24 June 2008
Will no one take responsibility anymore?
Posted by Brian under: My Thoughts; Politics .
I usually don’t comment on news articles that I read, but recently I’ve noticed a growing trend. More and more articles that I read (mostly CNN.com) are pieces about people complaining that something bad happened to them, and not only is it not their fault, but it is the fault of some larger entity (The Government, The Banks, The Oil Company). Last Month it was a lady who bought a home that came with a mortgage payment that was 50% of her income. Last week it was a couple that bought an SUV and now cannot afford to make the 100 mile round trip commute to their workplace. Today it is families in Illinois whose homes were flooded and they were not required to carry flood insurance (Here is the link). The quote from the article that got me the most fired up was: “Residents Rick and Gina Gerstel, who lost everything, say no one from their bank to the municipal or federal governments ever told them they were at risk and ought to buy flood insurance.” News Alert: Everyone is at risk! Every single home is at some risk of being damaged by a flood. Typically if you are in a high-risk area, you are required to buy flood insurance. Otherwise, it’s up to you to determine if you should buy insurance or not. If you decide that it’s probably not going to flood, and you don’t feel like shelling out the cash for insurance, then it does flood, and your place is underwater, that’s life. It’s not the responsibility of the government, others around you, or society as a whole to bail you out. It’s a crappy situation, but without crappy situations, we wouldn’t appreciate the good ones. Take responsibility for the fact that you tried to save a few dollars, and in doing so took the risk of a flood destroying your belongings on yourself. If you can’t afford to put gas in your car; sell it and buy a Geo Metro. Admit that you bought more car than you needed, and get on with life. If your home is worth half what you owe, buckle down and make payments; just be happy to have a home. Above all, stop demanding that the government step in and fix things; this is not a Socialist country. The government can’t get elections right, much less run an oil company, a banking system, or an insurance company (at least not quickly or cost effectively). And now I’ll step off of my soap box, I feel much better.
One Comment so far...
Judy Page Says:
3 July 2008 at 12:38 pm.
AMEN, People are always ready to blame someone else for being stupid. People sue for everything when it is their own fault. I could go on but I don’t think you would want me to take up so much space.