Nine stupid things …

Some stupid things you can do or may have done.

1. Buy a gas-hog SUV.
2. Buy a house you can’t afford, at a distance from your employment that you cannot afford to drive.
3. Provide a mortgage to those who cannot afford the aforementioned house.
4. Take illegal drugs.
5. Drink excessively.
6. Wear clothing that makes you look like a criminal.
7. Complain about those who exclude those who dress like criminals.
8. Listen to those who complain about excluding those who dress like criminals.
9. Go to the Power & Light District after the criminal element is no longer excluded because of their dress.

Kansas City and the merchants in the Power & Light District can’t afford to allow political correctness to rule the dress code.

Tom Payne
Edwardsville

Comments

[katman]

I’ve waited awhile to post this. The level of discourse is absolutely appalling to me. It’s like a group of red necks playing hackey sack with words & ideas. No one seems to post a fresh idea & certainly nothing is posted in a convincing manner. Before any one of you gets his/her nose out of joint, I am not interested in changing you or your blog. That would be both foolish and impossible. I will post my comments early in the morning directly to the letters themselves. I am busy all day, every day. I have a life! Take all the cheap shots at me; I probably won’t read most of them. If I do, it will be late in the evening.

[solomon]

They've had a marathon of Carlins HBO specials. One of his funniest bits is about the jerks on bikes in traffic. A classic.

[katman]

If George Carlin had seen these feeble attempts at humor, it would have killed him a long time ago.

[solomon]

Great Porkys reference........

[Marctnts]

Don't forget Michael Hunt (writing about sexual freedoms) and Nosmo King (commenting about the smoking ban).

[solomon]

I'm waiting for Seymour Butz and Heywood Jablome......

[Sammy]

Funny letter.

Free country? Yes. Free of stupidity? No. Free to judge others' stupidity? Yes.

Are bogus letters getting through the Star filters? Some odd names of recent letter writers: Tom Payne, Joe Kramps, Karbaumer, Nancy Kwak. If so, bravo.

[solomon]

There were two types of ARMs sold during the boom in the first part of this decade. One type was sold to people who had good credit but had been in a 7-9% mortgage for a number of years and wanted the advantage of a 5% rate to consolidate debt, maybe while they decided whether they'd be in the home long term or just wanting the lowest payment. the other type, the sub-prime ARMs, were sold to people who had had credit problems, were in a high interest rate mortgage and wanted to consolidate debt while they acted responsibly to raise their scores. The plan would call for a refinance 18-24 months later into a conforming loan produt.

Few people in the first category are having difficulty today. While there are some peolple who purchased a home above their menas, if they've acted responsibly a refi of their homes is not a problem. In the other case too many people, given relief from credit card and mortgage debt, went out and charged more and did not act to improve their scores. The major fallout was due to the fact that once foreclosures start and property values fall the abilty to refi is gone. Its simple math, if you borrowed 95% of your homes value to consolidate yourdebts with plans to refi once your score goes up, today when your home is only worth 85% of its 2005 appraised value you are going to be in a hole with no way to refi.

[dolcemusica1]

Sorry for the typo - it should be living beyond one's means - better get that cup of coffee to get my fingers to wake up.

[dolcemusica1]

On a couple of items, I think some misunderstand.

1)Regarding the SUV - I don't believe there are SUVs that are getting 35 - 45 mpg (my car gets 42-45 mpg). Though one does have the freedom of choice, if gas prices go by the supply/demand theory, the more demand - the increase in price. if more people bought cars that had higher mpg or took public transportion, there would be less demand and highly probably (thought not definite) that gas prices would go down some.

2) Some people do actually buy a house they can't afford - have furniture in only half the house or less - and don't have much of a life other than making the mortgage payments. And, many also got the ARM mortgages - when the interests rose, they couldn't afford the mortgage payments (basically leaving beyond one's means).

3) Before the mortgage crisis, several mortgage companies were providing 2nd mortgages or home equity lines at 125% of the market value of the house.

4). I guess some people are not aware that some drugs are illegal - marijuana, heroin, cocaine, etc. Those taking prescription drugs (as long as they are not abusing) obviously are under a physician's care and have a medical reason for them.

[Rogue]

This is not a descendant obviously of the original Thomas Payne.........

[T. Hanson]

1. Buy a gas-hog SUV

It is not your business what I buy, unless you plan on paying for my gas.

2. Buy a house you can’t afford, at a distance from your employment that you cannot afford to drive.

Once again I will buy a house that I can afford. But if I loose my job then I can see that there could be a problem. Then on that note a person changes his/her career almost 5 times in their life therefore you might not live next to where you work.

3. Provide a mortgage to those who cannot afford the aforementioned house.

Most of those companies get the money from the "Closing Fees" and then write off the mortgage towards another company. It is a scam all the way, but not all scams are stupid.

4. Take illegal drugs.

Stupid, you said illegal.

5. Drink excessively.
Moderation.

6-9. Nothing more said, just referance the 1500 comments on this issue.

[solomon]

Good morning NE,

I was going to ask how Tom determines if the caucasian American he is sitting next to is a criminal but I was afraid katwoman would go all Halle Berry on me again.

Tom mentions as stupid people in poor mortgage situations along with people who sell mortgages, so maybe his letter has some secret meaning that only he understands. The last four points let you know exactly what he thinks.

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

Mr Payne - NOt all SUVs are gas hings and so what if someone does buy one, we live in a free country. How much plastic crap do you own, what about tires on your vehicle(s) and other petroluem based consumables?
Asphalt anyone?
What excessively taking "legal" drugs, coupla Prozac here, a Viagra there, no big deal.
Let's see, how did the crew at Enron dress? Suits I think it was, so the PLD should not allow suits to be worn, as you might be a criminal.

[solomon]

#10. In Tom Paynes case it was writing this letter.