crime. That our system fails to find the perpetrators, punish them and afford any resemblance of justice is a crime.
As the lawyers and bankers and brokers and elected officials all stand together and say that we have no choice but to fund this bailout quickly, fully, and without strings attached, well, I say:
F**k You. You Broke It, You Fix It.
... and while you're at it, pay for it out of your own rainy day fund. I'm already tapped out.
UPDATE: I have decided to present this idea as my formal proposal to resolve the financial crisis. The official plan is called:
"The F**k You, You Broke It, You Fix It Plan"
... and it consists of repeating the above statement to anyone asking for a bailout.