The bailout passed the House. Americans can hope for a renewed flow of credit, for better or for worse. We'll leave that for another post. My concern is to try to figure out who was responsible for this mess. So we'll take it piece by piece. Today, we'll discuss the American consumer.
As I've said before, all of the policy and political points that we discuss are so nuanced and so complicated, that to try to generate a simple response or solution to them can be irresponsible. That said, I believe that the American consumer has to share in the blame for this meltdown. By borrowing more than they could afford, and buying homes they had no business buying, these consumers helped create this mess. Case closed? Not really.
Here is the story of Addie Polk, from Reuters:
A 90-year-old Ohio woman, facing eviction from the home she has lived in for 38 years, shot and wounded herself this week, becoming a grim symbol of the U.S. home mortgage crisis.
Addie Polk was found lying on the floor of her home with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to her shoulder when police came to the home on Wednesday to serve an eviction notice, Akron police spokesman Lt. Rick Edwards said on Friday.
Polk survived the shooting and is being treated in a hospital.
It was the latest attempt by sheriff's deputies to evict Polk from her modest single-family home because she could not keep up with her mortgage.
"It appears they're evicting her over her mortgage. She's lived in the house, the neighbors said, something like 38 years and in the last couple of years fell prey to some predatory lending company or financial institution," Edwards said.
Local news reports said deputies had tried to serve Polk's eviction notice more than 30 times before Wednesday's shooting.
This woman was 90 years old. She had lived in her home for over three decades. And she was being evicted. I'm not certain, but I'd have to agree with Edwards on this one. This woman probably did fall prey to that kind of lending. But can you blame her?
We live in tough times; tough even for us, the younger generation. Imagine being a senior citizen, eating dog food and living on Social Security. Can you blame Addie for trusting someone to help her live out her last days in peace, with something to eat? She wasn't buying a mansion, she's was trying to save her home. In the end, she decided to take her own life.
What does that say about us? That in the greatest country in the world, the most powerful economic power of our time, Addie Polk has nowhere to turn. Forget consumer and Wallstreet blame.
Help Addie.