Ignore At Your Own Peril

Lest it be misunderstood, the crux of my previous posting titled ‘Pointing Fingers’ was not to absolve those people in positions of power. By their callous and careless actions, they have created the gigantic sink hole we are witnessing – a crater filled with lost jobs, foreclosed homes and wiped out retirement savings. History will judge them for what they have done. Their reputation will turn out to be less-than-flattering when the book is closed on this chapter of our history.

The point is that we need to take responsibility for our individual actions because collectively ‘We the People’ have the power to determine the course of how things turn out. By our daily decisions on what we do and what we consume, we have the power to determine which services or products and, by extension, which companies succeed and which fail. Because what we can expect in the future is determined by what we do today, we have a duty to ourselves and to future generations to be more thoughtful and less ignorant of the longer term impact and benefits of our decisions.

If we had not ignored the possibility that a finite supply of fossil fuels would result in ever increasing energy costs, we would have more aggressively pursued the development of technology to tap into alternative and renewable energy sources. We would not have abandoned the idea of the electric car and we certainly would not have bought into the deceiving appeal of gas guzzling SUVs. We would have severely restricted or discouraged suburban sprawl requiring longer commutes.

If commodity traders and hedge fund managers had not ignored the fact that oil prices above a certain threshold would have the impact of a sudden and massive reduction in consumption, companies would not have had to cut back production and factories would not have had to close or to lay off workers.

If executives in corporations had not ignored the impact (to the very consumers they rely on) of their relocating all types of jobs overseas, there would have been a less of a drain on the US consumers’ power to spend and there could have been fewer home foreclosures.

If bankers and housing developers had been less speculative and had not ignored the possibility of the housing bubble bursting, fewer new homes would be on the market and fewer sub-prime mortgages would have existed and fewer foreclosures would have resulted.

If home buyers had carefully weighed their income against their mortgage obligations and considered the effect of a change in circumstance such as illness, loss of job, decline in property values, they would not have taken risks they can ill afford or fallen prey to predatory lending practices.

A progressive society is one that has a conscience and does not chose to ignore the future consequence of its actions today. Ignoring tomorrow does not make it go away. We need leaders that are forward thinking and who understand that we can’t mortgage our children’s future for our own short term enjoyment.

We can learn to say “NO” and we can learn not ignore the danger signs. Some did and are surviving the present crunch. It was encouraging to hear on the news today that a small bank in Kansas stuck to its policies by not making risky loans in exchange for higher profits. In addition to remaining financially sound, it helped its customers by discouraging speculative borrowing.

Survival is a long-term game and ‘We the People’ are all in it together.