Excuse moi, Blame who?

I don't really know where to begin, but I'm getting more and more pissed off at how people are treating the economic situation. Here's my thing - this crisis was not brought on by the government, no matter how much you want to stretch it and try to say it was.

The mortgage crisis, as everyone knows, was due to faulty lending. I know people want to pin that on Bush too, but fact of the matter is it was due to predatory lending. And people in America are so hopped up on "want" that they fell for it. Who do we blame here? Both dumb people and lenders. No government involved in that one.

The market is in a recession. People want to complain that some people say we aren't (although I can say that although I'm pinching my pennies more, I'm not broke by any means.... and I'm a poor college student) but everyone knows that the market has its ups and downs. No one can really say one way or another what is to blame for the current market - tracked especially through consumer reports - being the way it is. Here' s my question - if the market is so bad, have you changed any spending habits because of it? I'm not talking about giving up one thing, I'm talking about severe changes. Here's the facts - I don't have a lot of money, and I usually don't. Yet I still have seen many movies this summer. People can say what they want about the market, but things like entertainment are purely luxuries that come from want, so as long as Iron Man has banked $300+ million in the US, I'm not going to be terribly concerned about the market.

Now for gas. We can blame this on whatever we want, but fact of the matter is no matter what the cause, we will be charged as much as possible until we change our habits. I don't care who's to blame, because whoever is sees that. I mean, sorry, but I've seen reports that basically travel isn't doing as well, but I know lots of people that haven't changed their usual driving habits the tiniest bit. I'm not green by any measures (and don't you dare say that I am) but yes, I'll walk lots of places within two miles, provided I have time to do so. I don't know a single other person who has started riding a bike more or walking more just to save some gas money. Yet we bitch alllll the time about how high the prices are. I don't want to hear it.

Lastly, the job situation. I'm sorry, I will never feel bad for someone who can't get a job. Because everyone can. It's not like McDonalds is filled up across the nation. A lot of it seems to be an attitude problem, and in some cases, a lack of diversifying in training. I realize a lot of jobs have suffered cutbacks, but if you're smart, you will have a back-up plan. Always. I've spent three years of my college experience on a variety of fields - my major is different from a number of jobs, positions and organizations I've been involved in. And I can say that when I graduate I will have like a billion options. Anyone who doesn't have any options should be scared, yes, but they should also be reprimanded by NOT HAVING A JOB. I realize you might think I'm being tough, but this is life my friend. If you want to cruise through life, be my guest, but don't expect me to fork out extra tax dollars because you didn't pay enough attention to the market to see your job was about to get going.

I know people probably think that everything I've said is harsh or maybe selfish, but fact of the matter is, the economy is pretty self-centered. A lot of your view on it will revolve around your personal circumstances. And I refuse to make excuses for another person.