Was the Chinese propaganda suggestion in bad taste? Well then, here’s some bad news.

O.K., so yesterday I posted my Chinese Propaganda suggestion and no one commented. Either readers didn’t get it, they didn’t read it or they thought it was in bad taste. Now, I’m not suggesting that we start lying about our sad economic state, but I am pleading for some good down home news. Certainly there is good news out there…right? On the heels of bad news let me tell you a bad news story since that seems to be all the rage. It will have you begging for a little Mao.

On Saturday I raced to the mailbox, it was Valentine’s Day and I was half expecting a giant box from Red Envelope with diamond earrings or possibly a letter announcing I was the ten million dollar winner of the publisher’s clearing house online sweepstakes. Unfortunately all I got that day was a Happy Valentine’s Day form letter announcing a “going out of business sale” at one of our dainty neighborhood boutiques. I also got a “direct mail piece” from Washington Mutual, soon to be Chase. Anyway, in light of the dearth of diamonds, I decided to open the WAMU soon to be Chase solicitation. Thank god I did. This was no sales pitch. This was a letter advising us (that would be my husband and I) that our home equity line of credit had been closed.
The letter went on to inform that when our house was appraised its value was much higher than it is today therefore the equity against it had been closed. I was stunned. We live in one of the country’s best neighborhoods, pay our mortgage on time, volunteer at the public school, renew our license plates, buy girl scout cookies from the neighbor girl and pay for annual earthquake insurance. There was a time when every bank in the world was trying to loan us money.
Now, though this is bad news, it isn’t the end of the world for us. I use that line of credit as a cash flow source for my business; it’s an “emergency” line so to speak. But in the scheme of things, as work has slowed, it has been comforting to know that there was a fall back position. Not anymore…

I got to thinking….this is bad news. There are plenty of people out there, right or wrong, who borrowed big against their houses. These are well educated, white collar workers living beyond their means who have had the spigot suddnely cut off. What will they do when they can’t pay their mortgages and their handy emergency funds are no longer? What will happen to them? What will happen to their houses, their cars, their cleaning ladies?
Please….someone feed me a little Chinese Propaganda because I am Hungry!