Last week I was getting some coffee when I happened to overhear a conversation from some coworkers. Now, in my building we have a call center who employs people who's sole job it is to answer phones, so these are not high skilled workers by any stretch of the imagination.
A few of them were chatting by the coffee (if the swill we have here can be called that) about the fact that they weren't going to be able to make their rent payments this month. What floored me was one of the girls' reasoning.
She actually said that since we're in a recession, she doesn't have to make her payments.
The rest of the conversation was revolving around the lack of money any of the group had and even more jawboning about how there was nothing wrong with them not paying their rent because their landlords were rich enough. Self-justification is a scary thing.
To add insult to injury, the one woman who was claiming to be flat broke had a freshly woven and brightly colored basket on her head, extravagant fake nails, and enough gold that Mr. T would have found it excessive. Yet she can't pay her rent.
The fact that anyone considered this development a surprise is in and of itself, a surprise.
Folks, if you don't make people responsibly for their actions, this is what you get. When banks are forced to give loans to those who make no effort to pay them back on time, we all end up paying. Bailing them out will not fix the problem because the problem is those who are not credit worthy.