We Catholics need to show this man that good devout Catholics take the BEST PARTS of both! We're not dumb slobs, NOR are we obsessed with retiring, acquiring wealth, etc.!

This guy is DEFINITELY over-generalizing. He's aware of the housing bubble -- he gets points for that. But that doesn't equal being wise in general.

Taken from a blog I frequent:


Sometimes I think America is a land of haves and have-nots in different ways than most people think. It's not about money, class, race or geography. Nope, it's simply about your view on life.

The haves wanted and got an education, are intellectually curious, seek information, and understand finance, math, history and science at least on a basic level. They enjoy the arts, support their communities, save for their future, and are generally aware of current events. The haves max out their 401k at work, invest on the side, spend less than they make, and hope to retire in their 50s.

The haves saved, put 10% or 20% down on a home, took out a 30-year fixed, never did a cash-out refi, didn't buy more than they could afford, and pay more than the minimum on their house and car payments (if they have 'em). The haves laughed at the slimy "exotic" mortgage ads the past few years and noticed when house prices detached from the fundamentals. And a lot of them cashed out of the bubble at the peak and now rent.

Then there's the have-nots.

They love their Jerry Springer, America's Next Top Model and People magazine. They think all people who like the arts are fαɢs. They never read a newspaper, they never crack open a book. They think social security will be there for them when they retire (no, seriously). They don't understand the simple concepts of evolution and the big bang, or if they do they don't believe them because god and his proxies told them it's all bunk. The have-nots see the American flag on Fox News and think it's there because Fox News is the channel of god, patriotism and America. The have-nots think shopping at Wal-Mart is patriotic and all-American too. They used to be Democrats and now they got conned into thinking they're Republicans.

And yes, it's the have-nots who took out a no-down, no-doc, interest-only, teaser-rate loan because their mortgage broker or have-not friend said it was the smart thing to do. They think home values never go down. And they don't know what's going on with housing because they don't seek out information, or reject information they don't want to hear.

Sure, some of the haves screwed up, got sucked into the bubble's debt-equals-wealth-machine, and are now going to get spit out. But that's a small subset of the haves. My theory is that the entire group of have-nots got sucked up into the exotic loan and cash-out-refi mess, with many of them blowing refi proceeds on big-ticket consumer items, cars and shopping sprees. And I surmise that the foreclosure parade will now be led by the have-nots, and they're gonna be pissed at (and blame) the haves.

I believe HP'ers skew heavily toward the 'haves' (except for REIC trolls). Why else did you end up at HP? If you're not a full-fledged have, at least you may be on your way. We just got to get you off of Fox News.