Culturegeeks

… Blue Collar Money Management?

Redneck Bank

And before you ask, yes, this is a real bank with FDIC insurance and everything!

Ok, if you listen to one thing regarding the current situation in the economy, listen to this. It’s a This American Life program about a lot of money-related stuff, but most importantly they talk about Credit Default Swaps, and why they aren’t bad in theory, and why the way that they’re being used is pretty much causing the credit freeze.

It’s a long podcast…Sara and I listened to it on the way home from Portland last weekend…but incredibly worthwhile.  Then, if you want to keep up on what’s going on, go to http://npr.org/money.  They have a daily podcast, since the money thing is changing so quickly.

Interestingly, Sara and I were going to go to Iceland next summer to see her relatives, and also, as it happens, have her do some work.  It should be fun, because by that point we should be able to buy a house there for about $10. 

So, I don’t even know how many people are reading this enough to even interject comments, but it seems that we haven’t had any long comment threads lately, if ever.  Let’s start.

So, we’re in quite the shitstorm here, aren’t we?  I have to admit that after the vote failed yesterday, I was thinking that it may be for the best, in that we hadn’t had time to look over the bill.  Also, quite frankly, I thought what was the worst that could happen to us?  Admittedly, Bend Oregon, where I live, is the 2nd most overvalued real estate in the country (that’s a new ranking in the last month or so).  I think I can safely say that we lost all of the money we put into the house as a downpayment.  And it was sizable.  However, it was money received entirely from selling our old house, so it was kinda funny money anyway.

My wife has a job in a medical practice specializing in non-elective surgery, so that business should remain steady, and I’m a stay at home dad, with a few clients, one of whom works for the oil and gas industry.  What’s the worst that could happen to us?

Well, this seeks to address my concerns.

I’m still not entirely convinced though, I’d like to hear what other people think, and more importantly how, if at all, they see it affecting them.  Some of those links mention larger companies possibly not making payroll, but does anyone reading actually work for a company that requires a loan to make payroll?  I know that there are people who have been affected by the general economy adversely, but would this bill have fixed that, or was too much shit broken?