My perspective is different than the average American, whatever that means any more. I look at the extremes of wealth and poverty with a somewhat jaded eye, knowing more about the effects of the extremes on the bottom end than the top.That being said, I can't help but read this op-ed submission with agreement as to the absurdity of income levels of Wall Street's leaders who seem to have led this country's, and global, economy down the toilet.
As millions of US households struggle with unmanageable mortgage payments, falling home values and foreclosure, Wall Street executives are awarding themselves record year-end bonuses.
Major US banks are reporting billions of dollars in write-offs from bad investments and double-digit losses in stock value. Nevertheless, among the four largest investment firms—Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns—bonuses amount to nearly $30 billion.
You see, my thoughts tend to drift to the "have-nots" who have not even a place to call home.
The kids who played with these stuffed animals are now getting closer and closer to the abyss of the worst kind of homelessness that families experience--having absolutely no place to stay at any time.
Imagine, if you will, hearing mom and dad stress out because they know their motel room costs more than they can pay, and their city has no place for them to turn for emergency shelter. That stress pours out, tainting family life with a toxic residue that poisons the kids as well as the adults.
If this family can't soon find a home they will slip further into the vortex of homelessness. It shreds any vestige of "normal" family life that exists. It causes people to make mistakes, some serious, as they struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Parents slip into despair because they can't provide the basics for their children. Kids act out, knowing their lives are not anything like they were, and they become alienated from friends and isolated from normal childhood experiences.
Imagine, if you will, hearing mom and dad stress out because they know their motel room costs more than they can pay, and their city has no place for them to turn for emergency shelter. That stress pours out, tainting family life with a toxic residue that poisons the kids as well as the adults.
If this family can't soon find a home they will slip further into the vortex of homelessness. It shreds any vestige of "normal" family life that exists. It causes people to make mistakes, some serious, as they struggle to keep a roof over their heads. Parents slip into despair because they can't provide the basics for their children. Kids act out, knowing their lives are not anything like they were, and they become alienated from friends and isolated from normal childhood experiences.
What would one of these over-compensated money people say to the kids who had to leave their toys behind in the home their family lived in for the past 5 years, paying rent and caring for each other, when the landlord refused to make needed repairs and the city condemned the property?
Seems to me that real national leaders would realize that allowing out-of-control wealth building is not good for anyone, including the overly-wealthy who have more money than God. But changing things would turn today's economy on its ear. How bad could that be?