One of her and the Rancher's friends is in the midst of a nasty and bitter divorce. Another friend has to have her elderly dog put down. Yet another friend was complaining to the Rancher that he approached his bank for a loan and was having trouble getting approved because he, as a rancher, doesn't have a JOB! WTF? The man has a herd of some 100 cows, but the bank, because he doesn't leave his home, work 8 hours, and put a paycheque in the bank every two weeks, decides that ranching is not a job?
Thousands upon thousands of people used to farm/ranch as their sole support a mere 30 years ago. A few cows, chickens, pigs, a crop of some sort and they managed to raise a family and perhaps even send a child or two to college or even university. Nowadays, ranching is not considered a job. The people who raise the animals who feed this great nation are not actually working. What the hell do the bankers think the ranchers do? Where would the rest of the world be without the people who raise the food they eat? Ranching is no longer a living - it's a lifestyle.
On a lighter note...... ummm, anyone want to step in here?
22 comments:
SERIOUSLY WHAT THE HELL DO PEOPLE. BANKERS, ANYONE THINK RANCHERS DO?
we need to git your blog out to the masses.
I grow tired just reading about all the physical stuff and I know you share only a small portion with is.
*eyeroll*
People get divorced, dogs come to the end of their lives, so it has always been--but ranching not a JOB???? Hard to make a profit, yes, but do the bankers think nobody farms except as a tax write off?
Sorry, can't come up with a lighter note after that. Grrr.
Mary Anne in Kentucky
Farmers and ranchers are the hardest working people on the planet!
We owe our lives to those who grow our food -- and that especially goes for people who can't even keep silk houseplants in one piece, like me.
Banks want a guaranteed income. Ranching and farming is not a guaranteed income, because if you lose your crops to a blight or your herd to a disease, you may not be able to pay them back.
This is an illusion for the banking industry, however. Jobs can be lost in the blink of an eye, as well.
They want a paycheck so they will have assurance you have steady income, but that is a false security.
The banking industry needs to go back to manual underwriting. That is the process by which they look at you, your character, your hard work in the past, your history of paying back what you have borrowed, and go by that. They need to quit just looking at job with x salary for z years and a FICO score of y+. The problem is the first type of underwriting takes a brain. The latter can be done by anyone who knows how to plug numbers into a formula without thinking.
It is the latter that partially got us into the financial mess we are in.
I agree with the Bag Lady's rant, and hope your friend finds a banker with a brain soon.
The banker is clearly an a**fingered ****head who oh, umm yeah.
Messymimi is correct.
Miz - Obviously, they don't think we make any money.....
And, for some of us, that's true.
Mary Anne in Kentucky - It is getting harder and harder to make money at this - the profit margin keeps getting smaller.
Messymimi - thanks for this - you said it much better than I did!
dfLeah - Yes. Exactly.
Nothing to add on the banker/rancher craziness --all the good stuff has been said.
I feel for your friend losing a long-time canine companion. And divorce is never a pleasant thing, but for it to be nasty and bitter is just awful. Much as it is happening to a friend, be extra tender with one another during this time. Those things can wriggle in and affect your thinking, too.
My husband's grandparents were farmers; his cousin still farms the land. And yes, there have been kids sent to college but I wonder if the cousin runs up against this, too. [shakes head sadly]
Ranchers don't do anything. Just watch the crops and animals grow.
Just like moms don't do anything. Just sit back and watch things get done by the laundry fairies, cooking fairies, dish fairies, homework-helping fairies, carpool fairies, budget and bill-paying fairies, etc.
You get my point.
Vee at http://www.veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com
UGH that's so frustrating. All of it.
This is kinda sweet and might make you smile:
http://xkcd.com/260/
Dumb bank people! My great-grandfather was a dairy farmer who loaned people money and supplies all the time to help build the town up around his dairy. They worked hard then and they work hard now! But it seems that in this society of suits and shiny shoes, farmers and ranchers are very underappreciated.
FWIW, I've been reading that the banks are making up any old excuse these days to keep from giving out a loan. Maybe that's all it is. But still, what a lame excuse!
That is soooo wrong...where does the banker think his steak is coming from? Oh, that's right - the store! duh.
Makes me want to slap the stupid out of people...
kcinnova - Yeah, I worry a tiny bit about the 'ripple effect' when friends are divorcing - the newly single wants to party, and drag his buddy along. Hopefully, now that they are older and more mature....err, nevermind.
Vee - I do get your point, and it's a valid one!
Sagan - thanks, I'll check that out!
Gena - there was a time when people had their priorities straight, and knew where their food came from, and how hard farmers and ranchers worked to produce it. Nowadays, they don't have the respect for farmers - they seem to think that we are too stupid to make our way in the big city, so we stay down on the farm.
TV programs like HeeHaw perpetuated that stereotype.
I could write a whole 'nother rant about that....
BG - you could be right - any excuse will do when it comes to not lending money!
Missicat - you'd be slapping all day long! And all you'd end up with is a sore hand - unfortunately.
Have Rancher invite the banker to pull on his Levi's and shadow him step for step for one weekend.
Preferably during calving or haying season.
The loan will be approved toot sweet.
I buy all my food from a store, not a ranch.
hahahhahaha
Um...it's a job. I promise. Why is it that people who have high positions and high education treat everyone else like nothing? I mean, those people do the LEAST amount of work and get payed the most. So dumb.
Tell your friend that I'm thinking about her and her doggy friend. We had to let my own dog go in June. I know it's hard.
Beginning of last week I got 3 pieces of sad news, within a few day. I walked around feeling sad for a week, starting to feel better now.
No point to that comment really. Just, I hear ya.
And yeah, the "ranching is not a job" thing doesn't make much sense.
Wait a minute--where I come from, they consider that "self-employed," and all you do is submit your income tax returns for a couple of years so they can verify you make enough. I don't understand what the problem is with the bank--that's just crazy.
Sparrow - that's true! I wonder if the banker could keep up!
POD - LOL
Georgie - I will pass that on to my friend. She is very upset - her dog was 14 - that's a long time to have a companion in your life!
JavaChick - some days are definitely harder than others.
VBC - it IS crazy. It sounds like a poor excuse to me! Thanks for your comment.
I'm sorry about all the unhappy things that are happening. Just went through a period like that, myself. Things finally did work out. Fingers crossed.
As for your farmer friend...he should consult another banker. They can't ALL be that ignorant.
On a lighter note...I think that most people have a new appreciation of farmers, these days. I really, really do.
Hang in there :-)
Thanks, Cheryl! I think our friend actually did go to a different banker, so here's hoping things work out for him!
Wow, really, wow. Not a job?!? Messymimi said it best.
Reb - yes, she did. I should get her to write my rants for me from now on! :)
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