All my life I have been a strong supporter of placing blame where it belongs. Find the guilty and punish them for their wrong doings and their inconsiderate actions toward society. But at what point does the chase for the guilty become the search for a scapegoat? At what point does it truly become a witch hunt?
We all know how bad the economy has been and crunch of the economic crisis has been felt by far too many. But at what point is it counterproductive to spend valuable time and energy in search of a place to point our finger and a door step in which to lay the blame of this debacle?
We could blame the banks for lending too much money to risky borrowers.We could blame the government and the worlds leading economists for not seeing the writing on the wall and warning us. We could blame GM and all the other failing and failed businesses for poor practices that cost many their jobs. We could blame the borrowers who knew that would not be able to afford the home once the rates adjust. We could blame Realtors for continuing to sell homes. Who else would we like to blame in search of our witch to burn at the stake? Here, I'll make it simple for the world, the government, and society at large, the current state of our economy is completely my fault. I did it and I'm not proud of it, but I caused the entire thing.
Now that we have a a scapegoat to blame and someone to point the finger at, do you think we could possibly start using our effort to solve the problem. There is a ton of blame to go around in our current status, however, trying to pinpoint who or what exactly caused the situation really doesn'tt help much in solving it. I know the fact that I can't swim would be reason that I might drown if I fall out of a boat, but that doesn't save my life if I fall out before I learn to swim. At that point I just need to figure out how on Earth to stay afloat and get the hell out of the water. Once I learn the fact that I would have been fine if I knew how to swim, then I can learn to so so. Next time I fall out of the boat, I will be prepared. But that's next time and what about this time?
My big point in all of this is that we should focus a little more attention on how to make our situation better, rather than who to blame for our predicament. Maybe if companies would focus their attention on how to make their business better, rather than who to complain to about it, then they would start doing better. This is a method that could be beneficial all the way down the line. Focus on the solution rather than who to blame for the problem. But then what the hell would I know, this is all my fault remember.
www.jlboney.com
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JL Boney, III - Columbia, SC Realtor - Russell and Jeffcoat Real Estate
I specialize in Columbia, SC real estate and the surrounding areas, including Blythewood, SC, Kershaw County, Fairfield County, and Lexington, SC. If you are in the market to buy or sell a home in Columbia, SC or any of the surrounding areas, I would love the opportunity to speak with to see how I can help. Thanks for reading and feel free to contact me if I can be of service to you.
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23 Comments on The Witch Hunt Continues
JL...
Amen to that my friend ... we need to move forward from here!
Jesse- We could certainly do something more constructive.
Karen- A crisis is a terrible thing to waste, so don't look for that positive news any time soon.
Scott- I must admit that it does take a load off my shoulders to get this out in the open. No I cannot swim. This is made truly ironic by the fact that my wife is a Master's swim coach.
Richard- Forward would be a really nice place to go.
Well thank goodness you fessed up to it! I had this lingering idea that maybe I was the one who caused the whole thing. Guilt <pfft> gone!
JL - I really wish you would have consulted me before writing this post. You see, all the world's ills can be laid at Mr. Alan May's feet. To hell with personal responsibilty, just blame Alan:)
JL...we all have a blame in this finacial problem...including consumers! It is time to channel our energy forward!
I completely agree. It doesn't do anybody any good to play the blame game. If people put half as much effort into fixing the problem as they did blaming each other our economy would be in such better shape right now.
Beth- You may now move on guilt free.
Sardi- If only I had thought of that first.
Bill- We do all share the blame, but now we need to move on.
Kat- I completely agree, it's time to get over pointing at one another and start pointing forward.
JL - one thing I learned in business, placing blame does not fix the problem. You do a root cause analysis and then address that (those) cause (s). If one of the causes is a person/persons, you address that. But what you find, it is easier to afix blame than to fix a problem, that's why government should stay out of our business as much as possible.
BTW - if blaming Alan doesn't work, blame King George, without hime we might not have had a revolution.
JL,
Good post. One thing I learned; when you are pointing a finger at someone, 4 fingers on the same hand are pointing back at you! The whole system was built on a house of cards. (Credit cards)
JL ---- "My big point in all of this is that we should focus a little more attention on how to make our situation better, rather than who to blame for our predicament" ---- I really like this.
JL,
I am an advocate for solutions as well, preferably not in the form of bailouts though. This is the reason I wrote my newest book, It's The Housing Market, Stupid. It's also the reason I have this blog.
It is still amazing to me that nearly nine months removed from the crisis in September, I am yet to see a viable economic stimulus passed in Congress.
Mike- I am certain that if we stick to our guns when can pin this on Alan. However, if all else fails it's good to have George for a backup.
Terry- Credit cards can crumble too.
Liz- I thought you might.
Mark- I have yet to see one either.
Great post JL! I completely agree with you. Too much in america do we look for others to take blame rather than sitting back and saying 'you know... I probably over extended myself a little'. Its easier to say 'why did you lend me money I could not afford'. Its ridiculous!!
John- It's easy to find someone to blame when you don't want to look at yourself, either way, it doesn't solve the problem.
JL
If people were willing to take responsibility and actually tackle things in a positive matter i do not believe we would be in this predicament if he first place. But if we have to blame someone I vote for Sardi
Yep JL....enough blame for everyone to claim a piece of that action. But still, nice of you to absorb all of it! I've only heard from others about how nice you are, now I know for real. So take a little rest, slough it off and have a terrific weekend :-)
JL,
Absolutely brilliant!!
Hugh- He makes too easy of a target if you ask me.
Gail- I'm only here to help. If taking the hit on this one gives everyone else a break, then so be it.
Alice- Thank you very much.
Hi JL-Great post. Now if the the folks that were really to blame could read this post then maybe then would stop finger pointing and take your advice and find a solution by working together. Now there is a novel idea <SMILE>
Sharon- It's a great idea that we both know will never happen.