(CNN) -- Luis Caplan served the poor of the South Bronx for decades out of a small medical office. His leg was amputated after a bout with cancer in 1990, yet he continued to work for another five years.
Luis Caplan, 71, asks of the stimulus package: "What happens to the real middle class?"
Now, his savings has nearly been wiped out because of the economic crisis. At the age of 71, he faces losing his apartment if things don't change soon. The government bailed out the big institutions, but "what happens to the little people," he asks.
"What happens to the real middle class? What happens to me?" he says, choking back tears. "It's awful. It's really awful."
With Congress working to pass the $800 billion stimulus bill, millions of Americans -- especially those with homes they're trying to sell or about to be foreclosed on -- are asking the same thing: What's in it for me?
Caplan says most of his equity is tied up in his 800-square-foot apartment that he purchased in 1985. He wants to sell it to move to Seattle to be near his daughter, who was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
But his place has sat on the market for three months without an offer. Located in a tony neighborhood in Manhattan's Upper East Side, apartments used to sell in a matter of weeks. Caplan has dropped $50,000 from the original asking of $625,000 and may have to drop the price again.
He says he can barely afford maintenance fees and other monthly costs associated with his place. He hopes to make enough money to pay off the reverse mortgage he took out to supplement his Social Security payments.
"I don't know how much more I can go through like this," he says, sobbing even more. "I'm going crazy with this."
His son, Danny Caplan, says, "He's collateral damage. He has equity and could sell it and walk away and have enough to live comfortably. But [he can't] because of the economic situation."
America's housing crisis has become a key issue for Washington policymakers. Millions of Americans are in foreclosure or facing foreclosure; others are out of work trying to sell their homes in a down economy. And there are elderly people, such as Caplan, who want to sell immediately to help stabilize their finances. Send us your thoughts on the stimulus plan
President Obama on Tuesday told people at a town hall meeting in Fort Myers, Florida, that he plans to announce in coming weeks "what our overall housing strategy is going to be."
Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner made the rounds in Washington on Tuesday to push the stimulus bill, including the need to jumpstart America's housing market. See stimulus bill provisions »
At one Senate hearing, Sen. Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, said "decisive action" is needed to address the housing crisis. "I think the message should come through clear from all of us, you have to move aggressively, clearly, and to start working," Reed said.
"I agree with you," Geithner responded. "Our objective is, and our hope is, that our program meets that test."
The stimulus bill does sweeten the pot for potential homebuyers, which supporters say could help spur the economy. Critics charge that letting housing prices stabilize on their own is healthy for the economy.
The Senate's version of the bill offers a $15,000 tax credit to anyone who purchases a home in the next year, more than double the tax credit offered by the House.
Dwight Jaffee, a professor of real estate and finance at the University of California-Berkeley, says the housing market is the "perfect instrument in leading the economy out of recession because housing is such a big-ticket item."
"We will not turnaround this economy until we start to turn around housing. I hope people in Washington are hearing it," he says.
In the case of Luis Caplan, Jaffee says, "What it means to him, if they did carry out this program, then the government would be stimulating the demand -- the buyers -- for his apartment to sell it at a fuller price and much sooner."
Caplan says that would be a good thing. He needs all the help he can get.
Born in Argentina, Caplan came to the United States as a legal immigrant in 1964 to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor. He eventually became a naturalized U.S. citizen and opened his medical office to help treat the Spanish-speaking poor of the South Bronx.
He believed his calling was to help "the poorest of the poor" get decent medical treatment, rather than pursue the more high-paying lifestyle of other doctors. Most of his patients were on Medicaid, so he got paid at a rate much less than other doctors. He beams with pride at the lives he saved.
"I caught cancers very early," he said. "I'm not the savior of humanity. ... I just did what I could to help poor people."
In June 1990 at the age of 53, Caplan started having pain in his left leg. It turned out to be a malignant tumor and his leg was amputated. Yet his passion and commitment to helping others kept him going.
Even after losing his leg, he went back to work for another five years. When he retired, he got another shocker: Social Security initially rejected him -- a man without a leg -- for disability.
He says he scrapped and saved money along the way, "a very small amount that has practically disappeared." He now scoots around his apartment in his wheelchair hoping for better days. As far as he's concerned, the big Wall Street institutions can "burn in hell."
"I don't have a Rolls-Royce. I don't have a Cadillac," he says. "The government ... isn't trying to help everybody: People like me that went through this, people who did something good for the community, people who didn't buy an expensive painting for their office."
Caplan pauses. "This is what I'm left with: an apartment that can hardly sell."
His son is proud of his father's accomplishments, yet he's frustrated that his dad is in such a financial pinch during a time that's supposed to be the Golden Years of his life.
"He bought the American dream and paid for the American dream," says Danny Caplan.
- posted on 02/11/2009
"The government ... isn't trying to help everybody: People like me that went through this, people who did something good for the community, people who didn't buy an expensive painting for their office."
How come the government isn't helping everybody?
Chairman O8Mao can simply issue an executive order to give each resident in this country $10,000 all at the same time every other week. In that way, the crisis will go away. Everyone will be happy.
Stimulus in real estate? Keep the real estate bubble from further bursting? What an excellent idea! What a nice court intellectual!
HeeHeeHee. - Re: Doctor of poor says Wall Street canposted on 02/11/2009
那些政客们(总统、多数议员们)在一步一步地毁掉这个国家里老实工作生产的人们的
福祉。那些崇拜政府、崇拜“奥八毛”主席的,你们有什么话说呢?呵呵。 - Re: Doctor of poor says Wall Street canposted on 02/11/2009
Why only $10,000? Why not $1million or $1billion?
The more the merrier!
HeeHeeHee! - Re: Doctor of poor says Wall Street canposted on 02/11/2009
What did Chairman O8Mao chant? Oh, yes, it is "Yes, we can! Yes, we can!"
How nice!
HeeHeeHee! - posted on 02/11/2009
一个人的钱只有三个去处:买东西消费掉、投资、以现金形式(钞票或金银等)存起来。
第四个去处是用火柴烧掉,本人不说那个。
在经济不景气的时候,多数人都把比过去更大比例的钱放在第三个去处(钞票或金银
)。那是利己利他的。利己,不用说了。利他,是因为那样的做法帮助整个市场过程
清除(cleanse)那些因entrepreneurs 犯了错误的经济决定而不能再存在下去的那些
企业(包括银行等)。等那些被清除干净了,经济就开始回升了。
现在“奥八毛”主席等政客们不让市场做那样的清除,反而要用刺激(stimulus)来
让那些本来无法再存在下去的企业(包括银行)起死回生。
How nice!
HeeHeeHee! - Re: Doctor of poor says Wall Street canposted on 02/11/2009
"He bought the American dream and paid for the American dream,"
什么是“American dream”?American dream不是做错误的经济决定。American dream是
作一个对自己负责的、自由的人 (or at least that is mine)。
自己做了错误的经济决定却要求政府用别人的钱帮助减少损失,那不是一个负责自
由的人干的事。
HeeHeeHee. - Re: Doctor of poor says Wall Street canposted on 02/11/2009
那些崇拜政府崇拜奥八毛主席的,都哪里去了呢?出来说说你们的狗屁论理呀?
HeeHeeHee! - posted on 02/11/2009
st e-dou计数 马上要赶上渣打了,你们不是同一个吧?
stimulus plan好像不是“自己”要求的,政府好像也不是用它来帮那些“自己”减少损失的吧?
先知恐怕是曲高众寡啊。
st e-dou #39 wrote:
"He bought the American dream and paid for the American dream,"
什么是“American dream”?American dream不是做错误的经济决定。American dream是
作一个对自己负责的、自由的人 (or at least that is mine)。
自己做了错误的经济决定却要求政府用别人的钱帮助减少损失,那不是一个负责自
由的人干的事。
HeeHeeHee. - Re: Doctor of poor says Wall Street canposted on 02/11/2009
so this guy bought the housing in 1985 (probably for less than 6K) and will be lossing his house? Did he cash-out refinance and used the proceeds to buy cars, furnitures and HDTV?
The details of the story are at least lacking. - Re: Doctor of poor says Wall Street canposted on 02/11/2009
整个是个mess和骗局, 搞搞清楚是当务之急。就自求多福吧。呵呵。 - posted on 02/11/2009
Although I have never seen a man who's inflicted with the "messiah complex" is terribly bright, certainly the hallusination of cheers they encounter (whether it's sarcasm from outside or voices within) propels them to believe the BS they spew out.
I sincerely believe it's harmless to spur on this mad dote even if he's on the verge of tipping over to the deepend. At these economic depressing times, a little schadenfreude of somebody whose blown up ego is incapable of showing empathy and compassion is in my opinion, very therapeutical and ethically justified.
I will certainly do my part to keep him coming back here as much as it takes. I think I speak for many people here that every day when we come to the cafe, a little chuckle in our office helps alleviate some anxieties. ;-)
rzp wrote:
st e-dou计数 马上要赶上渣打了,你们不是同一个吧?
stimulus plan好像不是“自己”要求的,政府好像也不是用它来帮那些“自己”减少损失的吧?
先知恐怕是曲高众寡啊。
st e-dou #39 wrote:
"He bought the American dream and paid for the American dream,"
什么是“American dream”?American dream不是做错误的经济决定。American dream是
作一个对自己负责的、自由的人 (or at least that is mine)。
自己做了错误的经济决定却要求政府用别人的钱帮助减少损失,那不是一个负责自
由的人干的事。
HeeHeeHee. - posted on 02/12/2009
HeeHeeHee. Your so-called "empathy and compassion" reveals your true color - a socialist. You are nothing but a State-worshiping socialist. Please don't be shy in confessing it.
Talking about "alleviate some anxieties", how could a wise person as you have any anxieties? Oh, I see: you are talking about the others, not yourself.
I already told you: after I find out that you are empty, I will be relentless in my words. But my relentlessness is classy - unlike your moldy empty rumblings.
You can seek comfort from your socialist comrades who are not a rarity in this place and in this time.
I just saw through you - an empty socialist. You stink.
HeeHeeHee.
tar wrote: - posted on 02/12/2009
HeeHeeHee.
Good. Two sets of hee-hee's bookend your incomprehensible mumble jumble - Classic delusional freak show.
Last time even without me egging you on, you almost doubled your effort to three measly heehee's. Now it's time to take it up a notch, no?
Ladies and germs, at this economic hard time, we have to set our expectations low. But in any case a free freak show is still hard to beat. I will promise to better train him over how ever long he wants to humiliate himself. Stay tuned. ;-)
st e-dou #42 wrote:
HeeHeeHee. Your so-called "empathy and compassion" reveals your true color - a socialist. You are nothing but a State-worshiping socialist. Please don't be shy in confessing it.
Talking about "alleviate some anxieties", how could a wise person as you have any anxieties? Oh, I see: you are talking about the others, not yourself.
I already told you: after I find out that you are empty, I will be relentless in my words. But my relentlessness is classy - unlike your moldy empty rumblings.
You can seek comfort from your socialist comrades who are not a rarity in this place and in this time.
I just saw through you - an empty socialist. You stink.
HeeHeeHee.
tar wrote:
Please paste HTML code and press Enter.
(c) 2010 Maya Chilam Foundation