LETTER: The two Bobs
Published: November 1, 2009
For about seven years now, I have read virtually every opinion/editorial, every letter to the editor and the weekly columns. There have been so many letters and opinions about candidates for the upcoming
election, and I’d like to add mine.
Creigh Deeds’ supporters make too much of Mr. McDonnell’s thesis of 20 years past. What did Deeds write? Where is his thesis? Mr. McDonnell has a well established record and, in particular, he has
been endorsed by the NFIB. This business group has given McDonnell its Gold Seal of Approval with an “A” rating and Deeds an “F”. A good business climate means jobs.
Deeds has a 94 percent rating from labor unions, but Mr. McDonnell supports our “Right to Work” laws. The unions want the card check option, negating the secret ballot in determining whether employees even want union representation. Unions can serve some useful purposes, but they have become far too demanding and, along with government regulation, lawsuits and countless other
government agencies, they have bankrupted thousands of companies and sent millions of jobs overseas. The auto industry, airlines, textile/clothing, footwear, ship building, and the list goes on and on,
have been devastated.
Mr. Deeds’ stand on Cap and Trade, stimulus funding, taxes and the fact that he really does not have a plan for transportation is troublesome. As long as he has been in the General Assembly he should
have some ideas.
Bob Marshall has proven time and again that he is a man of integrity and principles. He has been tested many times and, even against his own party, he has not wavered. I’m sure Mr. Bell is a fine man
but, considering the current situation throughout Virginia and the country, I’m going to vote for Mr. Marshall. In other words, I’m going with what I know.
All of us have a responsibility to vote, but it should be an informed vote. It is essential that we vote for what is best for the country and the Commonwealth, not a party.
JESSE VINT
Gainesville
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I have walked in those shoes. I’ve walked many a mile and know what it’s like. Members of my family have walked in those same shoes as well. What it’s not about the walk, it’s the selfishness of those who lived beyond their means. That’s where this came into play. A small piece of the pie, albeit growing in the past 12 months, are those who can’t pay their mortgages due to being laid off. The majority of those forclosures are from the boon times. You know, those who wanted the big house and took the ARM loans because the rate was good and they KNEW they could re-fi. No forethought and no buckling down to try to fix their bad decision. It’s those folks who really started this problem. It all went down hill from there.
I know a handful of folks personally who forclosed. They got in WAY over their heads, didn’t try to improve their income situation, didn’t try to take advantage of the programs that would help them keep their house when it became available. They simply chose to wear the hat of responsibility and let their houses go.
In this Nation, everyone has the same opportunties to improve their situation provided they choose to do it. So, yes, it is John and Sally’s fault for making ill-timed decisions in trying to keep up with others instead of working hard to NOT become a statistic. I know you’re in the Constructin business so your perspective is different than mine, but those folks suffered because of John and Sally… Not due to any gov’t inaction. That ball, the housing market, snowballed before it became an issue. It mushroomed before anything could be done to stop it. I don’t care who would have been in office. DEM or Repub.
The problems we face in society can be fixed with personal responsibility. The kind your son showed by preparing for the worst. Regardless of income, one is always able to put away something for a rainy day…
“The fact is, Ray, I scrimp and save and manage my spending.“
The fact is 45, my son lived below his means and put his bonus money into stocks and money market plans for retirement.
It is this money he will be living off until employment returns where he lives.
“Is your son too good to be one of the backs that I’ll walk on?“
Perhaps so. He makes more money on unemployment then he could flipping burgers. Otherwise, he’d be working a day job by now - any job.
“But, don’t exhault your son for doing well and can afford to be laid off and chastise me for working and doing well… “
I don’t exult him for doing well. I consider him one of the very lucky ones that had a cushion to fall back on.
And I don’t chastise you for working. It is what we should be doing. I’m glad your job is in the ‘protected’ sector of the economy.
But you seem to sneer at those losing their homes as if it is their fault they ‘lived beyond their means’.
This is not the case for many people.
I see many in the construction field that made good money, could easily afford their mortgage payment, had long tenures at their employment and yet were still laid off when the housing market collapsed.
I can take you by two businesses that have rows of work vans parked without license plates - the companies all but shuttered from lack of work and all but the most senior (or family) employees gone.
These are not $50k families living in Dominion Valley but $80k families living in modest neighborhoods.
Out of kindness I won’t say “you” but many “people” expect the Have Nots working in McDonalds and Walmart to work for minimum wage and without health insurance in order to keep prices low for when the Haves come shopping.
This enhances the lifestyle of the Haves, at the expense of the Have Nots.
Many Have Nots were paycheck to paycheck - little or no margin to put anything away in savings for emergencies or the future.
The, when the President tries to throw the Have Nots a small lifeline, the Have get into a snit that “their” tax dollars are being “wasted” on creating or maintaining jobs for people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from.
45, I don’t think you are an uncaring person, but I truly believe you and vmj absolutely do not understand the depth of the recession and how it impacts those whose life will be spent at the bottom rung of the ladder in a good economy or bad.
If you were to walk a mile in their shoes, or if your protected job suddenly entered the unprotected sector, I think you would change your tune and have a little more compassion towards the President’s policies.
Ray,
Is your son too good to be one of the backs that I’ll walk on? Is that why he’s been unemployed? I see help wanted signs at WalMart, McDonalds and 7-11 all the time. Unfair remark by me, no more so than yours.
The fact is, Ray, I scrimp and save and manage my spending. I do not have a silver spoon nor do my kids. But, don’t exhault your son for doing well and can afford to be laid off and chastise me for working and doing well… It’s a two-faced statement and I’m beginning to see that’s your MO…
“Why don’t they stick to regulating themselves?“
Greed.
And in normal times, if a business failed due to greed, poor management or a change in technology (typewriter repairmen) then I say let them fail.
But many businesses are failing today not from their own greed or mismanagement, but by issues well beyond their control.
When those businesses fail - real people are out of jobs.
My son has been unemployed for 7 months now, with no sign of anything on the horizon. Fortunately, he was a high wage earner and has assets that will last him 2 or 3 years.
A $50,000 per year construction worker most likely does not have those same resources to fall back on.
45, I’m glad life is good for you and you feel no effects from the economy. Should it rain, you can walk on the backs of the less fortunate so you don’t get your Nike’s dirty.
“I’m willing to make a small wager that the first time McDonnell stumbles, GP or Lib(s) will be right there with a “well of course, look at the mess Kaine left” comment. Any takers?“
First and foremost, McDonnell is aware of the mess he’s walking into. To use that as an excuse would be weak, just as Obama using Bush as an excuse is weak. They know ‘and’ should have known the mess before they threw their hat in the ring. To act shocked by the situation is just a way to discharge their responsibility. If McDonnell try’s that excuse I will be the first to call him on it, however, if you think he is going to walk into this thing and wave a magic wand, that’s totally unfair of you. Obama has been in this mess for going on 10 months and he still hasn’t made his mind up about Afghanistan. That’s insane!
Bush is just an excuse that Obama should not be using and in fact he should find embarrassing and demeaning himself. Is he a puppet or a leader? He needs to get with the program if he wants to get anything accomplished. His ‘honeymoon’ period is just about over….
You have been pretty darn demeaning yourself. “Ever notice how vmj lends nothing to the conversation.“ Now, that’s an endearing statement if ever I have heard one. So please, don’t get your kickers in a knot because I call you out for your inability to address this subject in a different manner. I just wonder how long you people are going to continue to place blame for ineffective leadership on the past administration? It’s tired.
As far as who is or was responsible for the mess we are in, there is blame to go around. The stars were in correct alinement and all things were set in motion by many hands. Not just one thing made this mess. It serves no purpose to look back and assign blame. The PTB have been elected to fix it, not dwell on the past, but look to the future.
Hopefully the people who are elected today will succeed in doing just that. Whatever spin you want to put on it, the result will still be the same. Either they help or hurt, but give them the benefit of the doubt.
If McDonnell fails, his fault. Obama fails also his fault. No excuses because if they do well they will take in all the adulation given them without blinking an eye. They should man up and take responsibility if the fail to do the job they took on.
This was ‘their’ responsibility, no one held a gun to their heads….
“Kaine ran VA and did nothing to fix the current problems… “
The Governor has two options. Increase revenues (taxes) or cut costs.
Cutting costs ultimately involves cutting jobs.
Making the problem worse as more people are added to the ranks of the unemployed - starting the domino effect of job loss, eliminate consumer spending to protect the house, fall behind on payments, foreclosure, further depressed housing market, a deeper hole to recover from.
A better solution would be to raise revenues from those in the cheap seats that, by the grace of God, are still employed.
Come January 1st, we’ll see what Bob can do to balance this situation.
You’re an advocate for complete gov’t control over every industry? Why don’t they stick to regulating themselves?
You can blame whomever above John and Sally you wish, but they were the ones who applied for the load knowing full well they couldn’t afford it. It’s called personal responsibility… They lusted after something they couldn’t afford and now we’re (the tax payers) are paying the price. Perhaps, BHO should move to Housing Insurance in addition to Health Insurance… Let’s have the Gov’t provide us everything.
Sheesh, you claim to be older and wiser, but your position doesn’t suggest it.
In our form of govt., the party elected always inherits the good, bad, and ugly from the previous administration.
Clinton left office with a surplus to pass on.
Bush passed on 2 wars and the beginning of economic meltdown, plus a huge deficit.
Obama inherited Bush’s mess and had to try to correct it.
Why does anyone deny it?
By the end of Obama’s term, the meltdown won’t be gone. Its condition will be passed in to the next party. Recessions last one heck of a time.
And this recession is huge—not just one industry or segment of society—everything is affected.
Clinton may have taken steps to require or convince banks to make mortgage loans to minorities and lower wage earners. The fact not mentioned is that banks and mortgage lenders were not making loans to these folks or were ripping them off, i.e. discrimination and/or racism at work. To his credit, he took action. He just didn’t seem to understand that banks are crooks.
Sorry, it was not totally John and Jane buying houses they couldn’t afford. The lenders should have realized they could not afford the houses, but went ahead and made the loans. They are the ones at fault. Greed was running wild by the lenders.
“You can blame GWB for the failed housing market when it was John and Sally I-dont-make-much-but-want-a-million-dollar-house, who’s GREED caused this problem ...“
When you go to the bank - you APPLY for a loan. You don’t go to the bank and GET a loan. Someone on the nice side of the desk was handing out loans like lollipops. The GREED was with the banker who saw commissions and dollar signs.
John and Sally on their own can’t break a bank or bring down a nation, but a slew of these marginal loans can and did.
Whose job is it to REGULATE these lending institutions? The government.
Where does the buck stop? In the Oval Office.
“Sure, GWB didn’t put a stop to it ..“
What I’ve been saying all along. If you and I were smart enough to see the prices wouldn’t climb forever, then surely some economist working for the Executive Branch saw this too and (hopefully) recommended action.
Had action been taken in 2004 or 2005, the bottom would not have fallen out of the housing market so quickly.
Oops, an election year when all were singing vmj’s ‘happy days are here again’ song.
“So now, in less than a year BHO has spent more than GWB did in 8. But, that new spending isn’t BHO’s fault. It’s GWB’s… How in the world is that possible.“
Some of the spending is a BHO decision - and he will have to answer for that if his long term policies fail. Simple as that. His strategy, his Plan, his @$$ on the line.
Other spending is a result of the current economic crisis. It is easy to say ‘do nothing’ when you have a job and are watching from the cheap seats, but not quite as easy if you’re about ready to take your family to the homeless shelter.
Not all the affected unemployed are Johns and Sallys and yes we differ if you don’t care about your fellow man.
My personal opinion is that doing nothing would have been the wrong move.
You can’t drink yourself sober, but they do give heroin addicts morphine to help them withdraw in a controlled manner.
I know that you’re old, but your eyes certainly don’t deceive you, do they? I didn’t write that Kaine is the President… I said that his Admin haven’t done anything to fix what they inherited. Kaine, by your own words, inherited the GWB mess… Because VA is effected by the Nation’s economy. Kaine ran VA and did nothing to fix the current problems…
BHO said that he’d fix things IMMEDIATELY. Pass the stimulus and UnEmployement won’t go above 8%... It’s at 10(almost) He said that he’d fix things right away… He’s failing miserably… Despite BHO we’re out, but I doubt the validity of that statement. If we’re out, why did CIT have to file Bankruptcy?
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