Pamela Anderson Caused the Debt Crisis
By Charlie Mangano Apr 08, 2008 8:45 am
The consequences of keeping up with Hollywood.
In today’s world, everybody wants to be a star. And many people will do whatever it takes to feel like a star. We all want (no, we need) the big house, the nice car, the augmented body parts, the purse dog, the adopted Third World kids, the YouTube (GOOG) clip, the whole “malamenza,” as my mother likes to say.
When we get this stuff, we become the local version of Paris, or Brad and Angelina, and that’s where the problems start.
About six months ago, I was at a friend’s house in California and we ordered a pizza from Dominos (DPZ). The delivery guy shows up in a BMW 3 Series.
We go out to pay him and my friends says, “Nice ride.”
“Yeah I just got it. Took this job at night to make the payments,” the guy explains.
He drives off, and we’re standing there with the large pie, scratching our heads. I’m singing the second verse from Sly & the Family Stone’s Everybody Is A Star.
At this point you’re probably asking, “What’s wrong with this guy? That’s what America is all about.” This is just the 21st century version of the American Dream, right?
Wrong.
Why?
Because -- and here’s where the theory starts to get interesting -- while a big part of what fueled the dream was the concept of hard work and a better life (and things), another big part of the equation was more hard work, deferred gratification and shame.
We seem to have forgotten the main ingredients (hard work, deferred gratification) and begun to OD on the others (better life, better things and a total lack of shame). Here’s where Pam, Paris, Britney, Lindsay and all the other posers and pretenders come in to the equation.
Want that big house? Go for it. Britney has one just like it that I saw in People (TWX). Can’t afford the mortgage? Turn in the keys. You’re upside down on the equity equation anyway. Let it be the bank’s problem.
There used to be all kinds of names for people who walked out on debts and obligation. Today you’re considered a sucker if you don’t (there also used to be names for those morally bankrupt jerks who preyed on innocent people and sold them a bill of goods they couldn’t afford).
It’s the people who honestly and innocently got drawn into this mess that I feel sorry for, not the ones who wanted, but knew, better. The ones who weren’t trying to impress the neighbors. The ones who were probably trying to follow the dream. The real dream.
There may not be a lot of them, but they’re out there and they’re hurting. Unlike Paris, Britney and Lindsay, they can’t hop out of a limo with no pants on and flash the paparazzi an X-rated smiley face to kick start their crumbling lives.
All they got from the party was a hangover.
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(9)
Reply
2008-04-08 08:00:55
It's the system
Hey C:
The "system" rewards those who live beyond their means and punishes those who don't.
Bailouts, tax breaks, the Fed's magic lending facilities, these solutions reward the folks who were the least responsible and punish the prudent.
Why is that?
IMO, the system fails if people aren't in massive debt, consume and borrow...running to stand still.
If you are in debt you are a serf to your debtors, if you are debt-free you are in control of your own destiny.
Here comes your bailout, but who is your master now?
The "system" rewards those who live beyond their means and punishes those who don't.
Bailouts, tax breaks, the Fed's magic lending facilities, these solutions reward the folks who were the least responsible and punish the prudent.
Why is that?
IMO, the system fails if people aren't in massive debt, consume and borrow...running to stand still.
If you are in debt you are a serf to your debtors, if you are debt-free you are in control of your own destiny.
Here comes your bailout, but who is your master now?
2008-04-08 08:59:53
The fish rots at the head
Can't afford the (redemptions or foreclosures or mark-to-market writeoffs)? Turn in the keys. You're upside down on the equity equation anyway. Let it be the (investors' or taxpayers') problem.
There used to be all kinds of names for people who walked out on debts and obligation. Today you're considered a sucker if you don't
There used to be all kinds of names for people who walked out on debts and obligation. Today you're considered a sucker if you don't
2008-04-08 09:32:51
Blame Canada
So in order to afford the car, he took a job that will not only add miles but will also make it reek of pizza?
As for the need of instant gratification, I share your views to blame Hollywood. However, I personally don't put the blame on the starlet tarts.
I think it is more TV in general. In the early 90's, it seemed sitcoms were focused on working families with shows like Home Improvement, Coach and Roseanne. In the late 90's all of the popular shows were focused on people (sometimes kids) living the high life. Great apartments, great clothes, awesome lives. Money was no object, yet they never seemed to work very hard. Friends, S.e.x and the City, Seinfeld and Frasier come to mind.
I know I am being conveniently selective with the shows I pick, but these were the shows I watched (not so much SATC). As I was a teenager in the 90's, my perception then of how I would be living now is quite different from reality. I honestly thought in high school that I would have a life like that on Friends. They never seemed to worry about making rent, even when Rachel was waiting tables at a cafe and Joey was out of work. They also never went to the gym and looked great (excluding Matthew Perry's pain pill addiction years).
(S.e.x is a baned word on here?)
As for the need of instant gratification, I share your views to blame Hollywood. However, I personally don't put the blame on the starlet tarts.
I think it is more TV in general. In the early 90's, it seemed sitcoms were focused on working families with shows like Home Improvement, Coach and Roseanne. In the late 90's all of the popular shows were focused on people (sometimes kids) living the high life. Great apartments, great clothes, awesome lives. Money was no object, yet they never seemed to work very hard. Friends, S.e.x and the City, Seinfeld and Frasier come to mind.
I know I am being conveniently selective with the shows I pick, but these were the shows I watched (not so much SATC). As I was a teenager in the 90's, my perception then of how I would be living now is quite different from reality. I honestly thought in high school that I would have a life like that on Friends. They never seemed to worry about making rent, even when Rachel was waiting tables at a cafe and Joey was out of work. They also never went to the gym and looked great (excluding Matthew Perry's pain pill addiction years).
(S.e.x is a baned word on here?)
2008-04-08 10:16:00
Debt Crisis?
If you ain't borrowing money, there ain't no crisis.
I think all the recent actions accumulated from Gordon Gekko's great comment: "Greed is good" in the movie "Wall Street". Except when it's blown out of proportion.
I think all the recent actions accumulated from Gordon Gekko's great comment: "Greed is good" in the movie "Wall Street". Except when it's blown out of proportion.
2008-04-08 10:23:08
OK I had to look
Chuck, you caught me - I had to look given your headline. Couple of observations - I think all in Minyanville already know what the problem is. 2. The kid who is working a second job to pay for a BMW is actually a good thing. He is willing to work beyond normal hours to pay for something he wants. It shows responsibility, dedication, fortitude and self worth - what is wrong with that? Or would you rather he not have a BMW and not provide you with a pizza at your door?
2008-04-08 11:07:38
If and only if
there is inferred blame here, you might just look to an economy that has choosen to rely on credit extention, debt inducement for its very existence. Might I inquire as to the oh so slick marketing job from everyone from the Fed and Government leaders to lenders and corporations. I know you don't think for one moment that human response studies were not being counted on. Blame yes, but more than enough to go around. Right to the top, for which again there will be very little accountability.
2008-04-08 12:13:40
Full Circle
There is lots of comment about the moral weakness of people deciding to walk away from debts. I withhold any judgement, but suggest that what we are seeing is a shift analogous to the demise of "worker loyalty" in the 1980's. Then, companies broke the loyalty system by starting to downsize - the result was a workforce that views themselves as independant contractors. Now, the Fed - and by extension Lenders, have created a similar condition around mortages. Borrowers are saying "Hey, it was a collateralized loan, feel free to take the collateral."
We should expect that this will change the way lending is done, just as the shift in workforce psychology has changed how we hire.
We should expect that this will change the way lending is done, just as the shift in workforce psychology has changed how we hire.
2008-04-08 13:34:05
Full Circle
Thank you Corbin, that is a useful analogy. Generalized, that would be - intitutions - bankers, like employers before them, broke the unstated social contract; and the people, their counterparties, then reacted to the breach.
Put that way, the model predicts rancorous divorces as a result of adultery (check); and regime change in response to starvation (half-check, but that one isn't played out yet.)
Put that way, the model predicts rancorous divorces as a result of adultery (check); and regime change in response to starvation (half-check, but that one isn't played out yet.)
2008-04-09 09:46:33
Don't be so hard on Pam
Charlie,
I'd say her acting in the movie "Barb Wire" garners her at least a B-. It could also be that I'm confusing acting ability with the silhouette she cut in the leather outfit she wore in the movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115624) :)
But all kidding aside, I think you're on to something here. Something in the fabric of our society has changed and it's not for the better. You call it shame, I call it self-respect/dignity. Either way, the folks who still carry themselves with self-respect and dignity seem to be much fewer and a lot further between now.
We can debate causes and cures for this all we want to, but all of those paths either start or end with us taking a good look in the mirror.
I'd say her acting in the movie "Barb Wire" garners her at least a B-. It could also be that I'm confusing acting ability with the silhouette she cut in the leather outfit she wore in the movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115624) :)
But all kidding aside, I think you're on to something here. Something in the fabric of our society has changed and it's not for the better. You call it shame, I call it self-respect/dignity. Either way, the folks who still carry themselves with self-respect and dignity seem to be much fewer and a lot further between now.
We can debate causes and cures for this all we want to, but all of those paths either start or end with us taking a good look in the mirror.
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