May 21, 2011
I’m writing because I have been affected by the economic collapse of 2008, and I don’t want it to happen again. I became unemployed and unable to find work in 2008. When my savings ran out I became homeless. The stress of homelessness triggered mental health issues and now I am on SSI. I am still homeless, but looking for housing. Housing is impossible to afford on the amount of SSI.
When I hear of people on Wall Street getting millions and billions of dollars, I get a little bitter. There is not enough money for homes for the homeless or food for the hungry, but people on Wall Street take millions and billions for themselves. Does any one person or family ever need that much for just themselves while others live in the street and/or go hungry?
Wall Street greed and outrageous pay practices were a major cause of the collapse. Wake up and change the way things are done. Maybe you can’t solve all the problems of this world, but why add to the woes of others out of greed and selfishness?
One way to change the incentives so they don’t collapse our economy again would be to delay the bonuses for three, five or more years. That way, we’ll know if the loans they made in year one remain good. In the bad days, bankers paid themselves on the volume of loans (mortgages) they generated, not on their quality.
Thank you for considering my comment,
Helena Liber