There’s been a recent concerning trend of conservatives blaming the general public for what they call reckless spending and borrowing. These right-wingers often say things like: Well, you borrowed the money and signed on the dotted line, it’s your fault!
It kind of reminds of certain Disney cartoon scenes where a character, usually the natural losers in Disney stories, like Elmer Fud, Wil e Coyote and Foghorn Longhorn, enter a contract with the devil. Everything about the situation is wrong, the fiery scenery, the obviously evil looking demon and the boiling cauldron right next to the parchment that the poor need to sign with their own blood.
Now, a non-observing individual may look at the situation and say: Well, Coyote could have just backed out of the deal! I mean why did he sign in the first place, seeing all of those tell tale signs of evil afoot he could have easily just left and that would have been the end of it.
The funny thing about cartoon characters that are always losers in the chase, like Wily Coyote, is that they represent well the average individual that goes to the bank to take a mortgage or signs up for a new credit card. They are not like the roadrunner, blessed with genetically superior speed and intuition. Most people are like Coyote, hungry, desperate and tired after years of chasing after the American dream that never manifested.
Of course individuals don’t have the money, and most can never amass the amount needed to purchase a house, a car, furniture and other things necessary to live a decent lifestyle. With the average house price here in Canada fluctuating between $153,000 and $792,000 depending on the province you live in, and income between $33,000 for single individuals to $79,000 for married couples without dependents, it’s no wonder that Canadians spend 1.5 times what they make.
It’s even worse in the United States.
The devil, or the bank in this case, knows the details of the deal it’s offering you. Through intricate calculations and various methods of understanding risk, the devil can easily asses whether you’re a worthy investment. It’s a statistical choice for him because he knows you need the money. It’s a question of survival for you.
With more and more individuals in North America making income that barely keeps up with inflation, it would be impossible for people to purchase a house without a double income, or single individuals just to make ends meet on even basic purchases like food and water.
So to hell with conservatives, free market capitalists and republicans. Some people believe in the system so much that they refuse to recognize it’s fatal faults. Then, unless capitalism is remedied with more regulation or adjusted to make living bearable, people will rebel against those individuals that hold the system in the highest regard. Which individuals, coincidentally, are in power.
