An Amusing Video for LBYMers: The Other Side

[barbarus]

If your a bit bored this weekend and want to see how the other half lives, i.e. those citizens who won't be ERing anytime soon, have a look.

The Silver Bear Cafe

[DRiP Guy]

Well, I watched it.

"Amusing" is not exactly the term that comes to mind.

Note - anyone who watches 'most' or 'all' of it, please do go ahead and also watch through all of the small cuts interspersed to the end of credits, as well. Sad.

Does not surprise me a bit to find that Suzi Orman is employed by the fine folks who provide your FICO score, as much as she harps that line over and over:

You want to have the highest FICO score possible. Even though you pay the card off, the credit balance could still appear on your credit history at the reporting bureaus. This can negatively affect your FICO score, and this could cost you higher interest.

Suze Orman's FICO® Kit Platinum



Everything you need to take control of your credit and harness the power of your FICO® scores.
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Price: $49.95
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myFICO - Suze Orman's FICO Kit Platinum



Well, I say screw your score, control your actual debt & use of credit, then the score will take care of itself.

[DRiP Guy]

Orman bridles at the contention that the ads compromised her integrity. They were, she says, just another way to provide people with financial advice. Besides, she's not journalist."I have now become a celebrity," she said. "Whether the reporters who have bashed me for years want to believe it, Suze Orman has become . . . somebody that America has embraced." And, as such, she says she should be held to the same standard as other celebrities who endorse products.

Whether she's a celebrity or journalist or both, there is no doubt that Orman has a wide following as a financial expert. Her first two books of financial advice sold 3 million copies, according to Publishers Weekly; four of her eight books have become New York Times bestsellers. She's been profiled in innumerable newspapers and magazines, and is a contributing editor to O, The Oprah Magazine.Her CNBC show reaches an average of 120,000 viewers.

"It raised a lot of eyebrows around here when we first saw the GM commercials," said one CNBC staffer. "Clearly it's not something that in general we would be able to do." The guidelines do not apply to Orman, explained CNBC spokeswoman Amy Zelvin, because Orman owns her show, and CNBC pays her a license fee to air it. "Suze Orman appears on CNBC as an expert commentator," Zelvin said. "She is not an employee of CNBC and she is not a journalist. As such, she is able and permitted to pursue outside business ventures."

But CNBC's Web site suggests otherwise: Orman is listed as the network's "personal finance editor," a title that suggests both employment and journalistic decision-making. "I recently resigned from that position," Orman explained. "When all this started with the GM thing, I called up [CNBC Enterprises general manager] Bob Meyers. I said 'Bob, this is ridiculous.' I don't do anything as personal finance editor. It was an empty title really. Why even have it?" Orman said she retired the title sometime in late November, and that she had been personal finance editor for about three years. Zelvin, who expressed surprise when informed of the title, said: "We should have been clearer that she's a commentator and not a journalist." (At press time, CNBC's Web site still identified Orman as personal finance editor on the site's "Anchors and Reporters" page.)

Earlier conflicts noted The GM deal is not the first Orman product promotion. Among the dozens of books and self-help kits she sells on her Web site is the Suze Orman FICO Kit, a $49.95 software package that lets purchasers buy their Fair Isaac credit Three years ago, Orman briefly sold long-term care policies on QVC and her site. The fact that Orman earned a commission off sales and that the policies were underwritten by a division of General Electric, which owns CNBC, caused a squall of press criticism that led her to abandon the project. Orman said such criticism is unfair. Why, she asked, does nobody question the motives of Meredith Vieira of "The View"-a show that Orman frequents when selling her books-for appearing in ads for Bayer aspirin? Or put another way, how much integrity does a celebrity need?"

Exelon chief pursuing future, past

[Danny]

I have plenty of contempt for Orman. I am plenty ticked off that my PBS station has helped make her and her ilk richer during pledge drives...

[DRiP Guy]

Originally Posted by DanTien

I have plenty of contempt for Orman. I am plenty ticked off that my PBS station has helped make her and her ilk richer during pledge drives...

Yup. And she is bad enough, but now they have even gone even further, to promoting Kyo-suck-ie's scam. Bleech.

[happy2bretired]

Wow that really opened my eyes. I Googled the title and Spurlock and read an article from Newsweek re: this video since I couldn't hear most of it. It's also really interesting how the administration holds hands with high finance. It also touches on the same idea from Bogle's TV interview...how finance/capitalism has changed and not for the better.

The "amusing" part... According to the Newsweek report, they started out intending this to be amusing, but, after a few interviews, it became apparent, it was no laughing matter.

[DRiP Guy]

Originally Posted by happy2bretired

...after a few interviews, it became apparent, it was no laughing matter.

True, it was no laugh-fest; but if I did not make it clear earlier, it was definitely worth viewing, IMHO.

As O/P said, the folks represented sadly won't be retiring early.

[ziggy29]

From the link:

How credit cards impose modern slavery on the people.

Slavery? Please. "Voluntary servitude," I'll buy, at least for many people. To equate something people voluntarily get themselves in trouble with to an evil institution which deprives people of their liberty against their will is inaccurate at best and offensive at worst.

It's only a form of servitude if you don't know how to handle credit properly. Those who don't should avoid it, but for those who can use it responsibly it's not "slavery" at all.

[maddythebeagle]

"Amusing" is not exactly the term that comes to mind.

ditto...I watched a bit and wasnt impressed....Frontline did a special on the cc industry and much more balanced....

[Nords]

After Maria Bartiromo, I don't see why CNBC couldn't totally destroy their reputation with one more small step up to Suze Orman...

[2B]

The credit industry is a sleezy, slimy industry. There are legislative actions that could clean things up but I wouldn't hold my breath.

However, the people that get in trouble are overwhelmingly willing participants. It's sad to see what happens to people but most of them got into the problem by themselves.

The real solution comes down to education but I think we all know too many people that look at what the payment will be and not their longterm financial security.

[Oldbabe]

This documentary "Maxed Out" is a sad indictment of our consumerist culture. There are parts of that documentary that made me sick. If you haven't seen it, it's available online at Netflix (you can do an immediate download and watch it).

[TromboneAl]

I'm enjoying the video. Took me a while to realize that it wasn't by the guy who did Supersize Me (Morgan Spurlock), but was done by James Scurlock.

Here's a question: It came out in 2005. It talks a lot about the companies who target the subprime market. Is it true that many of these companies have now been bitten by their willingness to lend to people who are unlikely to be able to pay?

[twaddle]

The subprime lenders sold off their loans for the most part, so the investors who bought the loans got the short end of the stick in that case. In some cases, the loans defaulted quickly enough that the lenders were forced to repurchase the loans, and that led many of them to implode:

The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter - tracking the housing finance breakdown, related to Alt-A and subprime mortgages, lending fraud, predatory lending, housing bubble, mortgage banking, foreclosures, debt, consolidation, lawyers, class-action lawsui

[novaman]

Watched the whole video. As expected it makes big business and Gov. out to be the bad guy, and all the poor "innocent" folks who are up to their ears in debt to be the good innocent victims.

Sure there are some real truly tragic stories out there- the illnesses, job losses, etc. But many many of the people who declare bankruptcy don't fall into this category.

My own sis in law declared bankruptcy years ago and It was all her and her husbands own fault. total fiscal irresponsibility. Most of the bankruptcies I suspect fall into this category.

[Nords]

Originally Posted by novaman

total fiscal irresponsibility. Most of the bankruptcies I suspect fall into this category.

Well, maybe and maybe not. Let's go to the stats.

Martha, what does your experience indicate? Did most people go bankrupt through fiscal irresponsibility or through a catastrophic financial event like a six-figure healthcare bill?

[novaman]

Originally Posted by Nords

Well, maybe and maybe not. Let's go to the stats.

Martha, what does your experience indicate? Did most people go bankrupt through fiscal irresponsibility or through a catastrophic financial event like a six-figure healthcare bill?

When I'm wrong I'm wrong. I just looked it up. Based on a 2005 Harvard study, it looks like 50% of bunkruptcies in US are due to illness/catastrophic medical bills.

[TromboneAl]

The subtitle should be:

Stupid and/or Ignorant People, and the Ruthless Corporations that Take Advantage of Them

For example, the story of the tearful Lynn Stavert whose husband died. She fell behind on her payments, used cash advances to pay her mortgage.

She had collected 500 decorative plates that she displayed around her house. Assuming an average cost of $30, she had spent $15,000 on those plates. Why couldn't she sell the house (looks like 2500 to 3000 sq feet) that she lived in, or the late model crew cab truck in the driveway?

She was ignorant and stupid, and companies took advantage of that.

[Gumby]

T-Al:

That same thing struck me. She seemed like she wanted to pay the bills, but she appeared completely clueless about how properly to do that. I suspect her late husband handled all their financial matters. I just can't fathom using credit card cash advances ot make your mortgage payments, but there are obviously people who don't know any better.

Nords:

While I don't work on consumer bankruptcies, I do read the professional literature. The credit card companies would have you believe that everyone who files bankruptcy was a profligate who ran up their credit cards to finance a fancy lifestyle, but the truth is that the three largest causes of consumer bankruptcies are actually the loss of a job, big medical bills, and/or divorce.

What the credit card companies convinced Congress to do in 2005 is incredibly sleazy. Do you think those card companies lowered their interest rates now that they have made it so much more difficult to discharge debts in a Chapter 7. They should, since now they don't have to hedge against large writeoffs, but you already know the answer, don't you?



I find the whole situation incredibly sad. My wife is considering showing this movie to her high school math class. It is not too directly "preachy" about not getting in over your head, but you get the message loud and clear by watching it. It also shows that there are sharks in the pool waiting for the unwary. I hope they learn something.

[Nords]

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