The Working Man

I'm sitting here drinking my coffee, reading the news, on Google. I've realized, that nothing that I say or do matters. People will never read what I've written, and my opinions don't matter. My husband said it last night, I should be a movie critic because I pan what doesn't live up to my expectations, and they are pretty high. I apparently, have high expectations about everything. I expect my family to listen to me, and love me, and obey me. I expect loyalty from friends, and respect from my employers. However, I get most of it, only lacking respect from my employers.
I've decided that since we are living during a republican economy, where only the rich get richer, I'm never going to be able to get a house. It's going to take me at least 2 more years, until the market swings my way again. The fed may drop the interest rate, but the lenders are still scared. How many of the so-called sub-prime lenders have gone under? They maybe should have really looked at who they were giving loans to before they handed out the checks. People in general don't want more house than they can afford. I could be wrong about this, but don't think that I know everything. I'd like to think that the average person, like me, wants enough house so each child can have a room of their own, and a nice sized kitchen. And maybe a guest room, if they plan on having lots of company. Me, my ideal home would be 3 or 4 bedrooms, at least 2 full bathrooms, and if it only has 3 bedrooms, a basement or attic. I am never going to be able to afford that. Investors have driven up home prices to the point of instability, and then crashed the market when they couldn't pay for what they had. I don't think that the entire fault of the market melt down is the average Joe looking for a better rate, or easier terms, or more house than they could afford. I feel that the problem was GREED, plain and simple.
It was hot there for a while, it seemed like anyone could buy 3 or 4 or more houses, and make some money. But now that all the terms are starting to change, everyone who owned more than the house they lived in is screwed. We used to live in Arizona, and the market was on fire there for about 2 years. There were investors, mainly from California, coming in and buying entire streets in new sub-divisions. They made it hard for the average family to get a house. It got to the point in some of the newest sub-divisions, that you were not allowed to own more than 1 home if you wanted to buy in that area. Or, if you bought more than one house, it wasn't allowed to go up for rent for a certain time period. It was so bad in Power Ranch, you could drive through some neighborhoods, and all you would see were for rent, and for sale signs on the entire drive. It was terrible. People were selling houses for twice what they paid for them 3 months prior, and it was madness.
Then, we wanted to sell, after Audrey died. And I thought it would be easy, but it really wasn't. It took 5 months to sell our house. We made a nice sum on the sale, but way more than it should have sold for. I never should have made so much of a profit on it after only 7 years. I sold it for what they told me I would have paid for it, after making mortgage payments for 30 years. That's absolutely insane. People are so wrapped up in equity, and worth, and perceived value that they seem to have forgotten that these are HOMES!!!!! Not everyone can afford a 6 bed 4 bath monstrosity, nor should everyone be able to! But, it shouldn't be hard for working class folks to get a 3/2 with a garage. I am so disgusted with the people in this country who think that keeping up with the Jones' next door is their only reason for living. I can't take it anymore.
I'm about ready to tell my husband that we need to move to the middle of NOWHERE and live alone, and try to not interact with people at all. We have become a society of whiners, and losers, and people who think that they are entitled to everything, just because their mamas told them they were special. I had a child with special needs, and you know what, I had to fight for everything for her because of the color of my white skin, and my perfect English. We have grown into a country of people who care more about the starving children in other countries than the ones here. We have gotten to the point that we can't even take care of ourselves anymore. We care so much about living longer, that we seem to have forgotten that we won't be around to enjoy it if we can't afford to pay for it. This family that I am in, went 8 months without health insurance. Thank God we are very healthy, but our son did get sick once, it cost us almost $300 between office visit and prescription. Unreal! That doesn't even include all the money I spent on over the counter medications, trying to avoid having to go to the doctor. In a country where the rich and famous can get an ass implant any day of the week, and my family had to go 8 months hoping we wouldn't get into a car accident, or catch the flu while playing at the park, we have seriously gotten our priorities messed up.
In this day and age, it shouldn't be so expensive to live. Corporations are greedier than ever, and the working man is paying for their yachts and helicopters. I'm not talking rebellion, or anything like that. So, big brother, you can stop your caravan far far away from my door. I just wish that we could stop, and take a look at what we have become! I like nice things as much as the next person, but not at the expense of my family. I would much rather have a home I could afford, than a house I was constantly afraid of losing to the bank. I don't want to have more/be better than anyone else. I just want to be with what is left of my family, and not have to worry about where my next mortgage payment is going to come from. Is that so terrible?