“Retirement Gamble” aired on Frontline on April 23, 2013. For me, it was an excellent summary and reminder of why I do what I do day in and day out.
The market crash of 2000 was the trigger that made me think how I might remain free and independent in this country of my childhood dreams. What I know for sure is that there is no true freedom and independence without financial freedom. As if that crash of 2000 were not shocking enough, I still did not have the guts to pull everything out of Wall Street until after the next crash of 2008. Even then, complete withdrawal was forced upon David and me in 2009 – AFTER the value was decimated once again, no less – when we had to pay cash (for the portion that was not covered by insurance) for our rebuilt home after the 2008 fire, which was caused by a lightning strike.
The banks were bailed out at a cost to the taxpayers of $700 billion, later corrected to have been $1.2 trillion. That’s the money that came from you and me on top of all of the losses that many of us had endured on Wall Street. That bailout was supposed to help the banks start lending money again. But, as most of us know, they did not do what was intended by Congress. Instead, they spent the money for internal financial improvements. The capital market remained so dry that not even our primary bank, with which we have multiple business accounts, was lending. Even at around 800 credit scores for both of us, we were unable to get a mortgage loan for our re-built home.
That’s when I realized that the financial system in the United States not only limits but severely penalizes those who try to remain financially independent. As of this posting in May 2013, nearly five years since the bailout, for the most part, banks are still not lending. It is no wonder, therefore, that so many commercial buildings in our area remain empty.
What is wrong with this picture? If I were to create a conspiracy theory, with everything I have read and experienced, I could easily develop an outline and fill in the blanks with juicy details based on facts. But I choose not to go there. Here is why.
Every society is a reflection of human nature, combined with its own tradition and belief system. Despite all its warts and blemishes, America, to me, is still the best society in the world. The American Constitution recognizes the basic human needs and enables all citizens – whether natural born or naturalized – to enjoy them. That is, the knowledge that we are all created equal and that we all have the unalienable right to be free and independent. In other words, I live in a country where I get to choose how I live my life. What could be a more precious gift than that which our Founding Fathers bestowed upon us all? With this reminder, I choose to spend my waking moments figuring out how I may sustain my freedom and independence – rather than trying to prove what appears, on the surface, to be a slam-dunk case of conspiracy.
In retrospect, that lightning in 2008 could be interpreted as a divine intervention so that this adult immigrant to America would be forced to think through, implement, and write how others could benefit from what I learned in my continued pursuit of freedom and independence.
