When The Bough Breaks, The Cradle Will Fall

Lehman Brothers announced not long ago
a one to fifteen ratio
and that's as low as they would go
and they were proud of it

Imagine the same for a home
ten grand saved, one-fifty loan
at one time a bank would not condone
and told you you're full of shit

Rob Peter to pay Paul
who's broke after all
and the whole country will fall
down the hole of debt

Propped up companies pray
it doesn't crumble away
on the inevitable day
when there's no taxpayer safety net

— infinite_dwarf, Sep 15, 2009

About This Poem

About the Author

Region, Country: North Carolina, USA, USA

Favorite Poets: E.A. Poe, Lewis Carroll, Charles Bukowski, Michael McClure, Lawrence Ferlenghetti.

Critiques

Seren

16 years 8 months ago

Sorry Jess but how fucking

Sorry Jess but how fucking true is this ... bravo !! brilliant insightful look at our economy and yours we are contected when you go down we go down lol its fate ... love and big hugs Jayne x x x

Candlewitch

16 years 8 months ago

ouch

How very true. You, dear poet are as insightful as ever. Nice to see you again! Take good care of that beautiful kitty. Always, Cat

Kailashana

16 years 8 months ago

As an x-Realtor, I had much

As an x-Realtor, I had much insight. Almost 40 years ago i was a loan officer, you could get no loans without 20% down...and when you have that much of a downpayment, chances are you'll be unwilling to walk away unless circumstances are beyond your control. Health issues always rock the borrower's boat (let's not forget THAT issue). I wondered when the banks charged 9-10-11 percent interest for *questionable/uncredit-worthy borrowers, how in God's name would they pay back THAT loan when the interest was almost half for the credit-worthy. Just part of the problem. However, there is a prevailing sense in America, that home ownership is a RIGHT at any cost. I digress. I think we were talking about Ponzi schemes and the rich stealing from the rich. ~A

infinite_dwarf

16 years 8 months ago

Thank you, ladies!

I think I watch too much CNBC... it's a sickness. I have a question for you - I was trying to make sure all the 4th line end words rhymed, but feel I stretched a little far with the 'it'/'et' What say you? Anna, you're absolutely right, and that's the case I was referring to in Stz #2 - 20%. They figured that if you could save up that much, then you would probably be good for the rest over 60 months. These 10%, 0%, etc on $300,000 is ridiculous. Jonathan and I are of the mindset that if we have to take a mortgage, then we're not in the market to buy a house. We want to be able to own it outright from the word go. Thanks to all for stopping in! ~Jess K. ----------------------- "You must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with.....a herring!" - The Knights who say Ekky-ekky-ekky-ekky-p'kang-zoop-boing-g'dem-zoo-owli-zhiv!... and formally.... Ni!

Kailashana

16 years 8 months ago

Now, now, dear girl, putting

Now, now, dear girl, putting on my Realtor's hat. Consider the expense of non-home ownership. Say you are putting $1500 a month out on rent, (NY is not cheap so it's probably considerably more) in a year that is $18000.00, in 5 it's $90K... can you see where this is leading? All to line your landlord's pockets.... My advice (tho you didn't ask ;-) is to save a good portion--over 20% which I think you already have) and with all the homes being thousands and thousands of dollars less than the incredibly high appraised values of a few years ago, to buy now. My son just bought a house that is in a high-end neighborhood, for 50K less than 4-5 years when I (can u believe?) showed it. Take a 15, 20 (or less) year mortgage.(In a 15 year, you'll see the balance of the principal decline almost immediately, add any xtra money to the principal...even a $100 extra a month brings your mortgage down by years.) As evidenced, there is nowhere else still, that offers that kind of a return on an investment (anyone remember the stockmarket?) AND gives you a place to live. Ok. I'm done. Hope you think about it. I enjoy up-to-the-moment poems. Someone has to speak (or write!). ~A

infinite_dwarf

16 years 8 months ago

solid advice, yes, for normal people...

Our rent, including pet rent, is less than $1200. That includes heat/hot water/garbage/and basic cable. Yes, you're very correct about the rent going directly to the landlords, but there are some perks - no mowing, shoveling, school/land/property taxes, if shit breaks we call maintenance, etc. We're very particular in exactly what we're looking for, and have a solid price range. NY blows, so of course we're not going to buy a house here. We won't even be in the market for a house until next summer when we (hopefully) get to go back home to PA - and much cheaper houses! We're not normal in that we'll not accept a mortgage. Maybe a very small 10k one if we see the absolute perfect house that's a few grand out of our price range. ~Jess K. ----------------------- "You must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with.....a herring!" - The Knights who say Ekky-ekky-ekky-ekky-p'kang-zoop-boing-g'dem-zoo-owli-zhiv!... and formally.... Ni!

infinite_dwarf

16 years 8 months ago

I agree

They say we're well on the road to recovery. No we're not. Recovery happens when the jobs come back - we're still losing them in record numbers. Just because the Dow creeps upwards doesn't mean everything is fine and dandy..... Thanks for stopping in. Have had a few moments of free time, so decided to spend them here. =) ~Jess K. ----------------------- "You must cut down the mightiest tree in the forest with.....a herring!" - The Knights who say Ekky-ekky-ekky-ekky-p'kang-zoop-boing-g'dem-zoo-owli-zhiv!... and formally.... Ni!