Log In | Register
91 Comments
PrintSuicides raise worries about recession’s real cost
Mon Nov 9, 2009 8:58 AM EST
msnbc.com Newsadvertisement
ELKHART, Ind. - Coroner John White is presiding over a sad tally in this northern Indiana county, tracking rising numbers of suicides he believes are linked to the lingering recession.
Rumors of an economic recovery may be whispered elsewhere, but here, where the downturn remains entrenched, 22 people have killed themselves this year, and two more cases were likely suicides, outpacing the county's annual average of 16 self-inflicted deaths.
In more than a quarter of the cases, White said, distress caused by job loss or financial failure was cited as the last straw.
“We have a real problem,” said White. “They left notes specifically stating that the reason they did this was because of the economy.”
Debra K. Gibbs, a 54-year-old homemaker in Goshen, in Elkhart County, didn’t leave a note. Instead, she simply sent her worried daughter out for soda pop on a summer morning — and then shot herself in the head.
Despondent over a pending home foreclosure and mounting bills, Gibbs took her life on June 23, the day after crews came to repossess her 2007 Chevy Malibu, the last purchase she’d made together with her late husband, Sam.
“She was doing everything she could to hold onto what was hers,” said Gibbs’ daughter, Rebecca Filley, 30, of Cassopolis, Mich. “This was a vivacious, very strong woman, and she was taken to her knees because of money.”
Spikes in Elkhart and elsewhere
The rise in suicides is alarming not only in Elkhart, which has been in recession since December 2006, but also in other regions of the country that also entered the downturn early, making this county of less than 200,000 a potential harbinger of similar deadly increases.
Federal figures on suicides during the current recession won’t be available for at least two years because of a lag in the way the deaths are collected and reported.
And, historically, only a slump of the magnitude of the Great Depression has had any overall effect on the nation’s suicide rates, which hovered in 2006 at 11.1 deaths per 100,000 people, totaling about 33,300 people a year, according to the American Association of Suicidology.
But in some U.S. communities that went into recession as early as 2005 or 2006, the ongoing crisis has been accompanied by a worrisome rise in suicide deaths. These spikes in suicides are especially notable because in most of the places hardest-hit by the recession, populations either held steady or dropped, census figures show.
“Everyone needs to be more aware with the stresses of 17 percent to 18 percent unemployment,” noted White, the Elkhart coroner. “Everyone really needs to be aware of what’s going on.”
Suicide experts say the reasons for taking one’s own life are complicated, and can’t be attributed to a single factor.
While there hasn't been a link between suicide rates and recent national recessions, which are declared based on many factors, there is a link with circumstances that come along with a recession, such as unemployment and home foreclosure, said John L. McIntosh, a professor of psychology at Indiana University at South Bend who researches suicide trends. Individually, people who’ve lost jobs commit suicide at rates two times to four times as high as those who are employed, the suicide association notes.
Medical and law enforcement officials who’ve watched the rise of suicides in their own communities say they can’t help but see a link with the downturn. “We’ve had many situations where people lost their jobs and that was the reason for why they do what they do,” said Sheriff Mark A. Hackel of Macomb County, Mich.
In that county of about 830,000, 81 people on average committed suicide each year between 1979 and 2006, records from the federal Centers for Disease Control show. But the figure jumped to 104 in 2008 and to 178 in the first seven months of 2009, a rise that has left Hackel’s deputies scrambling to respond to near-daily calls about suicide attempts.
In a county where unemployment still tops 18 percent, nearly twice the national rate, Hackel said he expects the trend to continue.
“I try to be hopeful, but I have a feeling we’re going to be dealing with this for a long time,” Hackel said.
Data on every U.S. county
You can see the suicide rate for U.S. counties for 1979-2006 in these PDF files:
Foreclosure notice triggers tragedy
In Columbiana County, Ohio, a rural community of about 108,000, the number of suicides has averaged 12 a year since 1979, according to the CDC. Suicides jumped to 14 in 2007 and to 21 in 2008. By June, there already had been 11 suicides in 2009, a spokesman for the coroner’s office said.
That tally included Betty J. Lipply, 72, of East Palestine, Ohio, who died Jan. 24, within days of receiving a foreclosure notice on the house her husband had built himself for their retirement. A family lawyer said she used an electrical cord to hang herself from a support beam in the garage.
“She just had to have been so depressed that no one knew just how severe it was,” said Lipply’s daughter, Sherrie Blum, 52, of nearby Darlington, Pa. “This was not my mom. Her family was her life.”
Robert B. Holman, the lawyer, said Lipply and her husband, Robert Lipply, also 72, were victims of a predatory lending scheme that used an inflated appraisal to authorize a home loan that the Lipplys could not repay. Holman filed a lawsuit on the couple’s behalf, but said the action is languishing in county court.
Blum blames the finance officials who approved the loan for her parents’ financial situation — and for her mother’s death.
“It’s been very hard on me. I’ve lost my best friend,” she said. “It upsets me, the fact that people do this to the elderly and then just take total advantage of them.”
Another Michigan community, Kent County, with a population of about 605,000, went into recession in September 2006. The county posts an average of about 47 suicides per year. But in 2008, there were 66 suicides, and in the first seven months of 2009 alone, there already had been 41 suicides, records showed.
Since then, it’s continued to go higher, reported Dr. Stephen D. Cohle, a forensic pathologist and the county’s chief medical examiner, rising to 57 suicides by the end of September, when the jobless rate was nearly 12 percent. In at least seven of the cases, there was some indication that the deaths were related to unemployment or financial trouble.
“It’s going up, and it does certainly correlate with the bad economy,” Cohle said.
They included an unemployed 52-year-old Sparta, Mich., man who hanged himself on New Year’s Day because he was “despondent over financial stress,” according to a case report. A 45-year-old Grand Rapids man shot himself in June after telling family members he was overwhelmed with credit card debt. And a 31-year-old Kentwood, Mich., man hanged himself in August in the wake of a home foreclosure and looming bills.
Economy only one factor
In many of those cases, however, the people who died by suicide suffered from depression and other emotional ills in addition to having financial problems, Cohle noted.
That’s an important point emphasized by suicide experts, who say it’s too easy to blame a slumping economy for the rise in deaths. McIntosh, the psychology professor at Indiana University at South Bend, says economic pressures simply increase the pool of people vulnerable to suicide.
“There are more of them that are closer to the edge,” he said.
Typically, a combination of conditions and events — depression combined with difficult personal relationships combined with a job loss, for instance — is what drives people to take their own lives.
“It’s an accumulative effect,” said Cathy Blum, a counselor in Elkhart who often works with people at risk for suicide and with the families of victims. “It’s like you have a glass of water and you’re dripping drops of water into and then it spills over. Perhaps unemployment is the final drop.”
While the impact of economy-related suicide on victims and their families is profound, detecting the effects on the larger society is difficult. An msnbc.com analysis of suicide data and economic data in U.S. metropolitan areas between 1994 and 2005, the period for which records were available for both economic factors and suicides, found no correlation between recent economic downturns and self-inflicted death.
That’s a conclusion shared by experts, including the American Association of Suicidology. Suicide rates did increase during the Great Depression, rising to a rate of 17.4 suicides per 100,000 people, but subsequent recessions have shown no clear association.
Could this recession be different?
But this recession could change that, McIntosh said. The depth and the breadth of the current downturn might be strong enough to nudge the national figures above the 2006 figure of 11.1 deaths per 100,000 people, he suggested.
“My guess is that it will be 12 or 13 by the time we’re done,” he said. “If it went up 1 per 100,000 or even 2, that would be a significant change.”
Worries about a national rise in suicide are shared by government officials who’ve been tracking suicidal tendencies — and trying to prevent deaths. A sharp rise in calls to suicide hotlines this year — from about 39,000 calls in January to 57,000 calls in July — prompted an infusion of more than $1 million in additional money to fund up to 20 crisis centers facing the biggest upticks.
About 30 percent of the increased calls were related to economic problems, noted Richard McKeon, the lead adviser for suicide prevention for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which helps pay for prevention.
“Our best assessment is that there is a relationship between economic distress and suicide, but it’s a complex relationship, not one that we would over-simplify,” McKeon said.
Preventing economy-related suicides requires the same skills and services as other suicide interventions, including 24-hour crisis lines, access to mental health counselors and to treatment programs to help with the drug and alcohol problems that often lead to suicide attempts.
‘What else can we be doing?’
But in an economic crisis, cities, counties and state programs that provided such help are cutting back, McIntosh said.
“I worry that people are trying to find places to cut their budgets,” he said. “There’s a great concern that we’re lowering our resources at the time we really need it.”
That’s a worry in Elkhart County, where the most recent suicide on Oct. 3 brought the likely tally to 24, which ties the region’s record for suicide deaths in a single year. The record year was 2007, after Elkhart first dipped into recession.
Crisis calls in the county are routed to a statewide hotline, because there isn’t enough money to staff a local line, noted Jim Smith, who coordinates a local suicide prevention coalition. People who’ve lost their jobs have usually lost health insurance, too, including coverage for mental health care.
Smith retains a list of counselors who’ll see suicidal people quickly and, sometimes, without charge. Members of his group speak out in public, hoping to reduce the stigma of suicide and to increase awareness of the warning signs. But he acknowledges it’s an uphill battle.
“We sit around and constantly ask: ‘What else can we be doing?’”
No bailout for suicide victims
People who’ve lost family members to suicides say what would have been most welcome is some last-ditch compassion from financial lenders.
Rebecca Filley says her Elkhart County family is still reeling after the loss of her mother, Debra Gibbs. She acknowledged that her mother hid her financial problems in an effort not to burden family members and then failed to address the desperate situation until it was far too late.
But in a country where big-name financial firms received government bailouts when they were in trouble, Filley said she can’t understand why there wasn’t more help for her mom.
“You’re talking about people who don’t have anything left and they’re taking away what little they have,” she said.
For Sherrie Blum, who is dreading her first Thanksgiving without her mother, the loss is particularly difficult when she hears people talking about economic recovery.
“I feel better as far as the people that have survived this and are able to go on,” she said. “But it don’t change for all the people that this has happened to. It’s not over for us.”
11 Votes- Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.
Published to:
- JoNel Aleccia's Column, All of Newsvine
- Groups: The Elkhart Project
- Regions: none
- Public Discussion (91)
What's this?
Who's leading the conversation?
This visualization below allows you to see the impact that each user
has on the current conversation.
The top row contains the group of users who have had the most impact, the 2nd
row the group of users who have had the 2nd most impact (et cetera).
Users with similar impact are grouped together, and the average score of the group
is shown to the left of the group. The author of the article is also shown on the
left, in their corresponding group.
Each user's score is based on the number of comments the user has made plus the
number of votes their comments have received. The scores are calculated relative
one another, so while their absolute value is not particularly important, their
relative difference does indicate a larger difference in impact on the conversation.
7.2
4.4
1.3
{"commentId":10572078,"authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
This is nothing new. Everytime there is a downturn, people commit suicide. If you lose your home to foreclosure because you had a subprime mortgage, move into an apartment. People who commit suicide due to economic reasons are simply stuck in a time warp where credit was flowing, a flashy home was the thing, big backyard barbecues were a sign of prosperity, SUV's parked in the drive, they strolled around with Coach purses, Gucci this and Gucci that, whipped out the credit card to pay for the new Wii game, Playstation 3, iPhone, ipod, Blackberry, uh...have I missed anything?
Poor people like myself are used to having nothing and so this recession is barely making a ripple in our pond. Stop putting such a big deal on owning a house. Save your money for a huge down payment and while you're saving, rent. Stop spending money on meaningless mess just because it's the "in" thing. Stop feeding into the "I gotta have it because my neighbor has it" mentality.
Basically, people need to realize what's important and materialistic, shiny, big and expensive bull$#!+ is not!!
{"commentId":10572078,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
- 6 votes
#1 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 10:18 AM EST{"commentId":10574973,"authorDomain":"ps-1459736"}
IIsabella- I get tired of hearing that crap - it's not true! I was renting a halfway decent apartment because I had 2 jobs!! I lost the 2nd job and had to move out. Don't stereo-type people.
{"commentId":10574973,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"ps-1459736"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10576540,"authorDomain":"cisler"}
I was wondering when the media would finally address this. As a resident of Kent County Michigan referenced in the article, I know plenty of people who have voiced those warning signs. The last couple paragraphs say it all to me:
"But in a country where big-name financial firms received government bailouts when they were in trouble, Filley said she can’t understand why there wasn’t more help for her mom.
“You’re talking about people who don’t have anything left and they’re taking away what little they have,”"
Those friggin mortgage companies that have screwed everyone are doing NOTHING to help people into lower interest rates. They'd rather get little to nothing in a foreclosure than help someone like me get a little lower rate I can manage, so they'll get their damn money and then some. GREEDY FRIGGIN BASTARDS!!! And FU to stinking BO & his administration for acting like they are trying to help us regular folk.
{"commentId":10576540,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"cisler"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":10577727,"authorDomain":"sam-1402511"}
ps-1459736 -
Isabella's not stereotyping, she's accurately describing the problem of the vast majority of people who are heavily indebted.
The fact is that the US economy is 70% consumer-purchase driven, and 70% (coincidental) also have chosen home purchase over renting.
Neither one is something that many of these people can afford, much less both!
US citizens need to stop spending money they don't have on things they don't need!
Even your situation was unavoidable: why would you choose to rent a place that required two jobs to afford??
Full disclosure: I rent a less than halfway decent apartment (structurally sound, but not quite level) in order to be debt-free. And yes, knowing that I will be able to retire by 60 at the latest makes the SACRIFICE all the more worth it.
{"commentId":10577727,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"sam-1402511"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10578800,"authorDomain":"wenesdae"}
issy im poor too and your point is valid although we arent talking about the ppl who knew full well they couldnt afford that house or pl who live beyond their means we are talking about ppl who were scammed and used and the government who rewarded the criminals
{"commentId":10578800,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"wenesdae"}
{"commentId":10572701,"authorDomain":"hootnei"}
At 44 years old, in the past year, I have lost 4 friends including one this past weekend to suicide. Yes it is a harsh desperate measure, but 3 out of the 4 were successful people faced with hard downturn. It's sad that our government helps out the big boys who have created this mess, but they don't really care or try to help out the middle class. I'm a small business owner and I'm borderline bankrupt....I have done everything by the rule book and I'm barely hangin on here in the construction field! My governor here in Massachusetts hasn't done a single thing to help our economy here, in fact right now they are voting to build a 9 million dollar foot bridge for Robert Kraft (owner of the Patriots) at the tax payers expense. It's ludicrous and these politicians had better get a hold of this problem and address it now! Instead of giving money to the big banks because they were "Too big to fail" they should have given each tax paying citizen $20,000.00! I know with that I could have payed off all my credit cards and other debts and had a few bucks to spend on items to get the economy flowing again. I'm pretty sure most people would have the same situation...banks would get their loans paid back etc...but no, they had to give it to the greedy 1% who have profited from it hugely and are not doing what they were supposed to do with it! Someone in the whitehouse needs to take accountability for this mess, but they won't which is why they all need to go....vote them out 2010 and 2012! R.I.P to the poor desperate suicide victims and their families....wake up america! It's time to step up to the plate!
{"commentId":10572701,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"hootnei"}
- 6 votes
#2 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 10:50 AM EST{"commentId":10575047,"authorDomain":"ps-1459736"}
Well said! We should start a support group so we don't become another#!
{"commentId":10575047,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"ps-1459736"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10575514,"authorDomain":"smick57668"}
I second that idea! It is a sad, sad day when people truly feel that they have no way out of their predicament and become so overwhelmed by their troubles that they can't see even a speck of hope anywhere, and subsequently take this route. It is also a blatant symptom of a government that simply does not care about its people any more. There are people in Illinois who have lost everything and are living in anything from their cars and campers to storage units. There was a story about this in the Chicago Sun-times last week. I am appalled at what I see happening in this, my native country. This should be a wake-up call for all of us, not just another news story.
My heart goes out to those who are so desperate that they see no alternative to ending their lives. Please, please, please -- if you have family members who are in this predicament, take them in and talk to them, help them find another way.
{"commentId":10575514,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"smick57668"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10581527,"authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
Just another #, here in Minnesota our politicians voted to inact a sales tax on purchases of $20.00 or more to pay for a new Minnesota Twins Stadium and yet many of the residents of Hennepin County who are affected by this sales tax have had their health care yanked from them. Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty slashed the hell out of the Health and Human Services Budget at a time when people need it the most. Now, he's in Iowa having the nerve to speak on health care issues when he cut medical services to the developmentally disabled, people who are so disabled that they cannot even feed themselves. The poor and vulnerable have always bore the burden of budget cuts because we have no voice since we can't pad the pockets of politicians, especially when they're gearing up to run for a higher office which seems to be the case with our piss poor excuse of a governor.
Smokeysmom, there have been people living on the streets, homeless for many years. Many are mentally ill, single mothers with children, battered women escaping their abusive husbands, etc., but only now does the media pay any attention to an issue that has been plaguing America for decades. Where was the outcry before the recession for people who had lost everything? When it affects the poor, the poor are just supposed to be used to it, but we can't have this happen to the upper middle class. All of a sudden, it's not right. Well..it hasn't been alright for the Joes, Janes and little Sallys who have been living underneath bridges all these years, they were simply overlooked. They didn't commit suicide and they had nothing. However, let's report on people who previously had fine homes who lost them and because they can't face poverty, commit suicide. The saying is true, "only the strong survive," and the only way you're going to become strong and survive is to realize that life is not always going to be a walk on the beach. Unfortunately, it seems that many of these people thought it would be.
{"commentId":10581527,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
{"commentId":10573478,"authorDomain":"lisawilkins"}
Just another #-Sorry to hear about your problems. You live in a liberal democrat state so I'm not surprised to hear about the foot bridge. Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, Gregory Meeks and the rest of the liberals in Washington felt that if you want a house, you should have it even if you couldn't afford it. They helped to bring down the world financial market (and greedy wall street, taking advantage of investers). If we look at the REAL problems of this country, they can all be traced back to libs and their entitlement programs. From the fall of the family unit (who needs a daddy to support us-We got welfare) to the crime rates in cities (poor criminals-they were abused as children so they should have more rights than law biding citizens) etc. I am glad to see that we are a right of center country. We have allowed ourselves to be run in to the ground by the Liberal agenda. But now they have gone too far. As honest, hard working people we are being punished for working hard and taking care of our own. The libs want to take what little we have left and give it to those that won't work as hard. I hope that everyone that has lost a job or owns a small business finds the strength to ride this out. Things will get better for the hard working American when we get the Liberals out and get our country back to work again. NO INCUMBENTS IN 2010-MAKE THIS YOUR PLEDGE.
{"commentId":10573478,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"lisawilkins"}
- 5 votes
#3 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 11:29 AM EST{"commentId":10575087,"authorDomain":"didi-paano"}
Yeah, let's blame it on the liberals and totally forget that the Republicans were the ones that were around for the past 8 years and didn't do much to change the situation! Give me a break and quit blaming the liberals!!
{"commentId":10575087,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"didi-paano"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":10573986,"authorDomain":"peach4441"}
hussein obama is to blame for no recovery. All he is focused on is cramming government run healtcare down our throats. There has been no job creation, no nothing. Tax and spend, tax and spend, and POWER is all this socialist can think about. obuma, soros, axelrod, and geinther are determined to bring down America. The GOP WILL take back Congress in 2010
wrOng
for America
{"commentId":10573986,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"peach4441"}
- 3 votes
#4 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 11:53 AM EST{"commentId":10574907,"authorDomain":"RMorris904"}
Suzy - the huge mess we are in now was inherited by Obama when he took office and there is no way he, or anyone else could have, clean up this mess overnight. Just like, if you were to gain 100 pounds over the course of a year, it would take you a long time to take the weight back off. As long as the Republicans keep fighting him on every turn, with everything he wants to do to help the economy, instead of offering suggestions on what may work instead, we will only get worse. The greed got worse when Bush was in office. Obama just wants the middle class to stop suffering as much as we are. Many companies have stopped paying the middle class what they are actually worth, because they can. This is only adding to the bad economy as many of us do not make enough money to even cover basic expenses let alone, cover any major health issues that can arrise. Even with health coverage, many times, your twenty percent is way more than you can afford and I've seen medical costs force a lot of people into bankruptcy. I also agree with Obama that pre-existing conditions should be covered and not denied. What is going on right now takes more than just a very large bandaid. Some things will have to fix themselves as time goes on. Obama can only do so much.
Do you have any ideas yourself on how to quickly fix this bad economy we are in that you would like to share?
{"commentId":10574907,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"RMorris904"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":10575045,"authorDomain":"RMorris904"}
I thought of something else. We are our own worse enemy in this big mess. Many of this, we've brought on ourselves with our own greed. Also, until we learn to get over being afraid and paranoid all the time, we will not come out of this. Its been said that the recession is over, yet companies are still afraid to re-hire again. The more people are working and the more people are actually making what they are worth and the less greed by big corporations, the sooner we can fix this broken economy. We cannot blame the President for everything. We all need to do our part as well and we've been put on this earth to help each other out, not claw each other's eyes out.
{"commentId":10575045,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"RMorris904"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":10575110,"authorDomain":"didi-paano"}
Waaah, Waaaah, Waaaah -- my candidate didn't win, so I'm going to blame it on the current administration! Get a life!
{"commentId":10575110,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"didi-paano"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":10574031,"authorDomain":"pewee"}
There are alot of people who see suicide as the only answer. (Myself included) Any suggestions on how to get out of a bad financial situation?
{"commentId":10574031,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"pewee"}
- 2 votes
#5 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 11:55 AM EST{"commentId":10574863,"authorDomain":"ps-1459736"}
I am trying to figure that out myself Terri. I want to pay my bills but my car has needed a ton of work. You can try bankruptcy or consolidating bills. I have done bankruptcy in the past but it doesn't look good for your credit history. Try not to think of suicide as a way out. We have to hang in there!
{"commentId":10574863,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"ps-1459736"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10575227,"authorDomain":"RMorris904"}
Terri - suicide is not the answer. I am in a bad place myself, as the thought had crossed my mind as well, with huge credit card debt, student loans, car payments and my car needing work. My job had cut out overtime and cut our wages. I ended up going to my church for help, which is the United Church of Christ. They helped me pay a past due heat bill, electric bill and even helped us with food. My Pastor was real understanding as he's had his back against the wall himself. Try visiting some churches around where you are to see if they can help.
Also, I am going to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer myself and start the filings. Bankruptcy is not the end of the world and if it is your only option, do not be afraid to to talk to a bankruptcy lawyer and file but please do not consider ending your life. That is not the answer. This situation is only a temorary situation and we will come out of this recession. If you end your life, that will be permanent. Please rethink this. You are a gift from God and you are needed here still. Peace be with you, Terri.
{"commentId":10575227,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"RMorris904"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10575511,"authorDomain":"common-sense-1234"}
Terri,
My only suggestion would be to humble yourself, and live as lean as you can until you can get back on your feet. Also, try and live with relatives or friends if possible so you can better pool your resources.
In 2008 I went through a bankruptcy, foreclosure, and divorce. Needless to say, not my best year. But, I'm not looking to place blame. While some circumstances may have been out of my control, the bulk of blame is my own.
In the immortal words of Bob Dylan "when you aint' got nothin' you got nothin' to loose." I'm finally learning just exactly what those words mean. Loosing everything can bring despair, but in a somewhat ironic way, it can also be liberating.
Even if I end up in a shelter, or on the street and begging for food, I won't give up. Besides, I really think some kind of grass roots revolution is right around the corner. I guess I've always just been too curious to see what will happen next to end it all.
{"commentId":10575511,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"common-sense-1234"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10575627,"authorDomain":"smick57668"}
Terri, please find a bankruptcy lawyer to help you. You can repair your credit later, and filing bankruptcy will alleviate your financial distress. Suicide is NOT the answer. If you don't go to church, maybe now is a good time to do so and just try talking to the pastor or the priest. We are all stressed out about money and a lot of other things.
PLEASE DO NOT TAKE SUCH AN IRREVERSIBLE ROUTE. FIGHT BACK, STARTING NOW.
{"commentId":10575627,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"smick57668"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":10575649,"authorDomain":"groucho-1"}
Bill consolidation - I can recommend an outfit called NovaDebt. Three years later and I'm completely credit-card debt-free. I'm not richer but I don't have those hideous calls and bills hanging over my head anymore. It's possible.
{"commentId":10575649,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"groucho-1"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10576418,"authorDomain":"hollybo"}
Some great ideas... and they're right Terri...suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. As someone who works in community mental health I see every day people who are considering suicide for many different reasons..it is just NOT the answer...just find someone to talk to about how you're feeling.
{"commentId":10576418,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"hollybo"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10577542,"authorDomain":"treason7"}
Bankruptcy is not that bad when you consider folks coming after you like Vultures. Having no burdens is better than having Vultures. Very much worth going thru! Getting your life back is what counts most.
{"commentId":10577542,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"treason7"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":10577873,"authorDomain":"hodg1687"}
Terri....Don't commit suicide. The hell with the bills...Go to the doctor and get depression medication...it works. Take any work you can get. Stop all bad habits like cigarettes, alcohol, illegal drugs. Live with relatives and friends. Move to a state with a warm climate. People are pulling for you. Just look at the responses on Newsvine.
{"commentId":10577873,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"hodg1687"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10581928,"authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
Teri, I left an abusive husband in 1994. I just up and left, moved to a state where I knew no one. I only had $700.00 to my name. I had to make payment arrangements with a landlord because I could only get temp work and the hours were only 20 per week. I caught the flu, but still went to work feeling like my head weighed 3,000 lbs. I left work and went home and found that my apartment building was in flames. I thought it was the end of the world, a 20 hour a week job, had the flu and was now homeless. The Red Cross put me up in a motel for a night, gave me a voucher for 15 Big Macs and told me to be out by the next morning.
I called a local news station, was on the 11pm news and the calls came pouring in with offers of clothing, places to stay until I could get on my feet, the place that I was temping at hired me and took up a collection for me and I got back on my feet. Even homeless people who had seen me on tv at the shelter walked up to me on the street trying to give me the money they had begged and received. Of course, I wouldn't take any money from them.
The point that I'm trying to make is that just when things seem to be at their darkest, there's a light just around the corner, so don't commit suicide before you turn that corner and there's YOUR light! Think about it! I've now dedicated my life to helping the homeless and others because I know what it feels like to lose the only thing I did have, a roof over my head. Many days I would go without food because I had to try and pay the rent and keep the lights on. My first electric bill was a turn-off notice, so please don't think that you're alone.
Be glad you're alive and when you look back on this, just remember it for what it was, a bit of a down turn. I hate analogies, but life is like a rollercoaster ride, ups and downs. You cannot be up all the time and you cannot be down all the time. Ride it as it comes and hold on!!!
{"commentId":10581928,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10574373,"authorDomain":"sam-1402511"}
Isabella, you have a great analysis of this.
Furthermore, I would add that while I don't wish suicide on people, don't get fooled by what I call point-in-time compassion.
There's a high likelihood that people who have more debt they can afford now, were overspending all along. In essence they dug their own graves with eating out, big TV's, and I'll write it again: family sizes they could not afford.
Lack of financial understanding and discipline, and Isabella's observation of reckless consumerism are ACTIVE choices, you know.
{"commentId":10574373,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"sam-1402511"}
- 3 votes
#6 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:11 PM EST{"commentId":10575357,"authorDomain":"RMorris904"}
Sam - this is not always the case. Not all of us spend recklessly. Not all of us own big screen TVs or fancy cars and such. Many times, bad things happen to good, responsible people and they end up not being able to keep up. Also, many businesses have stopped paying employees what they are worth and many people cannot even afford just basic living expenses. In fact, most of the time, this is the case. I know several people with college degrees that were hard working and responsible in a bad place right now thanks to the economy. It is too easy to judge right off the bat when someone is going through a tough time but the truth of the matter is, the poverty level is extremely high right now and several are suffering badly as a result of it.
{"commentId":10575357,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"RMorris904"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":10576611,"authorDomain":"sam-1402511"}
Ruthie -
Do you own a home or rent? I would submit to you that subconscious entitlement mentality has gotten way too many people into the belief that they should own a home, without ever realizing how expensive it is to own one ( furnishings, taxes, repair and maintenance).
That's the problem with so many who respond to my observations as you do. You think the high expense of home ownership should be dismissed when talking about resulting financial woes. OK, maybe you don't have a big TV or fancy cars, but you've got the biggest expense there is: a home!
Rent is not a four letter word, and yes, that's what I do. And because of that, I've gots lots o' money in the bank. But renting is beneath so many of you, right?
You people have no savings: how on earth are you going to live in your retirement years without money???
People really, really need to challenge their assumptions as to what they think is a legitimate expense for whatever income level they are at. And again, that means the big two of expenditures: home ownership and family size.
{"commentId":10576611,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"sam-1402511"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10578075,"authorDomain":"hodg1687"}
Sam...Home ownership is the American dream. If you are going to live in an area for more than two years buy a home. I am not saying buy something you cannot afford. When you rent you are not getting equity in anything. Rents will go up but your paycheck may not. Don't put second mortgages on your home. Stay away from ARM's, no interest loans, and other such nonsense. Look for price, location, and condition. I lived in a small two bedroom home for 27 years. I paid the 30 year mortgage off in five years. Now I live in a great home but it sure helped living below my means for 30 years.
{"commentId":10578075,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"hodg1687"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10574499,"authorDomain":"chrisgeleven"}
I lost my cousin nearly 2 years ago to suicide. We were very close growing up, even graduating together in the same class. Kind of like a sister that I never had (I had only 2 brothers).
She lost her social work job due to budget cuts (they kept the social workers who were bilingual) and went on EIGHTEEN interviews trying to get a new job, but lost out on every opportunity due to the worsening economy that gave these social work opportunities more highly qualified candidates. Due to medical conditions and no health insurnace, she couldn't afford her medicine to keep her diabetes under control. From what I have learned, she slowly spiraled out of control and finally gave up.
I never knew any of this was going on and was heartbroken to have lost her. I had pretty much lost contact with her, but I figured it was just two people working hard and our paths never crossed. Turned out, her troubles kind of just caused her to withdrawal from her family.
I know for one thing, I try to keep in touch with everything I care about now, even if they are far away or are busy, because I do not want to be blindsided by someone leaving me again.
{"commentId":10574499,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"chrisgeleven"}
- 2 votes
#7 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:17 PM EST{"commentId":10574691,"authorDomain":"ps-1459736"}
I live in Ohio and it is horrible here. I am lucky I still have a job but the economy has affected me regardless. I now live in an efficiency. I feel pretty much like a homeless person and barely make it pay check to pay check. I have been horribly depressed and have little support. Sadly, I can relate to how these people feel. I hope there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
{"commentId":10574691,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"ps-1459736"}
- 1 vote
#8 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:25 PM EST{"commentId":10574699,"authorDomain":"RMorris904"}
You cannot just blame the Democrats for this mess we are in and with the foreclosure crisis as well. There is plenty of blame to spread around on that one, as the Democrats, Republicans, banks and the people who took those loans are all to blame. Greed had a big hand in this mess we are now in.
Lets stop with the mud slinging and labels. Until Democrats and Republicans learn to work together for the sake of the good and stop this mud slinging back and forth, this is only the beginning of horrible horrible things to come our way.
{"commentId":10574699,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"RMorris904"}
- 4 votes
#9 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:25 PM EST{"commentId":10574781,"authorDomain":"nixon99"}
I don't mean to be cruel, but I think I'm being realistic when I say that the only person whom you can depend on is you. People keep asking why doesn't the government do something to help out my mom or the other average people instead of bailing out the big financial institutions, but I think the obvious answer would have to be because you and I as an average person don't matter to the whole of society. If you or I die today, the only people that would be affected are a few family and friends, but as a whole our death would not even create a ripple in the fabric of the larger society. The big institutions have an overall effect on the whole nation, and that is why they get the money.
I think the lesson from all of this is that you should live simply and make sure you store up your resources for winter, metaphorically speaking. People have their own issues to deal with, and if you cannot take care of yourself, nobody is going to come to your aid. Aside from family and friends if your lucky, nobody cares.
{"commentId":10574781,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"nixon99"}
- 2 votes
#10 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:28 PM EST{"commentId":10577917,"authorDomain":"canhardlystandit"}
I TOTALLY agree! People, we are just a number here -yes it is sad to say but it is true! Our government only cares about us when we owe them something - like taxes. It's not democrat or republican politicians...it's ALL OF THEM! We just have to vote out everyone and start over! It is the only way in this day and age that we can get our message across. Big money will keep taking care of big money. Our government tells us to live within our means - but THEY CAN'T! We have to send a message to STOP SPENDING FRIVIOUSLY!!! POLITICIANS...... ARE YOU LISTENING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE? WE ARE TIRED OF YOU WASTING OUR MONEY!!!!!!!
Folks, we have to help each other when we can...remember there is ALWAYS someone out there with less than you.
{"commentId":10577917,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"canhardlystandit"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10574822,"authorDomain":"laine-the-red"}
Wow! What a mess! Everybody wants to blame somebody. Economic hard times are just part of the equation. Hard times and good times come and go.
I forget exactly who said it but there is an old quote: "Those who don't understand history are domed to repeat it..." or close to that anyway.
Help a neighbor out... be aware of your parents, friends and relatives problems and do what you can. Maybe it will just make the difference in someone killing themselves or not.
Quit looking to the government for solutions. They obviously are not up to the task. Do what you can yourself. Everyone is hurting be flexible.
Most Americans are still rich by world standards... remember we are a blessed country.
"Love God and Love your neighbor as yourself" and everything will come around. The cycle is just the cycle don't get caught in it.
{"commentId":10574822,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"laine-the-red"}
- 1 vote
#11 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:30 PM EST{"commentId":10574939,"authorDomain":"HSB-1197388"}
I'd rather be homeless and hungry than dead. Having been both homeless and hungry long ago, I can state that as fact. Others would rather die than be poor, especially if it meant being on the street and possibly eating out of trash cans. That has nothing to do with whomever resides in the White House (I know someone who committed suicide when the real estate bubble burst in late 2006/early 2007 and Bush was still in office for example).
For those who feel their financial situation is hopeless and there is no other way out, you're wrong. I'm living proof things can turn around, even if it takes a while. Hang in there. Better to be waiting in the soup line until the economy turns around (which it will) and you can start over, than to be taking a permanent dirt nap.
{"commentId":10574939,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"HSB-1197388"}
- 3 votes
#12 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:35 PM EST{"commentId":10582536,"authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
HSB, two thumbs up for your post. What you said was right on the money. "Others would rather die than be poor." That's the problem we have in America. We Americans have got to be the MOST materialistic people on the face of this planet. We look down on people who have nothing and then when it happens to us, we can't cope. "It can't happen to me" is the mentality. It's ok when it's the other guy, but when it's you, "oh hell no!"
I'm not a religious person by any means, but if people refuse to wake up to what is more important, there is obviously a way to wake you up and plenty of you are awake now, especially since many have lost jobs, homes, the very security that you thought you had, your savings, everything. Now, it's back to the basics for many and you're completely bewildered. In a sense, it's sad that it took so many people to lose everything they placed so much importance on and couldn't deal with it and then got to the point where the materialistic things that they lost became more important than their own lives because they just couldn't face being poor.
{"commentId":10582536,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
{"commentId":10575004,"authorDomain":"needprohelpsoflorida"}
I have been thinking about a lot of things and even done some planning.
Where can you get help if you don't have money? I would like to talk to a Psychiatrist. Where can I go without any money? I am in South Florida.
{"commentId":10575004,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"needprohelpsoflorida"}
- 1 vote
#13 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:38 PM EST{"commentId":10575594,"authorDomain":"groucho-1"}
See below - many places have sliding scales and foundations that can get you free help if you're that broke. There's stuff in place for you, honest - make the calls!
{"commentId":10575594,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"groucho-1"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10575718,"authorDomain":"smick57668"}
You can go to a church or a synagogue. If you are a veteran, you can apply for health benefits, which include counseling. Do it now. There must be a drop-in center in your area. If nothing else, your county should have health care services like Medicaid, so go and apply for that.
{"commentId":10575718,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"smick57668"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10576655,"authorDomain":"hollybo"}
NeedProHelpSoFlorida....go to the link below to find state funded mental health services for your specific area....and congratulations on taking the first step...asking for help is a great sign
http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/databases/facility-search.aspx?state=FL&fullname=Florida
{"commentId":10576655,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"hollybo"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10577189,"authorDomain":"needprohelpsoflorida"}
Thank you. I will try to get help. This is all I asked for. Obviously some other people think this is for fun and jokes.
{"commentId":10577189,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"needprohelpsoflorida"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10582666,"authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
NeedProHelpSoFlorida, also check the yellow pages for"Social Service Organizations." There are many different types of organizations that can offer you a host of different services. Check to see if your local state aid office has what we have. It's called a "Handbook of the Streets" and it lists every type of help you could possibly need and I think many cities in many states have this type of handbook. My thoughts and prayers are with you!!!!!
{"commentId":10582666,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
{"commentId":10575043,"authorDomain":"Lisette53"}
INSANITY: It is not true that people affected by this downturn were necessarily overspending all along. Alot of us in the construction-real estate field were getting up everyday and working hard as we always do. My husband and I have no debt, no big screens, no fancy vehicles etc. But we are struggling to survive. One day we woke up at our usual 5:00 a.m. to go work our 16+ hour day and our world had changed overnight. Yes, the fact that we dont carry huge debt has saved us to a point but we can't go on forever like this-Our world was manipulated by the rich and they continue to get rich even after hard working people like us bailed them out. Obama did not cause this problem that is stupidity...this has been brewing behind the backs of the middle class for a long long time and the main reason was because the GOP's did not regulate the rich or big business machines...the rich cover for the rich... we, and generations to come will pay the price. WHile the top richest families are richer than ever and the poor are still poor
{"commentId":10575043,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"Lisette53"}
#14 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:39 PM EST{"commentId":10575092,"authorDomain":"michaelhgelman"}
I agree HSB-suicide is a "permanent solution to a temporary problem". Even though this situtation seems very permanent, it is not. Things will change-we have to be optimistic and it is hard. Our Heavenly Father said that we will have trials until it is time to take us home. We have to enjoy "Home" when we are here. If you kill yourself-you cannot longer enjoy a good meal, watch a sunset, laugh at a funny joke, smell Spring flowers, walk in the rain...It is all over. As people, we really have to be resiliient but it is hard when you are losing your home or your car as well as the rest of your money. But it is still better than losing your life.
{"commentId":10575092,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"michaelhgelman"}
- 1 vote
#15 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:41 PM EST{"commentId":10575235,"authorDomain":"lifewasted"}
Thanks to the NAFTA agreement, me and thousands of others have lost their jobs and their livelyhoods to forgin countries for corporation bottom line profits and executive bonuses. I feel that I was sold out by my own country and government. The issue and thoughts of suicide have been in the back of my mind for over a year to be honest. I, myself have very little to lose and based on this economy, corporate greed and the jobless rate, not anything to gain. I many cases, not only my experience, but my age has kept me from landing a job. College educated though I am, I cannot even get a job at K-mart, or a local store! Should I decide to take this route, I can tell you that the economic situation will have a lot to do with it. And it's not just about the money portion of it. It's a combination of all the rejection from prospective employers, the social impact being unemployed has, the feelings of aloneness, the ongoing increase of the uncertainty of tomorrow, the dependency on people to help you live, the stress on the people you love and care for, the frustrations of jumping through hoops trying to prove yourself fit for the workplace again and again, and the feeling of feeling "unemployable" that sets itself deeper and deeper into your psychee(sp), makes the alternative feel more and more welcome. I understand more and more about this sad thing called suicide, because I am living with it as millions are. What will place me over the edge...I cannot tell you, but I DO know that this edge is real and clear to me. Some country we live in eh?
{"commentId":10575235,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"lifewasted"}
- 3 votes
#16 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:48 PM EST{"commentId":10575855,"authorDomain":"empyrius"}
Right there with you man . . .
{"commentId":10575855,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"empyrius"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10578340,"authorDomain":"hodg1687"}
Hang in there Dave....Millions of decent Americans are in the same boat. Don't be one of the people who give up. Anyone thinking about suicide has their reasons and are probably depressed. Depression is a chemical imbalance of the brain. Go to the doctor and get medicine for depression. The money problems won't instantly disappear but the depression will be less. Suicide is not the answer.
{"commentId":10578340,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"hodg1687"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10583039,"authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
David, I feel your pain, however, I have been homeless THREE (3) times!!! I have lost jobs and worked temp jobs that didn't pay the rent, much less let me eat one meal. I've walked to my temp job with shoes that had no sole, worked on an empty stomach and had the flu and had no health insurance or benefits. I didn't even have a winter coat. Some guy that lived in the apartment building that I lived in saw me come home from work without a coat and gave me one of his and I was thankful to get it.
Even now, I live in a rundown apartment complex. My bedroom ceiling has fallen on me 5 times, I couldn't take a bath for 3 years(I did take showers)had no hot water for almost a month. Had no water at all on Christmas Day of last year, got hit by a car 2 years ago while crossing in a crosswalk by a hit-and-run driver so I received no money from that and I'm in pain every day.
However I am working two minimum wage jobs, have gotten the inspectors to get management to fix the problems and I'm only buying necessities, but NEVER in a million years would I contemplate suicide, that is the ultimate in giving up and I just refuse to do it!! Please!!!!!.... I ask you to seek help!!!
{"commentId":10583039,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10575299,"authorDomain":"groucho-1"}
What sort of moron would assign suicide to a political party? Seems to me the best way to avoid committing suicide would be to stop having anything to do with these ignorant comments!
{"commentId":10575299,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"groucho-1"}
#17 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:51 PM EST{"commentId":10575359,"authorDomain":"vivian2"}
It's your friends and family you have to care about. So don't committ suicide if you care about the ones left behind. If this recession lasts into late next year or longer, what will people do, even the rich will get poorer and the hospitals will go broke because people without health insurance will not get surgeries etc.
{"commentId":10575359,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"vivian2"}
- 1 vote
#18 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:53 PM EST{"commentId":10575390,"authorDomain":"needprohelpsoflorida"}
I have a large life insurance policy that will pay even if suicide because I took it over 10 years ago. My suicide will be an emotional mess for my family but will solve all the "temporary" problems I have.
I don't want to do it but I NEED HELP and I can not get any. Conversations with friends and relatives are not helping me, just reinforcing that I am not going to "bounce back". I have said too much already. I am sick of waking up every morning. I just want to rest.
{"commentId":10575390,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"needprohelpsoflorida"}
- 1 vote
#19 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 12:54 PM EST{"commentId":10575558,"authorDomain":"groucho-1"}
Check in with your local mental health facility; don't be too afraid to mention you're suicidal (it may help you avoid having to go through a wait - every second is like 1000 years when you're depressed). There are people in the profession that can be of use to you. Take the time off that you deserve to go get some answers; they ARE out there, but everyone's different. You will find the solutions that work best for you, but only if you can take the step to make the phone call.
{"commentId":10575558,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"groucho-1"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10576805,"authorDomain":"hollybo"}
You need to call a crisis hotline.....1-800-273-8255 National Suicide hotline Please CALL NOW...don't wait any longer.
{"commentId":10576805,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"hollybo"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10577361,"authorDomain":"mcgallagher"}
If I can get up after losing my job, my husband and need a transplant, you can get up too. Don't think in those terms. I know what it's like to be depressed but I know all this stuff passes and one day the sun shines again. If you commit suicide, your family never gets over it, it will affect them everyday of their lives. Get out of the pity mode, I don't have anyone to talk to either, but I sure do talk to God alot. I volunteer and that helps alot to get out of your own problems for a while and help someone else.
{"commentId":10577361,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"mcgallagher"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10575499,"authorDomain":"chuckmcnulty"}
americans are being treated like dirt in our country the president gave our tax dollars to the crooks in the banks and to show how grateful they are they raise all fee's they can think of and stick it to us . morgage lenders tell people who are gonna lose a home we can give you a ARM morgage which they know they can't afford when time comes to ajust. Q. WHY THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THE BANKS ARE STILL NOT IN JAIL YOU OR ME WOULD HAVE BEEN IN JAIL.Q. WHY THE LENDERS DOING THE SAME BAD PRACTICE ARE NOT IN JAIL WITH THEM. YOU KNOW THE ANSWER AND SO DO I PEOPLE WITH POWER DON'T GO BY OUR LAWS .. THEY ARE ABOVE THE LAWS WE WROTE .. WE NEED TO TELL THE PRESIDENT THEY ARE NOT IF THINGS ARE GOING CHANGE SO GOOD PEOPLE STOP KILLING THEMSELVES. PLEASE DON'T LET ONE MORE PERSON DIE FOR THE SINS OF OTHERS ..... WRITE OUR PRESIDENT AND TELL HIM NOT ONE MORE VICTUM BECAUSE OF THIS LAWLESS BUNCH THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART..
{"commentId":10575499,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"chuckmcnulty"}
- 1 vote
#20 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 1:00 PM EST{"commentId":10575585,"authorDomain":"donklaing"}
What the hell do you expect. Country has failed the dedicated hard working American. People will react differentlly. Insurance companies love it. Clause for suicide don't have to pay.
How can you anticipate these things? Kind of like how can you anticipate the real costs of the new Health bill their aggressively trying to pass. Let's get back to basics. Put Americans back to work with a quality of life we can enjoy and let us make our own decisions.
In God we Trust, who else is there?
{"commentId":10575585,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"donklaing"}
- 3 votes
#21 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 1:03 PM EST{"commentId":10575604,"authorDomain":"bblandino"}
It's very difficult when you're about to lose the roof over your head and your means of transportation. Everyone needs a 1 year safety net of liquid savings but few are willing to do without in order to have one. My frugal wife and I are both self-employed (Oh, yeah I forgot, both spouses need to work, Dr. Laura be damned) and try to follow a few simple rules:
1. For consumer durables, don't buy it if you can't afford to pay for it NOW.
2. For housing and vehicles, don't borrow for it if you can't afford to make the payments for a year out of savings.
3. Don't do variable rate mortgages, or negative mortgages, or mumbo-jumbo mortgages, or balloon mortgages, betting on your future income increases or home value appreciation. Balloons explode. If you want to gamble, go to Vegas or your local neighborhood casino.
4. Max out on your 401k, SEP IRA, pension, whatever, and don't invest the money in your employer's stock, regardless of the incentive. Remember Enron: you lose your job AND your retirement.
5. NEVER buy an expensive car. They are not worth it; a $30,000 car will get you there just as quickly. They are showy, the modern equivalent of a 15th century codpiece.
6. If any deal sounds too good to be true, IT IS.
{"commentId":10575604,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"bblandino"}
- 1 vote
#22 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 1:04 PM EST{"commentId":10575971,"authorDomain":"needprohelpsoflorida"}
I did all of the above. Too long, too late. I have no money. I wish I could do something for the Country and die in a more honorable way. My family would remember me like a man, my life would not have been wasted.
Financial Planning is a good counter measure but...you sound like me 2 years ago.
{"commentId":10575971,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"needprohelpsoflorida"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10576072,"authorDomain":"alice33"}
Suggestion: go activist. I was really poor once and had no way to change that. I went on some real rowdy protest marches. I also was organizing homeless people into a political force.
{"commentId":10576072,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"alice33"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":10576663,"authorDomain":"needprohelpsoflorida"}
You don't want me to "Go Activist"...I don't want to harm other people. Activist-Suicidal would just be bad. A real mess. I respect the law and don't want to hurt others along with me. I could just break the law and make money...but I obviously don't want to. When you are carrying a loaded gun (and I own several) innocent people get hurt. I just want out without any other casualties. I am not affraid, I am not weak. If the situation in this country would be caos (as in Activist) I will probably rule. I come from another country were there was caos. I made it to the US and will never turn against it. This is my Country.
I just wanted help. After this comment I'm out. Can't read anymore of the same. I don't want to go to a mental hospital and be labeled a suicide risk and be kept for a week. It will just add more to my load. I am taking Lexapro, Abilify, Xanax, Ambien...I never took pills before. I sleep better but when I wake up and sit in front of the computer and send out 10 resumes a day without a single reply!!!!I call HR departments, I call "friends" and ask for help and recommendations. I call relatives and they can not look at me in the eyes. I am treated like a criminal because my credit score is 500 from 820. It is not a political problem. Every president since Carter has some fault. This is not an "evil plan". This is a personal mess and someone that has had enough of it.
Death to Communism and Caos! I want my family to be safe and free. And when you go Activist...watch out for the "nice" middle aged guy. It could be me.
{"commentId":10576663,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"needprohelpsoflorida"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10576666,"authorDomain":"lisawilkins"}
Empress was working for ACORN. That's where she got her money. She was poor until she got her cut of the American pie, not by working, but from the 'MAN'.
{"commentId":10576666,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"lisawilkins"}
{"commentId":10576897,"authorDomain":"alice33"}
Just so eveyone knows, I am not telling people to break the law. I never broke the law. All activism I did may have been rowdy, but legal.
Anger needs a release. It is better to sell communist newspapers at the metro stops than blow oneself away. It was a great emotional release.
{"commentId":10576897,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"alice33"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10583475,"authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
NeedProHelpSoFlorida, I forgot to mention in one of my previous posts that I was a victim of identity theft when I moved to Minnesota. When I applied to get an apartment, I was told that my credit had issues. I obtained my credit reports and found that someone had assumed my identity and had me married to someone I didn't know, living somewhere I'd never lived and was supposedly taken to court owing money to someone I'd never met. I am still trying to get this straightened out. A couple of months ago, I received a "sympathy" card in the mail with $10.00 in it. It was from someone who stated:"I tried to steal your identity, but lady you are as broke as they come, you have MY sympathy and for the trouble of me trying to steal your broke ass identity, here's $10.00." So, it can be worse, that's my point!!!
{"commentId":10583475,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"IsabellaSterrin"}
{"commentId":10575838,"authorDomain":"iivin-ocala"}
David - you are so right re: NAFTA. All our jobs are now overseas and the companies that sent them there are maintaining their profitability by making job cuts. And what you have to go through to get assistance from the gov't is unbelievable. Why some people are 3rd or 4th generation welfare recipients, and people who want to work are being forced to overspend with credit cards just to stay afloat is beyond me. THEN, you have jerks like Isabella telling us to get rid of our Gucci purses and get over it. These are scary times and the idiots making fun of the downtrodden are getting their rocks off?!?!? Insane!
{"commentId":10575838,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"iivin-ocala"}
- 1 vote
#23 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 1:15 PM EST{"commentId":10576145,"authorDomain":"alice33"}
Unfortunately, the haves are mean to those who suddenly have not. They treat you like a loser and yell at you because you do not have. I got this in my face all the time. Some of the haves of yesterday are now finding out how it feels now that they are on the other end of it.
{"commentId":10576145,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"alice33"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":10575870,"authorDomain":"empyrius"}
Can we get some public euthanasia chambers please!!!!!!
Me first!
{"commentId":10575870,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"empyrius"}
#24 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 1:17 PM EST{"commentId":10576006,"authorDomain":"alice33"}
I will annoy the capitalist class by having the audacity to keep on living and be a thorn in their side.
{"commentId":10576006,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"alice33"}
{"commentId":10575927,"authorDomain":"alice33"}
To commit suicide would make it too easy for the fatcats. Better to stick around for a future revolution. I read the histories of several revolutions (Russia 1917, China of Mao, Germany, etc.) The suicide rate was high just shortly before the lower class overthrew the upper classes. I am a dog who wants my day. I will stick around. It is darkest before the dawn.
I would encourage all who are tempted to commit suicide over forclosure and other financial loss to not give up hope. Our day will come.
{"commentId":10575927,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"alice33"}
- 1 vote
#25 - Mon Nov 9, 2009 1:20 PM EST{"commentId":10576388,"authorDomain":"lisawilkins"}
I agree with Empress/dog. Let's sit on our lazy asses at the computer and blog and then when the time is right, go steal everything from those that have worked for it. Then we'll have what they have cause we are entitled to it. Why should they have it all? Let's learn from Mao. I want to live like the Chinese. They have it great.
LONG LIVE LIBERALISM. LONG LIVE COMMUNISM !!
{"commentId":10576388,"threadId":"720092","contentId":"3478508","authorDomain":"lisawilkins"}
- 1 vote
{"canLink":false,"threadId":"720092","isPrivate":false}
You're in Easy Mode. If you prefer, you can use XHTML Mode instead. |
As a new user, you may notice a few temporary content restrictions. Click here for more info.
Start Tracking
Stop TrackingCOMPANY STUFF:
LEGAL STUFF:
- © 2005-2009 Newsvine, Inc. |
- Newsvine® is a registered trademark of Newsvine, Inc. |
- Newsvine is a property of
