I enjoy listening to these two shows on the radio, but they often irritate me. Not the hosts, the callers. I have to wonder about a lot of these callers; if they’ve actually listened to the shows for long, the answers to their questions should be obvious.
Typical Dave Ramsey caller: “I make $500 a year, I have no savings, and I owe a million dollars on my credit cards. Do you think I should get a speed boat?”
Typical Dr. Laura caller: “My live-in boyfriend cheats on me and steals from me, but he says he’ll leave his wife someday. I really, really like him. Should I give him the $1000 I’ve been saving for my kid to go to college?”
What’s even worse than clueless callers are the ones who argue with the host after the advice has been given. Don’t you hate it when people ask for advice and then argue about it if they don’t like it? Then why did you ask? If you only wanted to hear what you’ve already made up your mind to do, then leave me alone.
Or at least stop wasting Dave and Laura’s time.
Gently Hew Stone 
I’mmm debtttt freeeeee!!!!!
Yes! Dr Laura’s callers drive me nuts. So do Ramsey’s, though not as much.
Especially after catching a little Dr. Laura on the radio, I have thought that people really do miss having repentance preached to them. They still fight against it somehow, yet they yearn after it. The Dr. Laura callers in particular are especially begging to be slapped around, and especially in need. The unrestrained freedom and hedonism of our age leaves something missing psychologically – and people feel the need – even if they don’t really want to change.
My experience as bishop made me feel as though I should make the people who came in for counselling listen to these shows every day, outline the program, and summarize what they learned.
Common sense isn’t so common.
This one really seems to have struck a chord. Thanks for the feedback, all! Zen, your thoughts remind me of a great quote that I came across yesterday from The Wall Street Journal in 1991 about how our society abandoned traditional concepts of guilt and sin, but now we’re left without the discipline and virtue that also came along with those things. I wish I could find that quote again.
Discipline and virtue… Yes, that appears to be the key to these two radio talk shows.
I’ll bet you could add some related examples from the classroom, about kids (or their parents) asking for advice on raising their grades.
Ardis, no joke! Perhaps this post will tickle the fancy of any interested parties…
I agree that many of these callers do need to get slapped around. However, the callers that bug me most are the Dave Ramsey poster children that are debt free, or close to it, but still feel like they aren’t going anywhere. Dave doesn’t know how to help them because financial freedom is much more than paying off debt. Although I don’t think people should be happy with their debt, I know a lot of “broke” people who are debt free and feel lost with his advice. This podcast says why:
http://www.fireyourfinancialadviser.com/blog/2009/01/podcast-why-dave-ramsey-doesnt-help-you-become-financially-free/
Thanks for the heads up, Chris. Shameless self promotion isn’t so bad if the stuff you’re shilling is worthwhile, and your work looks pretty decent.