The Seattle PI and WaMu

Washington Mutual ended first. Now the Seattle PI is gone (from print.) I've lived in NW Washington since 1976. Before we paid off our mortgage, our last mortgage holder was WaMu--over time, with one acquisition after another, they were the surviving institution that held our mortgage. The first one was Pioneer Savings and Loan in 1976 with a couple of others in the intervening years. During the years we made house payments, we paid almost $50,000 in interest, which more than the price of our house when we bought it. They did not use our money wisely, did they?

Over thirty-two years ago we began subscribing to the Seattle PI. Today we had to quit because they quit. At current rates (I understand that their subscription rates are not the same as they were in 1976) we paid about $20 a month for the PI. In today's dollars, then, we have paid almost $8000 for the daily paper. It was worth it. But they did not use our money wisely either, did they?

It does not speak well about our socio-economic philosophy that two once-respected institutions fail as these two have. What does it tell about our ethics? What does it tell about our greed? What does it tell about our need for instant gratification? What does it tell about today's generations' understanding of what is and what is not important?

I don't know the answers. I wish I did.