Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin
Sometimes collapse and reorganization of the economy is inevitable. Attempting to prop it up with free money only delays the collapse and probably will end up making it worse.
And foreclosure = homeless? Quit being so melodramatic. Detroit is probably no different than most places -- you'll be able to live in your home rent free while the foreclosure action languishes in the overworked (and underappreciated) court system. And after that, there are a plethora of rental properties and dirt cheap foreclosures out there--probably even stuff available to folks with questionable credit.
As far as aid now increasing our tax base in the future, I'm not sure how that works. I mean, if you lose all of your stuff and then have to buy all new stuff once you're employed again at an acceptable level, won't that economic activity actually create more taxable events than you sitting in your house drawing unemployment indefinitely? I don't really see from a tax standpoint how society stands to gain anything at all by propping up an area or an economy which is going to simply collapse as soon as the support is withdrawn.
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I will admit it has been a very long time since I rented an apartment, but I do know they pulled a credit report every time that I did. Employers pull credit reports too. I know people who have lost out on jobs because their credit report was dinged. I don't see it being that easy to recover from a foreclosure/bankruptcy.
I don't believe that the area is simply going to collapse when support is withdrawn but it does take time for new industry to come in. There are things in the works, but they take time. It takes more than 6 months to get back to school and enhance your skills so that you're even more marketable in newer areas. I don't think that increasing blight and crime is helpful to a geographic region's recovery. The reorganization of the economy that you refer to does take time.
If I saw a lot of people just sitting around making no attempts to find work, improve their skills, happy and content to be in the unemployment line, I would be more inclined to agree with you. That's just not what I see on a daily basis. Our community college tech programs (medical assistant, radiology, IT tech certifications, etc.) are filled to the brim with people learning new skills. They had to close admissions for the first time ever because so many people are going back to school.. people with high level degrees in other areas.
I'm trying to stay away from the "my ex" list of things he is doing because that's too anecdotal but I see others doing things like what he is doing. I know he's hustling and I do believe that he will find another job. Quite honestly, I'm freaking out more than he is about the idea of him losing his house or relocating because of how either event affects me. HE should still have a couple months of unemployment because he deferred his payments while he was doing census work. He is lined up to go back to school in the fall, is studying for his CPA exam, is talking with recruiters in numerous cities, refuses to apply for a bridge card, the free lunch program for the child he claims on his taxes, is liquidating stuff little by little as needed, etc. When he told me he would be using the rest of his savings to pay his property taxes, I suggested that was one expense he shouldn't bother with right now because they don't foreclose due to property taxes until you've been in arrears for two years. I don't know if he can bring himself to NOT pay them though because he's very conscientious about stuff like that. And, what I find is the ultimate irony is.. he's a Republican who thinks very much like you do. He may not even support the extension of unemployment benefits. LOL