Bailout can be a relative term. Were depression-era soup lines "bailouts" for good people? Or the more benign Charity? Yes & Yes... and that in a country that was significantly more rurally agrarian and essentially 'self-sustaining' than we are as a nation today.
By now, the default crises are shaking down to encompass numerous fiscally responsible people who did plan for the worst... but the worst turned out to be so much worse, so much longer than even careful people living modest lives could have dreamt of.
Point being... we can not know what we do not know. Multiple external-force (some Natural) disasters have occurred in the last 10 years that were so bad that no one (regardless how wise, savvy, experienced, conservative, idealistic, or just plain lucky) could conceive of the possibilities; let alone put strong enough safety nets in place to avoid.
As many have stated... there are good and responsible people out there with their butts in a sling. And it's like cancer... we all know them. We are them.
Sometimes it just seems to come down to the Universe periodically imposing hard lessons to force us to a greater empathy... whether to ourselves, our neighbors & families, fellow mankind or Mother Nature.
What else could induce us to collectively return to smaller simpler lives (y'know the old days when a kid's birthday party consisted only of a cake just big enough for the immediate family.)
And finally... with regards to ruined credit ratings... WHO CARES??? It's a societal construct anyway. When majority numbers hit the proverbial crapper, Averages & Bell Curves will automatically redefine the standard (not "watching" your rating as that moronic credit-rating company commercial with the furry doggy numerals implies.
)
Current rant over
By now, the default crises are shaking down to encompass numerous fiscally responsible people who did plan for the worst... but the worst turned out to be so much worse, so much longer than even careful people living modest lives could have dreamt of.
Point being... we can not know what we do not know. Multiple external-force (some Natural) disasters have occurred in the last 10 years that were so bad that no one (regardless how wise, savvy, experienced, conservative, idealistic, or just plain lucky) could conceive of the possibilities; let alone put strong enough safety nets in place to avoid.
As many have stated... there are good and responsible people out there with their butts in a sling. And it's like cancer... we all know them. We are them.
Sometimes it just seems to come down to the Universe periodically imposing hard lessons to force us to a greater empathy... whether to ourselves, our neighbors & families, fellow mankind or Mother Nature.
What else could induce us to collectively return to smaller simpler lives (y'know the old days when a kid's birthday party consisted only of a cake just big enough for the immediate family.)
And finally... with regards to ruined credit ratings... WHO CARES??? It's a societal construct anyway. When majority numbers hit the proverbial crapper, Averages & Bell Curves will automatically redefine the standard (not "watching" your rating as that moronic credit-rating company commercial with the furry doggy numerals implies.
)Current rant over
