“The sky is falling.” That was the line that made Chicken Little famous. After an acorn fell and hit him on the head (in the original story), he thought the world was coming to an end. That is the same thing that a lot of people are crying right now. With the stock market down, banks (note: I said banks) going under, and the government fighting over what to do, it is understandable that there is concern in the public eye.
However, there are some things that should give us peace of mind. For instance, the government seems to have learned from past recessions and depressions and have created certain safeguards to help prevent against a major market crash. An example of this would be what they call “circuit breakers”. If everyone starts to panic and sell and the market drops too drastically (below a pre-determined amount), the system will simply shut down for a period of time to guard against a collapse.
There is another important key to having peace of mind during this period of economic hardship: credit unions. Most credit unions have had the common sense to not underwrite bad loans out of greed. We have continued to put people first, instead of our own pockets. Without getting into the accounting and financial jargon, I will dumb it down by saying that Addison Avenue is doing VERY good. If you belong to Addison Avenue, you can sleep well at night.
The sky might be falling in some neighborhoods, but not in ours.
October 4th, 2008 at 6:54 am
J,
As always, another brilliant post.
I’ve been watching this government bail-ou….er “emergency economic stabilization act of 2008″ with much horror Especially when credit unions were on the list.
It is important to note that credit unions don’t need it - in fact, just the opposite is happening. We are the rescue team for the average family. A safe haven for their money and a safe place to borrow. We will NOT let people take out risky loans - loans that may jeopardize their family’s home.
These are good times for credit unions.
Denise Wymore