Seattle Bubble Forum Archive

Pfft! Some lurker, you have 2 posts, which clearly makes you a and not yet a .

About the actual article, that is indeed tragic. It's sad that anyone would consider taking their own life over something as replaceable as a suburban house.

I wouldn't worry about yourself yet, as the early cases of aggression I've read about appear to be driven by foreclosed owners belief that if they owned a house once, and did not want to give it up, then it should still be theirs. It takes a large moral leap to go from "I'm going to destroy this McMansion before the bank takes it back" to "I don't have as big of a house as I would like so I'm going to injure that guy living in a 1400 sq ft house built in the 70s."

My gut (and the gut has more nerve endings than the brain - maybe) tells me that the average person has to descend towards destitution before they start acting out on another person just minding their own business. Take this guy, if he loses the house, he apparently hurts himself. But if he's having trouble getting food to eat, well who knows.

I am sorry to hear this happened.

squidier, I wouldn't worry too much about that. People seem lose their compassion in a world where everyone is making a buck. In a world which is falling apart, people tend to remember how to be compassionate again. At least, that's been my experience.

I hope (and deep-down I do believe) that you're right, rose-colored-coolaid, and that most people do tend to show the better part of themselves during times of crisis. Most of them.


Here's another one:


Housing Counselors Share in the Strain of Foreclosures
Nonprofit Workers' Caseloads Are Rising, and So Is Their Exposure to Homeowners' Anguish

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 01201.html

In a previous job in Los Angeles, part of my job was to supervise a team of housing counselors. I still stay in touch with a few of them, and in a strange way they find their jobs easier now than a few years ago.

Buyers are more cautious, suspicious of loan officers and Realtors, and they are more interested in doing their homework before jumping into a purchase.

On the foreclosure prevention side, a lot of times the work can be depressing, but by the time most people make it to a counselor they've come to the realization that they're in deep trouble. Many people are relieved that they have options, even if they're not ideal (deed in lieu / short sale, etc.).

Another interesting related resource .

But I'm going to disagree with Siddha about how Western Civilization is mislead. People aren't seeking spiritual wealth, but rather happiness. Some seek that through material wealth and others through spiritual wealth, and yet others through fishing.

What's key is that a time existed when material wealth really have a strong bearing on happiness. If every years harvest determines whether or not your family will starve (a state much of the world lives in today), then even a small amount of money would be a huge boon.

What Western Society has missed is that just because a little of something is really good, a lot of something is not. We eat too much, we eagerly trade relationships for more stuff (long commutes to buy more house, moving across the country for 10% raise), and we fill our homes with things we rarely use. If these things made people happy, then why are the richest people in America not the happiest? In fact, on average they are no happier than Middle America.

My advice, is don't worry too much about collapse. Things are almost certainly going to continue getting better for most everyone. Let's say America goes from consuming 50% of the world pie today to only consuming 10% by 2030. So long as that pie grows by 500%, we are in no worst shape than today. People will act like we are, because they'll see how wealthy and industrious the _____ (fill in the blank) people are, but it won't be true.