So, I went to see the bank today about a loan to boost my business.
I want to make real documentaries and that require real funding.
Well, you can imagine the results of that conversation, and to be honest with you, the result was as expected.
Anyway, I was not far away from a place where I enjoy watching these birds, so I went there to relax my mind.
Did you know that there is a limit, a lower limit, as to how much some banks will lend in certain projects?
Some banks will not even consider a loan less than $100,000 for real estate.
So, what does that mean to a person trying to buy a house of, say, $60,000?
And there are millions of them.
Here's a thought.
What if you spend the last 25 years paying off your mortgage, and now you have five years left?
You have lost your job and you have missed the last two, maybe three months' payment.
How would you feel about having the banks foreclosed on your home?
And you are being faced with eviction.
Of course, some banks are compassionate and they would never consider such an act.
Unfortunately, not all banks are compassionate, so I can imagine how you would feel,
but what about your teenage children being thrown out of their homes, the only home they have ever known?
There are millions of people who want to buy homes, costing less than $100,000.
But if there are no incentives to sell such homes, what is left?
In many communities, even though there is a need for such houses,
it is suggested that the real money lenders would just assume bringing the bulldozers and level such homes.
I believe that if your leaders, political leaders, really cared about the poor, working poor, that is,
there would be real programs to get them into real homes.
Of course, I have been told that there are such programs on paper,
but how practical are they and do they really apply to the working poor?
How effective are they?
How big a problem am I talking about?
In 2009, 3 million people faced foreclosure.
In 2010, that number went up to 3,800,000 people who faced foreclosure.
Just numbers, you say, but to put it into perspective,
the entire population of Jamaica is just under 2,900,000 people.
In other words, forget about the numbers and just consider one person,
a father or mother, having to pack their belongings and get out of the only home they have ever known.
How do you suppose they feel?
And what about their children?
How do you suppose the children feel about leaving the only home they have ever known?
Somebody once told me that you can judge the character and integrity of a country based on
how that country treats their less fortunate.
Is that really true?
Oh well, maybe none of what I just told you is true.
Maybe I am the one who have it all wrong.
These birds are amazing, aren't they?
